Drew Carey

Hey bartender, have you seen Drew Carey?" "Sure," she says, pointing to a thicket of blue and green. Soccer lovers -- Seattle Sounders lovers to be precise -- crammed inside a beer-drenched bar. His famous outline emerges, wide and square-jawed.

Genial comic Drew Carey was tapped Monday to replace silver-haired legend Bob Barker on the CBS daytime game show "The Price Is Right." Carey confirmed the deal during a taping of the "Late Show With David Letterman." The selection attracted more attention than usual for a daytime show because of the prospect of replacing Barker, 83. Barker retired after 35 years in the job last month following taping of his 6,586th episode.

Three months ago, Drew Carey was told that casting agents from CBS were interested in the actor-comedian, famous for his crew cut, black-rimmed glasses and improv skills. "I thought they wanted me on 'CSI' or another drama as some kind of goof," Carey said. They didn't.

The final stage of tryouts for NBC's reality series "Last Comic Standing" has drawn the ire of two big-name comedians, Drew Carey and Brett Butler, who participated as judges but in several cases were overruled. Though its format is different from the Fox hit "American Idol," "Last Comic Standing" has a similar conceit: a competition to present a fresh face to the public, in this case a stand-up comedian.

Drew Carey is going for the green, even appearing before a gathering of television critics with green hair. The temporary dye job was to draw attention to "Drew Carey's Green Screen Show," which premieres at 8:30 p.m. Thursday on the WB. The series stars Carey and many of his quick-witted chums from his "Whose Line Is It Anyway?" series and his tour group, including Brad Sherwood, Colin Mochrie, Greg Proops, Julie Larson and Sean Masterson.

The term "buyer's remorse" usually applies to unworn clothes or unwise real estate deals. Then there's the more grandiose, television variety -- such as the regret ABC officials are feeling, having committed nearly $80 million for another season of "The Drew Carey Show," a series they no longer want. What was once ABC's most-watched comedy returns tonight with its 200th episode -- normally a milestone that calls for champagne or at least a few bottles of Buzz beer.

As if ABC wasn't having enough trouble with its news division stars, Drew Carey is fuming over what he described as a threat by ABC censors to halt production of his self-titled comedy series this week due to objections regarding the manner in which an episode poked fun at heightened airport security. The upcoming installment of "The Drew Carey Show" features the title character's nitwit friends Lewis (played by Ryan Stiles) and Oswald (Diedrich Bader) getting jobs as airport security guards.

For those who keep pushing for television to seek higher standards, there is undoubtedly justice in the fact that NBC's "The West Wing" has been trouncing ABC's "The Drew Carey Show" in their Wednesday night ratings matchup so far this season. After all, the characters on "The West Wing" are smart, tireless, self-sacrificing, public-spirited citizens, striving to make the world a better place.

Craig Ferguson, best known to fans of "The Drew Carey Show" as the comic's unctuous boss Mr. Wick, doesn't have the biggest trailer on the Warner Bros. lot where the ABC sitcom shoots. In fact, it's pretty small and nondescript. The cramped quarters haven't hindered him creatively, however, although his most productive work hasn't been for the TV show. "I've written four movies here," Ferguson says proudly. "Two of them have been made.

The noise is deafening on a sound stage at Disney Studios in Burbank, where "Geppetto," an original musical, is in production for ABC's "The Wonderful World of Disney." The movie, which looks at the famous "Pinocchio" children's story through the eyes of the lonely village toy maker, will be broadcast Sunday at 7 p.m. as part of the network's big May programming events. On this summer day, children dressed in colorful 19th century outfits are running amok among the sets--parents in tow.