ROUNDUP: "HIMYM," "Prison Break," Tuesday nights and more

In what I hope to be a daily rundown of TV (and some film) news, critiques and raves from the past few days, here is today's (more) in-depth, blog-worthy collection.

- Tim Goodman critiques a weakened Tuesday night lineup from the five broadcast networks, and not surprisingly, I have to side with his analysis.

- A "major character" gets the big axe on "Gossip Girl." I use quotations because do you really think they'd kill off Nate or Vanessa (as rigid as she might be)? And is Bart Bass really considered that much of a factor? Seriously.

- Starz' small screen adaptation of the 2006 Oscar winner, "Crash," well, crashes - and badly.

- James Poniewozik of Time makes an interesting comparison between Monday's "How I Met Your Mother" episode and its change-centric anti-sitcom premise.

- "Crusoe," which premieres tonight on NBC, is a combination of "Lost" and "Pirates of the Caribbean." What?

- David Kelley ("The Practice," "Ally McBeal") is set to develop a new dramedy for NBC centered on a father-daughter lawyer team. Sounds like a time warp.

- "American Idol" champ David Cook will perform as "Saturday Night Live's" musical guest on November 1. Let's hope the host is light years beyond in talent to offset this unfortunate imbalance.

- Dwight gives birth to a watermelon. No, I'm not kidding.

- The trailer for the Daniel Craig film (and vying for a couple of Oscars), "Defiance," looks action-packed, emotional and gripping. The A-list cast includes Liev Schreiber and Jamie Bell. Other trailers include Swedish horror flick, "Let the Right One In" and "The Haunting in Connecticut."

- Emmy winner Zeljko Ivanek ("Damages") will have a 10-episode arc on "Heroes." Maybe this'll turn the tide for the struggling third year series.

- Someone who we saw from day one of "Prison Break" will die, but it won't be Michael. Thank god. Guesses as to who bites the dust?

- You can purchase Charlie's ("It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia") infamous Green Man costume here.

- "Juno" scribe, Diablo Cody, is penning a new Showtime half-hour comedy starring Toni Collette called "The United States of Tara." Preview it here.

Quick Takes:
- "Mad Men" gets a third season order from AMC.
- Jenny and Nate have a brief romance in upcoming episodes of "Gossip Girl."
- Jessica Walter ("Arrested Development") has been demoted to recurring status on "90210."
- The fourth freshman series to get a full season is "The Mentalist." Not shocked at all. (The first three were "90210," "Fringe" and "True Blood." "True Blood" had already filmed all its episodes for the first season prior to the pilot airdate, but HBO ordered a second season quickly thereafter so it qualifies.)
- The final episodes of Sci Fi's "Battlestar Galactica" (no!) will start airing January 16.
- ABC orders four more scripts for "Eli Stone" before it premiered Tuesday night, which brings its current total to 17 episodes.
- Sarah Palin will appear on "Saturday Night Live" tomorrow.