With Black Friday behind us and December only a few hours away, I think it's fair for me to bring up the topic of holiday shopping. It's sort of like breaking trump in a card game - once US Thanksgiving is over, it's every shopper for themselves.

I have a good reason for wanting to broach the topic early - shipping. If you are going to attempt to buy something really fantastic for a television fan, the chances of you finding it locally are slim to none. You'll have to order it online, and wait for the package to turn up in the mail. It's funny, isn't it? We can punch a series of numbers into our magical machines which convert the numbers into even more numbers and have little conversations with other machines, and the outcome is much the same as it was in the 19th century - something gets put in the mail.

Black Friday is less than a week away, and if you're stumped for gift ideas for a boy anywhere in the family, you could do worse than going with Star Wars: The Clone Wars merchandise.

The show remains one of the highest rated programs for males aged 12-25. That's no surprise since boys have always been the cash cow of George Lucas' $3 billion empire (no pun intended).

Hasbro is the emperor of Star Wars toys (at least those for kids), and the company has a couple of new, higher end items for the 2009 holidays.

The Clone Wars Remote Control R2-D2 is pretty much as advertised. For about $30, you get a replica of a Death Star comm-link that controls the droid's movements, sounds and lights. A kid will have fun driving him around the house. But, the toy is more fun for adults if you imagine that every beep he makes is really a rude, digitized curse word.

Do Daleks wear jingle bells? Probably not. But the creator of Doctor Who's deadliest enemies is in stateside toy stores to celebrate the holiday season with the human species he's tried to kill off more than once.

His arrival is very timely when you consider it's November and time for pundits like me to start sending some gift ideas your way.

Since I'm more than comfortable shilling for the geek contingent, the good folks at Underground Toys sent the evil scientist (right) over for a visit. Though he's a bit of a grump -- the 12" high, radio controlled Davros should keep any Who fan entertained. The only question I have is whether he'll end up in the fans of kids or their sci-fi fan parents.

What to get for your favorite couch potato.

Every taste and every price range ... that's what we've covered in this year's AOL TV fan gift guide.

From a suit that'll help the recipient get his Don Draper on and sneakers for the well-dressed 'Star Trek' fan to videogames that let you become a 'CSI' sleuth and a Food Network chef and fragrances that'll make you smell like two of TV land's hottest stars, we're sure you'll find something to put the happy in the holidays of everyone on your shopping list.

Every year, Oprah Winfrey has her "Favorite Things" episode around the holidays. This year's edition will air next Wednesday, November 26. This time though, her gift suggestions will be a little more affordable.

Because of the hurting economy, Oprah has decided that her list of favorite things this year will showcase more affordable items, some that cost next to nothing (not sure what exactly "next to nothing" really means). In fact, Oprah is going to unveil one special gift that costs zero dollars. Not sure what she means by that, but I'm guessing that gift will be something like a hug or good thoughts.

(S02E15)

Orel: Gee, Doughy, your parents really do love you after all. They give you money and they don't ever want anything in return, not even you.

This episode was written by former Mr. Show writer/performer Scott Aukerman, along with Neil Campbell and Paul Rust. It wasn't until about one third through the episode I realized this was the first episode that wasn't tethered to some kind of religious ideal. The only "religious" aspect occurred when Orel decided he had to ask his mother if it was morally acceptable for a woman to accept gifts from a man if she doesn't actually like him.

Not every woman can look like Salma Hayek, but every woman can smell like her. Just in time for the holidays, InsideBayArea.com has released a list of the fragrances favored by television's leading ladies. Not everyone understands the appeal of expensive perfume, and nobody wants to be around someone doused in it. Perfume is an indulgence when you're penny pinching, but I've got to admit that it's one of my own weaknesses.

As you might expect, the perfumes on the list are ridiculously pricey, but at least, no one is wearing Britney's Curious for Women. I personally can't afford any of these scents - even in the 1 oz. bottle - but I can certainly "test" them at Sephora. Here are some list highlights: The Gilmore Girls' Lauren Graham wears Fracas by Robert Piguet; Men in Trees' Anne Heche wears Amaze by IsaDora; Ugly Betty's Salma Hayek wears Narciso Rodriguez's For Her; Big Day's Marla Sokoloff wears Trish McEvoy's #9; and Brothers & Sisters' Calista Flockhart wears be by becker.eshaya.

Oh, aren't there more important stories to worry about in these times?

There's a scandal brewing in the TV news and donut-loving communities (I guess it's no surprise that those two different communities would overlap some day). It seems that CBS Evening News anchor Katie Couric mentioned how much she likes the Munchkins over at Dunkin' Donuts on her blog, and then Dunkin Donuts sent her "a gazillion of them...boxes...along with crates of piping hot coffee." Of course, this sent bloggers and people who comment on blogs over the edge, accusing Couric of breaking ethical rules and getting paid off.

Calm down, breathe, and think about this rationally. Do you think Couric wrote this so she could get free donuts? Do you really, really think that getting some free food from a local business is going to sway the way Couric covers the company or, um, donuts in general? Alarm clock catastrophe!

At this point I'd just like to say I love the new Lexus.

[via Gawker]

All you've got is hours left. Everyone else planned ahead, bought their gifts... probably even wrapped them already. And what are you doing? Sitting here reading this post. Nice job. So what are you going to do? Fight the crowds, scour the many picked over store shelves? There's not going to be much left. It happens to the best of us, and I should know because I plan on doing most of my shopping after I finish writing this. So what's going to be left? Not much, but here's a few things you might be lucky to find sitting next to the empty spaces where Lost Season 1 DVDs and SpongeBob memorabilia used to rest.

• The Genuine Miami Vice 100% Pre-Shrunk Cotton T-Shirt! Get excited friends because everyone is going to want to shake your hand when they see Don Johnson's mug emblazoned on your chest. My kid sister is going to love this!
• Authentic Brady Bunch American Made Figurines! Okay, maybe they're not American made, but who's going to even try and question your patriotism when they see you playing with these hot items?
• 100% Recycled Paper 2006 Munsters Calendar! Again, not sure if it's actually recycled paper but that's okay because you'll be ringing in the new year with the calendar for a 40 year old sitcom.

Now as I said, you're going to be lucky if these items are still around especially because I'm probably going to scoop them up before you. Honestly though, everyone wants these... I'm telling you, that Munsters calendar? This year's "Tickle me Elmo."

Alright, let's face it: getting actual gifts and gadgets for the holidays has been seriously reduced, down to getting money and gift cards. This is especially true if you're a gadget or audio/video freak like me, and people are afraid to buy you something for fear of getting the wrong thing. Hey, there's nothing wrong with gift cards!

So, instead of giving you a guide of what to get other people, here's my guide for what to get yourself with that stack of gift cards and cash: