
It’s as if the powers that be at the cable and major networks decided to ramp up the star wattage on guest stars this week in preparation for the holiday break, starting with actor Josh Randall appearing on last week’s episode of Leverage. He was the CEO of a greeting card company who seemed to be deliberately ruining the company. Josh is best known for his role in the NBC series Ed as well as a recurring role on Lost, but he has also appeared in Pushing Daisies, Scrubs, Raising the Bar, and Men in Trees.

That same night, over on Once Upon a Time, actor Alan Dale appeared as the “father†of Prince Charming (Josh Dallas). TV viewers will, of course, recognize Alan from his work on The O.C., Lost, and NCIS, but he has also guest starred on The Killing, Entourage, and the short lived series Undercovers.

Over on Monday night, actress Christine Woods appeared on Christmas episode of The Closer as Buzz’s sister. Christine appeared in the short-lived series FlashForward and prior to that she appeared in episodes of NCIS, In Plain Sight, House, and CSI: Miami.

It should be noted that this episode also featured legendary actor-comedian Fred Willard as the resident Santa Claus at a long-time Santa village in Los Angeles. Recently, he’s guest starred on Modern Family, Franklin & Bash, and Retired at 35.

Immediately following that episode, actress Tessa Thompson appeared on Rizzoli & Isles as a FBI agent running the investigation of a bank robbery who also happened to be the ex-fiancée of Detective Frost (Lee Thompson Young). Tessa is best known for her work on Veronica Mars and Heroes as well as the short lived series Hidden Palms and Detroit 1-8-7.

Moving over to Monday night, actress Meredith Monroe appeared as the mother of Lemon (Jaime King) both in flashbacks and in real-time on Hart of Dixie. Best known for her role in Dawson’s Creek as well as a recurring role on Criminal Minds. Additionally, she guest starred in episodes of The Mentalist, Moonlight, Crossing Jordan, Bones, and Joan of Arcadia.

On Tuesday night, actress Rena Sofer appeared in the finale of Covert Affairs as the ex-wife of Arthur who is also an attorney. Rena has a long resume of TV roles including a recurring role in NCIS, Heroes, 24, Just Shoot Me, Ed, the short-lived series The Chronicle, as well as General Hospital and Melrose Place.

That same night, over on Body of Proof, actor Jeff Yagher appeared as a doctor who treated a patient who unfortunately died, ending up in the medical examiner’s office. Jeff got his start in the TV version of the original mini-series V and appeared in the TV movie Bionic Showdown: The Six Million Dollar Man and The Bionic Woman with a then unknown Sandra Bullock. He has also appeared in episodes of Profiler, Star Trek: Voyager, Crossing Jordan, Alias, Six Feet Under, Bones, and Without a Trace.

Lastly, on Wednesday night’s episode of Psych featured actor Diedrich Bader as the leader of hippie-type commune/cult, who ended up being the killer for whom Gus and Shawn were searching. Diedrich, of course, got his big break in the box office remake of The Beverly Hillbillies, did voice work for various projects, and then landed a role in the popular comedy The Drew Carey Show. He also appeared in episodes Medium, Chuck, Bones, and the short-lived series Outsourced.
With the Christmas holiday not that not far away, there will be fewer new episodes and fewer guest stars; but it will be fun to see who is yet to come.
Related posts
Classics
Dennis Heaton Talks The Imperfects
Longtime readers at TV Goodness will know that Motive is one of my ride-or-die series, and as such, I am fiercely loyal to its creator, Dennis Heaton. He followed up that fantastic reverse procedural with Netflix’s The Order and is back on our streaming screens with The Imperfects, which dropped…
Kelly McCormack Talks Favorite Moments in A League of Their Own
[Warning: Mild spoilers for season 1.] Now that you’ve had a chance to watch A League of Their Own, here’s the rest of my chat with Kelly McCormack about her favorite moments of the season. Seeing the iconic Peaches uniforms for the first time wasn’t just a goosebump moment for…
John Griffin and Harold Perrineau Talk From on EPIX Season 1 Finale
[Warning: General spoilers ahead.] How are we doing, #FROMily? In case you missed it this morning, the very good news is that that cliffhanger will be followed by a second season, which was gifted this morning ahead of the linear broadcast of the finale. I always legitimately appreciate when we…
Elizabeth Saunders Talks EPIX’s From
[Warning: General spoilers ahead.] One of the things that makes EPIX’s From such a fun ride is the abundance of Canadian cast members. Elizabeth Saunders, who plays Donna, is a favorite from her turn on the third season of Mary Kills People [streaming on Global TV in Canada and Roku…
Corteon Moore Talks From “Broken Windows, Open Doors”
[Warning: Spoilers for tonight’s episode.] Tonight’s episode of From had us all in our feels as we learned through flashbacks about the Sophie’s Choice Boyd had to make to save his son, and back in the present as Boyd said his piece with Ellis before heading into the woods with…
Pegah Ghafoori Talks From “All Good Things…”
[Warning: Spoilers for tonight’s episode] Tonight on From, Fatima’s anniversary celebration turned into a Colony House of horrors when a misguided Kevin let his monster bae in and she promptly killed him and left the window open for her crew. While the party devolved into terror and sent everyone running,…
Shaun Majumder Talks From “Book 74”
[Warning: Spoilers for tonight’s episode.] Tonight on EPIX’s From, Father Khatri made a bold move, kidnapping Sara instead of turning her in, and then recognizing her as a vessel for some big messages. That startling realization speaks to him on multiple levels–as a man of faith, a man trapped in…
Avery Konrad Talks About Sara’s Struggle in From “Silhouettes”
[Warning: Spoilers for tonight’s episode.] Over the course of the season so far on From, we’ve witnessed Sara’s battle against the voices telling her to to do terrible things, and tonight we saw her unravel further, threatening the Matthews and lashing out in a moment of terror with horrifying results….
Hannah Cheramy Talks From “Choosing Day”
[Warning: Spoilers for tonight’s episode.] Tonight, on EPIX’s From, the Matthews participate in the show’s version of the sorting hat, choosing where to call home–the town or Colony House. At the end of the episode, Julie makes the decision to split from her family and instead settle in with Fatima…
Ricky He Talks From “The Way Things Are Now”
[Warning: Spoilers for episode 102 of EPIX’s From.] Epix’s new series From is two episodes in and it’s already laying the groundwork for a seriously spooky season. Tonight’s episode demonstrated the careful balance of relief and horror that the show hits, with our characters’ worst fears realized, just not when…
What They Said: Three Revealing Conversations from Survivor’s Remorse “Closure”
WARNING: Spoilers for Survivor’s Remorse “Closure” The latest episode of Starz’s Survivor’s Remorse featured conversations that showed characters really digging deep into their thoughts, emotions and motivations.
Two Takes: The Catch “The Knock-Off”
Who can you trust? If this episode of The Catch was any indication, the answer is just about nobody. Betrayal was running rampant as Felicity (Shivani Ghai) arose from the dead to seduce-con Margot, Gretchen (Maria Thayer, Gotham, The Mindy Project) played gold-hearted Alice 2.0 before swindling Ethan, Tessa jumped…
What They Said: Top 3 Quotable Moments from Preacher “El Valero”
Both Quincannon and Jesse refuse to give up on what they each think is rightfully theirs. While Jesse is struggling to face the consequences of his actions, Quincannon has laid his past demons to rest and is hellbent on moving forward and putting Annville on the map again. Despite a…
What They Said: Favorite Quotes from Supergirl “Worlds Finest”
Oh, Supergirl. That ending was cold. But I can’t hate on you because the latest episode has quickly become one of my favorites.
What They Said: Top 4 Quotable Moments from Black Sails “XXIII”
The dialogue in “XXIII” is phenomenal. It’s always a fun ride when Black Sails carries its viewers along without giving them the chance to catch their breath. When an episode moves at this unforgiving pace, there is no chance for a breather nor is there a respite from the information…
What Lucifer Said: Favorite quotes from Supernatural “O Brother, Where Art Thou?”
Supernatural episodes are almost always funny but thanks to the dialogue and a certain man speaking said dialogue, I laughed a lot during “O Brother, Where Art Thou?” You know, when I wasn’t busy fearing for Sam’s life or wondering what in the world was going on with Dean and…
What They Said: The Flash, “Legends Of Today” and Arrow, “Legends Of Yesterday”
Two nights of Arrow + The Flash = what more could we ask for?! I don’t know what it is about blending these shows, but I can’t help but feel that every time they come together, they somehow become greater than the sum of their parts. And that’s saying a lot…
What they Said: Top 4 Quotable Moments from Graceland “Little Bo Bleep”
Shoot outs. Fake outs. And long-awaited revelations. “Little Bo Bleep” was a jam-packed episode that wrapped up some loose ends and totally frayed others. Â It finally gave us one Sarkissian in jail and pulled back the curtain on Briggs’ master plan, but it also set up Jakes for a world…
What They Said: Favorite Quotes from Poldark “Part 4”
“What have I told you, I don’t require my wife to crochet and sip tea, but I do require her to remember she’s not a beast of burden.†No, I’m not talking about The Rolling Stones! I have to admit though, just for a second, the lyrics popped into my…
3 Moments of Goodness from Brooklyn Nine-Nine “Johnny and Dora”
The most satisfying part of this season’s finale has to the Jake and Amy kiss. Well, they kiss three times but the last one is the best one — and it means something. The Charles and Rosa dynamic was also great. I love how she’s convinced he doesn’t know anything…