It Was So Good To See You (Week of May 1) 

It’s May and that means all of the prime time shows are gearing up for their season finales.  That typically means lots of guest stars and exciting storylines.  Even for some of shows that are not yet working toward their finales, they had interesting guest stars.

Let’s start with the May 1 episode of Breakout Kings that featured actor Richard Burgi as a suave – but murderous – con man who was on the lam from prison.  He is best known for his role as Susan’s ex-husband on Desperate Housewives but he was also the lead in the UPN series The Sentinel.  He also appeared in numerous episodes of 24, Judging Amy, and The District.  He also appeared in the box office movies Cellular, In Her Shoes, Fun With Dick and Jane, and Hostel: Part II.  In was in the short-lived series Point Pleasant and Harper’s Island.  

In that same episode of Breakout Kings, actress Josie Davis appeared as one of the former girlfriends of the con man played by Richard Burgi.  Josie has been acting since she was a child, getting her first big break in Charles In Charge.  She later appeared in numerous episodes of Beverly Hills 90210 and then in the short-lived series Titans.  Over the last 10 years, she has guest starred in episodes of CSI: Miami, NCIS, Ghost Whisperer, Burn Notice, Bones, Chuck, and CSI: NY. She also appeared in the made-for-TV movies Carolina Moon and The Perfect Assistant.

That same night on the season premiere of In Plain Sight, actress Rachel Boston showed up as a cop in town who has dated Fred Weller’s Marshall.  Rachel got her first big break in the NBC series American Dreams and then she appeared in the short-lived series The Ex List.  Additionally, she guest starred in episodes of The Closer, NCIS, Grey’s Anatomy, Crossing Jordan, ER, Eastwick, and Castle.  Her movie roles include (500) Days of Summer and Ghosts of Girlfriends Past.

Then over on The Chicago Code that same night, actresses Tamlyn Tomita and Shannon Lucio both appeared.  Tamlyn played a prosecutor while Shannon played the daughter of an Irish mobster.  Best known for her roles in the films The Karate Kid Part II and The Joy Luck Club, Tamlyn has also appeared in episodes of Quantum Leap, Sisters, Murder, She Wrote, Chicago Hope, Providence, Crossing Jordan, JAG, and 24.  More recently she appeared in Eureka, General Hospital, and Law & Order: Los Angeles.  Meanwhile, Shannon got her start on The O.C. then appeared in Prison Break, Grey’s Anatomy, and the short-lived series The Gates.

On the next night (May 2) during The Event, actor Robert Pine appeared briefly as the judge swearing in the Vice President as the new President.  Robert is probably best known for his role in the popular 70’s series CHIPs.  Throughout the 80’s and 90’s he appeared in TV shows such as MacGyver, Matlock, Life Goes On, Knight Rider, Dallas, Dynasty, Baywatch, and The Practice.  Over the last 10 (plus) years, he has guest starred in JAG, Providence, The Bold and the Beautiful, 24, Joan of Arcadia, Leverage, Castle, and The Mentalist.  He has also appeared in the movies Independence Day and Red Eye.

Meanwhile, over on Castle that same night actor D. B. Sweeney appeared as the LA cop getting in the way of Stana Katic’s Detective Beckett finding out who killed her former training officer.  D. B. appeared in the made-for-TV movie Lonesome Dove as well as the movie The Cutting Edge.  He has appeared in the short-lived shows Strange Luck, C-16: FBI, and Harsh Realm.  More recently he had a recurring role in Jericho and guest starred in Leverage, 24, CSI: NY, Criminal Minds, and The Event.

Lastly, over on NCIS actor Scott Grimes appeared as the former partner of Tony DiNozzo when he was still working for the Baltimore police department.  Scott is best known for his roles in Party of Five and ER, but he has also appeared in made-for-TV mini-series Band of Brothers, the box office film Robin Hood and has provided his voice on the animated series American Dad. Also guest-starring in “Baltimore” was Chad Lindberg, best known to Supernatural fans as Ash. Earlier this season, he made appearances on Criminal Minds and NBC’s The Cape.

With lots of big episodes upcoming over the next couple of weeks, it will be interesting to see who pops up on my favorite shows.  What familiar faces did you see this past week?