Corbin Bleu, who unwittingly amassed quite the following as a star of High School Musical, now has fresh Disney Channel fare to share. Premiering this Friday, Jan. 12, at 8 pm/ET, Jump In! finds the almost 18-year-old actor playing Izzy, a boxing hopeful who gets a ropeful when he begins moonlighting as (gasp!) a competitive double-Dutch ringer. (Bleu's real-life pop, David Reivers, plays his dad in the movie.) TVGuide.com asked Bleu about how he prepared for his latest Disney gig, as well as how he is dealing with the High School Musical phenomenon, which is about to spawn a sequel.

TVGuide.com: Those Disney Channel people, they put on a darn good show, don't they?Corbin Bleu: They really do. They really do. This movie is awesome, it's very different.

TVGuide.com: Did the Jump In script pull you in the way the actual movie pulls the viewer in?Bleu: Yeah, it's kind of the same thing. When they told me the premise of the story, I was sitting there going, "OK, jump rope... this should be interesting." [Laughs] But after reading the script, I was like, "Wow, that was a great script." I really, really enjoyed it. I just loved the character of Izzy. He seemed like a lot of fun.

TVGuide.com: For High School Musical, you had to learn basketball and, of course, the songs and dances. What did you have to learn for Jump In?Bleu: The boxing and the double Dutch. The double Dutch came a little bit easier for me than the boxing did, because it's very similar to movement in dancing, where you have combinations and it's all about rhythm.

TVGuide.com: Jump-roping, I think, is one of those things where either you can do it or you can't. Me, I can't do it at all.Bleu: It's funny, with double Dutch, as long as you have good turners you can make a good jumper out of the worst jumper. Double Dutch is all about the turners. Even if you have an amazing jumper, if you have a bad turner, you can't jump.

TVGuide.com: And here I thought the girls working the ropes were getting short shrift.Bleu: Which is true, and for most people it's always about the jumping, which is kind of sad. But people who know about double Dutch respect all the turners. It's a lot of work. I can't turn. [Laughs]

TVGuide.com: Was it a bit of a factual leap that a guy could join a girls' team?Bleu: There are mixed-sex teams, yeah. And there are [teams with] just guys, with just girls....

TVGuide.com: And realistically, wouldn't you have to tie down or rein in that famous hair of yours, for fear of the rope snagging on it?Bleu: [Laughs] Realistically, yeah.... I was able to do it with my hair out, but when I went to a real double-Dutch competition in Canada while filming, every person braided their hair and had it back, because the rope does hit it. Every once in a while the rope would swing at my hair, but that didn't matter for us because we could do it over again. But in a competition situation, where every moment counts and you can't mess up, yes, I would put my hair back.

TVGuide.com: How has your life changed since this High School Musical thing hit?Bleu: Well, I used to be able to go to a mall, and now I can't! [Laughs]

TVGuide.com: Well, you can, it's just there'd be the deafening screams of girls.Bleu: Exactly. But it's been so much fun, a life-changing thing for me. For everybody in the cast. None of us a year ago would think that we'd be doing a 43-city tour across the country, with 15,000 screaming fans a night. I definitely wasn't expecting to get a record deal out of this, or two Emmys and the Billboards and the Guinness book and the AMAs and the Teen Choice [Awards]....

TVGuide.com: Now, when you were doing it, you probably thought, "This will fly under the radar, but it will be fun to do."Bleu: You know what, I knew it was going to be big, because kids always love Disney movies. But this has gone beyond the extent of just the normal Disney viewers. I have people in their forties coming up to me to say, "Aww, I love that movie!" I go, "Oh, cool. Do you have kids?" and they go, "No." [Laughs] The amount of people who have fallen in love with this movie is quite amazing.

TVGuide.com: Do you think the Disney conglomerate was kicking itself for not releasing HSM theatrically?Bleu: No, I don't think so. I can't be sure, and it's definitely a movie that could have been a very good feature. But I think it does better as a TV-movie.

TVGuide.com: Has Disney been taking good care of you, or just throwing you some menial scholarship dollars?Bleu: Oh, no, they're definitely taking care of me.

TVGuide.com: Good to hear. What can you preview about High School Musical 2? What's the setup?Bleu: We still haven't gotten scripts, but the basic premise is that it takes place during the summer, while school is out, and at the country club owned by Ryan and Sharpay. So there will be a lot more singing and dancing, and probably some golfing, swimming....

TVGuide.com: It's High School Musical meets Caddyshack meets Dirty Dancing.Bleu: Dirty Dancing is the perfect comparison, especially since Kenny Ortega, our director [choreographed Dirty Dancing].

TVGuide.com: What's the time frame for premiering it on TV?Bleu: August.

TVGuide.com: Oh! You better get "jumping" then!Bleu: I know!

Talk about taking your food to go. Premiering with a double episode this Friday, Jan. 12, at 9 pm/ET, on Food Network, Giada's Weekend Getaways finds the fabulously photogenic host of Everyday Italian hitting some of our country's most divine destinations, planning out for the viewer the idyllic combination of food, drink and fun. TVGuide.com invited Giada De Laurentiis to serve up some savory (sound) bites.

TVGuide.com: That is some smile you've got. My cheeks were aching after watching a half hour of ya!Giada De Laurentiis: [Laughs] You know, I've had little kids at my book signings ask me if my cheeks hurt from smiling. It's hilarious.

TVGuide.com: You just possess a very happy disposition?De Laurentiis: You know what? I'm pretty lucky to be doing what I love to do, so I guess so!

TVGuide.com: As my boss at the scoop shop used to say, "Ice cream is a happy time."De Laurentiis: [Laughs] Food Network is a happy time, too, I guess.

TVGuide.com: What hole is Giada's Weekend Getaways filling in the Food Network schedule?De Laurentiis: This show is like a chronological guide for a weekend vacation, so it starts on Friday evening, the bulk of the show is Saturday, and then it ends early afternoon on Sunday. On Friday we usually start with some sort of cocktail and a light dinner or appetizer. Saturday, we start with some kind of breakfast , an activity or a sight, then lunch, an activity or sight, and then dinner. Dinner on Saturday night is usually the big splurge — that's when we dress up and go out. Sunday is some brunch-breakfast/activity type of thing.

TVGuide.com: I love me some Sunday brunch.De Laurentiis: The difference with this show is that it incorporates everything that you really would do on a weekend trip. Not just where to go for breakfast-lunch-dinner, but all the activities and sights.

TVGuide.com: Let's talk about some of the activities. In one episode I see you're fishing.De Laurentiis: In South Beach I jet ski, and I salsa dance. Or, I try to salsa dance.

TVGuide.com: Yeah, I was wondering about your choice of shoes for that. Those big, clunky foam sandals....De Laurentiis: [Laughs] You know... if you've ever seen my travel shows, I wear those shoes a lot. No, they're not the most attractive, but I love them, and they're comfortable! I also go horseback riding, which was one of my favorite things to do as a kid. There's some hiking, sailing in Newport, Rhode Island.... Bike riding in Napa Valley, from winery to winery, after a couple of glasses of wine — big mistake! [Laughs] I made some pottery in Santa Fe, which was really wonderful.

TVGuide.com: And then you ate out of it?De Laurentiis: Uh, I did not, no. It's a process, making pottery. You can't just go home with it.

TVGuide.com: No, you have to put it in a kiln and then, like, hope the kiln doesn't explode.De Laurentiis: Correct.

TVGuide.com: Did your husband go with you for these jaunts? Is he always somewhere off-camera, eating his meal off a card table in the kitchen?De Laurentiis: He went on two of them — Cabo, because he's an avid surfer, and obviously L.A., because we live in Los Angeles. It's not as glamorous as people think. I work long hours, so for him to just stand there and get me coffee and hold my bag, that's probably not the right combination for a good marriage!

TVGuide.com: My wife and I are heading to South Beach this spring. What restaurants did Getaways hit?De Laurentiis: We go to Casa Tua, which is one of my favorite Italian restaurants there. It's kind of off the beaten path because it's not on the strip, and it looks like a house and they don't have a sign. I had the risotto with truffles, but if you don't want to indulge that much, they have homemade ravioli with different fillings every day. Their fresh pastas are to die for!

TVGuide.com: Have you ever been to Prime 112? With the French fries made with truffle oil? Oh my....De Laurentiis: Everything's got truffle oil these days. The other one I like there is Joe's Stone Crab. I did the takeout, because the line for a table can be an hour long. Plus you can then eat it on the beach. That's a fun thing to do.

TVGuide.com: I found on your website the answer to one of my questions: How you, as one of these Food Network people, maintain a nice figure while indulging in the country's best mini- cheeseburgers, crab cakes and the like. You credit "genetics, portion control and fresh ingredients" — to which I say, "Yeah, right."De Laurentiis: A little activity doesn't hurt. And working out, that doesn't hurt, either. I wish I could get to the gym as much as I used to, but the No. 1 secret is portion control. Honestly, it's about what you put in your mouth.

TVGuide.com: So, you take your bite or two of mini-cheeseburger, and once the camera stops rolling you walk away?De Laurentiis: I walk away. I might take another bite — like on Everyday Italian I take a few bites too many, because it's my own food and I really enjoy it. But when I go out to eat, whether or not it's an entrée, I always ask for an appetizer-size portion, because if I love that dish I cannot stop after a certain amount. I will want to finish it.

TVGuide.com: And if the waiter balks, you say, "I'm Giada, dammit. Give me what I want, or Food Network will take you down."De Laurentiis: [Laughs] Whether you're Giada De Laurentiis, Rachael Ray or anybody else, waiters these days rarely say no to the paying customer. If you ask nicely, blink a couple times and smile, you're good!

Hungry for 24 scoop? Kiefer Sutherland offers an exclusive look at the new season in the Jan. 15 issue of TV Guide, now on newsstands.

While Tony-nominated actor John Tartaglia rocketed to fame for his roles in the adult-themed puppet show Avenue Q, he has recently returned to his children's-television roots with a role starring as Lumière in Broadway's Beauty and the Beast and with a new Disney Channel show Johnny and the Sprites (premiering full episodes Saturday, Jan. 13, at 10 am/ET). It's all a pretty natural fit for someone who started work on Sesame Street when he was a teenager. In honor of Johnny's return, TVGuide.com spoke with Tartaglia, and for this interviewer it was quite a delight.

TVGuide.com: I just want you to know that I had to fight for this interview with Raven, the other mom and theater addict in the office. John Tartaglia: [Laughs] I'm glad you won, though I don't know what kind of lengths you had to go to.

TVGuide.com: What was your inspiration for Johnny and the Sprites? Tartaglia: It started when I was really young, about 16. I used to accompany my father, a musical director, to his rehearsals, and one day I was sitting there sketching to keep myself busy. One day I had the idea for these sprite characters. I didn't know who they were, or what they were or what their world was like yet, or anything like that. I just had this visual image of these woodland sprite creatures, and then I kind of forgot about them. When Avenue Q first opened on Broadway, Rich Ross, who is president of Disney Channel, came and saw me in the show and asked to meet with me. He said, "I want you to create a show for me."

TVGuide.com: We should warn the parents out there that Johnny is very different from Avenue Q. Tartaglia: Very different! Very, very different. A little more kid-friendly. Nothing too uncomfortable. [Laughs] I was honored to be asked to create a show, so I went and did some thinking and went through my old stuff. I found a notepad, and it reinvigorated these characters for me. It was wonderful to, 10 years later, stumble on it again.

TVGuide.com: The colors are so vibrant. I want to take the sprites home and cuddle them. They are really cute. Tartaglia: [To the Disney Channel publicist in the background] Dana, did you hear that?Dana Green: Yes, I did. I want one, too.

TVGuide.com: The five-minute shorts that aired on the Disney Channel earlier last year were very popular. Tartaglia: Yeah, you think, "It's five minutes a day, who is going to see it?" but apparently the reaction was great. I get stopped a lot on the street from parents saying, "My kid loves Johnny and the Sprites." I'm always like, "Really? They know who it is?" It is a neat feeling that even the shorts have gotten the characters out there and gotten the message across.

TVGuide.com: You've got a ton of amazing Broadway songwriters doing music. How did that come about? Did you call in some favors?Tartaglia: We've got the best of the best doing it. I've been so blessed to work on Broadway with these wonderful composers. I went out to dinner with Stephen Schwartz as friends, and he asked me about the show and what it was and said, "I'd love to write your theme song." I'm like, "Oh, OK." I grew up listening to [Schwartz'] Pippin! So all of a sudden to have the composer of Wicked writing your theme song — and a great theme song at that — has been an honor. Our musical director, Gary Adler, has been fantastic, and he wrote a lot of the songs, too. We're lucky to have composers who do all different styles of music. Kids are going to hear country, and rhythm and blues, and jazz, and rock, and everything you can imagine.

TVGuide.com: Between this and Beauty and the Beast, you are going to get mobbed by kids. The Wiggles have got nothing on you. Tartaglia: There you go. [Laughs] I'd be honored!

TVGuide.com: In addition to playing yourself on Sprites, you are also performing as an older, wiser puppet. Tartaglia: Yes, Sage. Johnny is kind of the best friend. He knows a lot about the human world, but he doesn't know anything about the sprite world. We realized we needed someone who was the common ground for them and could answer their questions. I think the reason he's so much fun is that even though he's wise and intelligent, he's kind of doddering, too. He can be very silly.

TVGuide.com: I watched the video-game episode and thought that was very timely. Tartaglia: It is a big problem. There is basically a team of five, including myself, who create the show, who sit and decide which issues children's television isn't addressing or what lessons these characters could come across. With the video game one, I think of how many kids don't go outside. We have a huge obesity problem in this country, and these kids are just surviving off personal appliances. That's fine, there is a place for it, but we reversed roles by having Johnny be the one with the problem. And if you think of the Sprites as kids, they figure it out before he does. Since they are not from his world, they don't get why he's addicted to it, and they don't even know what a video game is. They are like, what's the fun in that? It was a great opportunity to take the opposite role. It wasn't the parent telling the kid how bad it was, it was the other way around.

TVGuide.com: How are you managing to juggle this show and your Beauty and the Beast gig? Tartaglia: [Laughs] It is pretty exhausting. But I am pretty lucky, and I sometimes forget how lucky I am. I get to come here and edit my TV show during the day, and then perform on Broadway at night. As exhausting as it can be, I have to step back and remind myself, "Who gets to say that?" So I can't really complain.

TVGuide.com: I heard you perform at a "grown-up" benefit a few years back, where you sang one of my favorite songs, "Taylor the Latte Boy." Any plans to put out your own CD?Tartaglia: We're talking about it. What I'm hoping is that this show brings a crossover opportunity for me, and I can release something that families can enjoy and adults can enjoy. I'm kind of a rarity in that I'm coming to a children's network having already established myself as an adult, so it is this neat combination of my two skills. It is nice when the parents are as excited about the music as the kids are. I hope that eventually that's something on the horizon.

TVGuide.com: Well, even on Johnny and the Sprites, the music seems to be as enjoyable for parents as it is for kids.Tartaglia: Thank you. That was the goal, that adults and parents can watch the show with their kids and get something out of it.

TVGuide.com: There isn't a lot of repetition or explanation of every single word, which is nice. It doesn't talk down to kids. Tartaglia: I don't believe in talking down to kids and shortchanging them. I think kids are a lot smarter than we are. I learn a lot from kids. I think when you tell them good stories and you give them something to believe in, and you don't lessen their intelligence but challenge it, they tend to appreciate that.

TVGuide.com: Having worked on Sesame Street for a long time, do you have a favorite character? I know you got to do Ernie for a while.Tartaglia: That actually was my favorite. I was really honored to do Ernie for one season of Play with Me Sesame. Jim Henson was my hero, and the reason I am here now. So to actually have his character and to work with it and that voice and to make that relationship happen with Bert, I was just really honored. You feel like you are a part of history. I was at Sesame Street for 11 years. It is like extended college.

TVGuide.com: You started there when you were really young. Tartaglia: I was 16. I didn't go to college; I moved to New York City when I was 18. I spent those years when you are growing and learning who you are at Sesame Street. They really kind of raised me. It is neat to look back and realize that the time I had there was immeasurable.

TVGuide.com: Any particularly fun Sprites episodes to look forward to? Tartaglia: There is a really amazing holiday episode that I'm proud of. Everyone keeps saying that it is like the old Christmas specials that you grew up with as a kid. And we have a really fun show called "The Fuzzies' Day Off." The Fuzzies are these little fuzzballs that live in the dirt, and they take a day off and we have a huge beach party in my backyard. It is very "Frankie and Annette." We have an episode with Sutton Foster (Thoroughly Modern Millie), who won a Tony. She plays my sister, and the Sprites have never heard of sisters and brothers, so the whole episode is about what a family is. We have a really funny show called "Laugh, Sprites, Laugh." There is this kind of flower that grows, [called] Laughing Lilacs, and once you hear them laugh you start laughing uncontrollably, and it is contagious. So basically you get to watch me and the Sprites look like idiots for an entire half hour.

TVGuide.com: Is it strange for you to interact with the puppets and not be the one working the puppet? Tartaglia: It is funny because we'd give the humans and celebrities a hard time when they came on [Sesame Street], when they were talking to the puppet and they'd look at the puppeteer and at the monitor that the puppeteers watch to perform. My first two days of shooting were really weird. I kept looking at Leslie [Carrara-Rudolph], who performs Ginger, and I'm like, "What am I doing? I know better than that!" It is challenging at first, but the puppeteers we have on the show are the best of the best, and they always make me believe that they are real. It doesn't take much to believe for a little while that you are talking to these real creatures.

I was asked to write an article about television — American television, the best TV in the world. I felt I had nothing to offer, no insight of any value; the prospect was too daunting. So I decided to plug the second season of my HBO comedy series Extras, about struggling actors trying to make it big. Here's how I made it.

Work on Season 2 of Extras [premiering Sunday at 10 pm/ET]started straight after Season 1 finished in August 2005. I moved to new up-market offices in central London, and after decking it out (which included building a recording studio for our podcast) and putting up some pictures, cowriter and costar Stephen Merchant and I started chatting about plotlines, scenarios and characters.

Despite numerous trips to America, several awards ceremonies, and the fact that I only work between the hours of 11 am and 3 pm, by Christmas there were a few yellow Post-it notes on the wall behind my desk with phrases on them like "Bowie VIP lounge," "Maggie in mud" and "BBC interfere." Writing continued right up to the week of filming, but we had first drafts by May. And so we started casting.

Casting can bring the highest highs and the lowest lows. You can see hundreds of people who shouldn't really call themselves actors. As soon as they open their mouths, they give themselves away, and I just want to shout "Next!" But I can't. I feel sorry for them. I should be more like Simon Cowell. I believe him when he says he's doing people a favor when he's honest, but I'm not a brave man. I get someone to call them later. Well, I get someone to call their agent.

The flip side of this is that eventually, someone walks in and nails the part. They are usually an unknown who just needed the right role. We love starting from scratch. We've always done it, and it brings an energy to the piece that just using someone from three other comedies wouldn't. Also, with brand-new talent, people don't sit at home going, "Oooh, I like him. He was in what's-it, wasn't he?" It just helps suspend their disbelief. The casting was a dream this time around, and Stephen and I think we're working with the best cast we've ever put together. Watch out for David Earl as the weird fan in Episode 2. I think he's the new Mackenzie Crook, who played Gareth on [the BBC's] The Office.

Filming started on Monday, June 5, at 8:15 am. I don't know why you have to start so early.... Is it the light? We were filming inside. The fact that you pay the crew by the day? We were finishing at 4 pm anyway. Let's do 10 till 6.

It was a hell of a summer to be inside a studio for eight hours a day. I hate missing beautiful weather. But on the other hand, the only way I get a deep bronze tan is if my freckles all join. Oh, and I did get to write a song with David Bowie, as well as duet with Chris Martin, humiliate heartthrob film stars and Knights of the Realm, and work with some TV icons. And there was air-conditioning and tinted moisturizer.

Episode 1 opens with a clip of a Hollywood romantic comedy starring Orlando Bloom as a nonreconstructed barrister who comes up against his estranged wife in a courtroom battle. You only see one scene, but it's great fun to do. We even give the fake films titles that are never seen or mentioned — just for our own amusement. Ross Kemp's TV-movie in Season 1 was "Nelson — England Expects"; Ben Stiller's gritty Balkans drama was called "Do Angels Bleed?"; and Kate Winslet's war epic about nuns hiding Jews from the Nazis was titled "Sisters of Mercy." So what do you call a Hollywood romantic comedy starring Orlando Bloom as a barrister pitted against his ex? "Rejection Overruled," of course. Maggie, played by Ashley Jensen, is an extra on the film and throughout the episode finds out what the "real" Orlando Bloom is actually like.

Orlando was fantastic. He was very professional, approachable and, believe it or not, very humble. He said he was nervous about the role. Nervous? Britain's leading pinup actor from two of the biggest trilogies in history, nervous? Kate Winslet said the same. As soon as I had put them off a few times for my own amusement and ruined a couple of takes by corpsing, the nerves went. That's what a great director I am. Selfless.

Without giving too much away, the new season sees my character, Andy, getting his big break and filming his new sitcom, "When the Whistle Blows." He wanted it to be credible and real, and for it to stand the test of time and be a global hit. He wanted it to go on BBC 2 and have no laugh track. No studio audience, no dressing up, no catchphrases and no gratuitous guest stars to boost ratings. That's not exactly how things turned out.... He is at a crossroads. What does he do next? I know how he feels.

If you've watched 7th Heaven over its 11-season run — or even caught a glimpse of one episode — you know that the Camdens aren't just about achieving family harmony but about helping the entire community that surrounds them. This week's new episode (Sunday at 8 pm/ET, on the CW) is no exception. In fact, it covers a pressing issue that we've been hearing about every day: Darfur — a topic so devastating, it's a real departure from the common troubles we usually see on this family drama. Filled with information about the crisis abroad, executive producer Brenda Hampton spoke with TVGuide.com about the motivation behind this episode, 7th Heaven's again-uncertain fate, and saying goodbye to some of our favorite Camdens.

TVGuide.com: I just watched the Darfur episode, and it's amazing how much dialogue can come from food. Why was it important to you to cover this topic?Brenda Hampton: It's important to the world. It's the No. 1 topic right now; I think it should be, anyway. And Catherine Hicks brought the attention of 7th Heaven to Catholics in the media, so it came about by trying to, in turn, shed light on Catherine and what she's doing with the Catholic Church in regards to Darfur.

TVGuide.com: Was it difficult to construct a script about such a serious issue? Because there's this line between entertainment and wanting your audience to listen to something so informative.Hampton: Right. Well, we have a lot of experience doing this at 7th Heaven. We've been doing this for 11 seasons now, and every year, we bring light to a number of issues.

TVGuide.com: You even had the little kids participating. Did you talk to them about the situation while they were learning the script?Hampton: No, I would assume that their teacher or their parents did, but we did actually do what we wrote in the script. We sent $50 through Nicodemus [A. Lim] to his friend, who's a Lost Boy, Andrew, just to see if we could get it to Darfur, and we were able to do that. We had already put it in the story line when we decided that we'd better test out the theory! [Laughs]

TVGuide.com: It's great that you actually did that. A lot of questions also arose in the episode about what was really happening in Darfur, and how people here could help. Were those questions that you had and wanted to get across?Hampton: Those are things that I know, and they are things that we researched to make sure I was correct. [Laughs] But yes, I'm well aware of the situation and of the efforts being made by a number of groups. Unfortunately, we weren't able to mention all of them, but we did suggest a number of ways that people can help if they want to.

TVGuide.com: I hope people really take note of that and use that information.Hampton: I hope so, too! I hope the story's interesting enough that they will get interested and end the issue this time.

TVGuide.com: The photos of people in Darfur, featured at the end of the episode, were really effective, as well.Hampton: And there is an actual picture of Andrew at the Western Union picking up the money, I don't know if you noticed.

TVGuide.com: I'll have to go back and look for that!Hampton: I think there's also a picture of the people that he gave it to, but I'm not sure about that. We'll have to see if that one made the final cut. We're many episodes past that at this point [in production].

TVGuide.com: Well, I definitely think it's a strong episode, and I hope it's well received.Hampton: Thanks! I hope a lot of people watch. Regardless of your politics, I think this goes beyond that and is a humanitarian issue that everyone can do something [about] — if they want to do something.

TVGuide.com: That's always the message of 7th Heaven, no matter what the topic is.Hampton: We try to do something that's uplifting every week. This is just a bigger issue than most.

TVGuide.com: When I spoke with Beverley Mitchell in September, she expressed how happy everyone was to have 7th Heaven return. Will it continue after this season?Hampton: We don't know anything yet. I don't imagine we'll know until the CW takes a look at the season's ratings, their other new pilots, and the possibility of who will come back and who would not be available.

TVGuide.com: So there may not be a decision until spring?Hampton: Right. As far as I know.

TVGuide.com: Will we see more new people come onto the show in the second half of this season? More kids needing a home?Hampton: We have all the new children and young adults. That's it for the season, and it's not the first time we've brought in people. We've had to do that throughout the run, because we've lost cast members.

TVGuide.com: Will Stephen Collins be leaving the show because of Eric's heart condition and his diagnosis of having six months to live?Hampton: I think we won't know that quite yet, either! [Laughs]

TVGuide.com: But will more be happening with that story?Hampton: Yes. That's a story line that continues to the very end of the season.

TVGuide.com: And how about Simon? Hampton: David Gallagher is very happy at school right now, so I don't think we'll see him this season. We would always welcome him back and we love to have him, but he's finishing up college this year, and that's probably more important.

TVGuide.com: Sometimes it's hard to see the original cast members fade away or grow up. Like Mackenzie Rosman — she was so small when the show began, and now she's involved in story lines about sex!Hampton: It's been on a long time, and we like to keep as many of the original cast as we can, but that's just not possible. We always like to have them stop by or come in for an episode when they can and if they will, but we have to go on!

For an exclusive look at the next episode of the CW's Smallville, pick up the Jan. 15 issue of TV Guide, now on newsstands.