SPOT: Edinburgh Fringe Festival -- It is that time of year when anyone worth their creative salt will be getting ready for the Edinburgh Fringe, taking place August 4 to 26. An essential location for any comedian or playwright wanting to make it on the circuit, the festival is just as essential for visitors who can hunt down their favourite performers or take pot luck with random acts. You could find yourself watching the next Steve Coogan. Or the next Les Dennis. It's risky, to be sure, but hey, that's part of the fun. Check out www.edfringe.com to book tickets. NM

WHO: Red Hot Chilli Peppers -- No, this is not just a lame pun. The spicily-named rock band have just released a brilliant new single, By The Way, which should see them safely back on TOTP at their bare-chested best. The Chillis have been going for almost 15 years now and have had several hits including such funk rock creations as Under The Bridge and Californication. By The Way, part ballad, part rocking tune, was released on Monday and gives a taster of the band's new album of the same name, which is out on Monday. NM

DVD: Scary Movie 2 -- You don't get any more post modern than making a rip-taking pastiche of a slew of films which in themselves were tongue-in-cheek parodies of the horror film genre. And you don't get more cheeky than following it up with a sequel. It shouldn't work but it seems to -- maybe because in the Scary Movies, the horror genre is turned on its head so that the most frightening things are often the gags themselves. If you are expecting to hide behind your sofa, you've probably missed the point. NM

TV: Paradise Heights -- This six-part drama series has more famous faces than you can poke a stick at. Three of these are the central characters -- Neil Morrissey, Bolton School educated Ralf Little and Charles Dale (the one that snogged Janice in Corrie) -- who play a trio of brothers in financial difficulties with their family-owned business. The diverse range of actors seems to be a deliberate attempt to transcend genre. Consequently, Morrissey does comic exaggeration as well as he ever did in Men Behaving Badly, while the more serious aspects are left to the harassed older brother, played by Dale. It hasn't got into its stride yet, but there is sure to be trouble in Paradise before very long. NM

And... what's niz?

I'M desperately hoping that the critics in the US are overly harsh because the first sceenings of Men In Black 2 have met with lukewarm reviews across the pond. Of course we won't find out for sure until the film is released here on Aug 2, but if rumour is to be believed, this follow-up lacks the fizz of the first film. MIB 2 sees Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones reunited to save the world -- again. But can the pair save the MIB reputation from one giant turkey? Let's hope so.