Once upon a time, a young man was known as the biggest fan of The Princess Bride all through the land. The man could recite every line in The Princess Bride, he could mimic the characters, and he could do all of this in public settings, to the cheers of his adoring devotees.

Our introduction to Homeland's C.I.A. officer protagonist Carrie Mathison was raw, almost punk: less than five minutes into the show's series premiere, we saw her wipe her crotch while scrambling to prepare for a meeting. With that moment, Homeland presented a portrait of Carrie's womanhood and sexuality that was nearly as unapologetic as the character itself.

While accepting her (well-deserved) Emmy for Best Actress in a Drama, Claire Danes addressed her Homeland costar this way: "Mandy Patinkin, holla." It feels real memey, but maybe that's just because this year's Emmys are duller than the Oscars, during which a person's leg stole the show. That's where we are. How to succeed on television tonight: "Holla." Brilliant. No one will care about this at all in five seconds!

Last night Showtime unveiled its newest series, a paranoid spy drama called Homeland, from some 24 writers. And what could have been a bit rah-rah is, in fact, strangely stirring.

Once CBS chief Nina Tassler used her platform at the TCA's to clarify that the "creative differences" that drove Mandy Patinkin to bolt Criminal Minds were more of the "personal issues" nature (to her credit, she refrained from pandering to the assembled critics by making comically exaggerated cuckoo noises and twirling a finger around her temple), we thought our PatinkinWatch feature had seen its last update. But this morning, TVGuide.com puts the actor back on our radar, reporting that he'll return to the Minds set to make a final appearance in a single, closure-providing scene:

Hoping to finally close the Case of the Vanishing Criminal Minds Star, reporters at today's CBS Television Critics Association panel confronted president Nina Tassler about the exact nature of the "creative differences" that might induce an actor to flee a successful series without explanation. Clarified Tassler: