TVSquad

When you want to conjure up some ratings magic, a special guest star always helps. And if you can get the star to commit for a few episodes during May sweeps, well that's even better. With that in mind, the CW has signed Michelle Trachtenberg for a multi-episode arc on Gossip Girl.

(S19E13)"Young man, I'm going to be on you like a numerator on a denominator" -- Principal Skinner to Donny the informant

It's been a looong time since we had an episode of The Simpsons that focused on that young rapscallion Bart and his status of Prankmaster at Springfield Elementary. Frankly, I was starting to get a bit worried that we wouldn't see one at all this season and that all we would get is one episode after another focusing on Homer and his hi-jinks. Luckily, someone at FOX or the offices of The Simpsons realized this and gave us an installment that not only reignited the feud between Bart and Principal Skinner, but parodied the Martin Scorsese film The Departed. Plus, it was actually a good episode.

(S08E21/S08E22) It's kind of weird that two shows that premiered at just about the same time are ending the same night. The other weird thing is that the first show to end its long run tonight, That '70s Show, couldn't be more different than the other one, Will & Grace. The other difference? That '70s Show didn't try to be any more than it was, which was just a fun half-hour. And the last two episodes didn't stray from that formula: they were light and funny without being overly sentimental.

Perhaps it's a move that will open up the 8 o'clock hour for American Idol during late February and early March, since FOX is airing the results shows for the semi-finals on Thursday nights. FOX is moving The O.C. to the 9 o'clock hour, from the 8 o'clock slot its held since the first season. That time slot is now open, thanks to the cancellation of Reunion. The move happens on January 12, when new episodes of The O.C. return. FOX's announcement also gives a hint of what's to come in the second half of this season on The O.C. Ryan, Summer, and Seth launch a plan to get Marissa back into Harbor in time for graduation. One of the upcoming episodes, called "The Safe Harbor", is a tribute to an episode of Beverly Hills 90210 where the gang fought to get Donna to graduate. Plus, there's that whole college thing that still needs to be figured out. Where will they all go so we can continue to watch The O.C.?

Sliding into The O.C.'s old time slot are back-to-back episodes of That 70s Show. At least, until Idol takes over.