The Nation’s Flu Shot Shortage Turns NBC’s New Sitcom Into Reality TV

NBC execs must have been squirming when their comedy series, “Joey,” was overtaken by real-life events -- specifically, the flu vaccine shortage.

The plot of Thursday night’s episode had struggling actor Joey (Matt LeBlanc) learn that a stage role he had been understudying had just been given to him because the original actor had the flu.

“Get a flu shot,” Joey’s sister advises him.

Then it develops that Joey had secretly been understudying two other roles, and the lead actors in both of those plays also come down with the flu, meaning he is in three productions at once.

Shouts Joey, “Flu, you are killing me!” I’m sure it sounded funnier when it was written.

Attention, shoppers: Today’s specials (see accompanying) include a loaner human (submitted by Brett Kiesel) and a pharmacist who, in the words of Betty Birney of Studio City, “seems to have chosen the perfect profession, according to his last name. But, on the next line, he’s ready to nix the whole thing, which has me a bit confused.”

Freeway DogAlert? Elaine Schmidt of UCLA Health Sciences Media Relations noticed that one media-monitoring service had the “Today in L.A.” news show serving up an item of interest to pet owners (see accompanying).

Great moments in politics: It was a bit more than 12 years ago that a local racetrack posted a series of humorous billboards, including one that poked fun at the political party that was out of power (see photo).

And guess what happened: The Democrats and Bill Clinton won in November.

Of course, the Republicans didn’t do badly in that horse race -- if you bet on them to win, place or show. So far the track hasn’t taken a position on this election.

Gasoline roulette: Referring to how gasoline prices seem to change almost hourly, Robin Zeavin wrote: “Like many people, I have gone to dinner and found the prices changed over dessert, gone to the grocery store and found them changed while I was in the checkout line.

“But the best was one day in Acton when I pulled up to an Arco station, started gassing up the car, and the clerk came out with her pile of numbers and raised the price 5 cents before the tank was full!”

miscelLAny: Don’t know if you’ve heard, but officials at Cal State Hayward up north want to change the school’s name to Cal State East Bay, Hayward being either too obscure or too drab for their taste.

A trend could be developing in the Cal State system.

When Camarillo was chosen for another branch a couple of years ago, the school was named Cal State Channel Islands, even though the campus is not on one of those rocky little islands.

What’s next? Cal State Long Beach becoming Cal State Queen Mary? Cal State Fullerton becoming Cal State Disneyland?

Steve Harvey can be reached at (800) LATimes, Ext. 77083, by fax at (213)237-4712, by mail at Metro, L.A. Times, 202 W. 1st St., L.A. 90012, and by e-mail at steve.harvey@latimes.com.