So you thought Tori Spelling's TV career ended when her decade-long stint on Beverly Hills, 90210 did? Uh-uh, kids. Now, she's signed on to star in and produce her own NBC sitcom pilot. A script for the as-yet-untitled comedy is even being penned by Roseanne and Ellen scribe Lawrence Broch. But surely her TV producer papa, Aaron Spelling, must be involved somehow...

"Must be?!" protests Mr. Spelling. "It's not one of my shows, 'cause of just what you said. When you say it must be, that must mean she can't work for anybody else 'cause she can't get a job — and that's just not true. Oh boy! No, no, no, she won't work for me. I don't blame her. She takes so much flak, golly."

How does he feel about Tori headlining her own TV gig sans Daddy? "It's hard for a father to say this," he says, "but I think she deserves it. When she was on my show [90210], she worked very, very hard. I saw her in a movie called Trick that I don't think many people have seen. She played this gay, wild person. She was amazing! Amazing! As a matter of fact, I almost put her in an orphanage after that."

Tossing any cares about nepotism aside, Spelling goes on to praise his daughter's recent well-received L.A. stage production, Maybe Baby, It's You. "Tori did this two-person play where she played 11 roles," he recalls. "It really knocked us out. I only went four times! She was very good at it, and she would like to do theater."