Unfortunately, Heroes won’t start airing new episodes until next fall, but luckily, fans have materials to keep them busy. First, catch up on season one and the first five episodes of season two online. Then, read the “back story” of Charlie and Hiro’s relationship in Heroes: Saving Charlie. Finally, enjoy the extra details found in Heroes: Volume One. This is a collection of short comics originally published on NBC’s website. One can find out more on characters such as Wireless and Eden. While fans may enjoy them, those not familiar with the television series best catch up on that first and see what they are missing.

You'll need your clicker tonight to see the entire Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show. USA Network, Channel 51 in AA, will host the show from 8 - 9 p.m. and then CNBC, Channel 39 in AA, will take over from 9 - 11 p.m. Bertie gives the show a two-paws up rating.

Bill Moyers on his PBS program, Bill Moyers Journal asked viewers to submit titles of books they would like the next president to read and take to the White House with him/her. Moyers discussed a few of the titles on his program which airs on PBS stations Friday nights including his own recommendation of Command of Office: How War, Secrecy and Deception Transformed the Presidency From Theodore Roosevelt to George W. Bush by Stephen Graubard. Some other suggested titles are All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten by Robert Fulghum and the recently published Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortensen. Readers' comments on why they chose each book are interesting as well.

Many of us have favorite TV shows that we are watching on DVD for the first time or are perhaps watching for the third time. In January the AADL added many more seasons to our ever-growing collection of shows. Some newer ones are The L Word Season 4, Big Love Season 2, Oz Season 6, Taxi Season 3, and Nip/Tuck Season 4. There are many other new series seasons as well. Check out our new DVD list for more!

If you haven’t watched The Wire, what are you missing?

For one thing, a series that that’s been called one of the best on TV.

Don’t write this off as just another run-of-the-mill cop show. The series starts by exploring both sides of the Baltimore drug war, and expands its focus from there. Great writing and characters make this a compelling show.

This HBO series started its fifth – and sadly, last - season on January 6th. Catch up on the first three seasons here at the library.

CTN Channel 17 will broadcast the Santa Satellite Network LIVE from Santa's workshop on Thursday, December 13 from 6 to 8 p.m. Mrs. Claus and Elf Mindy will help Santa take your calls at 734.997.1050. So make that list, check it twice and give Santa a ring!

On Jan. 15, 2008, Comcast will move the four Ann Arbor CTN Community Access channels to digital service only stations. This will require all viewers accessing CTN to watch city council meetings as well as school and community programming to have a digital convertor box. CTN's press release gives full details on the changes and their response to the decision by Comcast.

November 20 is the birthday of two unlikely bedfellows, Alistair Cooke and Chester Gould. Cooke, broadcast journalist and author, was born in 1908 in Salford, England but moved to the U.S. in the 1930's. His program, "Letter from America" on BBC radio was broadcast in more than fifty countries. He is perhaps best known to Americans for his eloquence as a host of PBS's Masterpiece Theatre.

You may be having a sense of deja vu when next you watch your favorite television television show. The Writers Guild of America, the folks responsible for much of the content on TV and in movies, is on strike. The sticking point? Authors want a bigger share of the lucrative DVD market and a stake in the burgeoning web market. Studios and networks say no way, not wanting to cut into their cash cow or hamper their efforts to draw in web viewers.

The effects will be felt most immediately in late night TV and other programming that relies heavily on current events, including, sadly, The Daily Show and the Colbert Report. Soap opera fans beware, for daytime television will follow shortly. Prime time TV and movies won't be affected immediately. Of course, if the strike lasts 5 months like the last one, even all you Lost addicts out there may be getting a bit of strike fatigue.

Not content with merely acquiring the businessperson's bible, Rupert Murdoch has been reaching business folks through the cable lines as well. The newly-launched Fox Business Network is positioned to compete with the previously (almost) unrivaled CNBC.

Certainly, Fox Biz Network must be hoping to snipe a few CNBC viewers. But at least based on the first week, it's not wholly clear that they'll attract the same people. CNBC is known for its sometimes, well, overly passionate commentary about the stock market. Fox Biz seems like it's going beyond the minutiae of the market to target a broader audience.

Television news, of course, has a sordid history, to which Mr. Murdoch has contributed his own fair share. The question on people's minds now is whether Fox Biz will do to CNBC what Fox News did to CNN, especially with the power of the Wall Street Journal behind it. Perhaps Murdoch is writing the next chapter in that sordid history.

With the new series Gossip Girl premiering on CW last week, I've been thinking about other television series based on books for teens or tweens. My list is sadly short: Gossip Girl (series by Cecily Von Ziegesar), Little House on the Prairie (series by Laura Ingalls Wilder), and of course tons of comic book-based television shows.

Sure there are movies based on teen books such as How to Deal based on several books by Sarah Dessen, I, Robot (original book by Isaac Asimov), and The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants (original book by Ann Brashares).

And there’s never a shortage of books based on TV shows such as Teen Titans, Smallville, and That’s So Raven.

However, when it comes to television shows based on teen/tween books, the list is short. Can you think of any?

This week some of my old childhood favorites are being released and re-released on DVD. You're never too old to watch David Bowie in all of his make-up and glam-rock-splendor in Labyrinth. And if puppets are your thing, The Muppet Show Season Two has just been released in addition to Fraggle Rock Season Three. Check out the children’s DVD collection at AADL, and don’t ever apologize for checking out an item labeled “Youth.” Kermit and Gobo are funny no matter what age you are.

Fashion gurus and reality TV hounds are most likely familiar with Bravo’s hit show Project Runway. The dapper and debonair Tim Gunn is the witty pedagogical figure who acts as a mentor and gives the designers advice regarding their designs. Tonight is Bravo’s premiere of his new show: Tim Gunn’s Guide to Style.

Can’t wait for the fall television season to begin? Looking forward to intrigue on Wisteria Lane? Romance at Seattle Grace? Adventure on a remote island? Can’t wait to know what happens? Check out spoilerfix.com. The website is one stop shopping for an episode by episode “sneak peak” of what “may happen” on Desperate Housewives, Grey’s Anatomy, Lost, and many other popular tv series. Be warned! If you don’t like knowing what is going to happen, not even a hint, this website isn’t for you.

Don Herbert, who taught those of us of a certain age how to Figure It Out with goofy science experiments on TV, died yesterday. The Mr. Wizard web site lets you watch video clips of the show, peek inside his science files and work on this week's Science Secret. Mr. Wizard's legacy of fun science is alive and well at the Ann Arbor Hands-On Museum. The Museum, which is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year, currently has an historical exhibit in the lower level of the Downtown library through July 14.