John Oliver was at the Kennedy Space Center for the last launch of the space shuttle Atlantis. To talk about this end of an era for 'The Daily Show' (Weeknights, 11PM ET on Comedy Central), he spoke with people at the launch, and even sat down with Apollo 13's Captain James Lovell.

While Lovell is a true American pioneer and a NASA legend, he didn't quite give Oliver the gravitas he was looking for in this pivotal moment. So Oliver upgraded to the fictional version: Tom Hanks.

"All peoples need to have certain goals, something to strive for, and in doing so, we reach beyond ourselves to achieve that which we did not think was possible. To give up on that dream is to give up on America," Hanks said dramatically, but Oliver still wasn't convinced it was epic enough. Maybe Forrest Gump?

However Julia Roberts thought her appearance on 'Late Show' (Weeknights, 11:35PM ET on CBS) might go, it all went completely out the window when Tom Hanks ran onto the set asking if he could play.

He joined David Letterman on a trivia-based question for Roberts. Letterman asked her questions about Hanks, and Hanks had the answers already written down on sheets in his lap. Except, even this didn't go as Roberts might have expected.

"How many children does Tom have?" Letterman asked. Julia's answer: "Four, as far as he knows." Tom's answer: "Honestly, no idea. Actually, she got that one the closest."

"Is any of this really going to get people to go see our movie?" she asked between peals of laughter.

When you talk to celebrities multiple times as the host of your own late night show, sometimes it's fun to just ask the most inane questions you can think of. Craig Ferguson has built a whole show around it.

But it was Jon Stewart on 'The Daily Show' (Weeknights, 11PM ET on Comedy Central) who asked Tom Hanks the following question.

"In your experience, and I think this is very important, the best smelling actor that you've worked with?"

It was Hanks' own fault for saying that Julia Roberts smelled great in their current project, 'Larry Crowne.' But it wasn't Roberts he declared the best smelling.

Matt Lauer noted Wednesday on 'Today' (weekdays, 7AM on NBC) that the teacher/student romance in 'Larry Crowne' isn't creepy because the two characters involved, played by Julia Roberts and Tom Hanks, are roughly the same age. But according to Hanks, that romance came down to a coin flip, and 'Larry Crowne' could have been a very different movie.

"The other teacher is George Takei, Mr. Sulu, and between the two of them, we flipped a coin to see, where will the romance begin?" said Hanks. "We're talking to a whole different mass audience, I'm telling you right now. Timely, without a doubt. But a different audience."

Lauer also asked Hanks about the press tour for the movie, which included an appearance on the Spanish-language 'Despierta America' where he danced with weather woman Chiqui Delgado while delivering the forecast. "I think our press junket is getting damn good reviews," he said.

So you've never been on a movie set with Ron Howard? That doesn't mean you won't enjoy Tom Hanks' take on the experience on 'Late Show' (Weeknights, 11:35PM ET on CBS). He and David Letterman were talking about what it was like for Hanks to direct himself on projects, when Letterman brought up Howard.

"How would Ron direct himself in a movie?" Hanks mused aloud, to which Letterman immediately asked to hear it.

Hanks then erupted into a hilarious impression of bubbly and energetic Howard acting like Sméagol and Gollum from 'The Lord of the Rings' if both sides of his fractured personality had been wide-eyed and full of joy and hope.

Great news for Neil Gaiman fans! It's been announced that HBO and Tom Hanks' production company, Playtone Productions, are going ahead with their ambitious TV take on Gaiman's bestselling novel, 'American Gods.'

According to 'The Hollywood Reporter' the new drama is slated for six seasons, with the first season due to air sometime in 2013. Each season will be comprised of 10 to 12 hour-long episodes, with a budget of around $35-40 million per season.

Steeped in religious folklore from ancient times to the 21st century, 'American Gods' will be executive-produced by Gary Goetzman and Hanks, with Bob Richardson and Gaiman onboard as executive producer and writer.

Producers promise that it will be effects-heavy to do justice to the awe-inspiring power of the divine beings involved. "There are some crazy things in there," said Goetzman. "We'll probably be doing more effects in there than it's been done on a television series."

(E07) "Fear and Filth" - written by Eugene Sledge while on Peleliu in description of his experience there

This week, I finally saw the value of the opening narrative with Tom Hanks interspersed with interviews with the World War II veterans. They're presented to offer background information for the events to come. Most of us have never seen anything like the war in the Pacific, so we wouldn't know about things like the intricate tunnels the Japanese used on Peleliu.

(E06) Part two of what I'm going to call the 'Peleliu Trilogy' offered more of what we saw with 'Peleliu Landing,' and then some. This extended look at one island campaign is to show us just how intense and long these boys were fighting for this one chunk of land, and how intense the fighting got.

(E05) Another week and another wholly different experience in the Pacific front of World War II. Whereas Guadalcanal was an island oasis, and eerily quiet when the 1st Marines landed, the island of Peleliu was a far different story. From an ocean of cannon-fire and ships to a sea of the dead, dying and injured on the beach, it was warfare from the word "Go!"

Eugene Sledge finally made it into the war, joining Leckie and company in the 1st Marines Division. He hooked up with them on the island of Pavuvu, where we left them last week. Leckie returned as well from his stay at the hospital, and they got to enjoy some wartime camaraderie before shipping out.

Sledge even got some time with his friend from back home, Sid Phillips. The care in which the producers of 'The Pacific' have given to each of these very different wartime experiences has helped to create one of the most diverse and thorough looks at war that I've ever seen.

TV Land is inviting you to come aboard for some adventure and a chance at a new romance, because it looks as though 'The Love Boat' is about to take another run.

Yes, according to the Orlando Sentinel, the cast of 'Love Boat' will be reuniting for the upcoming 8th Annual TV Land Awards. The series, which became an instant hit when it debuted in 1977 thanks to its mix of melodrama and B-list guest stars, will be receiving the fan favorite award nearly 25 years after it went off the air.

(E04) While we were celebrating Easter, the boys in 'The Pacific' were ringing in Christmas and 1944 in somewhat less than optimal conditions. We got a brief glimpse of Eugene Sledge, finally in the marines and screwing up in training. But his story is yet to come.

With Basilone off selling war bonds and banging bar blondes, and Sledge learning the difference between "Bob" and "Tojo," it was Robert Leckie and the 1st Marines tours of duty that took center stage. And through these venues, and this Division, the writers and producers were able to showcase the psychological toll that war can have on battle-beaten soldiers.

Leckie was pretty strained already going into their tour on Gloucester, after his disastrous love affair on Melbourne. He was also on the outs with Lt. Larkin, which certainly didn't help matters on the ground.

Former 'Bosom Buddies' stars Tom Hanks and Peter Scolari are scheduled to appear at the 8th Annual TV Land awards to accept an award for show's 30th anniversary.

According to TV Guide, Hanks and Scolari will appear alongside Donna Dixon, Telma Hopkins and Holland Taylor at the ceremony, which tapes Sat., Apr. 17, and airs Sun., Apr. 25, 9PM on TV Land. Tim Allen hosts.

Who besides myself has been aching for a 'Bosom Buddies' reunion? Your wish has been granted now that Tom Hanks and Peter Scolari will reunite to accept a TV Land Anniversary Award for that very sitcom, thirty years later.

Fellow cast members Donna Dixon, Thelma Hopkins and Holland Taylor will also be in attendance. Sadly, the late Wendie Jo Sperber cannot (may she rest in peace). The show will be broadcast on April 25th and will be hosted by Tim Allen.

While I won't say that 'Bosom Buddies' launched Tom Hanks' career (the movie 'Splash' gets more credit for that), it definitely showcased his comedic talent. Peter Scolari was also an excellent foil for him and even made a cameo in Hanks' directorial debut 'That Thing You Do.'

It makes you wonder what Kip and Henry are actually doing in the 'Bosom Buddies' universe thirty years later. Henry probably wrote that book about their experience posing as women in order to keep a roof over their heads and it became a bestseller. They might have even decided that they liked dressing in drag and continue to this day.

[via Pop Candy]

(S03) Wasn't that a stark contrast from the first two episodes. As viewers, we were just as out of sorts watching that arrival in Melbourne, Australia as the marines themselves were. After two weeks of near non-stop warfare and bloodshed, the marines got a chance to get some much needed R & R, as well as the attention of some very appreciative Aussie young women.

The more relaxed pace of the episode allowed us to get to know some of our principal cast members more intimately. Particularly Robert Leckie and John Basilone, who had very different experiences in Melbourne. Basilone was the decorated war hero, given the highest honor he could possibly achieve, while Leckie found something even sweeter: a woman.

(E02) After watching this second installment of 'The Pacific,' I think I have a feeling why people who've seen further along are talking about how things pick up once we get into the next episode. With these first two parts, we spent virtually the entire time on Guadalcanal, and there was virtually no time for any sort of character connections.

After this, the 1st Marines are finally getting off the island to move onto their next campaign, which means a change of scenery, and a chance for the impact of what they've just gone through to start hitting both the marines themselves, and the audience. Just like them, we've had virtually no time to process all the horror and warfare these men endured on the island.

While last week spotlighted most of the hour on the beauty of the island, this week it was the brutality of war itself that took center stage, with almost constant gunfire from the opening credits to the closing credits.