There’s a certain joy to surfing IMDb during a slow news week, making connections that never registered in your brain. We all love Adam Scott, for instance. And it seems like he’s been around forever. And he has. But it wasn’t until “Party Down” that I really started to pay attention. He was Adam Scott, that familiar guy from, like, everything. But what exactly is “everything”?

Well, how about: “Boy Meets World.” And look: There’s Ethan Suplee, too.

Did you remember he was also David’s boyfriend briefly in “Six Feet Under”?

And holy shit! He was even in “Party of Five.”

But what about women? Women in television? That’s where I wanted to aim my focus today. Five women that are perhaps Adam Scotts in the making. Five women lurking around your television in a variety of roles, often memorable, but not so memorable that we actually remember their names. Recognizable faces without recognizable names.

Let’s start with Brenda Strong. Yesterday, as I was putting together the “Sports Night” post, I saw a picture of Sally Sasser.

I thought: I know her. But where from. Then I realized she’s also the dead narrator in “Desperate Housewives.”

But the character that should’ve registered first was Sue Ellen Mischke, from “Seinfeld.”

You know who else was in “Sports Night”? Teri Polo.

Then I remember, hey! She was in Meet the Parents, too.

I’d really rather forget that. I’d prefer to remember her from “West Wing,” as the wife of Matt Santos.

But you know what? I knew her even before “Sports Night.” She was in “Felicity.” She played a caterer that Ben had an affair with.

But what about Melinda McGraw? I’ve never heard that name, but I sure as hell recognize her. Most recently from a really strong turn in “Men of a Certain Age.”

It’s not her first role with Scott Bakula, either. She was also in an episode of “Quantum Leap.” But, I probably should’ve recognized her from “Mad Men,” where she slept with Don Draper.

But long before that, she was the hit-and-run driver that Jerry dated in the “Good Samaritan” episode of “Seinfeld.”

But the role I should’ve known her for best was as Melissa Scully, Dana’s sister in “The X-Files.”

Weird, right?

Now, I’ve never actually bothered to learn Carla Gallo’s name until today, but I do see her in everything, starting on “Undeclared.”

I like that picture because it reminds us of a younger Seth Rogen and a Charlie Hunnam before the facial hair. But Gallo clearly has an in with Judd Apatow. Remember her as the toe-sucker in 40 Year Old Virgin

Or as the Gag Me Girl in Forgetting Sarah Marshall?

But she was also in “Men of a Certain Age.”

I don’t watch “Bones,” but I bet during her recurring arc, there were a lot of people exclaiming, “Hey! It’s that chick from ‘Undeclared.’”

I do remember seeing her in “Mad Men” and thinking, “That’s not right. She was a high-schooler in a 90s sitcom. How can she be grown-up in a 60’s period piece?

I dug a little deeper for Bonnie Somerville. I definitely knew her face, but from where? Oh yeah: “The O.C.” (What? You didn’t watch it? No, me neither). She nearly had an affair with Peter Gallagher’s character:

But where else did I know her? Oh yeah, the short-lived (but pretty decent) Fox sitcom, “KItchen Confidential.”

That’s her there over John Cho’s shoulder, next to Jamie King. But really, where I should’ve remember her was from “Friends.” Remember her? Mona? The salmon shirt episode?

And that, folks, is today’s edition of “Hey! It’s that woman from that show!” Tune in tomorrow, when we’ll take a look at “Hey! It’s that place. I used to live there!”

Dustin is the founder and co-owner of Pajiba. You may email him here, follow him on Twitter, or listen to his weekly TV podcast, Podjiba.

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