IT'S FIVE YEARS LATER, AND WHERE ARE WE? Yes, that was Conan O'Brien in the back of MacLaren's on HIMYM last night, which is probably more of Conan O'Brien than most of us have seen on tv since the week his TBS show debuted.

THIS IS SEE-WEEIOUS!  The New Yorker's Emily Nussbaum surveys current children's television, and finds much to like in The Wonder Pets; Ni-Hao, Kai-Lan; and Phineas and Ferb, comparing each to grownup procedurals in format.

BOY, VAUGHN MEADER IS REALLY SCREWED:  Okay, sure, one more: favorite presidential impressionist, or comedic skit involving a President (a/k/a my excuse for invoking Bob Newhart's Abe Lincoln v. Madison Avenue yet again).

On the former, I was always fond of Jim Morris' Ronald Reagan, and Dana Carney's George H.W. Bush managed to define its subject while growing increasingly bizarre (Na gah dah?).  Dan Aykroyd's Ask President Carter is a great skit, mediocre impression, but of course Phil Hartman's Ronald Reagan: Mastermind ticks off both boxes at one.

I DIED IN THIRTY DAYS!  Preferred presidential ditty: Animaniacs or Simpsons?  TMBG or Ashford and Simpson?

YOU KICKED CHECKERS, YOU'RE PREJUDICED, AND YOU HAVE A POTTY MOUTH:  Favorite film about the Nixon Presidency: All the President's Men, Frost/Nixon, Nixon, or Dick?

NOT DOING THE RIGHT THING: According to a comprehensive study by the LA Times, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences barely more racially diverse as the National Hockey League -- nearly 94% white and 77% male, with a median age of 62 and only one in seven members younger than fifty.  Two key factors thwarting the improvement which the Academy itself seeks: once you're in, you're in for life; and the guilds comprising the Academy are themselves not diverse.

THE NIGHT TIME IS THE RIGHT TIME: But for the musical guest, best top-to-bottom episode of SNL since...? It's hard for me to answer that question, but wow was that overstuffed with greatness -- celebrity impressions used in entertaining ways, solid guest work from Amy Poehler and Justin Timberlake, the comedic stylings of Maya Angelou ... if you missed any, get yourself to Hulu, now.