Saturday Night Live took on the second presidential debate this week, with Jay Pharoah playing President Obama and Jason Sudeikis as Mitt Romney. Newcomer Aidy Bryant appeared as moderator Candy Crowley.

The candidates took on taxes, jobs and the Keystone XL pipeline. The skit also recreated the now-infamous Crowley fact-checking moment. Tom Hanks even made a cameo to ask a truly thought-provoking question about Libya.

Bonus: Fred Armisen appears as everyone's favorite college student, Jeremy!

Watch above for the full sketch.

'The Thick Of It's penultimate episode took off on a tangent, swapping the one-week each formula previously shared by Coalition and Opposition, for an hour-long special, focusing wholly on the Goolding Inquiry, digging into the death of Mr Tickell, and the prevalent culture of "dissemination of confidential information between political parties and the media" - so leaking, then.

Any likeness to real-life events was purely... the work of a mischievous Mr Iannucci and Co, as every Minister and staff member got to hang out not just dirty washing, but every prejudice, personal failing, unforgotten slight and mission to self-serve to boot.

Teri did her best to be truthful at the Inquiry

It was ambitious comedy drama, but in the week before we have to say goodbye to this lot - forever, if reports are to be believed - it was a chance to see each character in vividly painted glory, once and for all, from government director of communications Stuart Pearson - the man told to speak clearly by Lord Goolding - to the woman pretty much everyone in DOSAC tried to land with all the blame, a philosophical Teri - "Nicola Murray was jealous of me, well, a lot of women are."

Lord Goolding and his panel gave as good as they got. "Despite your shirt," Stuart was told, "this isn't CSI Miami," even if Goolding had to go it alone following his committee member's absenteeism "to deal with the Sunday Times allegations" - left wonderfully unexplained.

Lord Goolding and his panel appeared shocked, but not surprised, by what they heard

Teri gave a masterclass in in government subterfuge - "The email was leaked from my computer which is proof it wasn't me. That's not how it's done" - but despite their complete lack of cohesiveness and blatant disregard for one another, they all somehow managed to land one person squarely in the soup, a certain Malcolm Tucker.

Of course, the most bizarre aspect of all of this was watching Mr Tucker - the man 'described in the Spectator as Iago with a Blackberry' - in full vitriolic flow, but without the Anglo-Saxon rhetoric for which he was renowned, as he was asked the extent of lying in this inquiry...

Malcolm Tucker - caught in a corner, and wriggling like a cat

"This is the result of a political class that has given up on morality and simply pursues popularity at all costs."

But if Malcolm Tucker in one sentence summed up the the deeply satirical mission of the whole show, a few minutes later he was wriggling like a cat, caught out in a bare-faced lie and reaching out to the unlikely inspiration of Edith Piaf to go down in a final blaze of amnesiac glory... "Je ne remember rien."

Without the swear words, it proved that Tucker's uniqueness is not just down to his very blue syntax, as Peter Capaldi wrung every fibre of expression out of his rubber face in a tour de force performance, for which Bafta must surely come a-calling. Is Tucker really finished as he claims? Just the final episode to go.

Ah, the perks of being a "Parenthood" star.

After being spotted in an on-set smooch with "Friday Night Lights" vet Matt Lauria, Mae Whitman opened up to EW about her character Amber's relationship with Ryan (Lauria.)

"I'm excited for where Amber is this season," Whitman said. "It's one of the first times we've seen her really happy. Working in music. Doing her own thing. Feeling a sense of confidence and doing well.

That's the state of mind you're in when something like real love comes along and you're often caught off guard. She's starting to understand what she has to offer to the world. And Ryan's very different from the guys she's been with. He could teach her a lot and she could teach him a lot.”

In an earlier interview with HuffPost TV, Whitman opened up about Amber's transition is Season 4 of the NBC series.

"It's definitely weird for me to realize that, all of sudden, she's being sexy and stuff," Whitman said. "Now she's 20 years old -- it's such a weird time period that we all go through to try and find our own independence as an adult. I'm really excited that we're getting a chance to explore that realm."

"Parenthood" airs on Tuesdays at 10 p.m. ET on NBC.

There's nothing you can't sell with a black-and-white Brad Pitt talking nonsense in front of a neutral background. Whether it's perfume or dog condoms, this is marketing gold. Check out Taran Killam's perfect parody of Brad's bizarre Chanel No. 5 ads from the Bruno Mars episode of "Saturday Night Live." Part one is above and parts 2-4 (because you can't do this just once) are below.

Bruno Mars stole the show on "Saturday Night Live" on Saturday, and his superb hosting skills weren't his only strong suit.

After admitting he'd "never done comedy before" and singing about his nerves, Mars went on to win over the crowd with his performance of his 2012 hit "Locked Out Of Heaven."

Check it out below:

What did you think of Mars' performance? Sound off in the comments.

Based on a couple of moments during the show, I can't help but get the feeling that more than one cast member said at some point this week, "You know, Bruno Mars could be our new Justin Timberlake." Timberlake's quite popular hosting style was obviously the blueprint for the evening: Timberlake was even mentioned during the monologue and Mars starred in a sketch that Timberlake had previously performed. Admittedly, I was dreading this show. Musical performers who are thrust into hosting duties have a, let's say, mixed history of success. But, yeah ... maybe Bruno Mars (with a little help from Tom Hanks) really is the next Justin Timberlake? (OK, not quite, yet.) So, the host was great, what about the sketches? That is a slightly more complicated answer. In other words: Bruno Mars was the best host of the season, but this was not the best show of the season. On to a mixed bag of a Scorecard...

Sketch of the Night

"Sad Mouse" (Bruno Mars, Jason Sudeikis) "Sad Mouse" is the first pre-recorded segment of the season that can be truly considered a "Ghost of the Digital Shorts Era." Though, perhaps slightly less weird and a bit more earnest than what we were used to from The Lonely Island. Regardless, this surprisingly sweet tale of a man (Mars) dressed as a mouse in Times Square is a nice start to whatever it is "SNL" is doing with its pre-recorded segments and I hope they continue.

Score: 8.5

The Good

"Pandora" (Jason Sudeikis, Bruno Mars, Tim Robinson, Bill Hader, Bobby Moynihan) Boy, Bruno Mars does a great Billie Joe Armstrong. I mean, if you needed proof of Bruno Mars's eventual world domination, well, this is it. Yeah, some of his impressions were better than others -- and Earth would survive without another Aerosmith impression -- but this was just a pure, "Let's justify why we picked this guy as host" type sketch. And it worked.

(Of course it's not online because of the songs that were featured.)

Score: 8.0

"Brad Pitt Chanel Commercial" (Taran Killam) The idea that there's no script for the actual Chanel commercial is, honestly, the only reasonable explanation for its existence. This appeared four times throughout the show and, honestly, I wouldn't be upset if Killam's Brad Pitt just made random appearances hawking products for the rest of the season. And, yes, Dr. Zizmor -- the subway doctor -- is actually a real thing.

Score: 7.3

"Amusement Park" (Taran Killam, Bruno Mars, Jay Pharoah, Vanessa Bayer, Bobby Moynihan, Bill Hader, Tom Hanks) Taran Killam and Jim Carrey were the first to portray the animatronics robots; then it was Killam and Timberlake. So it's not like Bruno Mars was stepping directly into a role that Timberlake founded, but, it's hard not to see the parallels here. The thing is, these sketches are pretty much the same every time (except this time Tom Hanks showed up), but they sure are interesting to look at.

Score: 7.0

"Bruno Mars Monologue" (Bruno Mars, Kenan Thompson) So, not the most original of monologues -- the host pretending/admitting that he or she is nervous has been done before -- but, Bruno Mars sure is charming. Also, as mentioned, it's certainly not a terrible thing to aspire to be a Timberlake-like host.

Score: 6.8

"Cold Open: Town Hall Debates" (Jay Pharoah, Jason Sudeikis, Aidy Bryant, Fred Armisen, Bill Hader, Taran Killam, Kate McKinnon, Bobby Moynihan, Cecily Strong, Tom Hanks) It happened quickly, but the best line of the sketch was the question about "dangerous assault weapons," after which each candidate responded that they would both do nothing. Inspired, I assume, by Tagg Romney stating that he wanted to punch the president, this second presidential debate was, well, ratcheted up a bit on the antagonistic scale, which, at times, worked (like both candidates learning the penalties for threatening the lives of the other) and, at times, didn't (Obama giving Romney an off camera finger). But, hey: Aidy Bryant!

Score: 6.0

"Weekend Update" (Seth Meyers, Bill Hader) I've noticed a recent trend that when "SNL" reaches the end of a monumental stretch of shows -- which they just have -- that seems to be when someone says, "Oh, to hell with it. Just throw Hader out there as Stefon." This is Stefon's first appearance of the season and the scripted portion already feels a bit stale, especially compared to the energy that it used to have. But, of course Stefon is not about its script; it's about making Bill Hader laugh, which, yes, is always fun. And the name "Sidney Applebaum," of all things, did the trick. Meyers looks like a guy at this point who is (deservedly) looking forward to a little bit of time off. His "Do's and Don'ts" were fine, but it's the type of segment that Meyers usually excels at doing and may have benefited from a partner to play off of. (I'll say it again for the 35th time: I have no idea why Meyers is so against the idea of a "Weekend Update" co-host considering just how good he is when he shares the stage.)

Score: 6.0

The Bad

"Underground Festival" (Jason Sudeikis, Nasim Pedrad, Jay Pharoah, Bobby Moynihan, Kate McKinnon, Bruno Mars) Well, it's nice to know that Sixpence None the Richer is still getting gigs. Sadly, this is the first time I've ever put one of the "Underground Festival" sketches in the bad category. (At least, I think that's right. It's much too early in the morning to look, so, let's just assume this is true.) With Jason Sudeikis's departure on the horizon, this is probably the last time we'll see one of these and maybe that's for the best. What was just so fresh two seasons ago has, sadly, run its course. Goodbye forever, Ass Dan.

Score: 4.5

"Wilderness Lodge" (Bruno Mars, Jason Sudeikis, Vanessa Bayer, Bill Hader) Strangely, as the Yeti was performing what I can only assume was anal sex on Bill Hader, I found myself more interested in the small talk chit chat between the oblivious-to-what's-behind-them Jason Sudekis and Vanessa Bayer. I'm assuming that wasn't the point of the sketch.

Score: 2.5

The Ugly

"Haters" (Cecily Strong, Bobby Moynihan, Bruno Mars, Jay Pharoah, Aidy Bryant, Tim Robinson) I think the premise of this sketch is just that people can be loud. And that they like to boo. I mean, that's it. And, for some reason, this received a prime slot right after the monologue. You know, maybe the placement of the sketch during the show shouldn't matter, but, to me, it does matter. And maybe I'd dismiss this as filler after a quite remarkable five week run (including the Thursday night shows) -- but, again, for this to air right after the monologue makes me feel like someone really thought this sketch would work a lot better than it did. Regardless, even in what was not a great sketch, Bruno Mars gave 100 percent.

Score: 1.5

Average Score for this Show: 5.81

· Christina Applegate 6.13
· Seth MacFarlane 5.93
· Bruno Mars 5.81
· Joseph Gordon-Levitt 5.51
· Daniel Craig 5.35

Mike Ryan is senior writer for Huffington Post Entertainment. You can contact him directly on Twitter. Click below for this week's "SNL," Not Ready For Primetime Podcast featuring Mike Ryan and Hitfix's Ryan McGee.

Sorry, CBS. Jennifer Esposito is not impressed!

According to TVLine, CBS released a statement on Saturday saying that Esposito would be taking a break from her role as Detective Jackie Curalota on "Blue Bloods" because she had told the network she could only work for a limited time.

Esposito -- who battles Celiac Disease -- immediately took to twitter to tell her side of the story. Click through the slideshow below to see what she had to say!

In addition to "Blue Bloods," Esposito's other TV credits include "The Looney Tunes Show," "Samantha Who?" and more.

"Blue Bloods" airs on Fridays at 10 p.m. ET on CBS.

They me be "wanted" by teenage girls around the world, but when it comes to Christina Aguilera, The Wanted is anything but irresistible.

In April, the group -- consisting of members Tom Parker, Max George, Siva Kaneswaran, Nathan Sykes and Jay McGuinness -- got in a heated feud with "The Voice" coach after Parker referred to her as "a total b***h" when they met her on the NBC talent show. "She might not be a bitch in real life, but to us, she was a total bitch," he told New York radio station Now FM. "She just sat there and didn't speak to us. Wouldn't even look at us."

"She was quite rude," Kaneswaran added. "Who does that?"

But nowadays, the guys regret lashing out on Aguilera and say there has been plenty of hate mail sent their way since they spoke their mind.

"Oh, yes!" George told The Huffington Post exclusively when asked if they faced any blowback following their comments. "I think there was total backlash," Parker, who issued an apology shortly after the controversy, added.

"I watched an interview with her on "Chelsea Lately" the other night and she came across really, really nice so I was a bit like, 'Oh s**t!'" he continued. "Maybe she was she just having a bad day."

"He was, so..." George chimed in, revealing Parker was a bit under the weather the day he blabbed about Aguilera's attitude.

"Yeah, I was having a terrible day," Parker confessed to HuffPost. "I was on my period ... oh shoot, sorry I apologize!"

These guys just can't seem to keep their mouths shut, but its nothing short of of entertaining!

Adele better get ready to start humming some lullabies, because the British soul singer is officially a mom. She and beau Simon Konecki welcomed a baby boy, People reports.

A family source confirmed the news, saying, "We are all over the moon."

The new addition to their family joins Konecki's young daughter from his first marriage.

Adele, 24, remained relatively quiet when it came to her pregnancy, but she did announce on her blog that she and Konecki, 38, were expecting their first child together.

"Im delighted to announce that Simon and I are expecting our first child together," she wrote on June 29. "I wanted you to hear the news direct from me, obviously we're over the moon and very excited but please respect our privacy at this precious time."

Shortly after the news of Adele's pregnancy broke, came rumors that she was further along in her pregnancy than everyone thought, with reports suggesting she was due in September.

In August, a photo of a very pregnant Adele landed on the cover of Life & Style Weekly, practically confirming that the singer was getting closer to her due date. Another rumor popped up that she and Konecki had secretly tied the knot. However, Adele was quick to shoot down any nuptial news.

"I'm not married...Zzzzzzz," she tweeted on August 30.

Perhaps marriage isn't too far away for Adele and Konecki, who have been dating since summer 2011, but right now it seems they are focused on their new bundle of joy. Congrats to the happy couple!

Check out other celebrities who have welcomed new babies this year:

Maeby's back and better than ever!

In a recent interview with rollingstone.com, Alia Shawkat -- who plays the eccentric Maeby on "Arrested Development" -- opened up about how she and her co-stars felt about the series the first time around.

"The only difference is all of a sudden people care about it and are actually paying attention and are really looking forward to it," Shawkat said of filming season 4 of "Arrested Development," which will air in the spring of 2013. "And it feels really nice, because we worked so hard on the show then, and it used to bother us [that] we would win all these Emmys and no one f-----' knew about the show. It's kind of a cool thing to come back."

As for what's to come, creator Mitchell Hurwitz isn't divulging much ... but he's all for chatting about birds.

"The [Bluths] have destroyed the environment, the environment has destroyed them ... There are a lot of ostriches," he told Entertainment Weekly. "I would describe this season of 'Arrested' as being bird-heavy."

"Arrested Development" Season 4 is headed to Netflix in spring 2013.

Happy birthday, Kim Kardashian!

Kim K turns 32 today and her sisters Kourtney and Khloe took to Twitter to celebrate the reality star's special day.

Kourtney writes:

Happy Birthday to my beautiful sister on her 32nd birthday! I hope that today brings you lots of laughter, fun and joy. It is crazy to think with everything we have been through in our lives, that all of that has happened in just 32 years. You are one of my favorite people in the world… play on playa! I love you madly.

Kourtney also posted 14 photos of her and Kim as young girls -- and they are just too cute! We can totally see the resemblance between baby Kardashians and Kourtney's son, Mason Disick.

Khloe celebrated Kim's birthday on Twitter as well, writing:

Wishing so much birthday love to my beautiful big sister on her special day! Happy birthday, Kimmie! I love you more than anything and hope your day is perfect. You deserve to be smiling!!! Shine bright like a diamond baby! Can't wait to celebrate when you get back KiKi xoxoxo.

Check out some adorable pictures of the Kardashian sisters as kids below:

After Saul's extraordinary discovery in Beirut, he had to get the evidence back to DC, something he managed with an slippery ingenuity that proved there's life in the bearded fox yet.

Back in Washington, and it was hard to decide who was having a worse day.

Brody - not your typical Congressman

Brody might have been getting on better with his wife these days, but it was another woman - her with the dubious English accent - who took him off schedule, every aspiring politician's nightmare. Her mounting pressure forced him into donning a terrible baseball cap, changing a tyre, getting his nice clothes dirty, all to collect an ungrateful tailor from Gettysburg, obviously intent on ruining the Congressman's day - when all else failed, falling on a knife and forcing Brody to break his neck because he had the temerity to groan in pain just as Mrs Brody phoned again.

Mrs B was left lapping up the plaudits of Washington's finest by herself, and the consolations of ex-lover Mark, before issuing her husband with an ultimatum. Like I said, Brody was having a very bad day.

Finally... Carrie got what she deserved

Meanwhile, on the less frantic but equally fraught side of town, Carrie was back in the building they said she'd never enter again. Needed, but not wanted by her former bosses. Back at her flat, she swallowed too many pills, but brought them back up just in time to answer the door to Saul, and the intelligence she'd previously uncovered in Beirut. And vindication.

This was the definitive moment, so far in the whole of 'Homeland', when the weight shifted to the other foot, and it was glorious to behold. A resolution of sorts but, as with all this show's episodes, it just leaves you wanting more.

"The X Factor" has been renewed by Fox and will return for a Season 3. Simon Cowell took to Twitter to announce the news.

“I couldn't be happier about 'The X Factor' already being renewed for another season,” Cowell said in a statement released by Fox. “I am so proud of the show and the team who have made it this season. I want to thank our incredible sponsors for their support and creativity, and Fox for going out of their way to do everything they can to make this show a success. Most importantly, I have to personally thank our amazing fans for the support and enthusiasm they have given to 'The X Factor.' Our main commitment will always be to find great talent, and let's not forget, we are now days away from our first live shows. The gloves are off! Expect fireworks!"

Cowell and Fox revamped "The X Factor" for Season 2, cutting host Steve Jones and judges Paula Abdul and Nicole Scherzinger. Khloe Kardashian and Mario Lopez will host Season 2 and Britney Spears and Demi Lovato joined Cowell and L.A. Reid on the judge panel.

“This season, Simon and the producers of 'The X Factor' took an already strong show and made it absolutely fantastic," Mike Darnell, president of alternative entertainment at Fox, said in a statement. "The format changes are working, the contestants are unbelievably talented, and Britney and Demi -- alongside Simon and L.A -- have brought an incredibly fun new chemistry to the judges' panel that our fans really love. We feel great about the show and I'm thrilled to bring it back next year for Season 3."

No word on whether all the judges will return for Season 3.

“We're absolutely thrilled that 'The X Factor' will be returning to Fox for a third hit season,” said Trish Kinane, president of entertainment programming at FremantleMedia North America, said in a statement. "We've seen an incredible range of talent so far and we're getting set for some truly blockbuster live shows this season that viewers will love. 'The X Factor' has really come into its own this year, finding its unique place and cementing its position as one of the leading talent shows in the entertainment landscape, as well as showing clear potential to build into a brand with true longevity. We're looking forward to working with the fantastic teams at Fox and Syco, along with our sponsors, to build upon the show's success."

According to Fox, "The X Factor" has been averaging a 3.9 rating in the 18-49 demographic and 10.6 million total viewers.

Story developing ...

Rejoice, "Arrow" (and Stephen Amell) fans: The series has been picked up for a full season.

Amell -- who plays the show's star, Oliver Queen -- tweeted the news on Monday.

"Arrow," based on the comic book "Green Arrow," centers on billionaire playboy Oliver who comes home to fight crime after being stranded on a desert island for five years. The show also stars Katie Cassidy, Colin Donnell and more.

The series pickup doesn't come as much of a surprise. The October 10 premiere of "Arrow" brought the best ratings The CW had seen in three years, with 4 million viewers and a 1.3 rating in the key 18-49 demographic.

"Arrow" airs on Wednesdays at 8 p.m. ET on The CW.

Even though the news has obviously moved on, it's still important to correct a common, and dangerous, misperception that lies at the root of Mitt Romney's expressed desire to terminate funding for Big Bird and PBS -- that they are solely for kids and liberals. Therefore, not only are they expendable, but they need to be gotten rid of. In short, they are corrupting influences.
First of all, Big Bird is not just for kids. No matter what one's age, the values for which Big Bird and PBS stand for speak to our better nature.

Adults don't watch Big Bird just because they have kids. They watch him because they enjoy his humor, and yes, his wisdom as well. That's why adults who don't have kids are also loyal fans of Big Bird and Sesame Street. The same was true of Mister Rogers.

Second, like Mister Rogers, Big Bird is a cultural icon. Indeed, Mister Rogers and Big Bird are integral parts of this nation's cultural repository. That's why in getting rid of Big Bird, we'd also be getting rid of the legacy of Mister Rogers.

Third, some of the primary values of Mister Rogers are precisely those that are needed to succeed in the global economy. Thus, in getting rid of PBS, we'd also be getting rid of one of the primary sources of education for the new skills that are required to compete in the global economy.

Fourth, is anyone naïve enough to believe that any network other than PBS would run Big Bird and Mister Rogers for as long as it has? No, it's not the paltry sum of money why conservatives want to get rid of Big Bird, Mister Rogers, and PBS. It's the values for which they stand.

For this reason alone, it's important to take a deeper look at the values of Mister Rogers, the particular character we've studied the most and therefore know best.

Seven Key Principles: The Seven C's

We've captured the gist of Fred's values is in terms of the following "Seven Key Principles." Each is illustrated through a direct quote from Fred himself:

1. Connect: "A person can grow to his or her fullest capacity only in mutually caring relationships with others."
2. Concern: "Setting rules is one of the primary ways in which we show our love."
3. Creativity: "Play is the expression of our creativity, and creativity, I believe, is at the very root of our ability to learn, to cope, and to become whatever we may be."
4. Communication: "In times of stress, the best thing we can do for each other is to listen with our ears and our hearts and to be assured that our questions are just as important as our answers."
5. Consciousness: "Take good care of that part of you where your best dreams come from, that invisible part of you that allows you to look upon yourself and your neighbor with delight."
6. Courage: "One of the greatest paradoxes about omnipotence is that we need to feel it early in life, and lose it early in life, in order to achieve a healthy, realistic, yet exciting sense of potency later on."
7. Community: "All of us, at some time or other, need help. Whether we're giving or receiving help, each one of us has something valuable to bring to this world. That's one of the things that connects us as neighbors -- in our own way, each one of us is a giver and a receiver."

Although we've summarized Fred's values and wisdom in the form of principles, Fred didn't expound abstract principles. Instead, he told countless stories and created original fables to forge deep and personal connections with each of his viewers. This is another reason why PBS is invaluable. It's not that other networks don't tell stories. Of course they do. Rather, it's the particular kind of stories that Fred told that made him and us special.

Stories and fables are how one engages and holds the attention of young children. They are also one of the main ways in which one gains the attention of adults. But, they are even more basic. Humans are the only creatures that invent and listen to fables and stories. They are the essence of what make us human.

Through the use of fanciful characters, animals, and magic, fables take us out of everyday reality, transport us to places and situations that are sharper and larger than life, and thereby teach us profound moral lessons. Fables impact us as few forms of communication do because they hit us squarely in our guts and souls. Because they apply to every aspect of life, they are as relevant to business as they are to our lives in general.

Consider for example "The Bass Violin Festival," which is one of the many stories from the "Neighborhood of Make-Believe" (NMB), the magical place that Fred took viewers to visit during every show. The purpose of the fable is to help readers understand better the nature and the process of creativity (Principle 3).

In the story, King Friday (the stand-in for today's CEOs) tells all his subjects (employees) that they must be prepared to play the bass violin (a skill at which he is an expert) at an upcoming festival (corporate meeting). To help them, he gives each of them the latest violin (technology). But as is so often the case, the latest technology only frightens them even more because it reveals their inadequacies. Only when the subjects take the time to play creatively -- that is, figuratively and not literally play the violin -- do they come up with solutions that enable them to conquer their fears of not having the technical expertise (job skills) to complete the assignment (task). For example, one of the characters dresses up in a violin costume. She thus "plays at being a violin."

Only in this way, can they then contribute to the festival (meeting) by using their individual, unique talents. The principles and lessons embedded in the story thereby show how everyone can step back from a difficult assignment, reframe it, overcome their fears, and produce creative solutions.

This is precisely what we need to do if we are to overcome the countless anxieties associated with the difficult and rocky transformation to the new global economy. The new economy requires people who can think creatively, and hence, exercise critical thinking. While many aspects of blue-collar and even white-collar jobs are already completely automated, creativity and critical thinking will never be. As a result, these can never be outsourced. They are the only true and lasting competitive edge.

Consider another one of Fred's priceless stories about consciousness (Principle 5). Garbage has piled up so high that the kingdom is literally drowning in it. King Friday denies and ignores the crisis in the hope that it will just go away, which of course it doesn't. Instead, it only gets worse. Once again, King Friday tries to solve the problem by ordering his subjects, in this case, to put on nose muffs that will supposedly block the smell. As before, he seeks a purely technical solution to the problem. Only when the subjects confront the King with the fact that his so-called "solutions" only make the problem worse and come up with their own that are environmental sound is the problem truly solved.

Fred told stories because he wanted to speak directly to the child's inner drama. Indeed, in early childhood, the inner drama is perceived and experienced as real and literal. For instance, young children actually worry that when taking a bath they could be literally sucked down the drain along with the water. When we reach adulthood, the inner drama is figurative or metaphorical. Nevertheless, the root of the fear, or inner drama, is lodged in deep, unremembered fears from childhood. This is precisely why Fred continues to speak to us from childhood through adulthood. His messages are so finely honed to the inner dramas of our lives that we can continue to respond them at different levels of development and the stages of our lives.

We cannot stress enough that throughout the forty years of creating programs for Mister Rogers' Neighborhood, Fred and his team told hundreds of stories. Many of the stories dealt with the issues of everyday life -- how things work, how people make the things we use, where things come from and so on.

The stories are so beautifully crafted that they speak to the basic inner dramas of human existence in ways that transcend the age of the listener. This is why Fred's wisdom resonates from childhood to adulthood. The stories in the NMB can be read and reread by children and grownups alike. Whatever a person's age, they speak to our hearts, our souls, and our spirits. They have lessons to teach us over the course of our lives.

In sum, Big Bird and Mister Rogers are more than for kids alone. Indeed, as put with regard to Fred: "He helped you when you were a kid; he can help you now that you're an adult!"

Co-authored with Donna Mitroff

This article is from a forthcoming book, Donna and Ian Mitroff, in association with the Fred Rogers Company, "Fables and the Art of Leadership; Bringing the Wisdom of Mr. Rogers to the Workplace."

Donna D. Mitroff is an independent children's media consultant and critic. Ian I. Mitroff is an Adjunct Professor at UC Berkeley.

While Britney Spears's attorneys spent the past few days working on the star's current court case, Spears focused on something slightly less serious: her hair.

Good news, "Pretty Little Liars" fans! The series' Season 3 winter premiere will air in January 2013 along with plenty of other ABC Family programming.

After its upcoming Halloween special (Tues., Oct. 23 at 8 p.m. ET), "Pretty Little Liars" will return on, Tues., Jan. 8 at 8 p.m. ET for the second half of its third season, in which Mona (Janel Parrish) has been released from Radley and is headed back to Rosewood, much to Aria (Lucy Hale), Spencer (Troian Bellisario), Emily (Shay Mitchell) and Hanna's (Ashley Benson) dismay. Olympic swimmer Missy Franklin will also appear on upcoming episodes.

In the lying-themed evening, "The Lying Game" will return with all-new Season 2 episodes on Tues., Jan. 8 at 9 p.m. ET. In the episodes, twins Sutton and Emma's (both Alexandra Chando) birth mother Rebecca (Charisma Carpenter) lures Sutton to the dark side and the girls' romantic relationships get complicated. Ted may be hiding even more shocking secrets.

During ABC Family's premiere week, Season 2 of "Switched at Birth" will make its debut on Mon., Jan. 7 at 8 p.m. ET. The upcoming season will follow the shifts in the Kennish and Vasquez families in the wake of the verdict in the baby switch trial. The first "Switched at Birth" season finale airs Mon., Oct. 22 at 8 p.m. ET on ABC Family.

"Bunheads" will follow "Switched at Birth's" January premiere. The Amy Sherman-Palladino series will continue its fist season at 9 p.m. ET. The episodes pick up a few months after Michelle (Sutton Foster) returns to her former life in Las Vegas.

Rick Harrison has no complaints these days. His hugely popular reality show, "Pawn Stars," has just been renewed for another 80 episodes, and for the first time in his life he's living with a house full of women: his fiancée, Deanna Burditt, and her three teenage daughters.

"I have three boys, she has three girls -- we're literally the Brady Bunch!" Harrison says, laughing. Being outnumbered by women has been a bit of an adjustment for Harrison, who grew up with two brothers and has three sons who are 9, 27 and 29 now. "If you live in a house full of women, they're a lot more brutal about making you clean up than a house full of guys!"

Harrison has no qualms about pulling his weight with the household chores, which is why Swiffer recently recruited him to be the face of its "Man Up, Clean Up" campaign. Last weekend, he held court in the Swiffer man-cave at Las Vegas Bike Fest, overseeing beefy bikers compete in manly cleaning competitions while opening up the debate about the division of household labor among the sexes.

HuffPost TV caught up with Harrison to chat about everything from cleaning like a man to the weirdest and wackiest items he's seen in the shop lately to why he'll never pull a Hulk Hogan by airing his home life on TV. (Fun fact: he called us from the gym at the Gold & Silver Pawn Shop, where he had just endured a workout with his "evil" trainer.)

What's the most interesting thing that's come into the shop recently?
A few months ago, a guy came in with seven human skulls! I think a dental school auctioned them off, and this guy bought them. I bought a petrified mastodon tusk. I think it's a mastodon tusk. I can tell it's a petrified tusk but I can't tell if it's a walrus, a woolly mammoth, a mastodon or if someone actually dug it up in Africa and it's an elephant. I have a friend of mine coming in this week to check it out.

I know the show's been renewed again...
For another 80 episodes! A year and a half ago I signed for 80 episodes, and that was the largest reality show contract in the history of television, and we just renewed it for another one. So I'm going to be on TV for a while.

Can viewers expect any new experts or recurring guests?
I'd like to try to find some more people who are interesting and know about things, but basically I've got most of that covered. The great thing is, I've become so popular that people are flying in from around the country just to show me their weird stuff! I'm actually not at the counter anymore, so I usually run it from a remote control in the office in the back.

After all these years, does anything surprise you anymore?
I still get a little bit shocked every once in awhile. The mastodon tusk was pretty ... like, really? [Laughs]

What happened with the human skulls?
I didn't actually buy them. It was just a little weird and creepy.

How has your life changed since the show has become so popular?
The last few years have been pretty bizarre. I live in Las Vegas. If me and my fiancée want to go out for a night on the town, I have to bring a bodyguard now. That's the weirdest thing. If we go to a nightclub, there's always a drunk guy who, if I didn't take a picture with his girlfriend he wants to fight me. I just take a big 6'9" guy with me, and no matter how drunk you are, you're not bigger than him! [Laughs] But other things are really, really cool. I go into a restaurant on the Strip and say, "Can I get a table for two?" and they say, "No, we're all booked up." And the manager will run out and apologize like I'm somebody special! But everything is pretty cool. It's great working for History Channel because they have a relationship with the Library of Congress, and I got to see part of their incunabula -- that's books printed before 1500 -- things like that.

You must get recognized all the time, what do people say to you?
How much will you give me for my watch!?

Really?
God, will people please quit saying that! I hear that 10 times a day. [Laughs.]

What's the strangest thing anyone's ever said to you?
That they want to have my baby! [Laughs] It is bizarre how popular the show is. In South America, I'm not the number one show on cable, I'm the number one show, period. They set up a thing for me and Corey to sign some autographs, and they thought something like 500 people would show up. 12,000 people showed up. They had to call the national police for crowd control. A van pulls up with guys with big guns pop out. It's like we were The Beatles.

Wow. Where was this?
That was in Buenos Aires. I get people from Japan wanting my autograph. We're on TV in 150 different countries, 32 languages.

The show has inspired an entire subgenre of pawn, storage and liquidation shows. How do you feel about that?
I guess imitation is the better part of flattery or something like that. I don't mind. One of the reasons I think my show is so successful is that everything's real. Let me just put it that way. I definitely believe in free market capitalism, so let the best show win!

Why did you decide to partner with Swiffer?
Because I thought it would be fun. I wake up in the morning and I'm a zombie until I get three cups of coffee in me. The funny thing is I really do whip out a Swiffer every morning because I spill coffee on the kitchen floor! [Laughs]

What about around the shop? Who takes care of cleaning duties there?
It's not really like you see on TV. I think I have 63 employees here. But for years, when I was a small shop it was me, my Dad, my Mom. We had to clean the shop every morning.

Do you think we'll see your fiancée on the show at all?
Nope. My 9-year-old son is never going to be on it. My 17-year-old stepdaughter is never going to be on it. I am not going to turn into the Hulk Hogans [of the world]. My home life is my home life, and I'm going to keep it that way, period.

You can catch Pawn Stars on History.

Lauren Conrad had no trouble coming up with three compliments for her erstwhile "Laguna Beach" nemesis, Kristin Cavallari, recently.

"She's really good at losing baby weight," Conrad told Us Weekly last week. "She is a very pretty girl," she observed, adding, "There's a lot of nice things! I was just trying to get more specific. She dresses really nicely."

And if imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, Cavallari returned the compliment. At Friday's Bing It On Halloween Costume Challenge in New York, the svelte new mom tried on a Minnie Mouse getup that reminded us of Conrad's costume last October (though Conrad sported ears resourcefully fashioned out of her own hair).

In case you were wondering how real their former feud was, Conrad recently shed light on the "Laguna Beach"/"Hills" franchise's degree of authenticity.

"I think the story they told wasn't a dishonest one," Conrad told Allure. "The way they did it sometimes was. They aren't going to be there for everything. Sometimes two of their main characters will get into a fight, and that's important to the storyline. The [producers] need that reenacted."

Former "Jersey Shore" star Angelina Pivarnick is full of remorse about her remarks against gay marriage, telling me, "I am ashamed about what I said and, if given a chance, will prove that I am a huge supporter of the gay community and their rights to marry."

Last week during an Internet debate on the website Deeyoon, Angelina was paid to take one side of the gay marriage debate against openly gay singer Adam Barta. During the debate Angelina said, "I don't think gays should be married. If you want to date each other fine." But now friends are saying the reality star felt tricked, as she didn't realize the debate would be made public and never meant the hurtful things she said.

"I want to apologize to everyone I have offended. I have many gay friends and believe in equality for everyone," says Angelina, who is planning on going to a gay bar this week in New York City to show her support and apologize in person to members of the gay community.