Returned tonight. Notes from the telecast, including a good night for Sabrina Bryan, below, after the grand jete …

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You may have noticed that Dan Abrams was doing MSNBC double-duty as both the general manager and an on-air personality. Now he's becoming an on-air star fulltime again. Announcement after the jump …

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Andy Borowitz's humor column makes me laugh pretty often, and today it made me laugh hard. An excerpt:

Facing ten felony counts after his ill-fated attempt to acquire sports memorabilia, O.J. Simpson announced today that he would attempt to reassemble the jury that found him not guilty in his 1995 murder trial.

"Look, I've spent the last twelve years looking for my wife's real killers," he said. "I can use some of that energy to look for those jurors."

You can read the complete column (including a good Starbucks joke) and more at the Borowitz Report.

As much as there was to watch during the summer, it still isn't the same as the fall.

In the fall, multiple DVRs are doing multiple duty. In the fall, thanks to the changing landscape, I'll be keeping an eye out for online videos of shows — in case the DVRs blow a gasket.

And I get to see a lot of things in advance.

(Hello, "Videodrome"…)

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I recently noted my admiration for Durning while posting about the season finale of "Rescue Me." Now the Screen Actors Guild is giving the 84-year-old actor its Life Achievement Award.

Well deserved. Full announcement after the jump.

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In my Friday Notepad post, I noted a National Enquirer report that Maureen McCormick's upcoming memoir included a juicy story about her and co-star Eve Plumb. I also reminded one and all that the original source was the Enquirer. So it should not surprise that the story is now being firmly denied — as ABC News reports here.

An obit is here.

There are no words.

Premieres Wednesday.

See the Addison in this picture? Tough, smart, and not willing to offer a complete smile unless you earn it. This is the Addison I liked on "Grey's Anatomy." This is not the Addison of "Private Practice."

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Here's a link to my review of "Eastern Promises," in case you missed it over at Ohio.com.

My review of "The War" will be in Sunday's Beacon Journal. I had some issues — and think Ken Burns mishandled the Latino question — but kept watching. We'll talk more about it.

TV Tattle has a link to an item about Maureen McCormick and Eve Plumb that will probably boost sales of "The Brady Bunch" DVDs. And that may inspire new line readings of "Marcia Marcia Marcia."

But keep in mind that the item is credited to a source for the National Enquirer.

Also from TV Tattle, this story saying the ratings for "Survivor: China" were the worst yet for a "Survivor" premiere.

I watched the premiere, but will keep my spoiler-containing thoughts for after the jump. …

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Via TV Tattle, the show-biz trades report that AMC is on the verge of picking up "Mad Men" for a second season. (Link to Variety's story here.)

Also, AMC notes that "this week's airing of MAD MEN … is an encore presentation of Episode 5, '5G.' Beginning with the premiere of Episode 10 'The Lost Weekend' on September 27th, things continue to heat up, including quite a few pivotal moments and exciting revelations in the next few episodes as we build to the finale on Thursday, October 18th."

And don't forget to go back to the show on the 27th. I've seen the episode and it's a good one. Pic below:

The "Saturday Night Live" announcement follows the jump.

He knows comedy: LBJ at the ESPYs

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If CBS had sent out the first episode of "Kid Nation" for review, it would have muted some of the debate about the show. Obviously, CBS did not want to mute the debate … (some spoilers after the jump)

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I'm not the only one concerned. My colleague Maureen Ryan is also worried and has posted some of her thoughts in her blog. She also has a link to Yahoo! TV, where you can see the episode — and so understand my problems with the premiere. My friend and colleague Alan Sepinwall has also weighed in a bit on his blog.

"Back" premieres tonight, " 'Til Death" starts its second season tonight. …

I keep thinking I should write something more detailed than what I had in today's HeldenFiles about "Back to You," basically that the second episode is funnier than the first. (You have to scroll down a bit to get to that stuff.) But that pretty much covers it. The first episode suffers from the need to introduce characters and establish the situation, while the second settles into getting laughs — notably with a sequence of farcical bits involving Kelsey Grammer, which merrily recall the escalating-complication episodes of "Frasier." Grammer and Patricia Heaton work very well together, and there's always the brilliant Fred Willard to liven things up.

I didn't say much in the paper about " 'Til Death," mainly for reasons of space, but also because it was a returning show that isn't much different than it was when it left. It has the same basic problem it has had from the beginning; it's a show about two couples where only one is consistently funny. (That would be Brad Garrett and Joely Fisher.)

While the show is considerably better than it was at the beginning of the first season, it's still not a great comedy. And it pretty much stops dead when the other couple takes center stage. So be it.

Official announcement after the jump. It notes that Jack Bauer "faces trial for his actions in the pursuit of justice." Which, given his actions, could make for a verrrrry long trial.

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