(S02E02) The Darlings had to bury one of their own this week, and they sent the deceased off in style. Sure, the eulogy was written about someone else and some of the mourners were arrested, but that's part of the fun of these events. The rest of the episode was business as usual--power struggles, inappropriate sexual partners, and suitcases filled with cash. No complaints here.

You know the one I'm talking about. After the writers strike ended last year in February, most of the networks made the interesting decision to just go ahead and shelve most of their freshmen series for the season, even if they'd picked up their "back nine" orders. Instead, they thought they'd launch the shows to big fanfare this fall, almost as if they were new again. Unfortunately, it looks like this plan backfired on them tremendously.

Across the board, those sophomore series that went on hiatus for more than six months are way down in the ratings. Apparently, absence doesn't make the heart grow fonder when it comes to the television landscape. It makes the instant gratification generation forget you existed. And stop caring.

(S02E01) The Darlings are back! Despite all the behind-the-scenes personnel and casting changes, Dirty Sexy Money appears to be better than ever. Loyal fans were rewarded with a major development in last season's murder mystery, and the premiere gave new viewers plenty of reasons to come back for more. Season One feels like it ended ages ago, but "The Birthday Present" was the perfect refresher course in the elements of this gorgeous, twisted world.

'Pushing Daisies'
(8PM, ABC) 2nd season premiere
What's a stressed-out girl to do when she's already got a head full of secrets and then learns yet another bit of juicy scoop that could prove life changing for those around her? Get thee to a nunnery!

That's the solution for Olive, who goes off to hang with some nuns when the burden of Ned and Chuck's (and now Aunt Lily's) secrets get to be too much.

Meanwhile, back at The Pie Hole, Ned's freaking out about Chuck's need to be independent, Emerson's indulging his love of pop-up books and Chuck goes undercover at a honey-based cosmetics company to find out who killed Betty's Bees' head Bee Girl. Hey, they don't call the show quirky for nothing.

'Desperate Housewives'
(Sun., 9PM, ABC) 5th season premiere
The women of Wisteria Lane have leapt five years into the future, and what a difference a day -- or five years' worth -- makes.

Susan and Mike: kaput, and Susan is now hooked up with that hot season four finale guy who looked a lot like 'Queer as Folk's' Gale Harold. Because he is. Meanwhile, Lynette's twin 'tween terrors have become twin teen terrors, Bree's lost custody of her grandson and Gaby's lost control of her kids and her model figure.

And then there's Edie, who makes a surprising return to the 'hood, with a surprising partner in tow: Dave, her new hubby, who's bringing the latest 'DH' mystery with him.

This is Spoilers Anonymous, a weekly column here at TV Squad where we'll supply you with the dirt on some of the more popular shows on the air. We'll never put spoilers up here on the main page in order to help the reformed stay unspoiled. If you have anything to add to the group, feel free to step up and let yourself be heard, either with our tips form or by emailing us at tvsquad at gmail dot com or call and leave a message at (775) 640-8479 - your anonymity is guaranteed, if you wish to remain as such.

This week we have: 24, Bones, Brothers & Sisters, Chuck, Desperate Housewives, Dirty Sexy Money, Ghost Whisperer, Grey's Anatomy, One Tree Hill, Private Practice, and Pushing Daisies. (SPOILERS FOLLOW!)

Ed Bernero is such a big Hawaii Five-0 fan, he has the show's theme song as his ringtone. But that's not all.

The Criminal Minds exec producer is also creating a new version of the classic show that starred Jack Lord as Steve McGarrett, head of an elite branch of the fictional Hawaii State Police. The show won two Primetime Emmys and ran on CBS from 1968 to 1980 (Really?! It ran that long?!).

According to The Hollywood Reporter, the new version will feature McGarrett's son as top cop. Bernero says he won't try and re-invent the series, and will "keep as much of the original show as possible."

Okay, let's think about this. Who looks enough like Jack Lord to play his son? (Of course, he'll have to have the same immovable, thick mane.) Jake Gyllenhaal? Kyle MacLachlan? How about Peter Krause? Dirty Sexy Money can't last much longer, can it?

So I've been back from LA for a couple of days, watching Rich and Keith file frantic reports from Comic-Con. It just makes me shake my head in sympathy. Though CC is a different animal from the TCAs, in both structure and in sheer volume of people and activities, I still know exactly how they feel. It all starts to feel like a blur after awhile -- panels, reporter scrums, parties, meeting your favorite (and not-so-favorite) TV stars... When you get back to "normal life," it almost feels like it never happened.

Anyway, now that I have a day or two to reflect, I took a cue from our friends at AOL and came up with a list of things I learned on this press tour. But this list will involve both the network-related things I learned with what I learned about celebrities, my fellow critics, and myself.

The buzz on '90210,' the 'Office' (not) spin-off and more

Twice a year, TV critics from across the country gather in Los Angeles for the Television Critics' Association press tour.

For two weeks the press gets the chance to chat with the actors and writers from every network and cable channel -- and showered with useless freebies (an oven mitt promoting 'Coolio's Rules'!) -- all to better understand the season's new shows.

Here are the best boob tube tidbits we gathered at the latest TCAs.

AOL TV's new video interview series, Outside the Box, takes questions from you (the fans) and poses them to the stars of the hottest shows.

We already asked you to submit questions for the stars of Scrubs. Next up will be Peter Krause and Lucy Liu of Dirty Sexy Money.

While DSM's first season was tragically cut short by the writers' strike, the 10 episodes that did air were full of frothy fun. And that cast! Krause, Liu (who's new for the second season), Donald Sutherland, Jill Clayburgh, Billy Baldwin, Glenn Fitzgerald ... and I could go on. And if you don't quite remember where the show left off, read Erin's review of the season finale.

So, if you're wondering what's in store for Dirty Sexy Money, what Liu's character will be like and if we'll ever find out who killed Nick George's dad ... submit your questions in the comments below by Tuesday, July 15. Be sure to include your first name and your city and state. Good luck.

There have been a lot of personnel changes made to the cast and creative staff of Dirty Sexy Money lately. Only four months after replacing original showrunner Josh Reims, Daniel Cerone has left his executive producer/showrunner position. Big Shots creator Jon Feldman is Cerone's replacement.

Apparently ABC didn't share Cerone's vision for a darker season two of Dirty Sexy Money. Fortunately, Cerone is leaving on good terms with the network. He still has a two-year deal with the ABC Studios. There will be an unexpected early break in production so that showrunner duties can be handed off to Jon Feldman.

The writers' strike forced some of my favorite shows into an unexpected, summer-long hiatus and delayed the return of others. I'm grateful that shows like Lost still have new episodes, but the second half of this TV season hasn't felt the same. I especially miss the promising new series that were cut short.

It feels like other shows have been on hiatus forever. Flight of the Conchords was supposed to return this year, but had its premiere pushed back until 2009. I miss Bret, Jemaine, and their strange circle of friends. I've been wondering about the fates of several absent characters lately. So many storylines were left unresolved.

Here's a short list of some of the faces I can't wait to see again:

ABC released its 2008-09 prime-time schedule this morning during a press conference call conducted by Steve McPherson, president of ABC Entertainment. I listened in and got the rundown:

Returning: Boston Legal, Brothers & Sisters, Desperate Housewives, Dirty Sexy Money, Eli Stone, Grey's Anatomy, Lost (Midseason), Private Practice, Pushing Daisies, Ugly Betty, According to Jim (Midseason), Samantha Who?, America's Funniest Home Videos, The Bachelor (Midseason), Dancing With The Stars, Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, Supernanny, Wife Swap, Saturday Night College Football, Primetime: What Would You Do?

Out: October Road, Notes from the Underbelly, Men in Trees, Big Shots, Carpoolers, Cashmere Mafia, Cavemen, Miss/Guided, Women's Murder Club, Oprah's Big Give

New: Life on Mars, The Goode Family (Midseason), Scrubs (Midseason), Opportunity Knocks, Untitled Ashton Kutcher/Tyra Banks Project (Midseason)

ABC offered a set of fun Valentine's Day e-cards earlier this year, and they're at it again with a more extensive set of Mother's Day e-cards. More of my favorite ABC shows were let in on the fun this time, including Pushing Daisies, Dirty Sexy Money, and Samantha Who?. Show Mom your love with a clever message from Lost's Claire, Susan from Desperate Housewives, or Hilda from Ugly Betty.

The cards are one part of a "Guide to Motherhood" page on ABC's website. You can watch clips from ABC's hit shows based on four motherhood themes: New Moms, Nesting, Words of Wisdom, and Letting Go. It's an amusing way to look back at some of the unconventional approaches to parenting taken in the last season.

From March 14th to March 27th, The Paley Center for Media is presenting the twentieth-fifth annual William S. Paley Television Festival. The Paley Center, formerly the Museum of Television and Radio, says that the festival celebrates "television's rich and diverse programming and the creative process behind the medium." This year the festival included Chuck, Friday Night Lights, Pushing Daisies, Gossip Girl, and The Buffy the Vampire Slayer Reunion.

Last night, I attended the Dirty Sexy Money panel. For what happened during the panel discussion, read on past the jump...