The other day when it was announced that Scott Caan would be Danno on 'Hawaii Five-O,' it struck me that this new revamped version of the CBS crime drama was going to be fast-tracked for the fall. It just seems like 'Hawaii Five-O' is this pilot season's 'NCIS: Los Angeles' -- a veritable sure thing.

It's even more of a mortal lock today with this addition to the cast: Jean Smart will be joining 'Hawaii Five-O' as Hawaii Governor Pat Jameson. She will be the one person to whom Steve McGarrett has to answer. This is a direct link back to the original series, in which Jack Lord as McGarrett reported to the Governor, then played by Richard Denning.

Just in time for the release of her new movie 'Date Night,' watch for Emmy-winner and '30 Rock' star Tina Fey to return to 'Saturday Night Live' to reprise her Sarah Palin impersonation. Tina told the AP that she expects to be back on 'Saturday Night Live,' but hedged her betchas about doing former Governor Sarah Palin again, saying, "It's inevitable that we'll try it, at least. We'll see if it makes it to air."

Actually, this is the perfect time to bring out the Palin material again, only now Sarah has given Tina Fey and the writers a lot more with which to work. Since the last time Fey did Palin on 'SNL,' Sarah resigned from her elected office as Alaska's governor (for the good of the people since she felt she was a lame duck), prompting a lot of speculation about her future in politics.

I watched The Oprah Winfrey Show yesterday to see the one on one between two of the most powerful and influential women in America. Whether you're a fan of Oprah Winfrey or Sarah Palin, there was no doubt that they command a large chunk of public opinion. How could I not see what they would be like in an interview setting?

My impression was that they both were completely civil and reserved. I didn't pick up the makings of a great friendship, not that that was likely considering Oprah's support for President Obama.

Still, what I found interesting was that if you read the body language experts, they're reporting that Sarah was not nervous. They're coming to that conclusion based on her ability to control her blinking. Over-blinking mean you're agitated and a normal blink per minute rate -- 30-40 blinks -- is normal. Sarah was blinking normally.

The weirdest part of that Governor Mark Sanford press conference yesterday wasn't the odd detail he gave or the lies he told his staff about this whole affair/hike, it was the girl in the background behind Sanford who kept smiling broadly. Perhaps the next time a cheating politician has a press conference he should do it with his back against a wall.

Anyway, Stephen Colbert tackled the subject last night. He has a unique take on it because he actually interviewed Sanford back in early 2008 as part of his "Better Know" series (the interview was repeated earlier this year). Here's the whole episode (the Sanford segment is first).

File this one under the category of really, wild rumors that should become reality: Desperate Housewives wants Governor Sarah Palin to appear as a guest on the show.

Like I said, this is a rumor that cropped up yesterday, saying that head-writer/creator Marc Cherry was "very hot to trot to have her appear in the season finale." That was followed by an ABC spokesman denying that there's a shred of truth to the story.

Still, what if it's not such a Lucy Ricardo idea? Sarah Palin as a visitor to Wisteria Lane would be terrific -- and probably a boost in the ratings (which are doing great anyway, but still why not do even better?).

Since emerging on the national stage about six weeks ago, Alaska Governor and Republican Vice Presidential nominee Sarah Palin has become a superstar. Like her or loathe her, she is a celebrity. It's ironic, really, that McCain's so psyched about her high-powered appeal, because that's what his campaign was knocking Obama for just this past summer. Still, the crowds have showed that Palin's appeal to the Republican base, at least, is fervent.

On the other hand, thanks to Palin's poor performance in interview segments with CBS anchor Katie Couric, and Tina Fey's spot-on impression of her on Saturday Night Live, the Governor's image has taken a hit. There have been questions about how smart she is, as well as how qualified she is to be a heartbeat away from the presidency.

Last Friday, Senator John McCain shocked the world by announcing that little-known Alaska Governor Sarah Palin was his choice as vice presidential candidate for the Republican party. If you were like me, you couldn't help but notice that Sarah Palin -- a very attractive, 44-year-old mother of five -- looked an awful lot like some familiar TV faces, like 30 Rock's Liz Lemon.

In fact, at least one Hollywood writer recognized in Sarah Palin's being plucked from virtual obscurity was like one of his creations. Rod Lurie, the writer/producer of Commander in Chief, joked that he and Gena Davis should be asking for royalties if Palin emerges as McCain's VEEP, especially if she becomes president like Davis's character did on that ABC drama series.

Here are the main TV characters that come to mind when you think about Palin:

(S18E18) Oh, boy. Jack McCoy is up to his neck in trouble now. This Law and Order season finale -- number 18 -- was a maze-like story that started with a gold merchant being murdered, wound its way through high-class escort services, and landed at the desk of the governor of New York. Any resemblance between this story and the demise of real-life New York Governor Eliot Spitzer was completely on purpose.

In true Law and Order fashion, the part about the hookers and the Governor was ripped right from the headlines. Unlike reality, though, the fictional governor was even more slimey and reprehensible than Spitzer seemingly. I'll explain it all, and go into more details about how it comes to bear on the characters on L&O after the jump.

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If you haven't gotten your fill of contestants from American Idol, then open wide for a heapin' helpin' of Southern-fried goodness: finalist Kellie Pickler is set to star in a new FOX comedy about a girl from a small town in the South who discovers that the governor is actually her father. The character is based on Pickler herself, so I assume it will be an easy role for her to play. NBC has ordered a script for the new series, which is being written by Chris Peterson and Bryan Moore, who wrote three episodes of That '70s Show between them.

The series is being developed by American Idol's production company 19 Entertainment, proving once again that Idols don't just happen, they're strategically crafted and forced into our homes until we have no choice but to either give in or throw our TVs out the window.

Related:
Kellie Pickler in local singing competition
Kellie Pickler on singing, Simon and salmon
Is Kellie dating Constantine?

Remember when politics hit an all-time low Arnold Schwarzenegger went on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno to announce his candidacy for California governor? That was all fine and dandy, but he made a return visit to the show last night, ahead of the November 7th election, and it has his opponent pretty pissed off. California State Treasurer Phil Angelides says he has also requested time on The Tonight Show but has not heard back from producers. So now, a California congressman filed a complaint with the FCC claiming that NBC is not fulfilling the equal time statute of the Federal Communications Act that requires television and radio media to give candidates equal time. NBC says Schwarzenegger's appearance doesn't fall under the political statute since his appearance does not qualify as a news interview.

After Schwarzenegger made his candidacy announcement in 2003, Leno had all 135 gubernatorial candidates on the show and they each had 10 seconds to say what they stand for. They had to yell it at the same time.

The live-action Underdog movie has been shooting in Providence, Rhode Island, and as part of the shoot, crews have had to gussy up the Statehouse and surrounding elements to make everything fit with the theme of the movie. That's par for the course when a film crew descends on your town, but the crew also replaced Rhode Island's state flag with a flag for a fictional city, and Governor Don Carcieri took offense and demanded that the flag be removed. I think someone forgot to tell the governor that the movie is based on a fictional character who exists in a fictional world, and is not, as he must have assumed, based on the true-life tale of a rhyming canine who can fly.

Actor Malachy McCourt, who I remember as the infinitely kind Father Daniel Meehan on the HBO series Oz, and who some of you may also recognize as Father Clarence on All My Children, is planning to seek the Green Party nomination for governor of New York. McCourt, who is the brother of author Frank McCourt, is making the revocation of the death penalty and the end of nuclear energy programs the main focus of his campaign. He plans to announce his candidacy officially this Sunday. McCourt was born in Brooklyn and raised in Ireland, a time chronicled in the book Angela's Ashes, which won his brother Frank a Pulitzer. If you haven't read the book and want to read something that's equally compelling and depressing, you should definitely check it out.

Al Lewis, known to many as Grandpa Munster on The Munsters, died last night at his home in New York. Lewis had suffered from years of failing health and died with his wife at his bedside.

Lewis only spent two years on television as Grandpa Munster, but he apparently carried on the persona for years. He owned a New York restaurant called Grandpa's and, a few years ago, he ran as a Green Party candidate against NY Gov. George Pataki where he tried to have the name 'Grandpa Al Lewis' on the ballot but was unsuccessful. He did get 52,000 votes in the election, however. Most recently, he hosted a weekly radio program on WBAI-FM. This morning, in place of his regularly scheduled show, the station's program director announced Lewis' death.

Okay, so I wasn't as on top of this news as some people, but I was pleased to find out that Benson, one of my favorite shows to watch with my family growing up, is coming to TV LAND. Benson, as if it needs an introduction, was a spinoff of the popular series Soap and featured Robert Guillaume as a man hired to help out a widowed governor and his young daughter. Like his role on Soap, Benson stood as the only voice of reason among a throng of morons. If TV LAND keeps this up I may just hook my brainstem directly to the TV and live out the rest of my days in blissful nostalgia. Or at least until I get bored.

 

Ted Nugent --the conservative rocker whose mantra is that you should not only kill everything you eat, but also punch it in the face a few times and tell it that it runs like a girl-- says he may run for governor of Michigan in 2010. Apparently Nugent, whose new reality show Wanted: Ted or Alive kicked off a second season recently on OLN, has a problem with "welfare brats" and doesn't want them getting their hands on his money. Also, he posed this Zen riddle to the public: "A topless grandmother in a sofa surrounded by dog feces? If you're poor, you can't have a dog! You start by eating the (expletive) pets! Am I out of my mind?" Once you've answered that question, young grasshopper, a whole new world will be open to you. As for me, I have no idea what he's talking about.