Aidan Quinn

It was the calm before the storm.

The party at The Bazaar in Beverly Hills was just getting started when I stepped onto a near-empty patio and found Aidan Quinn sitting blissfully by himself with a cigar.

"What are the chances it will stay this nice and quiet?" I asked him as I took a seat next to him.

"Slim to none," said the good-natured actor who is appearing in the new NBC series,"Prime Suspect." Quinn talked about his last TV project, the controversial "Book of Daniel," making "Legends of the Fall" and the incredibly tough life of a theatre actor.

I also got the chance to catch up with Minnesota-raised Peter Krause who was with his girlfriend and co-star Lauren Graham.He talked about the two of them spending time in Brainerd this summer, teaching his son how to water ski and why "Parenthood" was ignored by Emmy voters. You can see our video together here: http://youtu.be/q-kmg0dXVDs

Peter and I tried to get Lauren to join us, but she opted instead for the food buffet. I did strike up conversations with Oscar Nunez and Brian Baumgarnter of "The Office" and one of the "Real Housewives of Beverly Hills" (sorry, don't know which one) who was incredibly flirtatious until this exchange:

Me: "Why in the world would you want your personal life on television?"

Her: "So I would have a platform."

Me: "Platform? For what?"

Her: "My fight against domestic abuse."

Me: "Really? I don't understand."

Her: "I want to go now."

And she did.

To cap the evening, some NBC publicists invited two or three of us, including my pal Bill Carter of the New York Times, to the Polo Lounge in the Beverly Hills Hotel for caviar and champagne. Last time I was at the Polo Lounge, I closed the bar with former KARE anchor Paul Magers and ran into Suge Knight.

We also closed the bar this time, but not before Bill and I said hi to "SNL" creator Lorne Michaels who was sitting at a nearby table..