Ed Asner will reprise the 'Hawaii Five-0' role he first played more than 30 years ago.

According to CBS, the 'Mary Tyler Moore Show' veteran will once again play August March in an early 2012 episode. Asner first played the role in the 1975 episode of the original 'Hawaii Five-0' titled 'Wooden Model of a Rat.'

"It is thrilling to, for the first time, merge the original 'Hawaii Five-0' and our new show by having the classic, versatile and award-winning actor Ed Asner reprise his role of August March, a character Mr. Asner first played 36 years ago. There is no better way to form a bridge between our reboot and the original series," Peter Lenkov, 'Hawaii Five-0' executive producer, said in a statement.

For the first time, footage from the original series featuring Asner will be used. The archive footage will show his character in his smuggler days. When Asner's character appears in the new series, he'll be a reformed man after serving 30 years in prison for murder. The Five-0 team approach him for help on a smuggling case.

In other casting news ...

Peter Griffin took up a new job on last night's 'Family Guy' (Sun., 9PM on FOX): paparazzo. Celebrities, be thankful that this isn't real. Peter would be the most annoying hound out there.

He harasses Richard Dreyfuss at his nephew's play (the footage goes to TMZ) and calls local weatherman, Ollie Williams, everything from Will Smith to Oprah Winfrey ... before getting a punch right to the face.

(E02) After reading the comments about last night's part one of Tin Man, I'm a bit skeptical about how many people will (or won't for that matter) tune in tonight. Sure, plenty of people found it entertaining but those who hated it seemed to really loathe it.

For myself, I thought it was pretty good but I like the original story enough to find almost any variation of it amusing. I also know not to expect much from a Sci-Fi channel miniseries. So, I fully anticipated that the special effects would be inconsistent and the dialogue would be insipid.

Nevertheless, the actors were good, great even. Alan Cumming is a genius and Neal McDonough is good enough as the embittered ex-Tin Man. I didn't think that Zooey Deschanel was that bad either--so many people complained about her. She does have an abrupt delivery though (which doesn't work well with some of her mediocre lines).

(E01) Like many people, I am a big fan of The Wizard of Oz. For a little warm fuzzy nostalgia, I'll put on the original movie with Judy Garland. I've read Gregory Maguire's The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West (and loved that version too). I even own the soundtrack to Wicked (although I've yet to see the show). And who can forget The Wiz?

I guess it was only a matter of time until the Sci-Fi channel added their version to the ever-evolving list of stories about Dorothy and her journey through Oz. Tin Man aired last night on the Sci-Fi channel from 9-11 p.m. ET/PT and will continue tonight and tomorrow night (same channel, same time).

We began last night with D.G., the Midwestern waitress who speeds to work on her motorcycle, has weird dreams, and believes there's something more to life than waiting tables and windy prairies. D.G., unlike the gentler Dorothy, is a little too tough at times. I don't mind her talking back to everyone but I do mind her going after longcoats with a stick when she sees the men beating up Tin Man's family.