No, no, no, no, no. Not this soon, not already. I'm a holiday-spirit guy. I love the Christmas season, the trees, the lights, the shopping and eating like a crazy man. But it is too freakin' early for Christmas commercials.

They started the day after the election. The next day. Nov. 5. That meant no break, zero time off, between getting pounded by campaign ads and getting hammered by holiday spots.

I realize this will be a rough retail season, that these hard times mean people will hold back on the big gifts and the general flow of money into the economy. I know that stores want to do all they can to encourage buying. I'm all for that.

But Christmas carols on Nov. 13 won't do the trick. That just ticks people off. I'm not an economist or anything, but I kinda think angry viewers don't become happy shoppers.

Plus, if I read my calendar right, we haven't even gotten to a little holiday we call Thanksgiving. How about some respect for a key moment in the development of our nation?

Because I'm pro-healthy economy, I won't list all the knucklehead advertisers already doing Christmas spots, but I can say the most annoying are the jewelry ads with the snow and the moist eyes and the notion that the only way she'll ever love you is if you buy her something shiny.

Complaining about this, I know, is useless. I'm just venting. But here's what I'm going to do. I'm taking what little disposable income I have, going with it to a market with some kind of Thanksgiving promotion, and I'm plunking it down on a really big turkey. Or maybe pie. That'll show 'em.

A salute to 'ER' Dr. Greene

A heads-up for fans of Anthony Edwards, Dr. Mark Greene, or NBC's "ER" in the early days when the show was original, exhilarating and, you know, good.

"ER," in its 15th season, ends its run in early 2009, and creator John Wells has recruited some of the original stars for guest shots before the curtain comes down.

The hitch with Dr. Greene, of course, is that he's dead. He died from cancer in a touching episode in 2002. But in TV, there's always the good ol' flashback, so tonight (at 10 on Channel 3), we'll learn that Angela Bassett's character, Dr. Cate Banfield, and Greene crossed paths years ago at County General.

One nice side note about Edwards' guest appearance. Instead of getting paid, he got Warner Bros. Television, the studio that produces "ER," to contribute $125,000 toward building a children's hospital in Africa. And when Steven Spielberg heard about that, he matched the $125,000 for the hospital, then Wells gave another $50,000, Edwards told reporters.

Get 'Lost' again Jan 21

People keep asking, and I can finally report that ABC announced "Lost" will return Jan. 21.

The series will start the night with a clip show recapping events – as if that will help anyone understand them – then will run two one-hour episodes. "Lost's" fifth season will air on Wednesdays throughout the spring with 17 episodes.

And since we're going down that road, here's a list of what we know and don't know about shows returning midseason in this week's What'd They Do to My Shows?

• "24" (Fox): A reminder we learned last week it will return Jan. 11 and 12, with a TV movie setting up the season airing Nov. 23.

• "American Idol" will return for Season 8 on Jan. 13.

• "Reaper" (CW): No date set.

• "Scrubs" (ABC): New network, same uncertainty. The guess is in January.

• "Medium" (NBC): Probably January.

"Nip/Tuck" (FX): Jan. 6

"Damages" (FX): Jan. 7

• "Monk" and "Psych" (USA): Jan. 9 for a short season after Christmas episodes airing Nov. 28.

• "Battlestar Galactica" (Sci Fi): The final 10 episodes start Jan. 16.

• "Flight of the Conchords" and "Big Love" (HBO): Jan. 18.

• "Secret Diary of a Call Girl" and "The L Word" (Showtime): Jan. 18.

• "Burn Notice" (USA): Jan. 22.

• "Law & Order: Criminal Intent" (USA) and "The Closer" (TNT): Both tentatively scheduled for sometime in January.

• "Breaking Bad" (AMC), "Rescue Me" (FX), "Eureka" (Sci Fi): Early in 2009. We hope.

• "The Cleveland Show" (Fox): The good news on the "Family Guy" spinoff is that Fox ordered a full 22-episode season. Tragically, we must wait until fall '09 to see it.

Call The Bee's Rick Kushman, (916) 321-1187. Listen to him Thursdays at 8:40 a.m. on NewsTalk 1530 (KFBK) and 8:50 a.m. on Armstrong & Getty, Talk 650 KSTE.