They come and go

By now you've all heard the NBC fall line up has been announced. Some ancillary gossip:

• Fred Thompson is leaving Law & Order. (Would have been a stump crimper, I suppose. We're all convinced he's running. Yes?)
• Alec Baldwin will be returning to 30 Rock despite his announcement on The View. For those you you that have a life and missed it, Alec plaintively whined to Rosie that he had asked NBC to relieve him of his contract. He wished to take time off to campaign for the rights of alienated parents. (NBC is removing the phone from Alec's dressing room and banning him from the daycare area.)