Bergen is back in weekly show

Candice Bergen, who won a boatload of Emmys during her run as "Murphy Brown," is returning to network television. She's joining the cast of "Boston Legal," playing one of the founding partners of Crane, Poole & Schmidt.

She'll appear in at least six episodes, with the possibility of more.

According to ABC, her character, Shirley Schmidt, is "coaxed back to the firm to help bring order to the chaotic office." Described as a "firebrand," she's going to lock horns with Alan Shore (James Spader) and Denny Crane (William Shatner), with whom "she has a checkered past."

Oooh, can't you just imagine Bergen and Shatner facing off?

I love Bergen. And, while I had huge doubts about "Boston Legal," the show has been growing on me.

I'd given up on "The Practice" the past couple of years, catching only an occasional episode. But I find myself watching (or TiVoing) "Boston Legal" every week.

And I can't wait until Bergen makes her first appearance in an episode scheduled to air on Sunday, Jan. 9. The title of the episode — "Schmidt happens."

LUCY MEETS JOEY: Another familiar face is returning to series television, but this news is considerably less exciting.

Lucy Liu, who used to co-star on "Ally McBeal" before becoming one of "Charlie's Angels" on the big screen, has signed on for "at least" two episodes of the NBC sitcom "Joey." She'll play the controlling, witchy executive producer of the fictional prime-time soap that Joey (Matt LeBlanc) was recently cast on.

It will be a reunion of sorts for LeBlanc and Liu; he had a small role as her character's boyfriend in both "Angels"

I'm not convinced that this is what "Joey" needs, but it certainly needs something. After a promising start, "Joey" has been languishing. There's still plenty of potential there, but it has yet to be realized.

And, unlike that little series LeBlanc and Joey used to be on — a little thing called "Friends" — "Joey" has been getting trounced in the ratings by CBS's "Survivor."

PEACOCK RETOOLS: In the category of oh-how-the-mighty-have-fallen, we have NBC, whose ratings have pretty much collapsed this season. Not only did the Peacock lose badly to CBS in both total viewers and households during the November sweeps, but in the all-important 18-49 viewers.

But, we're told, help is on the way. That remains to be seen, but here are the changes NBC is making: