TVSquad

If I were an executive at CBS, I would never want to do business with actor Mandy Patinkin again. Even though Mandy is a terrific actor and one of my personal favorites -- I loved him on Broadway in Evita and Sunday in the Park with George, not to mention on screen in The Princess Bride and Yentl -- his history with CBS is abominable.

He was an Emmy-winning star on Chicago Hope, then left after a couple of seasons to be closer to his family in New York. Okay, that was understandable. Then after getting Criminal Minds off to a great start, he walked out of that show, citing creative differences.

Apparently, someone has said let bygones be bygones because Mandy Patinkin will be a guest star on Three Rivers. Maybe because this is a very personal issue with Mandy, he's convinced the powers that be to let him return to the network, albeit for just a guest appearance.

The "Ask TV Squad" column, published every Wednesday, answers your questions about current and past TV shows, as well as about the celebrities appearing on TV. Every week, I will pick a question (or more) sent to us and provide answers in the column. If your question is not picked for a column, it may be answered in a subsequent column. To submit questions to the "Ask TV Squad" column, you can post them below in comments or email them at asktvsquad@gmail.com.

This week, I answer questions about online TV shows, a new series called Miami Trauma, and NYPD Blue DVDs.

Oh, no. Please. CBS, please don't. I know it's tempting when you see the NCIS: LA ratings -- number two for last week, topped only by NCIS! -- but please, refrain. What am I talking about? CBS is pushing a spinoff of Criminal Minds, asking the show's executive producer Ed Bernero and executive producer Chris Mundy to come up with a variation on Criminal Minds. Hmm... Criminal Minds 2.0? Son of Criminal Minds? Criminal Guts?

Moonlight is history, but Alex O'Loughlin is still in demand. The actor, who garnered a huge fan base playing Moonlight's good guy vampire Mick St. John, returns to TV this week. O'Loughlin will guest star as a conflicted serial killer on CBS's Criminal Minds on Wednesday.

For O'Loughlin fans, the guest appearance is only a tease. What they really want to see is their favorite Aussie actor starring in a new weekly series. They might get their wish if CBS picks up Three Rivers, a drama pilot starring O'Loughlin as an organ transplant surgeon.

I got a chance to speak with O'Loughlin this week. We chatted about his new projects, his love for the vampire genre, and how Mick St. John could totally kick Kate Beckinsale's ass. Click through for the conversation, plus preview images and video from the actor's appearance on Criminal Minds.

What a sad sad day it was when CBS announced last season that it was canceling vampire series Moonlight starring hottie Alex O'Loughlin. The series was getting better and better every week, had a devoted fan base and a oh-so-beautiful cast (thanks mainly to Aussy O'Loughlin).

Even if CBS decided to end the series, the network was not about to let go of the actor which is why they inked a one-year deal with him to star in one of their new projects.

Until said project happens, Alex O'Loughlin will guest star in one of CBS's most popular shows: Criminal Minds.

It's November sweeps time. When thinking of that time of year, TV fans know that this also means huge cliffhangers, major twists and a lot of guest stars. A good number of fans don't like the stress this time of year brings, especially since they know some of their favorite series will go on hiatus for December and the first weeks of January.

To help you prepare for November sweeps 2008, we compiled spoilers for the November episodes of some of the best shows on TV. We give you spoilers for series such as: Bones, Brothers & Sisters, Criminal Minds, CSI, Desperate Housewives, Fringe. Ghost Whisperer, Gossip Girl, Grey's Anatomy, Heroes, House, How I Met Your Mother, NCIS, Prison Break, Smallville, The Simpsons, The Unit, Without a Trace and Ugly Betty.

SPOILERS FOLLOW!

I can't decide if this is good news or bad news. Moonlight star Alex O'Loughlin is staying at CBS.

Unless you've been in another galaxy for the past year, you know that the Aussie actor cultivated an enormous fan base with his role as vampire P.I. Mick St. John on CBS' Moonlight. The uproar caused by the cancellation of the show in May can still be heard, well, in another galaxy.

At the Television Critics Association press tour in July, CBS entertainment president Nina Tassler said the popularity of Moonlight was due in large part to O'Loughlin's fan base. So I can appreciate the fact that CBS wants to keep him around. But it's what they'll do with him that has me worried.

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?

After the success of the CSI franchise, it's only natural that CBS would look at other shows on its lineup for spinoff possibilities. Oddly enough, the lucky show isn't World's Greatest Dog, but Criminal Minds. According to Executive Producer Ed Bernero, talks between CBS and ABC studios, who produces Minds, are currently underway, saying, "It's safe to say there will be something soon."

Because the Criminal Minds spinoff is still in the discussion phase, there's no news on exactly what the new show will entail. But, since there are obviously many more specialties within the FBI besides criminal profiling, chances are the new series will focus on one of those. As is the case with most spinoffs nowadays, the new series will probably be introduced via a "backdoor pilot" in an upcoming Criminal Minds episode.

(S04E13) "Allison... close your eyes. I gotta get out of bed now and I'm not wearing any clothes." - Lee Scanlon

The opening voice over left me a bit unnerved. I'm used to Medium starting with some kind of disturbing vision. The only thing disturbing about Allison's narration was that it made me feel like I was watching Criminal Minds.

The pool of blood seeping from the head of Di Novi's dead friend was a little closer to what I've come to expect and I really liked the surrealistic way Scanlon and Di Novi repeated Allison's dream verbatim.

If you want great acting, she will come. The Field of Dreams allusion is purposeful. The leading lady from that film, Amy Madigan, is joining ABC's Grey's Anatomy. The actress who's a past Oscar-nominee for Twice in a Lifetime will have a recurring role, becoming part of the Seattle Grace Hospital coterie on April 24 when the show returns with new episodes.

Last year, Amy was seen in Ben Affleck's Gone Baby Gone, which interestingly came out soon after she appeared on CBS's Criminal Minds for two shows. Going from features to television is clearly not a problem for the gifted actress. In fact, she won a Golden Globe for the TV movie Roe vs. Wade in 1990.

Fans of the Tiffany network can do the happy dance. CBS has renewed 11 scripted shows for the 2008-2009 TV season. The lucky 11 are: CSI; CSI: Miami; CSI: New York; NCIS; Criminal Minds; Cold Case; Without a Trace; Ghost Whisperer; Numb3rs; Two and a Half Men; and The Big Bang Theory.

There are not a lot of surprises in this bunch, although it's great news that The Big Bang Theory, CBS's rookie Monday-night sitcom from Chuck Lorre's stable, made the cut. Still in limbo, however, are three other Monday-night comedies from the network: How I Met Your Mother, Rules of Engagement, and The New Adventures of Old Christine. The story speculates that Mother will get the greenlight for a fourth season soon, but Rules and Christine seem to be in competition for the 9:30-10:00 half-hour slot.

This is becoming more of a soap opera than that whole "who is going to replace Rosie O'Donnell on The View?" stuff.

We reported yesterday that Joe Mantegna is going to replace Mandy Patinkin on Criminal Minds (Patinkin didn't want to return to the show). Now Michael Ausiello over at TVGuide.com reports that Patinkin will in fact return to the show...for one epsiode, to explain what happened to his character.

CBS is on a good run, being the most watched network for the last five years, but they have taken a bit of heat for the formulaic way they have gone about doing it. Not arguing with success, the whole family of CSIs, and their crime based cousins, will be back, but the network is trying to branch out with some edgier programming. Most notably, Swingtown, Viva Laughlin, and Moonlight.

Returning: The Amazing Race, Cold Case, 60 Minutes, How I Met Your Mother, The New Adventures of Old Christine, Two and a Half Men, Rules of Engagement, CSI: Miami, NCIS, The Unit, Criminal Minds, CSI: NY, Survivor, CSI, Shark, Without A Trace, Ghost Whisperer, Numb3rs, 48 Hours Mystery.

New: Viva Laughlin, Swingtown, Moonlight, Cane, Big Bang Theory, Power of 10, Kid Nation

Out: King of Queens, Jericho, The Class, Close To Home

Moving: Without A Trace moves back to Thursday at 10. Shark heads to Sunday at 10.

Here are the weekly TV ratings, by number of viewers.

1. American Idol - Tues (FOX)
2. American Idol - Weds (FOX)
3. Grey's Anatomy (ABC)
4. Dancing with the Stars (ABC)
5. CSI: Miami (CBS)
6. NCIS (CBS)
7. Criminal Minds (CBS)
8. 'Til Death (FOX)
9. Deal Or No Deal (NBC)
10. Cold Case (CBS)
11. CSI: NY (CBS)
12. Survivor (CBS)
13. Without A Trace (CBS)
14. 60 Minutes (CBS
15. Extreme Makeover (ABC)
16. Lost (ABC)
17. The Unit (CBS)
18. 24 (FOX)
19. Two and a Half Men (CBS)
20. October Road (ABC)