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Ellen Gray: Here's some talking points for the holiday dinner table

THERE ARE families, I've heard, who frown upon discussions of religion and politics over dinner. What do these people argue about at Thanksgiving? Turkey brine recipes? Stuffing - inside the turkey or out? The merits of white meat, dark meat or Tofurky?

THERE ARE families, I've heard, who frown upon discussions of religion and politics over dinner.

What do these people argue about at Thanksgiving? Turkey brine recipes? Stuffing - inside the turkey or out? The merits of white meat, dark meat or Tofurky?

I can't say this has ever been a problem in my family - stick the cops next to the lawyers and let the games begin - but if you're stuck for conversation tomorrow in whatever gap between "The National Dog Show" (noon, NBC10) and "Ice Age: Mammoth Christmas" (8 p.m., Fox 29) you aren't filling with football, you can always talk about TV.

After all, as a former editor of mine used to say, "Television is what brings us together."

But with hundreds of channels to choose from, it's also increasingly what drives us apart, sending us into separate rooms to indulge tastes that aren't exactly universal.

Given that no one can keep up with every development in the free-for-all that's been the fall season so far, here are some possible talking points. Just remember that drumsticks aren't for hitting and that not even the long end of the wishbone is going to bring your favorite canceled show back from the dead:

* So who'd have guessed that fairy tales do come true? Cynics might point out that ABC and NBC both belong to companies that also own theme parks, but there has to be more than corporate synergy involved in the success of "Once Upon a Time" (8 p.m. Sundays, 6 ABC) and "Grimm" (9 p.m. Fridays, NBC10), both of which premiered later in the fall than most of the lineup and each of which has already been picked up for the full season.

"Grimm," whose ratings get graded on a curve because it's on Fridays and on NBC, will also get a tryout at 10 p.m. Thursdays on Dec. 8. Of course, that's the time slot where NBC's all-but-canceled "Prime Suspect" has languished all fall.

* And speaking of "Prime Suspect" - a show I'm really going to miss - would NBC have been better off not even attempting to link this better-than-average cop show starring Norristown's Maria Bello to the beloved-by-PBS-viewers British drama it barely resembles?

* Is there any hope for "Terra Nova" (8 p.m. Mondays, Fox 29)? After the not exactly record-breaking debut of what was reportedly the most expensive pilot ever, the man-meets-dinosaur drama from Steven Spielberg continues to generate a lot of negative buzz from sci-fi fans I hear from, yet someone must be watching. Its 10 million or so viewers a week put it at 39th in the season-to-date Nielsens, but it's at 29th among viewers 18-49, the ones most networks care about. Even if it's picked up for next season - I'm thinking that's a long shot, but not impossible - the 13 that were ordered are expected to be all we see this season.

* "Revenge" (10 p.m. Wednesdays, 6 ABC): Guilty pleasure or just plain pleasure? The good news for fans of the sudsy Hamptons drama with Emily VanCamp ("Brothers & Sisters," "Everwood") is that it's been picked up for the full season.

* "American Horror Story" (10 p.m. Wednesdays, FX): Rip-off or homage? Easily the most divisive show of the fall, it might not, on second thought, even be the most ardent fan's idea of dinner-table conversation. I'm just thankful I'm not forced to watch it every week.

* Is "Homeland" (10 p.m. Sundays, Showtime), the first Showtime series I think I've ever watched regularly in real time, going to break hearts, "The Killing"-style, before the season's over? With Claire Danes and Damian Lewis giving this twisty psychological thriller all they have, I hope not. But at least we already know there's going to be a Season 2.

* Are the '60s really over, or did NBC's "The Playboy Club" die because, well, it just wasn't very good? (The Parents Television Council would like to claim credit, but believe me, if millions more people had watched, we'd be up to our ears in bunnies this time next year.) As for "Pan Am," ABC's entry into the no-we're-not-imitating-"Mad Men"-sweepstakes, it's missing in action from the network's midseason schedule, which is usually a sign that the oxygen masks are about to drop.

* CBS' "Two and a Half Men": The show that not even Ashton Kutcher can kill?

* Why is Tim Allen, whose soothing voice sells America everything from soup to cars, so darn obstreperous on "Last Man Standing" (8 p.m. Tuesdays, 6 ABC)?

* Is Penn grad Whitney Cummings somehow more palatable when she's being channeled by Kat Dennings' potty-mouthed waitress in "2 Broke Girls" (8:30 p.m. Mondays, CBS 3) than she is playing a version of herself on "Whitney" (9:30 p.m. Thursdays, NBC10)? Or is it just easier to score a hit on CBS, a network millions of people actually remember to watch?

* Is there a reason that more people than ever are watching "Dexter" (9 p.m. Sundays, Showtime) in its sixth season, causing it to be renewed for two more just as it's beginning to look as if the show's played out?

* Are those of us who've abandoned "The X Factor" (Fox 29, way too often) missing anything?

* Do you think the second season of "The Walking Dead" (10 p.m. Sundays, AMC) is better or worse than the first?

And do you agree with the person who recently told a colleague of mine that this year's zombies are walking faster? They must be walking fast enough - the show's already been renewed for a third season.