Another good episode. Fox may want to reconsider the cancellation. Nah. It's still not as good as it was during the Kimberly/Sydney era.

So Nurse Audrey's sexual harassment claim against Michael was an elaborate plot to scam money from the hospital. She would tell the hospital board that her lawsuit was bogus. Then Michael would sue the hospital for suspending him.

I'm trying to figure out when Michael devised his plan. Was it right after the hospital spelled out the harassment guidelines? Or was it when Peter went to Oakdale and made Michael pro tem chief of staff? Were those two events merely convenient coincidences that Michael exploited? I don't know...

Kyle disappeared after his dad called him a gelding. Poking around in his office, Amanda found a bag of his drugs. This time, the drugs looked like Tylenol gel caps. Then she saw the plans for their dream house and knew immediately that he would be there.

And there he was. Amanda arrived to find him torching the place and overacting. Rob Estes directed this episode so there was no one to tell him he stunk.

Anyway, Kyle finally told Amanda that he was sterile. Amanda said it didn't matter. It didn't matter to him that she said it didn't matter and he took off in his SUV.

The next morning, Ryan told Amanda that everyone was on the lookout for Kyle. Megan was watching for him at the apartments, Ryan was stationed at The Club... Good thing Los Angeles is a small city without too many places to hang out. Otherwise, Kyle would need more friends.

Michael watched as the board meeting broke up. Audrey was not there. He tracked her down in the nurses' locker room, where she was proudly displaying her Wonderbra again. She told him she wanted more money. She also wanted him.

Before he could respond, there was a knock on the door. Michael had locked it after he went in. Locking a door - what a novel idea. So Audrey told him to climb out the window. Good thing the locker room wasn't on a higher floor.

Lexi told Ryan that she has found Mr. Right. Unbeknownst to Ryan, it be him. Ryan asked when's the wedding. Lexi replied that she hadn't even had the first date with him yet. Um, they've already boinked. I think that qualifies as going beyond a first date.

Lexi agreed to stay at The Club to see if Kyle turns up. Ryan said he's going to hit the streets. Good thing there aren't too many streets in LA. He should find Kyle in no time. Just like when Kyle found Amanda's car after Peter had her kidnapped.

Amanda ran into Peter in the courtyard and asked if he had any wine in his apartment. She said she could really use some. What, did Kyle drink up all the booze in their place? No, it was just a ruse to get to talk to Peter alone.

She wanted to know why he didn't tell her about Kyle's sterility. Well, there's something called the Hippocratic oath and patient confidentiality. Peter would never do anything to violate the sanctity of his position as a physician. Except for the time he tried to kill Amanda on the operating table... And the time he killed his first wife, Beth... And the time he supplied Lexi with Valiums... Oh, never mind. He should have just told Amanda.

Ryan was able to track down Kyle at the basketball courts, where he was drunk and overacting. If Andrew Shue were directing, even he would have told Rob that he stunk.

Ryan was able to convince Kyle to go home. When he got home, he promised Amanda that he would stay off the drugs and alcohol. And I promise to stay off the net and alcohol.

Megan asked Lexi if she could go to Mexico to pitch the Passion Island account. Ryan was going to represent AWA and Megan wanted to go to represent Sterling Conway and to be with Ryan at the same time. Lexi had other thoughts and turned her down. Which led to the line of the week. Lexi said, "You go, he goes, spit gets swapped..." That's one of my favorite and oft used euphemisms for kissing. Hey, have they been reading my comments?!

While watching a basketball game, Kyle's cable went out. I hate when that happens. In fact, my cable went out during a commercial break not too long after this scene. Kyle freaked and rushed to the fridge where he grabbed a bottle of vodka and drank up. I, fortunately, already had a bottle in hand and didn't have to get up.

Disgusted that he broke his promise to Amanda, he smashed the bottle on the counter and cut his hand. I, beholden to no one, finished my beer and had another.

Peter treated Kyle's cut and checked him into a rehab center. Which might not be such a bad thing. Kyle could meet a lot of rock stars there and line them up to play at The Club. Amanda had fired Rikki G because he was a bad influence on Kyle.

Down in Mexico at the resort, the owner was talking to Ryan, Jane and Lexi about the upcoming pitch. After he left, Lexi said she was tired of kissing his butt. If she wants a fresh butt, mine is available.

Audrey made some new demands of Michael before she would tell pthe board that she was lying about the harassment charges. She wanted $300,000 and Michael to dump Jane for her. Michael had no choice but to agree to her terms. They started to screw when Audrey reached for a remote control and activated the dreaded teddy bear cam to tape their act.

The next morning, Audrey went and told Peter that she fabricated the whole story. So Peter went to Michael to offer him his job back. Michael said that it was not enough. His reputation was ruined. What reputation? It's a well known fact that he slept with Kimberly, with his sister-in-law and with practically anything that walks, crawls or slithers.

So he said he's going to sue the hospital. Like he's got a good case. The hospital had reason to believe that he violated their policy and acted in accordance. And with Michael's track record, who could blame them?

Rikki went to Amanda to demand money to go back to New York. Heated words were exchanged and he tried to rape her. Peter rushed to her aid and kicked the crap out of him. Good thing Eve didn't rescue her. She might have tossed Rikki from the bleachers and killed him like she did to Kent.

That's it for this week. Tune in next week when, now that it's the Year of the Rabbit on the Chinese lunar calender, Amanda reveals that the rabbit died and she's pregnant.

I have the spoiler for the episode, "They Shoot Blanks, Don't They," posted on my site.

Also new there is Soap Opera Digest's obituary for The Place. SOD also reported that Alexandra Paul of Baywatch fame will be making a guest appearance as a woman from Ryan's past. SOD then evaluated the Lexi/Ryan/Megan love triangle. And then they asked rena Sofer five questions in their "Take Five" column.

Check out Kelly Rutherford in Bikini Magazine. She's sporting one of the smallest bikinis I've ever seen.

Courtney Thorne-Smith was interviewed by Celebrity Style magazine. She didn't have much nice things to say about her time spent on the Place.

The Star printed a new picture from Alyssa Milano's wedding. They also ran an item about how Aaron Spelling would not allow his stars to change their hairstyles during the first year of their shows.

Kyle related his experience directing last night's episode to the LA Daily News. He also said he's looking forward to being a daddy.

And finally, the big news. The National Examiner gives us a sneak peek of The Place's finale. Find out what's going to happen to the gang after May.

Read 'em all at http://www.geocities.com/Hollywood/4616/.

'Til next week...