Guest Who?

As someone whose Netflix queue is 95% television, I spend plenty of time thinking about ways to make my favorite shows even better. I'm almost always far more interested in character development than any other aspect of a TV program. I'll keep watching long after the plot has gone off the rails so long as my favorite characters remain consistent -- and consistently entertaining.
Case in point: I sat through the entire second season of Heroes, which was one of the worst sophomore slumps I've ever seen, solely because of Zachary Quinto's gleeful, hammy psychopath Sylar. On the other hand, I've pretty much sworn off How I Met Your Mother, formerly one of my favorite shows, because of the way its writers have destroyed characters' continuity and likeability in the last few seasons.

A crucial factor in the success or failure of a show's character development is the integration of its guest stars. Some shows get it right (The Big Bang Theory comes to mind, with Wil Wheaton playing himself as a hilarious nemesis for Sheldon) and some, well, don't (ahem, How I Met Your Mother, with stunt casting choices like a wooden Britney Spears). Famous guest stars draw ratings; they can also draw the audience out of a necessary suspension of disbelief. But if it's done right, the guest star fits into the cast perfectly (Jon Hamm on 30 Rock, anyone?) and makes you wish the role were permanent.



Here are a few pairings I think could work very well:


1) Stephen Fry + House
Fry is notoriously good buddies with star Hugh Laurie, and if you've ever seen their sublime interplay in A Bit of Fry and Laurie or Jeeves and Wooster, you won't wonder at this suggestion. Fry is versatile and House takes place in a large enough universe that there are hundreds of ways to write him in.


2) Jaime Pressly + Cougar Town
Pressly showed us, in her years on My Name is Earl, that she has a gift for zany comedy AND a Southern trailer-park accent. I've become quite a fan of Cougar Town, the possibly-to-be-renamed hit created by Bill Lawrence, who also has the very quirky Scrubs to his credit. I think Pressly could fit in perfectly with both the tone of the show and its resident redneck hottie Brian Van Holt.


3) Kristen Bell + Community; OR, alternatively, Kristen Bell + Glee
Clearly I love Kristen Bell, but who doesn't? She's witty, fast-talking, intense, and unafraid to take on both drama and comedy. I can picture her as a rival for Alison Brie's Annie on Community, and one who could match Joel McHale snark for snark. Given her musical ability and very youthful appearance, I'd also love to see her guest on Glee. Vocal Adrenaline really needs a compelling female lead if they're going to go up against Rachel Berry and co. again next year.



4) Jessica Walter + Gossip Girl
Gossip Girl is a guilty pleasure that's often much better than it has any right to be. Sometimes it's soapy beyond belief, but there are always fine performances from a few actors - namely Leighton Meester and Ed Westwick - that elevate the show. But as the grown-ups on the show, Kelly Rutherford and Matthew Settle frankly bore me to tears. Gossip Girl needs a real adult character who isn't afraid of a bunch of whiny 19-year-olds; someone who can hold her liquor (and likely yours) and wither you with a single glance. Enter Arrested Development's Jessica Walter. Her Lucille Bluth was wonderfully comedic, but it's easy to imagine that character set a few notches to the right as a dramatic force to be reckoned with.

5) William B. Davis + Fringe
It's true that Fringe has already had the honor of a multi-episode arc from the legendary Leonard Nimoy, whose appearance one might argue makes other guest nods to sci-fi anticlimactic. But given the similarities to The X-Files, and the endless possibilities in such a show for shadowy military/industrial figures, who better to pop up than the Cigarette Smoking Man himself? Davis is a fine actor who can be menacing, weary, and even funny in the space of a few moments. And besides, I'm pretty sure that geeks' heads around the world would explode at the mere flick of his lighter.