Unless the nation's critics are wrong, Simon Baker's upcoming CBS "The Mentalist" series will be the runaway hit of the fall season.

The Aussie actor is obviously pleased by the reaction to the show in which he stars as a brilliant cop who passes as a mentalist — and relieved that he has been able to put in safeguards to protect himself from the exhaustion he felt during his days on "The Guardian."

Referring to the CBS series in which he played a brooding, trouble-plagued lawyer from 2001 to 2004, when he was relatively new to Hollywood, Simon says, "I was a babe in the woods then when it came to doing series television.

"Now that I more fully understand how things work, I've made sure I'm taken care of with a schedule that's a bit better. Also, there's a lot of physical stuff that will define my character, and I'm grateful the producers have been terribly supportive of my creative ideas."

He wants us to know, "I like feeling I'm working hard, and love being on a set," but reveals, "I was left so burned out by the time 'The Guardian' ended I was reluctant to carry a series again."

He did bounce back with "Smith" in 2006. But that series featured an ensemble cast that included Ray Liotta and Virginia Madsen, and was, he says, "like a lark to me. The weight of the show was not on my shoulders. It was like a part-time job for me."

The charmer says of his new role, "This character is more fun, has more dimensions. I like the idea he admits he's a phony. It's pretty much the anti-psychic show — with no powers at all. And I like the fact it's got a bit of a wink to it."

THE VIDEOLAND VIEW: "It gets real dark for her," says "Private Practice" regular Audra McDonald of her character's upcoming journey in the second season of the ABC drama returning Sept. 28.

"She gets pretty low," says the four-time Tony Award winner, who plays fertility specialist Dr. Naomi Bennett on the "Grey's Anatomy" spin-off. "Naomi heads all the way down to the basement, but then she comes around and starts to work back up." Fans of the show know a love triangle was developing between McDonald's character, her ex-husband, Dr. Sam Bennett (Taye Diggs) and Dell Parker (Chris Lowell). But what precipitates her fall into the abyss she says are "secrets she's been hiding from the rest of the practice. They come to light, and as a result she suffers. I can't say more without getting into trouble."

McDonald — who reprised her stage role in ABC's recently Emmy-nominated "A Raisin in the Sun" adaptation of the award-winning play — says she's not sure how long Miss Naomi will be suffering. "We're on episode number five right now. We're like bam, bam, bam … just knocking them out. But it's been great. We've had a lot of great, meaty stuff to chew on. And we have a lot of fun, too."

THE VIDEOLAND TRACK: Vincent Martella, Mitchel Musso, Alyson Stoner and Ashley Tisdale all on one album? OK, it will be as their cartoon characters, but "Phineas & Ferb" producers Dan Povenmire and Jeff "Swampy "Marsh report their Emmy-nominated song, "I Ain't Got No Rhythm," from the animated Disney Channel hit, will be making its way to a record store near you soon.

"They're talking about a soundtrack album next year as soon as the first season is over," says Povenmire, who co-writes the songs with his partner, Marsh, for the show that's been picked up for 39 more segments. "We write a song for every episode, and we've now written about 80 songs, I think. It's like this potpourri of weird, different songs — some of them are pop, some like rock and roll. We did a Gaelic folk tune … Vincent Martella sang on the song that was nominated."

Povenmire and Marsh — former musicians who've worked together in animation since meeting on "The Simpsons" 20 years ago — also "sing on a few songs. We both do voices on the show, too." The Emmy nomination is a vindication of sorts, says Marsh, recalling their decision to include original music in the show was met with "trepidation. They'd been very standoffish about us writing, but we worked on 'High School Musical.' We know music. When we showed them the first song, this rock tune that Phineas and Ferb wrote when they became rock stars, they were like 'Can you write a song for every episode? And we said, 'Yes, we can.'"

YES, BUT CAN SHE SING?: L.A. music producer Cisco Adler, who is also currently performing with up-and-coming artist Shwayze, tells us he recently started his own music label, Banana Beat Records. His first priority is turning a top model into a top recording artist. "Lisa D'Amato is my first artist on Banana Beat," Adler tells us of the model, who appeared in the fifth cycle of "America's Next Top Model." "She's dope. She's like electro/rap." When asked if she's got what it takes to be a respected musician, he says, "To me she has. Now we've got to prove it to the world."

With reports by Stephanie DuBois and Emily Feimster.

To find out more about Marilyn Beck and Stacy Jenel Smith and read their past columns, visit the Creators Syndicate Web page at www.creators.com.

COPYRIGHT 2008 MARILYN BECK AND STACY JENEL SMITH

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