TVSquad

(S03E01) Thank you, thank you, thank you, Big Bang Theory. Thank you for not dragging out the "will they or won't they" thing with Leonard and Penny throughout the third season. The guys return from the North Pole looking like a pack of Teen Wolves (all except for Sheldon, whose goatee was much scarier), and the first thing that happens is Penny sticks her tongue down Leonard's throat. There is no dancing around, no skirting the issue. She missed him and had three months to realize that she wanted to give it a shot, so she did.

I especially love that the writers slyly copped to dragging the whole thing out for two seasons, with Leonard and Penny's constant interruptions. "I just can't catch a break!" Although, come on. They flew down to Texas to go after Sheldon. Are they trying to make me believe that Leonard didn't have a few spare minutes before he went to the airport?

On CBS's The Big Bang Theory, we've met Sheldon's mother. Emmy-winner Laurie Metcalf appeared in season one as a super-religious Texas mama who knows better than anyone how to get to Dr. Sheldon Cooper. Now, Leonard's mother is going to be introduced, and she's equally as accomplished as Ms. Metcalf.

Tony, Emmy and SAG award winning actress Christine Baranski will be Leonard's mom, Dr. Beverly Hofstadter. That's right, she's a brainiac.

Her specialty is research on the human brain, and according to Bill Prady, Big Bang's executive producer, "There's the possibility that Leonard is the least successful in his family, that his parents always pushed him toward academic success." Sounds like a funny set up to me.

When you're a ratings-challenged fledgling network like the CW, you're going to do anything you can to get a leg up on the competition. Releasing sex-filled advertisements for your most high-profile show is a good start, but that alone won't get the job done. To that end, the CW has just announced that it's moving its fall premiere dates up to September 1st, well ahead of the beginning of the traditional broadcast season.

The idea behind the move is that you're already going to be hooked on Gossip Girl and Top Model by the time the other networks get around to premiering their fall shows, sometime around mid-to-late September. The season isn't the only thing the CW is starting early, however. Starting in November, they're also extending prime time, with original programming beginning at 6:30 on Sunday nights.

Check out CW's full premiere schedule after the jump.

Lots of casting news for Fox pilots lately. Tim Roth, who recently appeared in The Incredible Hulk, is set to star in Fox's pilot Lie to Me. The show, which is produced by 20th TV and Imagine Entertainment, follows a researcher in the field of deception detection named Cal Lightman. Roth is also currently filming King Conqueror and 44 Inch Chest.

And the casting news doesn't end there. The CW made some announcements too. Brian Hallisay, who has appeared in Bones and Bionic Woman, will co-star in the CW's new drama called Privileged. The show is about Megan (played by Joanna Garcia), a woman who is hired to be a life coach for a pair of rich 16-year-old twins in Florida.

The Emmy nominations won't be announced until July 17, but we can tell you right now without a doubt that Ugly Betty's Rebecca Romijn will not be among the outstanding supporting actress in a comedy category at the Emmys. No, we're not psychic. It's just that her spokesman has confirmed that her name was never actually submitted. DOH! And why was that, you wonder. No good reason, said her rep, "It was an oversight."

According to L.A. Times' Tom O'Neil, this isn't really that far-fetched an occurrence. Tim Allen, at the height of his Home Improvement success, missed a chance for an Emmy nomination when somebody fumbled the ball. The next year, his paperwork was hand-delivered, accompanied by the University of Southern California marching band.

Romijn's omission -- on the surface -- looks like a mistake. Yes, it's true that her status on the show is going from series regular to recurring, but I don't believe she purposely kept her name out of the running to in some way act out in protest against the show. It makes no sense? How is she hurting Ugly Betty by not getting an Emmy nomination? No, this was a screw up, nothing more.

Sarah's up to her neck in... whatever she's doing that gets as deep as her neck. To be honest with you, I don't really know, but when she asked the Squadders for a hand in reviewing this week's Grey's Anatomy, I happily volunteered. So you have me this week instead of Sarah. I apologize in advance.

OK, right off the bat, let me say that this wasn't one of those edge-of-your-seat, high drama, emotional episodes like we've been used to seeing. Oh, don't get me wrong, there were some major revelations in this episode. It just seemed very Seinfeldian in that just about everyone who wasn't Meredith got an underdeveloped side plot, just to so viewers know they're all still around.