TVSquad

Piper Perabo's most recognizable roles have been in the Cheaper by the Dozen films, as well as a turn in Coyote Ugly. And yet, hers is one of those names unique enough to remember. Someone at USA recalled Perabo well enough to cast her in Covert Affairs, a pilot about a young CIA trainee abruptly called up as a field operative. While she thinks it's because she's so awesome and all, it turns out that it has more to do with some secret in her past.

In other words, she may be woefully unprepared for the cases she finds herself involved in. At least she'll have Christopher Gorham (Harper's Island) on hand to help her navigate, though I wouldn't trust him. Plus, he's blind which limits his abilities in the field.

For those of you tracking which of the Harper's Island alumni would be the first to land regular work elsewhere, it looks like it was the most unstable of the bunch. I guess that means Gorham won't be available for that Weekend at Bernie's style reunion special.

When Ugly Betty moved production to NYC, not everyone made the jump to the east coast. Most notably, Christopher Gorham, who played Betty's geeky-hot boyfriend, Henry, left the show. However, Michael Ausiello is reporting that Gorham, who has been seen recently on Harper's Island, is reprising his UB role this season.

As Betty fans know, our titular heroine has moved on to her Yeti classmate Matt (Daniel Eric Gold). Since Betty can't seem to focus on one guy at a time, Henry of course has to come back to New York. What confuses me about this entire storyline is that it seems very... familiar.

When CBS presented their upfront last May, one of the more intriguing dramas was a murder mystery/slasher film/whodunit about a wedding party on a Seattle island. It was called Harper's Island and projected for mid-season. The preview played like a cross between Ten Little Indians and Twin Peaks to me, and I liked what I saw. I certainly plan on giving it a try when it shows up on CBS.

It's still slated for early 2009, only now the actor playing the groom's loud, fun-loving and duplicitous uncle is going to be Harry Hamlin. He has been added to the Harper's Island cast as Marty.

While Ugly Betty's move to New York City might not have been good news for the show's crew, Queens residents couldn't be happier to have the Suarez family in town. Fans welcomed the comedy series with a block party-style celebration in Jackson Heights, Betty's home base.

Actors America Ferrera and Tony Plana attended the event and thanked fans in both English and Spanish. The Ugly Betty cast and crew have already been seen filming in their new, more authentic surroundings. As Allison mentioned, America Ferrera was recently spotted riding a motorcycle in Brooklyn (dressed as Betty Suarez, of course).

Ugly Betty's Henry is going to Harper's Island. Actor Christopher Gorham has been cast on the new mystery Harper's Island. Good for Chris, but what about his other character, Henry, the lovable geeky accountant on Ugly Betty? That remains in question.

On Harper's Island, which CBS is calling a Ten Little Indians/Twin Peaks-style horror mystery in which a wedding party on a Seattle island find themselves cut off from the mainland with a murderer on the loose. The killer is doing away with characters week after week and everyone is a suspect or a victim.

In addition to Christopher Gorham, actor Bill Pullman (Sleepless in Seattle) is also in the show as a jovial, drunken Uncle Marty.

(S02E14) That look says it all, doesn't it? Betty spent part of her birthday with fellow dreamer Gio, and came home to Henry with a lot on her mind. The reappearance of Charlie reminded us that Henry's baby is coming soon. There's a difficult decision in Betty's future. Who will she choose, Henry or Gio?

(S01E21) I wish Ugly Betty's Christina could sit down with The Office's Pam and tell her the same thing she told Betty - "You can take care of yourself, princess." How original. How wonderful. How like real life.

Being an entertainment journalist (or writer, or blogger, or crayon scratcher... whatever you want to call it) sometimes yields some unexpected e-mails. After I interviewed actor Christopher Gorham six months ago, I somehow landed on his e-mail distribution list; I guess after his CBS sitcom, Out of Practice, got cancelled, he wanted to make sure people knew where to find him on the TV dial. God bless the Internet; you can be your own PR rep with just an e-mail account and a huge text based list of addresses. I do it all the time.

Anyway, he shot out a note to let people know that he will pop up tonight as a guest star on Ugly Betty. It's the first of a series of appearances as Henry, a nerdy accountant who has a little crush on Betty. To be honest, when I saw the teaser for this episode, I didn't even come close to recognizing him. Looking forward to seeing him; I liked him on OOP, and I think he's a pretty good actor, despite what others have said.

We at TV Squad tend to think that we're blogging in a bubble; we post from homes and offices that are scattered around the country and truly don't expect many people to see what we write (at least I don't... just a little quirk of mine). So when not one, but two actors from a show you've covered comment on a post about that show, you sit up and take notice.

That's what happened last week, when both Christopher Gorham and Paula Marshall wrote comments on a post I wrote about their show, Out of Practice, getting shelved, along with fellow Monday at 9:30 exile Courting Alex. So, I reached out to both of them to respond and vent. Both answered, and Chris was the first that was willing to talk. We spoke by phone this past Friday.

In Out of Practice, the 31-year-old actor plays Benjamin Barnes, youngest son of a family of doctors. Ben's the only one who didn't finish medical school, instead becoming a marriage therapist. The ironic thing is, he's probably the sanest person in the Barnes family.

The show boasts a top-notch cast, which -- besides Marshall and Gorham -- also includes Henry Winkler, Stockard Channing, Ty Burrell, and Jennifer Tilly. It's executive producers are Chrisopher Lloyd and Joe Keenan, who were long-time producers on the classic sitcom Fraiser.

In this interview (after the jump), Chris discusses his frustrations with how his show is being treated, gushes on the writers and his castmates, and responds to people who say he and Marshall are "show killers".

[Photo: Lester Cohen/WireImage]

Joel and I try something a little different this time, limiting our topics to five minutes each. I think it worked out pretty well, so let us know what you think. Topics we cover this week:

• Joel's upcoming interviews: George Takei and Christopher Gorham.
• The new "Five Quick Questions" interview feature.
• Al Roker ... funny?
• What's with all the Paula Abdul talk lately?
• Comedy Central Motherlode contest -- will it make someone's career?
• SNL's best of TV Funhouse is coming! Sweet!
• HUGE I mean HUGE and very spoilery spoilers about not this week's, but next week's Prison Break. I'll likely not post these, so you'll have to listen to know.

Grab the file directly (link), subscribe to our podcast RSS feed (link), or visit the iTunes music store (link).  (Running time: 40:09)

The Best:
1. My Name is Earl: I didn't think this was going to be any good when I first saw the commercials because it looked like another stupid sitcom about -- whoo-hoo -- rednecks. Jason Lee's a cool cat, though, so I tuned in for one episode... Boy, am I glad I saw it! Although Lee doesn't disappoint, Jaime Pressly's performance is absolutely hysterical and often steals the show. Definitely one of my favorite programs of the year.

2. The Daily Show: I've loved it. Sill love it.

3. The Colbert Report: I was a little worried about this show in the beginning, but quickly grew to love it. Stephen Colbert's got a good thing going on right now and I'm definitely looking forward to more.

4. Lost: I love it when a show/film has a strong ensemble cast. That plus deep, conflicted backstory and tremendous writing is must-see TV for me.

5. Project Runway: Okay, they're only a few episodes in, but Project Runway never fails to deliver. Classiest reality show, hands-down.