TVSquad

(S01E04) So it's bad when a comedy makes you want to cry, right? I mean, it's not their fault, I'm sure that when they animated the scene of the Knob Haven High staff sitting around eating cheese cake, Bea Arthur was still alive. But when they played the Golden Girls music, I couldn't help but think that was a much better show.

The whole Golden Girls thing was just many of the random, awkward 80s parodies they did this episode. I liked the cold open where they were initially assigning themselves parts in 80s teen comedies, and the later Huey Lewis payoff was pretty funny, but I need help.

I'm not sure if I missed it, but I did not get the bagel thing. For the life of me, I just couldn't figure it out; and no matter what the show said, it wasn't funnier on re-watch.

The late Bea Arthur was, among other things, a comedic genius, feminist icon, and beloved American actress of stage and screen. But widely overlooked in the recent coverage of her passing is the fact that she was a active advocate for animal rights. She campaigned against the force-feeding of ducks in the foie gras trade, even accompanying the president of PETA to London, where she demanded that Harrod's discontinue their peddling pâté.

Before Lifetime snagged Bravo's Project Runway, it got its hands on Queer Eye for the Straight Guy star Carson Kressley. Lifetime tapped Kressley to host the feel-good show How to Look Good Naked, and now it looks like the cable net wants to keep the Kressley train moving by giving him his own talk show.

The standard Monday-Friday talk show format is rare on cable nets, but is in line with Lifetime's plan to change its image from the "woman being beaten, kidnapped, set on fire, but ultimately triumphing in the end" movies/Golden Girls network to something younger and hipper -- basically Bravo with a female slant. Kressley's chat fest is supposed to focus on his talent for fashion and will feature a mix of studio and field segments that feature him offering insight and advice to "everyday" people.

A day hasn't gone by where we haven't received some sort of tip or email asking us, the TV Squad, how to get on [insert reality show here]. Unfortunately no, Simon Cowell does not work for us, and Donald Trump isn't my BFF, so we really can't help all that much.

The folks at RealityWanted.com often send us a list of new and existing reality shows that are looking for new, er, talent, and they've given us permission to make mention of them here. We'll try to make this a regular feature as often as we get a new list.

This time we have Styledome, High School Musical: Summer Session and other new shows.

In July, I was at a sitcom writing seminar in which Sam Simon (who helped develop The Simpsons) declared: "the sitcom is dead." Veteran comedy writer Ken Levine (who hosted that sitcom seminar), however, disagrees. Ken believes the traditional multi-camera sitcom might be on a respirator, but still has a pulse. Levine said, "I would amend Sam's statement and say that yeah, the bad, stale, family sitcom with tired rhythms, forced laughs, and bogus characters is dead."

I guess if you're trying to revive the dying sitcom, a good way to start is by assembling a top-notch team. And Fox's new Wednesday night comedy, Back to You, does just that.

Every Tuesday here on TV Squad , we will highlight the week's TV-on-DVD releases. Some noteworthy releases today, May 9, 2006:

• The Andy Griffith Show - The Complete 6th Season
• Baby Felix - Volume 01: His Magic Bag Of Tricks
• The Bullwinkle Show - The Best of Boris & Natasha; The Best Of Rocky And Bullwinkle
• Dr. Katz, Professional Therapist  - Season 1
• Everybody Loves Raymond - The Complete 6th Season
• The Facts of Life - The Complete 1st and 2nd Seasons
• The Golden Girls - Season 5
• Life Goes On - The Complete 1st Season
• Northern Exposure - Seasons 1 & 2 (New Package)
• The Phil Silvers Show (AKA Sergeant Bilko) - 50th Anniversary Edition
• Rescue Me - The Complete 2nd Season
• Scrubs - The Complete 3rd Season
• Search For Adam & Eve - The 1st Season
• That '70s Show - Season 4
• Trailer Park Boys - Season 5
• The West Wing - The Complete 6th Season