John Corbett is reprising his role as Lauren Graham's ex on 'Parenthood' this season. The former 'Sex and the City' stud will drop into town for several episodes as Seth, the alcoholic father of Sarah's character.

"Just when everything seems to be going well between Sarah and Mark [Jason Ritter], Seth shows up and he's kind of in a darker place than he's been," creator Jason Katims told TVLine. "And so you see Sarah really having to struggle with wanting to help him and be there for him, but also at the same time [be fully present] in this relationship with Mark that's really good and healthy."

Also going on in the Braverman world: Brittany Belt will play Haddie's BFF who disapproves of her relationship with Alex, TVLine reports.

In other TV casting news ...

Along with the good news that 'So You Think You Can Dance' (and fiercely fabulous host Cat Deely) has finally been recognized by the Emmy Awards comes the first all-star announcement of season 8.

Judge/executive producer Nigel Lythgoe told TV Guide that the first dancer returning to the show is none other than Chelsie Hightower, current 'Dancing With the Stars' pro. "We're delighted she's coming back from 'Dancing With the Stars' for us," he told the site.

The move isn't permanent, though -- "She'll be going back to them, of course," he admitted.

In other non-Emmy TV news ...

As if '17th Precinct' didn't sound wonderful enough already, today comes news that yet another 'Battlestar Galactica' veteran has booked a role in the NBC pilot.

James Callis, otherwise known as 'BSG' scientist Gaius Baltar, will work alongside former costar Jamie Bamber in the series, Deadline reports.

The series, headed by 'BSG' mastermind Ron Moore, follows cops in a world where magic is real -- think 'Harry Potter' meets 'Law & Order.' Also on board, according to Deadline: former 'The Deep End' star Matt Long.

Several other stars booked pilots, including 'Greek' star Amber Stevens, who will play a psychiatry intern on 'Weekends at Bellevue,' 'Without a Trace' star Enrique Murciano, who will play a detective alongside Minnie Driver in 'Hail Mary,' and 'Lost' alum Rebecca Mader, who will play a "bitchy" drug rep in 'Work It.'

In other TV news ...

• Gwyneth Paltrow is currently filming her third episode of 'Glee.' In next week's episode, the actress gives sex counseling to Emma and her new hubby, played by John Stamos. [Entertainment Weekly]

• Kevin Spacey, TV star? It could happen. The actor is reportedly attached to star in a new series being directed by 'The Fighter' director David O. Russell. 'House of Cards' is based on the book and British miniseries of the same name and follows a British politician angling for Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher's job. [Deadline]

• '30 Rock' had presidential aspirations for its 100th episode, which films next week. The production team reportedly wanted Bill Clinton to cameo, but were turned down by the former president. [New York Post]

The 'One Tree Hill' wardrobe department is about to need a whole lot more eyeliner. According to Michael Ausiello, rocker Dave Navarro is set to appear as himself on the CW soap in an upcoming episode.

Musicians are no stranger to the show, since one of the main character owns a record label. In the past, musically inclined guest stars have included Pete Wentz and Michelle Branch, with Kid Cudi set to appear Nov. 30. Singer/songwriter Kate Voegele has appeared on the show for the past several seasons as Mia Catalano, and performs her own songs in the role.

In other TV news ...

• Tim Allen is headed back to TV ... maybe. Over the weekend, ABC won a bidding war for the new comedy 'Man Up,' which could potentially be a starring vehicle for Allen. [Deadline]

• Rebecca Mader will guest star on 'No Ordinary Family.' The former 'Lost' actress will play a coworker of Stephanie's with secrets of her own. [TV Guide]

• The Jonas Brothers' Disney show is (possibly) no more. 'Jonas L.A.' director Paul Hoen tweeted about the cancellation this weekend, but has since deleted his 140-character statement. [Vulture]

• Jenny McCarthy is returning to 'Two and a Half Men.' The actress will reprise her role as crazy con artist Courtney starting Nov. 22. [Hollywood Insider]

Kathryn Erbe will join Vincent D'Onofrio for the final season of 'Law & Order: Criminal Intent.'

Erbe and D'Onofrio left the show at the start of season 9, but according to Ausiello Files, both will reprise their roles for an 8-episode season 10, the final season.

"I'm excited and grateful that Katie has decided to rejoin one of the best detective teams in the history of television," Dick Wolf, executive producer, said in a statement.

In other casting news ...

• Al Pacino will play Phil Spector in a new HBO film. The film is being written by David Mamet and 'Rain Man' director Barry Levinson will serve as executive producer. [NY Times]

• 'Lost' star Rebecca Mader will guest star on 'Law & Order: Los Angeles.' Mader will play a character named Rebecca who gets run over by a car, but survives. Look for Mader to appear in the episode titled 'Pasadena,' the season's sixth episode. [Fancast]

• Former 'Kyle XY' star Jamie Alexander will guest star on 'Nurse Jackie.' Alexander will play Jackie's wild sister-in-law for a multiple episode arc. Look for the character, Tunie, to appear in at least four episodes of the Showtime series. [Ausiello Files]

After Craig Ferguson announces that 'Lost' star Rebecca Mader's interview is over on 'The Late Late Show With Craig Ferguson' (weeknights, 12:35AM on CBS), Mader compares their discussion to bad sex.

(S06E08) Mr. Ford was back at the center of 'Lost' for this week's installment. The flash-sideways started us off in familiar territory before veering sharply into the unexpected. Pieces and characters are starting to come together a little more in the beta-verse, with lots of interesting potential.

Back in the alpha-verse, we spent the entire episode with MiB-Locke and his motley crew of temple survivors. That meant Kate got to spend some quality time with Claire and the new and subdued Sayid. All in all, it was one of the most uncomfortable scenes I've ever seen on the show. Imagine being surrounded by familiar faces and yet none of them are who they are; it was like some horrible mirror universe sequence.

Sawyer wasn't there for Kate's awkward moment, because he was off on some secret mission for MiB-Locke. A mission that raised even more questions, while setting the stage for what will likely be the ultimate conflict for the season.

Charlotte lives!

Or does she?

'Lost' executive producer Carlton Cuse confirmed in a tweet yesterday that Rebecca Mader - whose character, anthropologist Charlotte Lewis, died onscreen last season - has returned to the cast for the sixth and final season. On his Twitter feed, he wrote, "We are very happy to welcome Rebecca Mader back to LOST. Just saw some dailies of her new work. Awesome."

(S05E05) "Um... he's Korean. I'm from Encino." - Miles

The beautiful thing about Lost is that there's never two bad episodes in a row. That's not to say that "The Little Prince" wasn't good, but it certainly wasn't what we've come to expect. It was just too slow. Not the case this week - "This Place is Death" roared back and didn't let up once during its 60 minutes of perfection.

After last week's revelation that Jin was indeed still alive (Was anyone actually surprised by this?), the attention immediately shifted from him to the people who rescued him - Danielle Rousseau's research team. Fans (myself included) were furious when Danielle was killed so nonchalantly last season, mainly because we still had so many questions about her backstory and history on the island. Wish granted.

(S05E04) "I have to make them come back... even if it kills me." - Locke

And so begins the quest of Jeremy Bentham. That's been one of the real treats this season - seeing the Oceanic Six in the present while having their plot juxtaposed against the real-time (well... as "real-time" as real-time can get when you're time traveling) plight of those still on the island three years ago. The fact that we only saw Locke lay the foundation for his plan involving the Orchid to get everyone back was still mesmerizing. I love knowing what happens to him but not knowing the circumstances of his "suicide" and how he ended up in that coffin at Hoffs Drawler. Despite the lack of any more development on Locke's plan beyond what we got, this episode was still phenomenal - mainly because two people we've all been missing finally showed up again.

(S05E03) "Because... he's one of my people." - Locke

I really need to get in the habit of taping my mouth shut while watching Lost because my jaw is always on the floor by the end of every episode. Time-traveling has added an entirely new dimension (literally) to the story-telling techniques of this show and the first three hours of this season have been some of Lost's best. The flash-backs always lacked a certain amount of tension because they already happened. On the flip side of the same coin, the same can be said about the flash-forwards because you know they're going to happen. But time-traveling has created this new ripple where nothing has permanence anymore, whether it happened, is happening, or will happen. This is mesmerizing stuff to watch unfold because everything becomes new the second Faraday, Locke, and Co. make a new jump. They may not be altering the ultimate outcome, but they are altering the moment.

(S05E02) "There's no calling my father off." - Penny

Everybody lies. Some people enjoy the thrill of getting away with it ... and then there's Hurley. While this wasn't a traditional flash-back/flash-forward episode with one character as the focus (hard to say if those will ever be feasible again), this was pretty much a Hurley-centric hour anyway.

As the plot progresses this season, it's going to be interesting to see who becomes important (and who becomes irrelevant) to the ultimate endgame. That being said, we learned one pretty important fact in this episode:

Without Hugo in the mix, "then God help us all."

(S05E01) "You're gonna have to die, John." - Richard Alpert

Time travel! The future is now! later! here! gone! beginning! ending! OK, I give up. Lost is back and the future is... well, we don't know what the future is. Or the past. Or the present. All we know is what they were, because now they're just one big time travelin' mess.

As with seasons past of Lost, the fifth chapter of TV's favorite mindf*ck opens by presenting an entirely new storytelling technique - one that demands equal parts patience, attention, and imagination. More than anything, it's a test for true fans because the casual Lost viewer (do they exist?) probably had a hard time moving from A to Z (worst metaphor ever - I know) in tonight's season premiere. That being said, this whole hour gave me my own bloody nose.

As amazing as Lost is, I still hate it for one tiny reason - every time a new season begins, I get terrified that I won't "get it." If that happened, it would completely deflate my enjoyment of the show. While Lost has had its fair share of WTF episodes, most of them are decipherable after repeat viewings; season five's first two installments definitely fall into that category. It's like playing the sequel of your favorite video game - for the most part, the controls and game-play are the same, but there are enough changes that it still takes you a few hours to get a handle on it.

Ah, Season Four. You were so good to us, even though you were slightly shorted by that pesky writers strike. Lost wasn't as impacted as a lot of other shows because the creators had already gotten the okay to do three shorter seasons before any of this happened. Sure they lost a little bit of time, but not enough to have really impacted the show.

And Season Four gave us such pivotal moments. The introduction of the freighties, including some really good and interesting characters. The return of Michael. The identities of the Oceanic Six. An in-depth examination of what happened to them after the island in more flash forwards. The man in the cabin. Ben moves the island. And the identity of the man in the casket. So much happened in fourteen short episodes, but still that's not enough. To fill out the set, we've got two full discs of extras.