Santa must have known that a part of my life has been empty since the writers strike. I haven't been the same without new episodes of The Office. I've tried watching reruns, but it's just not the same. I've tried watching the BBC version, but I can't make out the accents (the British simply butcher the American language). I poke around at Staples looking for some reams of Dundler Mifflin paper. It wasn't looking good until Christmas. That's when Santa (or UPS) delivered.

I've recently caught up on my episodes of Showtime's Dexter -- the murderer you feel dirty rooting for. I'll admit that I've done this instead of catching all of the holiday shows. Does that make me weird? Anyway, if you don't know the premise, Dexter is a forensics investigator who kills bad guys under his unwanted moniker of the Bay Harbor Butcher.

One Christmas movie never fails to get me -- right in the old tear duct. Miracle on 34th Street, the 1947 original.

Hulk Hogan has been in the news a lot lately, from personal issues to his reality TV show to his involvement in the revival of the American Gladiators. We like to think of him as neighborsgo's own Hulk Hogan.

Take a look at this screen grab I captured from an episode of Friday Night Lights. I’m in the left-hand bottom corner, sitting in THE stands used in filming the show. No, it’s not a cardboard cutout of me that I PhotoShop-ped in. It’s real.

The KTVT-TV (Ch. 11) teze was all over the airwaves last night, complete with grainy hidden-camera footage of what appeared to be the American Girl doll store at the Galleria. Wait, I was there this weekend with my daughter. It WAS the American Girl doll store at the Galleria! What terrible secret were The Investigators going to expose??

Top-drawer performance this week from Allen's own Brad Leland, who plays uber-booster Buddy Garrity on Friday Night Lights.

Buddy is the guy you love to hate. Anyone who's been to a high school booster club will recognize his character.

Leland, a Dallas Cowboys fan who attended Plano Senior High and an Allen resident for more than 20 years, plays Buddy beautifully.

Maybe you're wondering whether Rachael Ray's color tones are coming in OK on your hi-def.

Here's your chance to check.

Rachael will be in Southlake on Saturday to greet her fans, then sign copies of her latest book at Williams-Sonoma.

While you're there, snap a few photos and upload them to neighborsgo.com.

I had great hope for Sunday's episode of Desperate Housewives.

Creator Marc Cherry, being a former Okie, should know his way around a tornado or two.

It was the same kind of hope that I held out for the movie, Twister.