TVSquad

Actually, two sneak peeks. The first clip shows what you should do if you ever blurt out something in bed that you shouldn't (and why you should learn a bit of geography first) and the second clip (after the jump) shows what happens if a coworker reveals a little bit about himself.

I'm so glad ABC renewed this show. The season premiere airs next Tuesday at 9:30.

Did you know that there was supposed to be a new episode ("Jabberwocky") of Better Off Ted last night? But ABC decided to go with a rerun of the Bachelorette finale. Which had already aired. The night before.

Sigh.

Anyway, two episodes next week. In the meantime, there's this.

Why is ABC running new episodes of Better Off Ted during the summer? Not that fans aren't incredibly happy to see new episodes, but I would have thought that ABC would rerun the earlier episodes of the show and then start running new ones this fall (the show has been renewed for the fall).

Yup, there's an Arrested Development documentary, and the trailer is below. I didn't even know this film was coming out, but it looks like it's the ultimate drug for hardcore AD fans (at least until the movie comes out). Besides the cast and crew being interviewed, we also see comments from people like Andy Richter, Keith Olbermann, and many other fans.

This was the season finale of Better Off Ted, and it could turn out to be the series finale. ABC will reveal their fall schedule on May 19, so for the next couple of weeks fans of this show will be acting like Arrested Development fans, praying that their favorite sitcom continues and ready to send letters to the network. ABC doesn't really do well with comedies. They usually don't last long or they're grabbed from another network (Scrubs and maybe Old Christine), so maybe this is a show they'd like to keep around.

What did you think of this series finale?

Last week, TVSquad readers made our "Which shows are renewed, canceled, or on the bubble?" post the most viewed and most commented of the week. Most of the commenters voiced their opinions as to which show should be renewed, and since I also watch loads of TV, it's with no surprise that I wanted to chime in, as well. (Look for my "Series that I think should be canceled" post later this week.)

Here I present you, the 10 shows I think should be renewed. Note that I did not include in this list shows that have been confirmed as renewed by the network (such as Gossip Girl), nor those that have been officially canceled (bye bye Pushing Daisies).

If you just want the list, click here.

ABC's new comedy Better Off Ted - which aired last night - is one of the on the bubble shows. It certainly has its fan base, but it's also one of those quirky sitcoms that just "feels" like one you can imagine ABC canceling after one short season, and then it goes away forever. And then we grumble about it for months and hope for a DVD release. What do you think? Do you think the show deserves a second season or do you think it's ... better off dead (sorry)?

Better Off Ted, ABC's new workplace comedy, debuts Wednesday at 8:30PM ET. However, the timing of the show's release couldn't be more fortuitous... or disastrous, depending on how you look at it. The show revolves around an ethically inept conglomerate, Veridian Dynamics, and as a result, viewers will unavoidably end up thinking about everything that's wrong with our economy - from Bernie Madoff to AIG to Enron (a stretch yes, but still relevant). As a comedy, it's a decidedly glass half-full approach. Unfortunately, this comes at a time when most viewers will probably have more in common with a glass half-empty mantra. Will it work? I'm thinking yes.

(S05E17) "Christian, I don't like men. I like you." - Liz

Christian and Liz?!? Can anyone honestly say that they ever saw this coming? Of course, the opposites attract argument exists - "butch lesbian anesthesiologist" and "slightly mysoginistic sex-crazed plastic surgeon" are just about as far apart as you can get. But I suppose it only makes sense that the guy who uses woman before he trusts them starts to fall for the woman he in theory shouldn't be able to have because, Christian put it best, "she's a lesbian!"

Despite all the pitfalls that this relationship certainly has (Christian is not a one woman guy - especially when that woman plays for the other team), at least it's something different. Once again, the "Sean still loves Julia" plot reared it's annoying head. We get it already. The proponents of this awkward courtship will argue that we don't know who Sean is without Julia and that's why he's always carried the torch. But that's just it - I don't know who Sean is without Julia either and it doesn't seem like Ryan Murphy and Co. plan on telling us.

I am about to write something that I normally don't do when it comes to the way networks program their primetime schedules. It's something that will shake your foundations, rock the world, turn Republicans into Democrats (and vice-versa) and make Amy Winehouse finally get sober. Ready? ABC is being smart with its programming schedule.

There, it's done. Now to sit back and wait for the accolades.

Seriously, after years of relying on only a handful of shows to carry the schedule throughout the year, ABC has been filling out their schedules with a number of backup shows to fill those gaps that always appear when a fall premiere tanks. Granted, some of these mid-season replacements also tank, but at least the network is letting them try. Because of that we have been lucky to enjoy shows like Samantha Who? and Eli Stone. This time around, ABC has five new series - all scripted - that will be premiering during the 2008-09 season. You'll find a brief explanation of each after the jump.

Do not adjust your web browser. You are now entering the Retro Squad, where we are reviewing past episodes of classic TV shows.

(S01E02) Many people will tell you that they got sucked into Arrested Development by its pilot. I wasn't. For some reason, I didn't watch the pilot when it first aired. But that's just fine, because the second episode, "Top Banana," was a perfect representation of everything AD ended up being. Throwaway jokes. Quick cut-aways and flashbacks. Subtle catchphrase generation. A "lesson of the week" couched in vicious barbs between members of the Bluth family. Oh, and two words that I'll never forget: "No touching!"

Do not adjust your web browser. You are now entering the Retro Squad, where we are reviewing past episodes of classic TV shows.

I will admit, I was super late to the Arrested Development game. It had been canceled and I'm pretty sure everything was on DVD. Actually, I remember the first time I watched an episode, it was on G4. There was that guy from Teen Wolf Too and he was talking to David Cross, who was painted like a Smurf for some reason. And then he did some things that didn't really make sense, and I laughed nervously because I was worried I had become too stupid to keep up with sitcoms. I gave up after another ten minutes of confusion and switched over to Flavor of Love or something equally brain-numbing to make myself feel better.

Do not adjust your web browser. You are now entering the Retro Squad, where we are reviewing past episodes of classic TV shows.

(S01E01) Some shows come out of the gate with such a power that you can't help but stand up and take notice. For the far too few of us who happened to catch Arrested Development when it premiered, it quickly established that it was going to be something a little different than the other comedy fare on the television. The trend at the time was moving toward the single camera format, that's almost become the norm for comedies nowadays (The Office, My Name is Earl, hell NBC's entire Thursday night lineup).

There was a time when audiences were less receptive to this kind of television. It was funny, but minus a laugh track. So while shows like The King of Queens, Everybody Loves Raymond and even According to Jim had this comfortable format with the basic house set and laughter to cue us into the funny bits, AD was something a bit more challenging. Perhaps it was just a few years ahead of its time, or perhaps it was on the wrong network (FOX), or perhaps it was just too smart for its own good.

On today's episode of The Ellen DeGeneres Show, Ellen will announce that she and long-time girlfriend Portia de Rossi are getting married.

Her announcement is in response to this week's ruling from the California Supreme Court that everybody has a "right to marry" whomever they choose. The justices ruled that the state's ban on gay marriage is unconstitutional. It makes California the second state, after Massachusetts, that will allow same-sex marriage. The legal battle began in San Francisco when the mayor allowed same-sex couples to marry (Rosie O'Donnell and her partner, Kelly, married at that time).

(S05E14) "I pretend to do the thing I actually do and suddenly I'm cool." - Sean

Going into this episode, I was really expecting it to be just be so-so. With the trend of so many other shows being cut short because of the WGA strike, I just assumed Nip/Tuck would fall victim as well. Not the case. Even if this season's full order of 22 episodes had been met, this installment was still clearly meant to be a mid-season finale. There's no way an ending like that gets a new episode the very next week. It worked here as the season ender and it worked well.