So Ugly Betty is getting a new nurse character, in the form of Lauren Velez, most known for her role as Lieutenant Maria Laguerta on Showtime's Dexter. Which seems like a weird match; maybe we're just so used to seeing Velez in her tough-girl persona that we can't actually imagine her, you know, taking care of people.

Which got us thinking: As a Hollywood movie actor, versatility is key. Or it is if you're Sean Penn or Robert Downey Junior and like to win awards. But in television, there seems to be a high demand for character actors who jump from show to show, always portraying similar people with different names. Hello, Jimmy Smits, anyone? If he is in one more show playing a hard-boiled patriarch, I'll kvetch.

Here is our salute to some of the brave men and women who were able to break the mold in typecasting on TV. Some are household names for breaking their way out of television obscurity and some still diligently provide the backbone of our nightly lineup.

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What's funny about the whole Blago cursing thing is that his now-infamous audio records also have Chicago governor Rod Blagojevich saying "shiiiiit" a lot. (Just like that, "shiiiiiiiit.") More and more, it seems that his whole scandal would have made a great season of The Wire. The circle of life folks, the circle of life.

Meanwhile, for those of you keeping score at home, Rod is out of custody, back to wearing black casual attire and having the craziest chipmunk cheeks since Eraserhead.

Tomorrow, members of the cast of the Peabody Award-winning drama series The Wire will attend a Backyard Brunch for Barack in Raleigh. Seven of the show's cast members will visit the Tarheel State in support of the change Barack Obama will bring across the country and in North Carolina.
-Huffpost

So, The Wire. It’s kind of a big deal. It’s HBO’s rebound show after The Sopranos. Also if you read that New Yorker profile of David Simon, the show’s creator, the guy comes off as kind of a genius.

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In every group of friends, there’s always one person who is too into The Wire. This guy is constantly chastising you for not watching the show and thinks he’s too good for Law & Order SVU. Whatever, Law & Order SVU really isn’t so bad. It’s certainly better than thinking.

Anyway, this friend is about to get the backing of the MSM, as the final season of The Wire takes place at a degenerating paper that’s a stand-in for The Baltimore Sun.

The season hasn’t even started yet, and Variety is already breathless over it:

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