Here’s a brief rundown of what we know so far about the shows that are coming back next season. As Josh alerted last night, “Community” is back for 13 episodes, though more have not been ruled out. “30 Rock” has also been renewed for a FINAL season of 13 episodes. “The Office” will be back, as well. There has been no official renewal, but Ed Helms, John Krasinski, and Jenna Fischer all re-upped for next year yesterday. They wouldn’t do that unless there was a reason for them to return.

Moreover, while it’s not official, everyone and their dog knows that “Parks and Recreation” will be renewed, as will “Up all Night.” The question is when will they be renewed, and for how many episodes? So, fans of NBC’s Thursday night line-up, the only thing you REALLY need to worry about is whether “Community” will continue with the stubbornly inaccessible episodes next season, like last night’s and the “Inspector Spacetime” episode.

I should also note that “Parenthood” was renewed for another 15 episode season, which is great. They are also poised to renew “Celebrity Apprentice” for TWO MORE YEARS WHAT THE F— IS WRONG WITH YOU, NBC? Oh, and “Fashion Star” has been picked up for another year, too.

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Inspired by a character in “Smash,” presumably, EW has curated a slide show presenting the 20 Most Annoying TV Characters Ever. In addition to the numerous omissions, it’s the “ever” that I have the biggest problem with. What? 100 years of television and the most annoying character they can come up with is Lutz from “30 Rock”? What about Barney’s dopey girlfriend in “The Andy Griffith Show” or Chrissy’s cousin in “Three’s Company” or, hell, WHERE IS KATE FROM “LOST”?

If you leave off the “ever,” then people understand that you’re really only talking about contemporary TV shows because contemporary TV shows are all that anyone really cares about. But, the “ever” suggests that the writer of the post has never seen a television show that aired before 1999 (except “Welcome Back Kotter.”)

It’s also an annoying list for all that was left out. I thought I’d pass along the annoyance. You can view the entire slideshow over on EW if you want images, but here is a list of those characters.

20. Ellis Boyd, “Smash”
19. Kim Bauer, “24″
18. Nikki and Paulo, “Lost”
17. Janice Litman, “Friends”
16. Sam McKinney, “Diff’rent Strokes”
15. Oliver Trask, “The O.C.”
14. Kimmy Gibbler, “Full House”
13. Arnold Horshack, “Welcome Back Kotter”
12. Lutz, “30 Rock”
11. Will Schuester, “Glee”

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Imagine them eating in slow-motion, and you've got about three selections from this list.

Did people in the 1960s, when TV was a relatively new source of entertainment, predict that at the end of the “Mr. McBeevee” episode of “The Andy Griffith Show,” the previously-unseen-by-everyone-but-Opie titular character was going to appear? Like we would now. You see, Mr. B is a “Not So Imaginary Friend,” and because of Opie stating that he has 12 hands…The point I’m trying to make is: recognizing tropes have made us more cynical about TV, and that’s why I love them.

One of the reasons why shows like “Community” and “South Park” are so good is because they rarely go the easy route and do something that’s been seen a million times before. Their success comes from the way they subvert tropes, unlike, say, “Two and a Half Men” or “Family Guy,” both of which have been doing the same exact stories with the same exact jokes that “The Honeymooners” did in 1955. Just not as well.

On the following pages are 10 of my least-favorite TV tropes. If ever you’ve groaned at a character screaming in horror when they realize who their bedmate is, or turned the channel when someone thought they were high or drunk when they were actually just given a placebo, this list is for you. (Note: this is not the 10 WORST – it’s 10 that really bug me, even if some of my favorite shows use them. Please list your least favorites.)

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Patrick Dempsey, better known to single cat-owning women as McDreamy on Grey’s Anatomy, will take his lush mane of hair and leave the show after the 2011-12 season. Or he won’t, I don’t really give a sh*t.

Dempsey told the Italian edition of Vanity Fair that he won’t return to Grey’s Anatomy after next season. “It will be my last,” Dempsey said. “I don’t know what will happen with the other characters, but for me, it’s done.”

That sounds pretty clear to us. But Dempsey’s rep says he was only referring to his contract being up after next season and it’s uncertain what he will do next: “He was referring to the fact that his contract is up at the end of next season and we have no idea what the future holds.” [EW]

On instinct, I’m trained to believe that any statement from a PR rep denying anything is a baldfaced lie, but in this case I side with Dempsey. I’m assuming he gave his answer in English, which was then translated into Italian for the article, which was then translated back into English. Anyone who’s ever used Babelfish knows that what he originally said may as well have been the plot of a sci-fi novel as described by a five-year-old with Down syndrome.

This week’s list takes a look at TV episodes that ventured outside of their shows’ established formats. In order to highlight originality, I specifically asked Josh to avoid common gimmicks like the “bottle episode.” And to keep things from getting too meta, we’re leaving “Community” off the list altogether, because its gimmick is using gimmicks so often that they’re no longer gimmicks. And now my head hurts. –Ed.

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