It really appears as though our long national nightmare might be over. That is, the lamentable 2007-2008 television season is behind us and the 2008-2009 season is upon us.

One sign of this is the announcement of some bizarre-o casting news for a few shows — mostly ones I am not really interested in. However, the news is just odd enough to perk up my ears.

First up, Laurence Fishburn (seen here in more humbling days) is joining the cast of CSI. I suppose he hasn’t been doing anything incredibly earth-shaking over the past few years, but it still seems like he’s slumming it a little. Admittedly, CSI is an inexplicably enormous hit (the American populace loves figuring out how psychopaths murder and disfigure unwitting victims), but if Larry wanted to take some time off I figured he’d be the type to get a role on or off Broadway. That way, he keeps his actor street cred.

That said, he’s probably making a shit ton of money. So, Godspeed Laurence. Godspeed.

In other news, there’s Dave Foley from Kids in the Hall. He’ll be guest starring on an episode of Brothers and Sisters (or, as I like to call it, Gays and Old Ladies) as the love interest of an unnamed character. He’s dressed up like a woman enough on Kids in the Hall and played gay enough (KITH and Will & Grace) that it’s anyone’s guess who is going to be love interest-ing him.

Plus, you didn’t hear it from me, but he’s looking kind of old these days.  No more boyishness.  So, who knows?

Finally, Colin Hanks is going to be a priest on Mad Men.  And Sigourney Weaver is going to be Eli Stone’s therapist.

Get excited, everyone!

Sometimes 24-hour cable news chatter can get to the supreme level of awkward that it actually reverts back to charming. It doesn’t happen often, but sometimes when the decorum fades and the talking heads start acting like people it can become likable. (Note: This can never happen on FOX News. It’s just a fact.)

Case in point — a strange exchange between our beloved Anderson Cooper and Democratic strategist Donna Brazile where they discuss Hillary Clinton’s possibilities as a vice presidential candidate. Take a look:

This is a rather oddball exchange, especially if you believe what you hear about these two characters around the blogosphere.

One other aspect of this episode is CNN.com’s new and completely ridiculous feature where you can purchase t-shirts based on headlines. They used to have almost any random-ass headline for sale (plus, you could easily hack into the code and create your own shirt — a feature they’ve since caught on to), but now they’re only doing the silly human interest ones like “Lhasa apso moonlights as lounge singer” or “Six-year-old youngest superdelegate ever.” CNN apparently caught on to how precious this exchange was and made it a full-fledged story on their homepage. Here’s the corresponding shirt.

I recently came across a news item for The Bad Mother’s Handbook — a new ABC pilot. It has a really strong cast, but it’s weird, because they’re supposed to be three generations of women that a weirdly close together.

As is the case when I can’t really figure out what to say about something, let’s turn this into a game. I’ll list three actresses, you have to guess which one is actually the one who is cast.

Eldest generation: Megan Mullally, Maura Tierney, Gillian Anderson

Middle generation: Alicia Silverstone, Heather Graham, Sarah Michelle Gellar

Youngest generation: Mischa Barton, Alexis Bledel, Alia Shawkat

The answers are after the jump….

I just found half a roll of thin mints in my freezer!  Awesome!

• The Guardian examines the legacy of the Fisher family on Six Feet Under.
• When Dirty Sexy Money comes back, Juliet Darling won’t be there. Or, well, sort of.
• A movie of The Hills? Oy.
• Jeff Zucker has a dig for the striking writers.
• In a perfect storm of nerdery, Helo from Battlestar will be on the new Joss Whedon show.
• If you need to catch up on your Battlestar, Sci-Fi will have a marathon soon.
• Hipsters + Full House nostalgia X a lot of free time = this
• Here’s a preview of the second season of The Tudors:

Jezebel James is cancelled.

Already.

• Mary Ann from Gilligan’s Island arrested for pot
• E! Kristin has spoilers for How I Met Your Mother, Friday Night Lights, and more
• Will Arnett sex tape! (possibly NSFW)
• Financing secured for a Wire movie, but David Simon hasn’t signed on yet
• House feels snubbed by Britain
• Hulu.com, the collaboration with NBC and Fox to put shows online, goes live today
• Alicia Silverstone quits HIMYM, would rather be unemployed than work with Britney Spears
• Whole bunch of Buffy stuff on sale at this charity eBay auction

I need a good tweed jacket with patches.

• Here’s another article saying that the strike is almost over.
• NBC has picked up Kath and Kim without even seeing a pilot.
• Comedy Central is roasting Willie Nelson.
• HBO will stream the first 15 episodes of In Treatment for free.
• Big Brother is turning off the air conditioning so people will wear less clothes.  I can’t say this is really surprising.  Just creative.
• Here’s a new Ask Ausiello with info on the last episodes of Scrubs.
• Thomas Dekker thinks Hayden and Milo are creepy.
• On a new Lifetime show, 100 men will compete for a date with one woman.  Who is apparently awesome because she can shoot lasers out of her boobs.  Or something.

The world’s most delicious combination.

• The end of the strike is still tantalizingly close.
• Television Without Pity has a new Web TV show.
• E-Kristin has a Lost sneak peek.
• Human Giant is going on tour.
• The new Bachelor is British.
• Paris Hilton is going off the lesbian-o-meter these days, kissing Elisha Cuthbert and appearing on The L Word.
• Craig Ferguson will appear on the White House Correspondents Association dinner.
• Coming up: Mythbusters vs. MacGyver.