Morning Meme: Huge "Torchwood" Casting News, NPH on his First Christmas as a Dad, Inappropriate Kid Toys, and More!

Note - Ed is buried under tons of snow, so I'm filling in for today's abbreviated Meme.

Let's start with another blast from the past. Above you can see ten of my favorite 80's TV shows. How many can you name? If no one gets all of them, I'll reveal the answers in today's Briefs.

Entertainment Weekly has a handy schedule of the mid-season cable TV premieres. Here are a few of note for next month: January 2 - My Fair Wedding with David Tutera (WE TV), January 3 - Greek (ABC Family), January 4 - Southland (TNT), January 9 - Shameless (Showtime), January 16 - Big Love (HBO), January 17 - Skins  (MTV), Being Human  (SyFy), January 19 - Hot in Cleveland (TV Land), January 21 - Spartacus: Gods of the Arena (Starz).

The Warhol Foundation has sent a letter to The Smithsonian threatening to cut funding unless they reconsider caving in to asshats.

That story that broke over the weekend about the dozens of gay and lesbian themed books vandalized at the Harvard library? It turns out it was an inside job ... and allegedly an accident. "“We have learned this morning that the books, while indeed damaged, were damaged by our own library personnel spilling a bottle of what was reported to be urine that had been left on the shelf." Okay ... what?

Marc Malkin talks to Neil Patrick Harris about his first Christmas as a dad, and what advice he has for Academy Awards hosts Anne Hathaway and James Franco.

The New York Film Critics Circle handed out awards yesterday, with The Social Network taking Best Picture along with David Fincher as Best Director. The Kids Are All Right won Best Actress for Annette Benning, Best Screenplay, and Supporting Actor for Mark Ruffalo. Best Actor went to Colin Firth for The King's Speech, and hopefully he can ride it to an Oscar (which he should have won last year).

Piers Morgan sat down with Elton John and the subject of Elton's infamous extravagance was brought up (Elton once demanded that a private jet be re-painted before he would board. "It was a 707; It was a turd color. It was like an enormous flying turd.") Things change, though, and Elton now says he would "live in a caravan" as long as he had his partner David Furnish. Awww!

Burlesque is premiering in the UK, and star Cher told BANG that she took the role because she wanted to sing on film again, and she agreed with the assertion that the movie is like a gay version of Disney's Fantasia.

California Senator Mark Leno has introduced a bill that would require public school materials to include the historical contributions of gay people as a way to fight bullying. A similar bill was approved four years ago, but vetoed by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Speaking of bullying legislation, the Star-Telegram has a follow-up with Fort Worth Councilman Joel Burns about what's happened since the worldwide phenomenon of his "It Gets Better" video.

I promised big Torchwood casting news, and here it is. Mekhi Phifer has been cast as the third lead of the new season, starring with John Barrowman and that one girl. He'll play "Rex Matheson, a CIA agent, a fast-tracked high-flyer with a lethal sense of humor who starts to feel his mortality when his life is put in danger."

The Big Ten has named their humanitarian award after Tony Dungy, who's best known around these parts for raising funds for Focus on the Family and other hate groups. I repeat, they've named their "humanitarian" award after this guy.

NBC is planning their own singing reality competition to rival American Idol and The X-Factor. The Voice of America will debut this spring, getting the jump on Factor  and possibly going head-to-head with Idol.