THE LEFT LANE
'Friend' has designs on new cable show

Advertiser Staff and News Services

COURTENEY COX ARQUETTE

The show will follow people with contrasting tastes who are moving in together. Interior decorators will help the roommates blend their two styles into something both can live with. "When my husband (actor David Arquette) and I moved in together, it was quite a challenge blending my more refined sensibilities with his more outrageous tastes and vast collection of tchotchkes," says Arquette, who will serve as design consultant but not appear on camera.

CBS yanks 'Presidio,' 'Queens Supreme'

Oded Fehr, who stars as Dr. Nicholas Kokoris in "Presidio Med," may be out of a job because of the show's poor ratings. CBS

The two shows that are canceled or on hiatus: "Presidio Med," which generated little heat in both its original Wednesday spot or a brief tryout Fridays; and "Queens Supreme," a replacement show that aired on Fridays. Both shows have been taken off the schedule for the February sweeps, which begin later this week. The Wednesday spot will be filled by "48 Hours Investigates." Reruns of "CSI," "CSI: Miami" and "Without a Trace," and more "48 Hours" episodes, will rotate on Fridays.

Census reports ratios for singles

Attention, single ladies: Available men are out there. Really. The Census Bureau says so. According to its statistics, there are 119 single men (i.e., never married, widowed or divorced) who are in their 20s for every 100 single women in the same age range.

The bad news? (or not so bad, if you're a woman with an enthusiasm for boy toys): The ratio declines somewhat for unmarried adults 30 to 44 (107 men per 100 women), and it dramatically declines for 45- to 64-year-olds (72 single men for every 100 single women). For those 65 and older, the ratio drops even further, to 31 single men for every 100 single women. Here's to you, Mrs. Robinson.