It was a very meta episode of 'The Simpsons' (Sun., 8PM ET on FOX), as the opening minutes dealt directly -- or directly through talking about 'Itchy & Scratchy' -- with the dated references issues. Sure, they explained that it takes a long time to animate the series, but is explaining the technical reasons behind the problem supposed to make the audience simply accept it and be happy about it?

The rest of the episode had a chance for some sharp satire, but as 'The Simpsons' tend to do, went for the soft approach. When Krusty the Clown's show got cancelled, he hooked back up with the talent agent who first scouted him, played by Joan Rivers. She first booked him on a live show à la Pee Wee Herman's recent broadway revival, and ultimately on HBOWTIME.

They're anticipated, but sometimes dreaded. They can be just what a show needs, or a ratings killer. They can unite or divide audiences. What has this much power in television? TV babies.

Jim and Pam on 'The Office' are just the latest fictional couple to welcome a baby into their wacky fold in tonight's special one-hour episode (9PM ET, NBC). To commemorate the occasion, we're taking a walk around the virtual nursery, looking back at some of TV's most anticipated -- for both good and bad reasons -- babies.

Did your favorite TV baby make the list? Check after the jump.

Olympic champion Lindsey Vonn is eyeing another Gold medal-winning performance -- this time, on NBC's 'Law & Order.' Bob Costas broke the exciting news to her during an interview segment on Saturday, in which he revealed that she will play a jury foreman in a future episode. 'Law & Order' is said to be Vonn's favorite show. [TV Guide]

More casting news after the jump.

Lead characters are extremely important for TV series, as they are the basis of the shows' storylines. However, to make said lead characters shine and make the storylines interesting, supporting characters must be introduced. Sometimes, those characters have a major impact on a series and even end up becoming leads. Just see how Ben Linus on Lost was set to appear in a few episodes, but ended up being so helpful to the storyline and loved (or hated) by the fans that he became an integral part of the series and is now a major player on the show.

That compelled me to make a list of new supporting characters who helped make their series better this season. Since my list only has 10 items and because I don't watch all current TV series, I will have missed tons of supporting characters, so feel free to add to the list by commenting below. However, note that I restricted my list to supporting characters that were introduced THIS season. So the Ben Linuses of the TV world are not on the list.

Even if season 7 of 24 won't air for another 9 months, it doesn't mean we can't get our hopes up when the first official cast picture leaks on the web. Mind you, it may have been out for weeks but today was the first time I saw it thanks to a tip who sent us to SlashFlim.com.

I'm pretty sure I'm not the only one who had never seen this cast picture before which is why I decided to share it with you all and take this opportunity to review what we know, including spoilers, about the seventh season of the FOX drama, including that two-hour prequel that will air this fall.

Spoilers coming up!

In mid-April, we reported that the '24' producers were studying potential story lines for the seventh season of the FOX hit series, one featuring Quebec's separatists. About two weeks later, it was confirmed that Jack would go through his next action-packed awful day in a different scenery. In early July, we learned that writers had planned to have the action set in Africa and the U.S. but that the network sent them back to the drawing board because that story line would be too expensive. Eventually, official spoilers started to leak and FOX announced the names of actors joining the show (more after the jump).

But yesterday, FOX sent out a press release so juicy that it had some people pinch themselves to make sure they weren't dreaming!

Spoilers after the jump!

Here's an interesting casting choice: Janeane Garofalo is joining 24. According to TV Guide, she'll be a regular cast member on the next season. Her character is a government agent who will be investigating Jack Bauer and his CTU co-workers. I can imagine her playing someone Jack (and the rest of the audience) really hates.

This is Garofalo's first return to mainstream television since she her role as Louise Thornton on The West Wing in 2004-2005. She also starred in a dramatic pilot for CBS called Law Dogs, but it has not been picked up by the network.

So, 24 fans, does the news about Janeane get you more excited for the next season? Or, would you rather have a decent plot line this time around rather than celebrity casting?

Janeane Garofalo has landed a gig in an untitled pilot at CBS. The show is being produced by Barry Schindel and Scott Free Productions, the same people behind CBS' successful Numb3rs. But wait... while I like the idea of getting Janeane back on our TV on a regular basis, and I'm interested to see the Numb3rs team take another shot, what little we know about this show doesn't sound good.

Reportedly, "Garofalo will play the quirky, sassy head of the public defender's office who bears the scars of having made it in what is essentially a man's world." Ugh. It sounds like Shark, shorter, with boobs and more estrogen. I'll give anything with Garofalo in it a shot, but haven't we seen too much of this show already?

It might be time to call a halt to new shows based on doctors, lawyers, and cops for a little while. Not forever, but maybe venture out and see what the rest of the world spends their day doing.

(S01E07) Along with Mary Tyler Moore and Amy Sedaris, I've always had a crush on Janeane Garofalo. I remember being happy when this episode came on, since I had loved her standup and her work on The Ben Stiller Show (with Andy Dick). She plays Nancy, Dave's ex-girlfriend who seems nice on the outside but is really kind of a nut. She comes to New York City to be with Dave, who never quite told her that they were officially broken up.

Meanwhile, Jimmy meets a business and technology "visionary" named Tom at a conference and arranges for him to be interviewed by Bill, but that doesn't turn out quite as Jimmy or Dave had hoped...