TVSquad

Okay, I'm not a doctor (surprising, I know), so maybe if you are a doctor, and your most recent medical experience is tsunami relief in Indonesia, maybe moving to County General doesn't seem so bad. Sure, it gets blown up occasionally, gunfire breaks out often, and maybe you may get taken hostage and/or stabbed by a crazy patient or two. But here's my question: Would you tell your spouse to work there too?

Apparently Angela Bassett would. Bassett, who is joining the cast of ER as a "troubled" new attending, is bringing her husband along with her. Courtney B. Vance, who spent five seasons on NBC's Law & Order: Criminal Intent as ADA Ron Carver, is also joining the cast. Vance will be playing another attending physician an the on-screen husband of his real-life wife on a recurring basis. While I'm sure that the set of ER is a perfectly safe place for Vance, I'm highly worried about the fate of his character.

Jesse Spano is coming back to TV. After guest appearances on CSI: Miami and Law & Order: Criminal Intent, Elizabeth Berkley is ditching the procedurals and heading over to Showtime. The former Saved by the Bell star will be joining Jennifer Beals, her costar in the 2002 film Roger Dodger, on Showtime's The L-Word for a multi-episode arc.

Word is, Berkley's L-Word character has a history with Jennifer Beals' Bette. The two went to college together and Berkley was the straight girl who got away. Perhaps Bette will have better luck the second time around.

My only hope for this pairing is that they can somehow manage to fit a Flashdance: What a Feeling / I'm So Excited dance-off into the plot of the show, thus bringing together the high points of both of these women's careers and officially making this the best casting decision ever.

I'm sure I'm not the only one who assumed the HBO nightly series In Treatment, featuring Gabriel Byrne, Blair Underwood, Josh Charles and Dianne Wiest among others, was pretty much going to be a done in one. I really enjoyed the tension they managed to create with essentially two or three people sitting in a room and talking, and while critical acclaim pretty much affirmed that I am brilliant (like I needed their help), the ratings didn't follow.

While official word on the show's fate still hasn't come, what is trickling around is that HBO is this close to signing Law & Order: Criminal Intent executive producer Warren Leight (see me holding my fingers really close together), with the intention of putting him on In Treatment should it get the pick-up, which ups the odds of said happening tremendously. I can't imagine the show costs a tremendous amount to produce, aside from paying the top-notch actors they brought on board. Aside from Byrne and Wiest, we'd likely be looking at a new cast of patients with all new conflicts.

Just when you think it's over, they pull it back in! Actually, I think this is great news and nothing to bemoan. USA Network has ordered 16 new episodes of Law and Order: Criminal Intent. The third spin-off from NBC's venerable -- 18 seasons strong -- Law and Order, CI moved to USA -- part of the NBCU family -- last year after six years on NBC. What's the difference between the shows on NBC and the shows on USA? Absolutely nothing. The quality of the show and the talent in front and behind the camera has remained the same, so I'm really happy that there'll be new L&O: CI in the future. I prefer scripted drama to more reality TV.

Welcome to TV Squad Lists (formerly 'The Five'), a feature where each blogger has a chance to list his or her own rundown of things in television that stand out from the rest, both good and bad.

Ah, the police detective genre. It's one of the staples of a network's TV lineup. We all have our favorites, whether the characters are in blue uniforms or suits. Here are my Top 5 (and just so we're clear, I'm talking about police detectives, not private eyes or amateur investigators. I'll have that list tomorrow!)

1. Lt. Columbo (Peter Falk): No contest, really. Sure, there are some other great cops and detectives, but not many with the sheer Sherlock Holmes-like smarts as Lt. Columbo. He walked around sorta lost and bumbling, with a constantly lit cigar, a rumpled raincoat, and hair that made it look like he just woke up. But he was no fool, which all the murderers found out a little bit too late.