The case of the departed ABC executive is getting complicated.

Former ABC exec Steve McPherson said Thursday that he was not being investigated for sexual harassment at the time of his exit, according to TV Guide.

McPherson is "not going to sit back idly regarding the false and defamatory stories fueled by unknown and anonymous sources that are now appearing in the media since his resignation from ABC," according to a statement from his rep.

As Bob wrote, Rob Lowe will be leaving ABC's Brothers & Sisters. It's not the show that's writing him out. Rob Lowe has decided that he's not been utilized enough on the show and he wants to move on.

However, ABC wants to keep him part of the network family, so the actor has made a deal with programming head Steve McPherson to try to find a new show for Rob in the future. According to McPherson, "We would like to keep Rob at ABC; we feel he should be anchoring his own franchise. We are in talks now."

If this sounds like a familiar scenario, it's because it is. When Rob Lowe was on NBC's The West Wing, he chose to leave the program in 2003 because The West Wing had become an ensemble, and he had thought he was going to be the star.

About two weeks ago, with much fanfare, ABC issued a press release about a big promotion for the new sci-fi remake of V. The idea was skywriting giant red "V's" over national monuments around the country. When I read about it, I thought it was pretty clever.

Like ABC media, I didn't contemplate the environment hazard posed by spraying the skies with red skywriting materials. The skywriting stunt has been canceled because one clever reporter did. She snagged ABC in its own press net.

If this doesn't put a nail in the coffin of the Seinfeld curse (does anyone still buy into that?), then nothing will. If CBS decides not to give The New Adventures of Old Christine a fifth season pickup -- and right now they're not committing either way -- ABC is going to add Julia Louis-Dreyfus and company to its roster. This was rumored a few weeks ago, but now it's confirmed. ABC has sealed the deal to give Christine 22 episodes in a back up guarantee with Warner Brothers TV .

This isn't the first time ABC has offered to be Christine's home. It made a similar offer last season, then CBS decided they did want Julia's sitcom after all. Apparently ABC's head man Steve McPherson is a big fan of the show.

Journalists are dragging their feet. Panel questions are lacking in energy.

The tour that never ends is, well, coming to an end.

ABC kicks off the last two days of the TV Critics press tour today with an executive session by ABC entertainment prez Stephen McPherson, followed by a look at new series Pushing Daisies, Women's Murder Club, Cavemen, Cashmere Mafia, Carpoolers, and Dirty Sexy Money.

People have been wondering for some time now just what ABC is going to do with all those extra Day Break episodes that they paid for. All traces of the show disappeared from their website recently, leading many to believe that DVD was the only option for getting to the rest of the story.

We might not have to wait that long though. As Joel reported yesterday, ABC entertainment president Stephen McPherson announced that remaining episodes will be available online by the end of February. There weren't any details about how the release is going to go. I would prefer just dumping them all on the site for a marathon viewing, but at this point even one a week would be just fine. They are sticking to the 'music clearance' issue as the reason for the delay. And of course, this comes with all the foibles usually associated with TV on the internet. But hey, it's better than nothing.

[thanks Matt ]