While I never watched Roseanne, and could not pick "Old Becky" out of a lineup, I could probably pick Roseanne out, so I would probably recognize her when she showed up on my TV screen again, in a new show written by a writer of Arrested Development. Not that I will watch it.

Mary McDonnell will also return to TV, although her last show only ended a couple of days ago. Friday's finale of Battlestar Galactica was the most-watched episode of the series in over three years, and now McDonnell will join the cast of The Closer for a multi-episode arc. She plays Capt. Christina Hatcher, head of the Force Investigation Division, which either investigates the use of force or investigates the police force. Or, it investigates the Force, the mystical energy which binds us all together. ...Is Mary McDonnell a Jedi?

In other awesome casting news:
- Elizabeth Mitchell, a.k.a. Juliet on Lost, a.k.a. Naked Woman Who Wasn't Angelina Jolie in Gia, will be in the pilot for V, although apparently that doesn't mean she's leaving Lost. My wife no longer watches Lost, mostly because of Mitchell, so I hope she wasn't looking forward to V.
- New boxing drama Lights Out, to be directed by The Shield and The Wire finale helmer Clark Johnson, has found a lead in Heroes and CSI: Miami guest star Holt McCallany. He'll play a former boxer turned legbreaker, trying to support his family while suffering from pugilistic dementia. Best name for an illness ever.
- Why didn't anyone tell me the cast of Stargate Universe was so awesome? I guess if I knew any Stargate fans, I would have been informed that Lou Diamond Phillips, Ming-Na, Robert Carlyle and Black Canary were going to be on the show.

In other Syfy news (formerly known as "Sci Fi news") the channel will create four-hour TV movies based on Alice in Wonderland, superhero The Phantom and the Riverworld series of novels. Alice will be along the lines of the channel's Oz revamp Tin Man, and The Phantom and Riverworld movies will serve as possible pilots for series. While I'm excited to see The Phantom finally done right (sorry, Billy Zane), I don't know what to make of Riverworld, which is about a planet where everyone on Earth who has ever lived, still lives, and are all apparently in their 20s. Anyone ever read any of these things?

Apparently, having a president on your show can do wonders for your ratings. Jay Leno's Tonight Show earned its highest ratings since 2005 when President Obama came on the show last week. The appearance even helped Jimmy Fallon's Late Night, giving it its highest ratings since he came on board as host. I hope special guest Jamie Pressly appreciated all the attention.

And in closing, Gordon Ramsay will live forever.