Former ABC entertainment president Jamie Tarses, you may recall, told me recently that she was "very flattered" by Aaron Sorkin's writing -- and Amanda Peet's portrayal -- of a young, charismatic network chief in "Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip" who appears to be based on Tarses, with whom Sorkin worked on "Sports Night" at ABC.

She also mentioned that she'd seen some of the future scripts.

What she didn't mention was that she was paid to look.

Tarses is a consultant on the show, Sorkin said just now.

"She tells me that she likes [the show], but I pay her," he said.