
It's slightly unnerving to talk to Yvonne Strahovski after watching her for a full season on
Chuck. She's proven herself so adept at spying, knife-throwing, and other forms of physical intimidation that it seems wise not to make any sudden movements.
Luckily for me, Strahovski didn't seem at all interested in beating back the line of reporters who wanted to talk to her about the upcoming season of Chuck at NBC's
TCA press tour party last month.

My first instinct upon stepping into the Buy More was to reach for the brochure for the store credit card. Hey, maybe I could get even better deals at the green-and-yellow big-box store if I just got one of the store-branded pieces of plastic . .

One of the biggest
Emmy snubs — now two years running! — is the exclusion of Connie Britton for her pitch-perfect performance as Tami Taylor in
Friday Night Lights. For two years, she's played Tami's highs (helping troubled Tyra get her act together) and lows (slapping daughter Julie outside after a particularly troublesome act of teen rebellion) with just the right balance of drama and humor — and, when season three begins, she'll find Tami in a
demanding new job.

The second we walk through the hospital doors, my palms start to sweat. Then I see the table stacked high with boxes of alcohol swabs, and then the rubber glove dispensers hanging from the walls, and then the blue-cloth-covered gurneys, and I swear my heart skips a beat. "This is definitely County General," someone says.

So many of the funniest moments in
the season finale of
The Office came courtesy of Brian Baumgartner as Kevin, whose "special" relationship with Amy Ryan toed the politically incorrect line to hilarious effect. And Kevin's profile has only continued to grow this Summer, as he's starring in
this year's series of Office webisodes. So it's no surprise that Baumgartner was a pretty popular guy at NBC's party at the
TCA press tour.

Most of the cast of
Kath and Kim is best known for comedy: Molly Shannon had all those years on Saturday Night Live, John Michael Higgins is one of Christopher Guest's regular players, and Mikey Day is a Groundlings grad who's also dipped a toe into
Internet comedy. So how on earth does Selma Blair fit in?
Pretty well, actually, if her appearance at the
TCA press tour is any indication.

Of all the shows affected by the
writers' strike, NBC's
Chuck took one of the hardest hits. The show was just really hitting its stride when the strike cut it short, and its final two episodes aired in a sort of bizarre
Chuck sandwich. My
biggest question for the show heading into season two was whether people would even really remember it exists.

It's the last day of sessions here at the
TCA press tour, and it's NBC's turn to hawk its wares. Just a few minutes ago, NBC Entertainment Co-Chairman Ben Silverman took the stage to clarify a few things about
The Office spinoff (and not-spinoff), the network's plans for late night, and more. Some highlights:

The fun rolled on this weekend at the
TCAs! After the panels on Saturday and Sunday, came last night's big party. The crowd included old favorites from
The Office, new all-stars like the cast of
Kath and Kim, and a few select
Heroes, including Hayden and Milo, who kept their distance.

Wow, that was one whirlwind weekend here at the
TCA press tour. CBS, Showtime, The CW, and NBC's cable networks have all been on stage, plus the Television Critics Association took a break from the panels to deliver some honors of its own. I've heard lots about the new
90210, been bowled over by the hilarity of
The Ex List's showrunner, and heard references to
The Wire and
Arrested Development — in the same session!