Greta Van Susteren Answers Criticism About Natalee Holloway Shows

Greta Van Susteren doesn't mince words when it comes to answering complaints about sensational and provocative fare making it into the mix of news and politics on her "On the Record" show -- such as a story about a judge who used a sex toy while on the bench, or the show's ongoing attention to the story of coed Natalee Holloway, who disappeared in Aruba more than a year ago.

Greta Van Susteren Answers Critics (Image: Fox)

"They should take out the remote control if they don't like it," says the attorney-cum-broadcasting star with characteristic directness.
 
"On Natalee Holloway, we worked hard and fast in the beginning and we had all the sources and contacts -- and being aggressive enables us to get the jump on other people."
 
Says Van Susteren, "on a serious note, the challenge on our show is that we're last in prime (time), so we try to cover every story differently from the other shows."
 
Van Susteren tells us that although she may have a new set of things that drives her nuts, she has no intention of penning a follow-up to her 2003 book, "My Turn at the Bully Pulpit: Straight Talk About the Things That Drive Me Nuts."
 
"I loved the experience of writing it, but I hated the experience of selling it," she explains. "I hate talking about myself. You don't see many profiles out there about me, because I hate it."
 
However, she's happy to point out, her blog on Foxnews.com -- GretaWire -- gives her a way to write and communicate with viewers without having to go on the promotional trail. "It's fun, there's no formula for it, you can have a little humor, answer e-mails. I spend about two hours a day doing that," she says. "I do it while I'm doing the show, during the commercial breaks. I'm tied down to a microphone, so I'm not going anywhere anyway."
 
THE SMALL-SCREEN SCENE:

"I had to fight very, very hard for it," says Jonathan Silverman of his role in ABC's upcoming mid-season show, "In Case of Emergency," with David Arquette, Greg Germann and Kelly Hu. "I was the first actor to meet on it and there were about six weeks of very intense negotiations and auditioning, then David and Greg and Kelly jumped on." Silverman says he was not taking no for an answer. "Every pilot season there are hundreds of scripts, but this one my managers and agents sent me immediately, months before the whole process began, and I fell in love with it. I said 'this is it.'"
 
Silverman -- on a high personally, as well as professionally, with his engagement to "Close to Home" actress Jennifer Finnigan -- says "In Case of Emergency" is "a very funny and sad look at life when it doesn't quite work out as it's supposed to. It focuses on the four of us who had all gone to high school together. We were all destined for great things, and now 20 years, later our lives are not very great at all but we still have to somehow go on living. A few of us are now going through nasty divorces, one of us is about to be indicted for a rather horrible, heinous crime, and the one who was the valedictorian in high school is now a prostitute. It's good stuff." He adds the pilot, which was directed by Jon Favreau, has been testing through the roof, and the initial six-episode commitment from the network has been extended to 13. "In about three weeks we're going to start cranking out the other 12 episodes. It's been a wonderful experience."
 
MAYBE MABE:

With the cancellation of ABC Family's "Beautiful People," star Ricky Mabe says he plans on now pursuing comedy. "I've been doing stand-up comedy for the last two years. Meeting stand-up comics and seeing how they do it has been an amazing experience," he tells us. "I like comedy because you get feedback right away if you're doing a good job. Doing a drama, you have to wait till it airs to hear the good news or bad news." Despite not knowing what his future holds, Mabe says, "ultimately 20 years from now, my goal is to have my own late-night talk show -- like a 'Conan O'Brien'-type show -- or one day, hopefully, make it onto 'Saturday Night Live.'"
 
AND HE SAID:

Celebrity chef Wolfgang Puck says he could have never guessed he'd be so famous for cooking, but he hopes to use his name and resources to help others. "I don't think I ever imagined that I would have 15 or 16 restaurants, but I always imagined that I would have one or two," admits Puck. "What I would really like to accomplish now is to teach young children about nutrition and how to eat better through television, books or whatever it will take."