The upcoming 'Sesame Street' special 'Growing Hope Against Hunger' is introducing a new Muppet character to talk about the growing national child poverty rate. Her name is Lily, and she dropped by 'Early' (weekdays, 9AM ET on CBS) to talk about the issue.

"One of the most important things for me was not feeling like I was alone," Lily said. "The more I got involved with my community, the more I felt like I was helping other families." In the episode, Lily and Elmo will volunteer at a food pantry. "A lot of the time people don't talk about it, but once you do, you realize you just feel better, and people can find comfort in each other."

'Growing Hope Against Hunger' airs Sun., Oct. 9 at 7PM ET on PBS.

Sad news for animal lovers: Hope, a black bear cub whose early life was chronicled in the BBC documentary 'The Bear Family and Me' and Animal Planet's 'Bearwalker of the Northwoods' has been killed by a hunter in Minnesota, according to a report in the BBC.

Hope's birth had been broadcast over the Internet by biologist Lynn Rogers. Later, wildlife filmmaker Gordon Buchanan filmed Hope as she was separated from and eventually reunited with her mother Lily.

It is believed that Hope was shot and killed in an area of Minnesota where hunting bears is legal. Hunters are discouraged from shooting bears who are wearing tracking collars, but Hope was the only member of her family not to be wearing one.

It'll be how I met Lily's dad on How I Met Your Mother. Chris Elliott has been cast as Lily's father on the CBS sitcom, a character who is supposedly something of a good-for-nothing parent. Elliott is hilarious and specializes in playing these kind of goofy roles. On Everybody Loves Raymond, for instance, his was Robert's overly familiar brother-in-law, Peter, who liked Ray just a little too much.

On HIMYM, Lily's dad will appear for the upcoming Thanksgiving episode on November 23. According to Michael Ausiello of EW.com, there will be series of flashbacks to illustrate exactly what's what with Lily and her father, why their relationship is "troubled." I'm hoping for more from this casting than Eric Braeden as Robin's dad; they never really used him right.

You think Bobby Cannavale has felt the sting when all those episodes of the failed second go-round of Cupid have been burned off by ABC this past few weeks? It's got to be a shot to the ego, even for an established, successful Emmy-winning actor. Well, here's some news that should puff him back up again. Cold Case is bringing Bobby Cannavale back for the new season.

Cannavale appeared last season on Cold Case as Detective Eddie Saccardo, an undercover narcotics cop -- think Serpico with a sense of humor -- who had a brief romantic fling with Lily. It was one of the only happy things in Detective Rush's life last season, so the return of Eddie could be just what the doctor ordered for Kathryn Morris's character.

(S02E24) "If you think we're bad, you should have seen our parents." - Gossip Girl about those who complain about today's youth

After weeks, if not months, of hearing about it, we finally saw what the Gossip Girl spin off could be like. Set in the 80s, the spin off would star Brittany Snow as a young Lily, Krysten Ritter as her sister Carol, and Andrew McCarthy as their father. The action would, as expected, follow Lily's life as a young woman trying to make sense of the world and find her place in it.

This past week, the Internet has been filled with reports that the potential spin off was dead even before this week's episode aired. Other reports claimed that there was still a chance for the spin off to be picked up and find its way on The CW's 2009-2010 schedule. How about we don't listen to those reports and make our own decision on if the network should give the spin off a chance?

(S01E22) Life's short, guys. You only get one chance; don't have any regrets. As per the spoilers, in this last episode, we got both the surprise hookup, and the twist no one saw coming. Both were heartbreakingly perfect. Between this and the absolute perfection that was The Office's finale, this is the season for love ... or mistakes and heartbreak; it all depends on how you look at it. As finale's go, I haven't been this excited to see next season since I saw Ross get off the plane with Julie. What's going to happen next year? Will anything ever be the same? Wait, what happened last night? On with the show!

(S01E21) One episode left and Lily had me worried there for a while. After  her reservations the past couple of weeks, and her desperate plea for Ted to come and rescue her, I thought one of two things were going to happen. She was either going to make a move on Ted, or she really was going to make a break for it and run away. Lily's justification for being freaked out probably doesn't sit well with those of you that haven't been around friends or family right before they get married. Needless to say, it's probably not half as crazy as some of the things people have done when they've had cold feet. On with the show!

(S01E20) Just two episodes left for this season and things are flip flopping faster than you can say ... uh ... flip flopping. By the end of the episode, Ted and Robin were back on speaking terms, Barney was, well, Barney is ageless, and Lily was starting to have some reservations about her upcoming nuptials. When Marshall and Lily had the opportunity to have their wedding at their dream location, they had to make some sacrifices, time being the most prevalent one, and move their wedding up to two months from now. Needless to say, Lily was a little freaked out. Finding a band was at the top of her to do list, and the only place the band Marshall liked was playing was at a local high school's prom. Looks like we're going to prom. On with the show!

(S02E19) I don't watch this show any more for the plot. I watch it for the fan-frickin-tastic guest stars, and the awesome one-liners.

I mean, you know that Susan is going to get in some ridiculous situation with one of the many men she's dating / in love with / sleeping with / pretending to date. You know that Andrew is going to think he finally pulled one over on his mom, only to get slammed by the vastly more experienced scheme-stering of Bree. You know that Karl is going to be a dog and Gabby is going to be a little bit heartless and Lynette is going to (once again) get conflicted about her role as mom or wife.

You watch for the fun. The fun that includes Kyle Maclachlan as a random man in the movie theatre that Susan picks to pretend she's dating, then use as a confessor. And Carol Burnett as Bree's step-mother. Not to mention Gabrielle and Carlos appearing in court to defend their (essentially) kidnapping of their to-be-adopted daughter.

Just how hard is it to plan the perfect wedding? I wouldn't know, I've never actually made it that far, but over the past couple of years, as more and more of my friends have gotten married, and as I watch my little sister go through the steps leading up to hers this fall, I do agree with Marshall: you never cross the bride! Doing so can topple the delicate house of cards that is a wedding to begin with. Unfortunately, that's exactly what our lovelorn hero Ted did last night, all for the attention of a girl. Come on guys, we would never do anything stupid just for a girl, right? Right? On with the show!

Ok, you guys have begged for it, you've yearned for it; the next "Convince Me To Watch It". This week, I'm asking you guys to stick up for Joey on NBC. I was addicted to Friends, and watched most of the first season of Joey. Yet, as much as it tried, for me, Joey never captured the spirit and comradery Friends had. This year, that feeling has been replaced by How I Met Your Mother. For me, that's the show I want to watch to feel part of the dysfunctional family that we all yearn for. I know Joey still has quite the cult following, and this season they've made a couple of changes to the formula to draw in some new viewers, but I want to hear from you guys; am I missing anything by not watching this? If Joey Tribbiani floats your boat, let me know, but if you think this show should go down like the Titanic, I want to know as well.

"People often think a good mix should rise and fall, but people are wrong. It should be all rise baby" -Barney.

For me, this show has been nothing but "rise" as well. This episode was another great episode in an absolutely fantastic season. I say this week in and week out, but this show really strikes a chord with me, and last night's episode made me feel like maybe I'm not the only one who always seems to be "looking" for something/someone on New Year's Eve. I'm not sure if mine will turn out quite like Ted's, but I'll be sure to let you know, since I'm sure you all care so much. On with the show!