Heather Locklear To Rescue Melrose Remake From Ruinous Ratings

Heather Locklear is returning to the Hollywood apartment complex that made her famous, with The CW confirming scheming Amanda Woodward will appear in upcoming episodes of "Melrose Place."

"We're ecstatic to have the chance to bring Amanda Woodward back to Melrose Place," exec producers Todd Slavkin & Darren Swimmer said in a statement (presumably in unison). "Heather's involvement in the show is something we've been working on for some time as we couldn't imagine creating and producing this show without the iconic character's inclusion."

What they left out of the statement is how this inclusion was bred of mutual desperation. Locklear's last starring role on a TV series was 2004's "LAX," which disappeared after 11 episodes, and has lately been appearing in sappy made-for-TV chick flicks such as "Flirty With Forty" and "Women of a Certain Age." At this point, "Melrose Place" is probably her last shot at network television.

Meanwhile, "Melrose Place" has only aired twice, but is so far this season's most disappointing new show, with miniscule ratings that get smaller each week. A dose of Locklear would certainly bump up the Nielsens. She'll be appearing in the November 17 episode, assuming the show isn't cancelled by then.