TVSquad

All of these lists are starting to get more and more specific. This one is a list of the ten best sitcoms since 1980. Soon we'll have the 8 1/2 best hour long dramas that appeared between 1988 and 1994 on Sunday nights (that start with "J").

But lists always get us talking and this one has some great picks. Arrested Development fanatics will be glad to see their show on the list (I won't tell you where you'll have to click the link above), along with shows like Scrubs, Cheers, and Sports Night. But there is one show that is obviously missing. There might be more than one show that isn't on the list that should be, of course, but this show stood out to me immediately. Can you guess what it is? I'll name it after the jump but don't click ahead until you read the list and guess yourself.

AMC already has one critically acclaimed and Golden Globe nominated drama under its belt with the brilliant Mad Men. A second new series, Breaking Bad, hopes to follow that success, beginning in January. Malcolm in the Middle's Bryan Cranston stars as a high school chemistry teacher who turns to a life of crime in order to support his family after he is diagnosed with terminal cancer. If it's half as good as Mad Men it'll be twice as good as most of what's on TV.

But not content to wait around to see how Breaking Bad does critically and commercially, Variety reports that AMC has no less than four more shows in various stages of development, including two westerns. Westerns haven't been able to find success on the broadcast networks in years. Now by "Western" I'm talking the John Wayne/Clint Eastwood brand of Westerns with gunfights and saloon whores, not the likes of Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman, which did find an audience but was a very different kind of show.

• Chris Sligh was so like-able until he got eliminated this week on American Idol.
  
• One is staying and one is going. But what's really the difference between Miss USA and Miss America?
  
• Frankie Muniz is desperate to be known for something other than "Malcolm in the Middle," but I'm not sure if a Mohawk makes me believe him as a race car driver.
  

• 8pm: The West Wing series finale (NBC, preceded by a one hour retrospective)
  
• 8pm: The Simpsons season finale (FOX)
  
• 8pm: Survivor season finale (CBS - two hours and then a one hour reunion show)
• Malcolm in the Middle series finale (FOX - not sure what time yet)
• 9pm: Law and Order: CI season finale (NBC)

• ABC has a new ep of America's Funniest Home Videos at 7, followed by new eps of Extreme Makeover, Desperate Housewives,  and the debut of What About Brian?
  
• CBS has a new 60 Minutes, followed by a new Cold Case and the conclusion of Robert Ludlum's Covert One: The Hades Factor.
• On NBC, there's a new Dateline, West Wing, Law and Order: CI, and Crossing Jordan.
• FOX has a new Malcolm at 7, followed by a repeat King of the Hill, a repeat Simpsons, a new War At Home, a repeat Family Guy, then another new War At Home.
• The WB has a repeat Reba at 7, then a new Charmed and a repeat Pepper Dennis.
• At 9, HBO has a new Sopranos.
• There's a new episode of Steve Irwin's Great Escapes on The Travel Channel at 9.
• A&E has two new eps of God Or The Girl at 9.
  
• Also at 9: two new eps of The Next Food Network Star.
• At 10, Showtime has a new episode of Huff.

I don't know about this one. Both Hollywood.com and the New York Post have the same WENN story about Malcolm in the Middle star Frankie Muniz making plans to join the professional auto racing circuit after Malcolm in the Middle ends its run next month.

Here's the quote from Muniz himself: "I got signed to race for Jensen Motor Sports for the next two years ... I'm now a professional race car driver. I'm racing Indy cars, like Formula One cars and racing on road courses."

Most of me thinks this is either remnants of an April Fools' Day gag, or it was just Muniz being sarcastic. It's not like the kid isn't getting acting work, having recently appeared in the movie Stay Alive. Do any of you guys know anything about Muniz's alleged racing plans?

Wait, hold everything. Just as I was about to post I discovered this article from almost one year ago about a celebrity auto race in which Muniz took part. Muniz said, "Racing is all I've ever wanted to do. It's something I would like to get into on a more serious note." Perhaps the story is legit after all.

And before you say it, yes, both of these shows are still on the air.

FOX announced today that both shows will end their runs in May. The final episode of 70s will be the show's 200th, while Malcolm in the Middle will reach 150 episodes when it ends.

I never really watched That 70s Show, only catching an episode here and there, but Malcolm has been consistently funny over the years.

When you're 19 years old and you can afford to blow $3.75 million on a house - the house Jessica Simpson and Nick Lachey lived in, and where the gloriousness that was The Newlyweds was filmed - life must feel pretty sweet.  Justin Berfield, who plays the bullying middle son on Malcolm in the Middle, bought the Simpson-Lachey house for an undisclosed sum. The house was listed for $3.75 million.

I remember seeing Frankie Muniz, who plays Malcolm, on The Tonight Show several years ago, when he was 15 - he was talking to Jay Leno about his car collection, and Leno (along with me and all the other hard-working schmucks out there) was marveling that this kid who couldn't even drive yet was collecting these very spendy cars. Now another Malcolm kid buys a mansion. Geez, I guess I should've pursued that whole "land a part in a popular sitcom" path when I was a kid.