It Was So Good To See You: Guide to Guest Stars (Wk of 12/4) 

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.