If anyone has followed our Festivus festivities for the last four years, you'll remember that every year I ask for certain gifts to appear under my aluminum pole, and it never happens. So if I were to air any grievances this year, that would be it.

But 2009's a new year, so I have a new list of gripes and wishes that I hope get fulfilled in 2010:

• That I get the power to bend space and time. That's the only way I'll be able to watch and/or record the coming Monday slate: HIMYM, House, and Chuck will all be on at 8 PM. Maybe I need to wish for a couple of TiVo HD XLs to appear under my pole.
• Speaking of Chuck, I hope they follow up last year's bang-up finale with a great third season. And I hope people watch.
• That season two of Breaking Bad comes out on DVD soon so I can catch up in time for season three.
• That more people discover that Conan's actually doing a good job on The Tonight Show.
• That Comcast gives Jay Leno his own show... in daytime.
• Southland does better ratings on TNT than they ever would have on NBC.
• Continued laughs from rookie comedy sensations Modern Family and Community.
• Alison Brie's phone number.

Every year, we at the Squad put together our lists of what we want for Festivus. Most of it has to deal with what we want to see happen to our favorite shows. I try to go for the gold every year, however; I wish for certain phone numbers to make their way into my cell phone's speed dial. So far, though, I'm striking out big time. However, I have met all three of my desired phone pals (Anna Friel, America Ferrara, Sarah Chalke) in my various reporting travels. So I've got that going for me, which is nice.

Anyway, here's my wish list for 2008:

• Some way to record and watch Big Bang / HIMYM, Chuck, and House (all airing at the same time starting in January) so I don't have to resort to watching one of them on my laptop.
• Speaking of Mother, please let them end the season with a bang. And please keep Britney as far away from the set as possible.
• More web series as well-written and funny as Dr. Horrible and Children's Hospital.

Well, looking back at my list from last year, Festivus Frank didn't give me anything I asked for, did he? He especially dropped the ball on the whole Sarah Chalke phone number thing, considering she got engaged a few weeks ago. But, undaunted, I'm going to give him my list for 2006, because I'm always a glass-half-full kind of guy during this time of the year:

An Emmy nomination for How I Met Your Mother: It would be great if both the show and its actors got nominated, but I don't care if it only gets a nomination in one category; it deserves the recognition. After being shut out of the Golden Globes, I realized that no one seems to be noticing that the show is rapidly becoming one of the best comedies on television. This is similar to what happened with Scrubs during its first three seasons, and I'd like to see the Academy catch up to HIMYM sooner than that. Neil Patrick Harris, Jason Segel, Alyson Hannigan, and the show itself all deserve nominations. Hopefully, Craig and Carter will sumbit "Slap Bet" to the Academy voters; that should get their attention...