courteneycox

During ABC's portion of the press tour (which feels like a month ago already), the network had its Wednesday night comedy showrunners on for a panel. Surpisingly, Bill Lawrence actually let Steven Levitan of Modern Family and Eileen Heisler and DeAnn Heline of The Middle speak for a good portion of the time, though he had a few things to say himself, not the least of which was that Conan's letter saying no to 12:05 on NBC was a "ballsy" move.

You knew I wouldn't pass up the opportunity to speak to Bill while he was there, especially with Cougar Town getting picked up for a second season and the new Scrubs trying to find its way after a shaky start. The conversation we had is after the jump.

(Oh, and it's always amazing to me that I can talk to Lawrence for maybe 15 minutes, cut out 3500 words, and still have 2500 words left. The man can talk a blue streak.)

(S01E12) "Are you two in love?"

Is love in the air? This week marked the moment in Jules and Jeff's relationship where they had to reflect on their couple status and decide if they wanted to be exclusive or not.

In the meantime, Bobby and Grayson reminisced about their respective marriages and what went wrong. While love was in the air, then not, then yes, for Laurie.

Oh and Andy divulged a big secret but, sadly for him and that big ball of fire he has in his chest, another one was added to the pile!

On 'Cougar Town,' Lisa Kudrow and Courteney Cox reunited to share the small screen for the first time since the 'Friends' finale in 2004. But, Kudrow's new role was a far cry from that of loveable Phoebe on the iconic sitcom.

Kudrow played acid-tongued Dr. Evans, a cruel dermatologist who belittles her patients and ultimately makes time with Jules' ex-husband Bobby.

Watch the video after the jump.

(S01E11) I have to open this review by saying I've never been a big fan of Lisa Kudrow's work. Phoebe, for the most part, was my least favorite character on Friends, and Kudrow always struck me as the kind of actor who plays one role really well, then just plays variations on that role for the rest of his or her career. When you like that signature character, you're fine with it. But when you don't, it just becomes grating.

Any role I've seen Kudrow in just reminds me of Phoebe, and the role she played last night, as mean skin doc Amy Evans, just felt like Phoebe when she was in one of her bad moods. So the overhyped Friends-reunion part of the episode didn't do much for me, for a lot of reasons. But the rest of the episode was just more evidence that this is quickly becoming one of the best ensembles on TV.

Best known as ditzy blonde Phoebe Buffay on seminal sitcom 'Friends,' Lisa Kudrow has continued her post-'Friends' career not only in popular films ('P.S. I Love You,' 'Powder Blue') but also taking on production and development roles, first with the short-lived HBO show 'The Comeback' and now with an online series called 'Web Therapy.'

Kudrow pulled in her old friend Courteney Cox for a guest spot on 'Web Therapy' and now she's returning the favor by appearing on 'Cougar Town' this week. Kudrow plays Dr. Amy Evans, a dermatologist who gives Jules Cobb a hard time about her decision to try and look younger.

Inside TV talked to Kudrow about 'Web Therapy,' producing shows and working with her 'Friend' again.

Get ready for a mini-'Friends' reunion in 2010 when Lisa Kudrow and Courteney Cox go head-to-head on the Jan. 6 episode of ABC's 'Cougar Town.'

Kudrow won't appear as a fellow-fortysomething mommy with twentysomething needs; rather, she'll play Dr. Evans, the busiest -- and scariest -- dermatologist in town. Botox is her game and her bedside manner is non-existent. As seen in this preview clip, Ellie (Christa Miller) and Jules (Cox) have to pep talk their way out of the waiting room and into Dr. Evans' lair (her manner is that much more unpleasant than a needle to a worry line, apparently).

(S01E10) It's interesting; the entire time I was watching this episode, I really couldn't pinpoint any comedic highs or annoying lows. It was just a "nice" episode. But that's not a bad thing. After spending nine episodes careening from one kind of show to another, it was good to see an episode that just slowed down, let the characters breathe, and showed why this is becoming such a good ensemble.

Oh, and it gave us a chance to see another one of the Bill Lawrence Players: Scott Foley. Forget The Unit or Felicity; I always thought Foley's best job was as the awkward Sean on Scrubs. So it's good to see him back in the fold again. And judging by the story he's in, he's going to be around for awhile.

It was bound to happen. We even wrote about it this past July. While a reunion show probably won't happen, it's always news when two cast members from the former hit sitcom Friends appear on screen together. In this case, it's Lisa Kudrow who will be guest-starring on Courteney Cox's sitcom, Cougar Town.

Of course, as a twist, they will not be friends in Kudrow's visit, but rather enemies. Kudrow plays a dermatologist that Cox's character goes to see. Will this be any different than Jennifer Aniston's appearance on Dirt playing a rival of Courteney Cox on that show?

(S01E09) Two things I'm starting to realize about Cougar Town:

1) The more the show concentrates on the ensemble and less on Jules, the funnier it is, and

2) We really need to see more interaction between Courteney Cox and Dan Byrd.

This episode had essentially the same formula as the barbecue episode from a few weeks ago: bring everyone together under Jules' roof and let them bounce off one another. And it worked once again. Instead of a barbecue, of course, the occasion was Thanksgiving (in Florida can you have a barbecue three weeks before Thanksgiving). There's only one slight, itty-bitty problem with what went on this week. But it's a problem that I hope leads to some good things.

Production on ABC's 'Cougar Town' has been temporarily shut down due to a "private family matter" involving its star, Courteney Cox, EW.com has confirmed.

The good news: 'Cougar Town' already completed three new episodes prior to the shut down. One of the episodes includes Cox's highly-anticipated reunion with her former 'Friends' co-star, Lisa Kudrow. Kudrow will play a dermatologist whose treatments Jules (Cox) quickly becomes addicted to.

No official announcement has been made regarding the issue, although there is one possible explanation for all of this: a baby. During the publicity rounds for 'Cougar Town,' Cox admitted that she and hubby David Arquette were open to the idea of expanding their family. "We're not trying yet," she told OK!, via ABC News. "We're revving up the engines. I'm only ready 'cause time's a-ticking."

(S01E08) It does seem like we're still in the "unsteady footing" stage of this series, doesn't it? For every episode like "Don't Come Around Here No More," which shows the cast gelling and gives us the glimmer of hope that the show will become a really good ensemble, we have episodes like this one, which are at times funny and at other times irritating.

Commenters have told me to stop obsessing over the fact that Courteney Cox's character of Jules is at her most annoying when she's dealing with her "over 40" issues. But I just can't; that's when the show is at its most sledgehammer-in-your-face irritating, with Cox acting to the rafters. This episode showed that quite a bit -- I could have used less of Jules desperately trying to convince people she could pass for 34 -- but it also showed that, when Jules isn't worrying so much about her age, Cox does a pretty nice job of making Jules less of a cartoon.

(S01E07) For the first half-dozen episodes of Cougar Town, legions of watchers have been wondering along with me what would happen when a) Courteney Cox remembers she's not playing Monica Gellar anymore and dials it down a notch and b) the ensemble starts melding with each other a bit more. Well, we seemed to get that in this episode, and it made for a funny and engaging half-hour.

Do I still have issues with the show? Sure. But this episode was the best sign I can think of that Bill Lawrence and company are going to get the show on a funny footing by the end of the season.

(S01E06) I've been trying to figure out why I'm not connecting with Courteney Cox and her Cougar Town alter ego, Jules Cobb. It's not just about Cox overacting her role; if that were the case, I would have gotten tired of Monica Geller at around season five of Friends. No, it was something else, something that I couldn't put my finger on.

But after enjoying the male side of the show more than the female side for the second week in a row, the reason has become clear: I might be the wrong gender. I'm neither getting nor caring about why Jules has so many issues with dating young'uns or the process she has to go through as a "woman of years" in order to do that.

What's ironic about that is that I had problems with the pilot because it felt like it was too frat-boy sounding. So maybe I don't know what I want out of this show. It's not the first time that's happened.

(S01E05) Much better. Much better.

Those are the words that kept popping into my head as I watched this episode. Courteney Cox dialed it down a notch. The characters melded together a bit more. We explored the lives of the guys a little bit, seeing a side of each we haven't seen yet. And finally, the show wasn't about Jules Cobb pointing out how she's 40 all the time; it was more about how her experience comes out in her relationships with the young'uns, whether it's her boy toy Josh or her assistant Laurie.

And, it was funny. Especially when there was an apple involved.

(S01E04) First, let's get a mystery out of the way: the Tom Petty centric titles. I shot off a note to Bill Lawrence asking about it, and he Blackberried back to me that it's because a) Tom Petty is from rural Florida and b) he's Bill's favorite singer. So there you have it.

Now, on to this episode. We've all seen Courteney Cox play neurotic; she played neurotic for ten seasons on Friends. But we've also seen her play tough, confident and warm, whether it was on Friends or any of her other roles. Right now, either via the writing or the way she interprets the role, she's playing Jules Cobb as a purely neurotic mess, and a loud one at that. It's not endearing, it doesn't help me connect with Jules' plight, and, most importantly, it's not funny.

Tonight's episode was Jules at her most neurotic, and it made for the least funny episode of the first four. It's a bad trend that's starting to make me worry about the overall health of the show.