TV Guide Online: Was being in the house harder than you expected?
Marvin Latimer: Hell, yes! It was like dying and going to hell, and being there with the most crazy people on the planet. I never thought it would be that tough.

TVGO: Was there ever a moment when you wanted to call it quits?
Marvin: Every day. But you gotta regain your focus and remember you are playing for $500,000. Everybody wanted to quit.

TVGO: You were a pretty powerful player — you even won Head of Household twice. Do you think you were perceived as a threat?
Marvin: Hell, yes. That's why I'm talking to you now. When you do it two times and win America's choice [to play a role on The Young and the Restless], people see a threat.

TVGO: Do you think you could have done anything differently that would have helped you win?
Marvin: Yes — kill or maim the other five people in the house. Seriously, the numbers were against me without an alliance.

TVGO: Why did you mostly avoid forming alliances?
Marvin: I played the numbers game and tried to play the least powerful player in two different alliances: the Santa Monica Van Boys and the gay mafia. I figured each alliance would pick off the most powerful member from [the other] alliance and leave me standing in the final four.

TVGO: Would you use that strategy again if you had the chance?
Marvin: Yes, I would. My problem came in because I didn't kiss ass like Karen, Cowboy and Drew!

TVGO: Will it be awkward to be in the jury house with Adria after you exchanged such harsh words as she was leaving?
Marvin: It will be hard for her but not for me. I could give a damn if Adria comes or goes. I'm cool about it, but if she got some mouth, I've got twice as much.

TVGO: Speaking of Adria, what did you think of this season's "Project DNA" twists?
Marvin: It shocked me. No one saw it coming. No one thought that Adria had a twin.

TVGO: You always seemed like the life of the party. How did you keep your spirits up?
Marvin: That was tough. I had to talk to these people about 16 or 17 hours per day, so I just made fun of their crazy asses.

TVGO: Do you really not like anyone in the house, or was that just an act?
Marvin: Lori... she was hot. I really did have feelings for Diane, but she is a bitch. Jase is probably a good guy out of the house, and I'd like to hang with him and Scott again. The rest of them, if I [never] see them again, that still would be too soon.

TVGO: Can you describe how it felt to get out of the house to be on Y&R?
Marvin: It was the best day of my life. To get out felt like a dream. You are in shock, and to meet the soap stars who act on the show was the bomb!

TVGO: Do you think it could turn into a recurring role?
Marvin: It was talked about me coming back. If the fans want it, maybe.

TVGO: Of all your housemates, who has the most annoying habits?
Marvin: Karen talking about her husband. Cowboy talking about [his fiancée] April. Jase in the mirror. Diane popping zits.

TVGO: Do you think Drew and Diane's relationship can survive this game?
Marvin: No, because Drew is playing her for the game but she is toooo damn dumb to see it, and he is a pansy.

TVGO: Did you have any embarrassing moments you wish you could take back?
Marvin: No... well, the last time I won HOH... stripped down to my underwear and jumped in the pool on the live show. Not sure if my mom is happy about that.

TVGO: What luxury did you miss most from the outside world?
Marvin: Hardcore hip-hop music, black culture, strip clubs and strippers.

TVGO: Would you ever do anything like this again?
Marvin: Never, never, never. Well... maybe for $100,000 per week. Tell CBS to give me my own show!

When NBC's Las Vegas left off last season, Ed (James Caan) looked worried as Danny McCoy (Josh Duhamel) was recalled to the Marine Corps for a mysterious intelligence mission. Just before leaving Sin City, Dan the Man finally made love to his childhood best friend, Mary (Nikki Cox). (Jackpot!) But will the dapper Duhamel be MIA when Season 2 begins tonight at 9 pm/ET?

"We've had so many fans asking if Josh Duhamel is leaving the show," says creator Gary Scott Thompson. "No, he's not! Danny is back in Vegas in the season opener. He will have completed his mission off screen over the summer."

It's not that simple, though. Danny will struggle with post-traumatic stress. "Much like real soldiers returning from Afghanistan after watching their buddies get killed," Thompson says, "it's going to be a difficult adjustment back to normal life." On the (kinda) bright side, Ed and Danny "will be more simpatico" now that they share psychological battle scars. "A lot of people who've gone to war," he notes, "come back with some regrets about what they did."

In other season-opener scoop, look for Michael and David DeLuise (yeah, Dom's sons) to guest-star as dim-witted Montecito Casino guests. "We'll also have the funeral home directors' convention in town," Thompson enthuses. "It's very colorful and crazy. Strippers in coffins! What can I say?"

As for the rest of this season, Jon Lovitz is back in the second episode as Fred Puterbaugh, the would-be roof-jumper who won $6 million gambling, and Cheryl Ladd returns as Ed's sexy wife, Jillian. The younger cast members also have a fun story line coming up. "The four girls and the two young guys will pool their money in a fun partnership to make some money quick," Thompson says. "It will go awry, of course. And no, it's not a Nevada bordello."

TV Guide Online: How will The Insider be different than, say, the 78 other ET clones on the air?
Pat O'Brien: A four-letter word: Time. We'll have more time to do things. Entertainment Tonight will be the record of the day and we'll be able to fill in a lot of blanks.

TVGO: Conventional wisdom says that viewers' attention spans are decreasing, though.
O'Brien: But their appetite for celebrity news is not. I wouldn't be here if I didn't think it would work.

TVGO: What's the big "get" of the moment?
O'Brien: Everyone wants Mary-Kate and Ashley. And at the end of the day, we'll get them.

TVGO: How long until you call on your good friend Michael J. Fox for an exclusive sit-down?
O'Brien: [Laughs] That's a great f---ing question. [Pause] I'm flying to New York tonight [to interview him].

TVGO: Seriously?
O'Brien: Yes.

TVGO: Are you gonna hold it for sweeps?
O'Brien: [Laughs] No. Michael and I always like to do stuff together. Somehow, it always seems to time out [around sweeps], but it's not intentional. The timing [is good] right now because of the stem-cell stuff from the Republican Convention. It's not like we're pulling him out [for the premiere].

TVGO: Where do things stand between you, NBC and Access?
O'Brien: The lawsuit with NBC is completely over with. It was over with as soon as the judge figured out it was ridiculous to be suing me when I was doing 126 hours of live Olympics for NBC. It's all behind us. We're moving forward.

TVGO: And your relationship with the folks at Access?
O'Brien: Well, it's not what it was, because I think a lot of them took it personally that I left. It isn't Christmas Eve over there with them. But they're all my friends and they're still a part of a family that I cherish.

TVGO: So, set the record straight for me. Was it your decision to leave or did they drop you for Billy Bush?
O'Brien: I was not squeezed out. As Conan O'Brien said, "The Saudis did not replace me with a Bush." I left on my own.

TVGO: Why?
O'Brien: It was time to change.

TVGO: How exactly did the New York Post get ahold of that rather nasty e-mail you sent to Access colleague Shaun Robinson before you left? (Excerpt: "It must be sad for you to realize that you are literally hated by most.")
O'Brien: Well, I certainly didn't leak it there. It was a pretty strong e-mail. It's how I felt. You'll have to ask the people over at Access Hollywood that. Ask Shaun. I sent it to her and nobody else. It had to leave her computer somehow.

TVGO: What was going through your mind when you saw it in the Post?
O'Brien: Well, I was a little surprised that anybody would want that out about her. But I'm over it. It was my mistake. I shouldn't have done it. I should have thought before I pushed send.

TVGO: What do you think about Mark McGrath joining Extra?
O'Brien: Well, I was [surprised] to see the promo that said, "Mark McGrath has all the connections in Hollywood and is the ultimate insider." I thought he was a rock musician. But Mark is a friend of mine and I welcome the competition. As John Kerry says, "Bring 'em on!"