TV critics and reporters waiting for a glimpse of the CW’s highly anticipated “90210″ redux are going to have to wait a bit longer.

In a move already upsetting crix — who are used to viewing heavily hyped scripted skeins beforehand — the CW has decided not to send DVDs of the show out before its Sept. 2 launch.

“The CW and our studio partner CBS Paramount Network Television have made the strategic marketing decision not to screen ‘90210′ for any media in advance of its premiere,” the network and studio said in a statement. “We’re not hiding anything … simply keeping a lid on ‘90210′ until 9.02, riding the curiosity and anticipation into premiere night, and letting all our constituents see it at the same time.”

But the CW and CBS Par’s insistence that they’re “not hiding anything” has led to critic speculation that, well, they’re doing exactly that.

“By refusing to send screeners of the ‘90210′ premiere to critics, the CW has aroused deep suspicions,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch critic Gail Pennington wrote on her website, under the headline, “How much does the new ‘90210′ suck?”

The CW and CBS Par are apparently taking a page from the movie marketing handbook, where features that aren’t destined to be adored by critics are frequently not screened for press before release.

“90210″ is already generating a zip code’s worth of interest (thanks in part to the who’s-returning-and-who’s-not-from-the-original-cast speculation) without any reviews; the network and studio probably feel as if reviews would only hurt that stream of press and publicity.

Move also comes as crix and TV reporters continue to voice frustration over a lack of fall pilot screeners so far from most of the nets. The CW, meanwhile, does plan to send out tapes of its other new show, “Privileged,” within the next 10 days.

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The Fox TV Stations group will roll out yakker “The Wendy Williams Show” nationally in mid-2009 after a successful trial run on outlets in New York, Los Angeles, Dallas and Detroit.

The daily syndie one-hour, produced and distributed by Debmar-Mercury, is hosted by the eponymous New York radio personality. Distribution on the Fox stations yields clearance levels of about 37% for Debmar-Mercury.

Premiering July 15 on the four selected Fox stations, “Wendy Williams” boosted key time period ratings significantly over comparable May sweeps performances. Average viewership was up 80% in the target demo of women 25-54, for example, and 200% among femmes 18-34.

Fox stations have used the trial rollout strategy numerous times in the past, primarily with programming distributed by sibling Twentieth Television. Ordering 30 episodes of “Wendy Williams” and airing it on a cross-section of stations allowed the group to test the waters on an expensive national launch before committing millions of dollars on a 52-week order.

Broadcast live from New York, skein features Williams’ commentary on celebrity gossip and news events, interviews, and fashion and advice segments.

Rob Dauber (”The Oprah Winfrey Show,” “The Rosie O’Donnell Show”) is the executive producer.

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HIS divorce woes don’t seem to be keeping Alex Rodriguez from playing the field. The Yankee star was spotted in two cities squiring two different cuties last week - including one who’s a younger version of his estranged wife, Cynthia.

A-Rod stepped out with a mystery blonde last Wednesday night, starting with a cozy dinner at Dan Marino’s in South Beach (photo, facing page.) The duo showed up around 9 and shared a “fairly animated” dinner conversation, spies told Page Six. “They looked to be thoroughly enjoying themselves,” said one source.

So much so that the ballplayer and his date left the eatery and walked to nearby nightspot Bougainvillea. There, they sat at a secluded outside table that was shielded from prying eyes by some well-placed shrubbery.

As they got up to leave around 1 a.m., the duo seemed surprised to be greeted by a photographer’s flash. “Up until that point, I don’t think they thought anyone had noticed them,” said a witness.

Once spotted, the gallant A-Rod ran across the street, “trying to make out like he wasn’t with her,” said the source. Realizing that witnesses weren’t buying the ploy, Rodriguez said, “This is nothing. She’s an old friend of mine. Leave us alone.” They then got into his Mercedes and sped off into the Miami night.

Back in New York on Sunday night, Rodriguez hit the roof of Soho House with a tall Asian beauty with “good hair,” sources report. And this time, instead of trying to pretend he wasn’t with a woman, A-Rod - decked out in jeans, a white T-shirt and black patent-leather Nikes - was “out-of-his-way nice” to the staff. “He seemed in great spirits,” said one spy.

Just after 11 p.m., his date made her way downstairs, with A-Rod following a few minutes behind her. Then they jumped into a hybrid SUV cab and took off.

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Back in May, weeks after they were introduced by Sheryl Crow, we reported the crooner - a notorious horndog who wrote “Your Body Is a Wonderland” for Jennifer Love Hewitt - was at 1Oak with Adam Levine and “all over some blonde.” Last month, we noted how press-loving Mayer staged a photo op in front of his SoHo apartment. Now Aniston is furious that Mayer spouted off about their split to paparazzi outside the Equinox gym nearby. “There’s no lying, there’s no cheating,” Mayer told the shutterbugs. “I ended a relationship to be alone, because I don’t want to waste somebody’s time if something’s not right.” In a pretense at seeming gallant, he blabbed, “Jennifer Aniston is the smartest, most sophisticated person I think I’ve ever met.” A friend of Aniston snarled, “What a creep! He is the biggest jerk ever. How dare he set up a p.r. stunt like that? He should be ashamed of himself and just shut his mouth.”

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It looks like there’s more to Paris Hilton these days - literally. The hotel heiress used to brag about her A-cups, once posing topless in Vanity Fair and then showcasing her flat chest in the porno she made with Rick Salomon. So Hilton observers are wondering what’s up with her recently ballooning bosom. Detractors snipe she has implants. “Paris has never had plastic surgery,” said Hilton’s rep, who attributed her new lushness to “a prototype from her Paris Hilton ‘push-up’ bra line.”

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DANNY Glover’s movie project with Venezuelan strongman Hugo Chavez never got off the ground - and it’s because of Hollywood’s racism, Glover whines. Marxist Chavez was smart enough to offer just half the financing for the film, $18 million. Glover was supposed to get the other $18 million from a distributor, but no one in Hollywood was interested in a preachy film about Haitian independence hero Toussaint L’Ouverture. Glover told a Paris film seminar: “Producers said, It’s a nice project, a great project . . . where are the white heroes?’ ” The Pan-African Newswire also quoted the “Lethal Weapon” star saying, “I couldn’t get the money here. I couldn’t get the money in Britain. I went to everybody . . . The first question you get is, ‘Is it a black film?’ All of them agree, ‘It’s not going to do good in Europe, it’s not going to do good in Japan.’ Somebody has to prove that to be a lie.”

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Poor Jennifer Lopez. The new mom is training for a triathlon, but everyone is too busy watching the Olympics to notice.

Lopez, who appeared on “Good Morning America” Aug. 18 to discuss her preparations for the Malibu Triathlon, was overheard saying after the segment that she “couldn’t understand why everyone is talking about that swimmer,” according to a GMA source. “She couldn’t come up with (eight-time gold-medal winner Michael) Phelps’ name, and then she yammered on about how she was the one training for a triathlon just six months after giving birth, and how that was the big story right now, not ‘the swimmer.’ ”

Lopez is planning on donating money raised for her race to the Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles. To help drum up attention, she started a blog to share tips on training. “Touch up makeup prior to your run” hasn’t made its way into any posts, despite Lopez being spotted arriving in Central Park with her makeup artist later in the day.

“Apparently, Jenny from the Block requires a lot of powder,” says the source.

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Michael Phelps has made all the headlines in the pool after going one better than Mark Spitz’s record, now his girlfriend looks just as likely to be thrust into the spotlight.

She previously had to wrest her man from the pool, but now there is a magnitude of gold to wade through before she can get to her man.

Two girls have recently been linked with Beijing’s eight-time gold medalist: US swimmer Amanda Beard and British model Lily Donaldson.

Beard held the Olympic record for women’s 200 metres breaststroke after her win in Athens, but failed to reach the final in Beijing.

She recently posed nude for an anti-fur ad campaign by using the Olympics for maximum exposure. Like US tennis player Ashley Harkleroad, Beard has also posed nude for Playboy.

21-year-old Donaldson is the surprise of the two candidates. She is regarded as one of the top models in the world, while she replaced Kate Moss as one of the faces of Burberry.

However, Phelps, has always played down his private life. Before the 2004 Games, the 23-year-old said: “I haven’t got a girlfriend and I can’t do the kind of things all my friends are doing as college students.

“I swim, listen to hip hop and work on my car. But, in my opinion, that’s still a pretty good life. I don’t know whether I’d want to trade it for anything.”

Now that he has overhauled Spitz he has no reason to trade, although Beard and Donaldson might have differing opinions.

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