Tonight, Tom Hanks will appear on the second episode of the new 'Conan.' Hanks is one of the all-time great talk show guests (and likely a favorite of hosts) because he doesn't do what most people do: simply plug their latest movie, TV show, CD or book.

Very few things on TV are more lame and uncomfortable than watching a talk show where the guest has very little to say and hasn't even planned anything to say or do in advance.

After the jump is my list of nine talk show guests you can count on to be funny, interesting, unpredictable -- and often all three. They're the talk show guests that are "must-see" for me.

1. Amy Sedaris. Not only is the lovely Miss Sedaris a great guest because she doesn't do a lot of TV interviews (unless she's promoting something, like her new book 'Simple Times: Crafts For Poor People'), she's the type of interviewee who doesn't just sit there and answer questions with a yes or no. She's very animated and funny and can pretty much talk to you about anything: her book, her movie, fashion, cooking, entertaining, her rabbit Dusty, the cheeseballs that she makes, and her imaginary boyfriend Ricky (now deceased).

She makes any talk show 90 percent more entertaining, but her appearances with David Letterman are especially must-see:





And heres Amy making cheeseballs with Martha Stewart:





2. Tina Fey. Those who know me might say that the only reason why I've listed Amy Sedaris at No. 1 and now Tina Fey at No. 2 is because I've been in love with both of them for years. That's completely untrue. I also think they're both really cute.

Fey has gone from head writer at 'Saturday Night Live' to a great on-screen comedienne (while continuing her great writing). Whenever she's on a talk show you know she's going to have a great story about '30 Rock' or a story about a ridiculous from her past or something funny/cute her husband or daughter did. Here she is on Letterman's show a few years ago:



3. Tom Hanks. Hanks seems like a truly nice guy, and he knows that his job on a talk show isn't just to plug his latest movie -- it's to say funny things and have a good story or two to tell, and he never disappoints. Here he is on 'The Late Show' (yes, Letterman again, but some of the great talk show moments really do happen on his show):



4. Penn & Teller. Hey, who doesn't like magic? These guys always bring the funny along with the wow factor, as we can see from this clip from 'Friday Night with Jonathan Ross.' (Bonus: Tom Jones!):


5. Brian Williams. Sure, Williams can go on a talk show and talk about current events, but he's also a really funny guy. He often pops up on 'Late Night with Jimmy Fallon' to slow-jam the news:



6. Betty White. Not only can White talk about the history of television -- she has been on the tube since the 1940s -- she's pretty much up for anything.



7. Martha Stewart. There's something automatically funny about a cooking segment on a talk show. They're usually a segment left for later in the show, when they might be running out of time, which can make for chuckle-inducing, chaotic TV.



8. Tracy Morgan. Remember that episode of '30 Rock' where Tracy Jordan goes on 'Late Night with Conan O'Brien and tries to stab Conan and then falls asleep? Not too different than Morgan's real-life talk show appearances:



9. Regis Philbin. Philbin is another guy who has been on television forever, and he knows how to be a talk show guest as well as a talk show host. And he's good at ranting!



Which talk show guests are a "must-see" for you?

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