"Grey's Anatomy" creator Shonda Rhimes

So "Grey's Anatomy" creator Shonda Rhimes is here, along with the showrunners of ABC's other dramas, and if you thought anyone was going to ask her directly, in an open session, whether Izzie was going to have a brain tumor next season, well, you don't know TV critics.

Instead we ask questions about how it felt when Katherine Heigl, in announcing that she wouldn't be seeking another Emmy this year, appeared to be criticizing the writing on the show.

Oh, and we want to know how it's going.

For the record, Rhimes (who this afternoon heard her first name mispronounced in a number of creative ways and never once publicly complained), says that "storywise, we have a really great story worked out that we're really excited about and things are going fine."

("Ugly Betty" executive producer Silvio Horta leaned over about this point and joked, "I'd put her in a coma.")

Rhimes later said she "never felt insulted" by Heigl's remarks, since she'd interpreted them to mean that she didn't think her character's story arc had been as dramatic as last year's and so possibly less likely to be considered Emmy-worthy.

That doesn't mean she was crazy about the actress' remarks.

"When I was told about it, I have to say…I found it surprising,” Rhimes said. “But Katie is an outspoken person, and I think we know that already.”

"Desperate Housewives" creator Marc Cherry, who knows from outspoken actresses, has a different theory: "She was drunk!"

Am just back from the Emmy nominations announcements at the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences in North Hollywood, where every year, a sleepy-looking mix of reporters and publicists -- plus a couple of bright-eyed actors and many, many sylph-like creatures from entertainment news shows  -- gather before dawn so that East Coast viewers can watch the nominations at a somewhat less ungodly hour.

Just so you know.

Kristin Chenoweth and Neil Patrick Harris were adorable in the roles of actors who've been asked to read names off a list and are expected to act surprised when they, too, are nominated, but other than the hot breakfast -- courtesy of the Hollywood Reporter -- the real fun this morning was watching the publicity team of AMC's "Mad Men," who were positively gleeful about the staggering 16 nominations their little basic-cable period drama received.

Not bad for a channel that until fairly recently was known for showing old movies that Turner Classic Movies didn't happen to have the rights to.

The publicists are there to call producers and actors, who aren't expected to stagger to North Hollywood in the wee hours for stuff like this. I heard FX's chief media relations guy, John Solberg, placing a call to "Damages" co-creator Todd Kessler right after the show's nomination for outstanding series, the first series nomination ever for FX, which broke into the Emmys big in 2002 with Michael Chiklis' win for lead actor in "The Shield." Don't know how Kessler sounded, but Solberg was clearly pretty pleased.

"Scrubs" stars Judy Reyes as "Nurse Carla Espinosa," Zach Braff as "John 'J.D.' Dorian" and Sarah Chalke as "Elliot Reid." (ABC/MITCH HAASETH)

How long can "Scrubs" go on?

As the show enters its eighth season -- though its first on ABC -- that's Topic A this afternoon, as the always loose-as-a-goose Bill Lawrence, the show's creator, seems unwilling to say enough's enough.

"It's just one of those never-say-never type situations," said Lawrence, who notes that he's been planning for the show's cancellation every year for the past five. In fact, "the finale for the show has been written for about 4 1/2 years," he joked, suggesting  he might just have to rewrite "some pop-culture references."

"One of the reasons 'Scrubs' is still on the air is that it's by far the cheapest single-camera comedy made," Lawrence said. Efficient, too.  They're scheduled to be done filming Season 8 by Sept. 1. ABC has owned the show all along, even as it aired for seven seasons on NBC, where it possibly set a record for time-slot changes.

If "Scrubs" does continue past the coming season, it might do so without the regular services of Zack Braff, though. "My sense is that this is my last year," said Braff, who said he'd probably return from time to time if there's a Season 9.

Some new and younger cast members are being added as interns and Courteney Cox will do a three-episode stint as the chief of medicine, replacing Ken Jenkins. She's not here today, but "we would have her back in a heartbeat," said Lawrence.

And what does all this mean for Sarah Chalke, who was one of the best things to happen to CBS' "How I Met Your Mother" last season?

"They don't want me to say it, but she's the mom," joked Lawrence, who -- though Chalke just smiled beatifically and then seemed to be mouthing the words "No, I'm not" -- might be right.

We've got nothing but questions about ABC's "Life on Mars," and that's not surprising, since we haven't seen even a snippet of footage from the show, which has been recast and re-producered -- with David E. Kelley exiting -- since it was first announced.

Jason O'Mara, who'll play a 21st century police detective who's rudely thrust into 1973, is the only cast member left standing from the original (which isn't so original, given that it's based on a British show of the same name that's been on BBC America for two seasons).

Producers Josh Appelbaum and Andre Nemec, who previously worked on ABC's "October Road" -- hey, don't shoot the messenger -- don't actually remember 1973, Appelbaum having been 1 that year, Nemec apparently just born.

But Michael Imperioli ("The Sopranos"), who's joined the cast in this second round, says he was 7 that year, and he's willing to play.

"I remember it all," he says. "It was crazy. The sex was easy."

OK, so maybe not.

"I remember TV a lot," he continues. "I do remember music from that time. I remember elementary school," he said finally.

ABC entertainment president Stephen McPherson kicks off his morning griling from a guy who identifies himself as being from a Sarasota, Fla., newspaper.

Guy's at the back of the room and a bunch of us turn around because 1) real TV critics generally don't identify themselves by publication at these things; and 2) the guy's voice sounded familiar.

But without my glasses, I didn't immediately recognize him as Jimmy Kimmel. (Hey, he looks thinner off TV -- what can I say?)

Anyway, his questions all had to do with the reports that ABC's courting Jay Leno for a late-night show after he leaves NBC's "Tonight Show" next year to make room for Conan O'Brien.

McPherson, of course, is noncommittal, using the stunt to plug Kimmel instead (and to tweak his counterparts at NBC, saying, "I can't believe they're going to let this guy go at the top of his game").

But Kimmel, like any good reporter, is persistent, finally asking: "Are you at all afraid that if you do replace Jimmy Kimmel, he might do something crazy to you and your car?"

Look for Kelly Park, who graduated from Philadelphia's Bodine HIgh School for International Affairs, to get the Carson Kressley treatment next week when  "How to Look Good Naked" (10 p.m. Tuesday, Lifetime) returns for a second season.

For those who haven't caught "Naked," which only sounds as if it ought to be on the Playboy Channel, it's yet another wrinkle on the cable makeover show, with "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy" veteran Kressley taking less-than-confident women and shining up their egos before a reveal that's far less salacious than the title might lead you to expect.

IT'S ALWAYS SUNNY IN PHILADELPHIA: Cast: Clockwise from Top Right: Glenn Howerton as Dennis, Charlie Day as Charlie, Danny DeVito as Frank, Kaitlin Olson as Sweet Dee and Rob McElhenney as Mac. CR: Jay Silverman / FX

"It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia" won't be back for its fourth season until Sept. 18, but FX president John Landgraf is already forecasting a sunny future for the show, saying there'll be 39 episodes beyond that.

In FX terms, that sounds like Seasons 5, 6 and 7.

Landgraf's a big believer in closed-end dramas -- he helped negotiate the seven-seasons-and-out deal for "The Shield," and just announced that "Nip/Tuck" would have a 2011 finale -- but sitcoms, which aren't so serialized, don't necessarily have to play by the same rules.

"Sunny," he said, could go on for as much as "200 episodes, because it's a comedy." It's a popular download on iTunes and as of last week, it's also the most popular show on Hulu, the Web distribution site Fox partly owns.

The executive producers of "Sunny," including creator Rob McElhenney, who's the one who's actually from Philadelphia, are about to start work on a pilot for Fox, "Boldly Going Nowhere," that should keep them busy, considering they also write and star in "Sunny."

See Wednesday's Daily News for my interview with McElhenney.

Fox News analyst Karl Rove may not want to testify under oath before Congress about stuff he did when he worked at the White House, but he's apparently willing to face the grilling of TV critics, some of whom are clearly frustrated that they can't lay a glove on the guy, who, as usual, appears to be the voice of sweet reason.

You may think he's Darth Vader, you may think he's the best thing to happen to America since 50-cent gasoline, but you can't say the guy's easily flustered. At least not by a group that usually saves its harshest treatment for the people who canceled "Veronica Mars" and "Arrested Development."

Here's a quick sampling of Rove's answers to questions Congress probably wouldn't even think to ask him:

-- On whether he's playing a role in John McCain's campaign: "I play no official role, no ongoing role, but, yes, I do get phone calls."

"I intend to stay married," he added. "If I was going to play a role in the presidential campaign...I'd be divorced."

-- On whether he believes Barack Obama is a Muslim: "No."

"I don't think it's particularly healthy for the right blogosphere to make this argument," he added, suggesting it could backfire against McCain.

-- On whether he believes Obama is "anti-American." "No." (Though he does think he's "liberal," and still disagrees with him about what wearing a flag pin does and doesn't mean.)

-- On whether he watches the Fox animated comedies, which often skewer him: He says he doesn't, but Fox News' Chris Wallace claims he recognized the character of Stewie from "Family Guy."

-- On whether he'd care if he did watch: "A lot of people beat up on me every day. I read the New York Times every day...Who cares?...I'm like Grendel in 'Beowulf.' People talk about me...and there's nothing I can do about it."

-- On what he thought of the hiring of Michael Brown as the director of FEMA (yes, someone actually asked that): "For that, you'll have to wait for my book, which will be available in the fall of 2009 for $29.95."

-- On his defiance last week of a congressional subpoena: "I have not asserted any personal privilege. This is a battle between the White House and Congress." He then referred reporters to a letter he'd sent to Dan Abrams, which is posted at MSNBC.com