Science Guy to guest-star on CBS show 'NUMB3RS'

Science Guy to guest-staron CBS show 'NUMB3RS'
Back in April -- which was Mathematics Awareness Month -- Wired magazine featured an interview with Cheryl Heuton. Together with husband Nick Falacci, she created CBS' Friday-night crime drama "NUMB3RS," which stars David Krumholtz as Charlie Eppes, a mathematician who uses the wonder of numbers to help his FBI-agent brother, Don (Rob Morrow), solve crimes.
"One of the inspirations for this show," said Heuton to Wired, "was Bill Nye the Science Guy. He talks a lot about inspiring young people to study math and science. I used to be a journalist. I did a three-hour interview with him once and never forgot that."
Nye is a scientist and engineer (and former part-time comedian), whose "Bill Nye the Science Guy" show, which aired on PBS and in syndication, used humor and clever demonstrations to illustrate scientific principles.
Now he's returning the favor to Heuton and Falacci by appearing on "NUMB3RS," in an episode called "Scorched," airing Friday at 10 p.m.
While Don and his team track a serial arsonist, Charlie and his CalSci (the show's fictional version of CalTech) colleague Dr. Larry Fleinhardt (Peter MacNicol) turn to Professor Bill Waldie to recreate a backdraft in the university's combustion lab.
"It was such a stretch for me," says Nye of the character. "My character's name is Bill Waldie, but call me Bill, please. 'The chance to create the conditions of a backdraft, this is just way cool,' is what my character says."
And just in case you've seen the movie "Backdraft" and still aren't sure what one is, Nye explains: "It is a smoke explosion, where unburned fuel is carried in particles of smoke. When you add enough oxygen, and the situation is hot enough, the smoke burns. And, it being airborne, it gets a lot of oxygen very well, so it burns really fast and you get an explosion."
Dylan will host radio show
NEW YORK -- Bob Dylan will host a weekly music show on XM Satellite Radio, the first time the rock star has had his own radio show.
Dylan will select music for the hourlong show, which will debut in March on XM's deep album rock channel, the station announced Tuesday.
He'll also offer comments on music and other subjects, interview guests and answer e-mail from XM subscribers.
"Songs and music have always inspired me," the 64-year-old Dylan said in a statement. "A lot of my own songs have been played on the radio, but this is the first time I've ever been on the other side of the mic."
Mariah Carey will sing-inthe New Year on ABC
NEW YORK -- Mariah Carey will perform live from Times Square on ABC's "Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve."
It will mark the first time in the 34-year history of the year-end special that a singer has performed from Times Square, the network said.
Carey will join co-hosts Dick Clark and Ryan Seacrest as the final minutes of 2005 are counted down and the famed ball drop begins.
The 76-year-old Clark, long a New Year's Eve tradition, will be making his first television appearance since suffering a stroke last December.
Hilary Duff will host the West Coast portions of the show, introducing artists including The Bangles, Chris Brown, Sean Paul, The Pussycat Dolls, Sugarland, 3 Doors Down and 311. Duff will also perform.
Today's birthdays
Country singer Ernest Ashworth is 77. Actor-comedian Tim Conway is 72. Singer Cindy Birdsong (The Supremes) is 66. Rock musician Dave Clark (The Dave Clark Five) is 63. Rock musician Carmine Appice (Vanilla Fudge) is 59. Actor Don Johnson is 56. Movie director Alex Cox is 51. Actor Justin Ross is 51. Rock musician Paul Simonon (The Clash) is 50. Country singer Doug Phelps (Brother Phelps; Kentucky Headhunters) is 45. Movie director Reginald Hudlin is 44. Actress Helen Slater is 42. Actress Molly Price is 40. "Crowd-hyper" Kito Trawick (Ghostown DJs) is 28. Actor Adam Brody is 26. Actor George O. Gore II is 24.