TVSquad

Wow, it's hard to believe that it's been ten years since Seinfeld aired its monumental finale. Newsweek decided to celebrate the anniversary by having two of its writers debate whether the show has held up over the years. One minor problem with the article, though: the arguments made on either side don't make any sense.

One of the reasons Marc Peyser didn't think the show held up was because, after watching the show's reruns for the first time in years, he found that "The pacing - no show had ever packed in so many scenes, some of them lasting a few seconds - now seems formulaic and forced." Well, duh, of course it seems formulaic now, since almost every sitcom that has come since has adopted that method of storytelling.

Quick, what do the following TV shows have in common: The Dick Van Dyke Show, Twilight Zone, The Andy Griffith Show, M*A*S*H, Mystery Science Theater 3000, and The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson?

Answer: they're not on Empire Magazine's list of the 50 best greatest TV shows of all-time. Let the arguments begin!

You think some of the contestants on Dancing with the Stars are terpsichordian-challenged, that they look like klutzes? Well, some do. And you might think you can guess that a guy like Jason Alexander would be a complete joke on the dance floor. After all, as George on Seinfeld, did he ever seem like he could make it across the dance floor without tripping on his shoelaces?

Well, the man can move. On this week's episode of Bravo's Step It Up & Dance, Jason Alexander will present his credentials as a guest judge. He'll challenge the contestants to do what he's done -- very successfully in his career -- learn musical theater choreography.

I know, I know, a lot of you are thinking "I always watch Seinfeld online!" But now you can do it legally.

TBS is streaming episodes of the show on their web site. Right now it looks like there are only four episodes you can watch: "The Truth," "The Muffin Tops," "The Yada Yada," and "The Millennium." I was going to say that these are four classic episodes of the show, but then again I would say that approximately 98% of the episodes could probably be considered classic. If you're like me and you've seen each episode 55 times, this might not seem like a big deal (especially since it's on at least twice a night and there are DVDs), but it's a good option to have I guess (sorry Mac users - TBS hates you).

This letter brought back some memories for me...

Al writes, "Several years back...'90s I think, there was a show where they played classic old movies and the original dialogue was dubbed out and replaced with new dialogue. What comes to mind is the original Night of the Living Dead as one of the episodes. Do you know the name of this show?"

New York, New York -- a place so big that had to name it twice. Isn't that what they say about the Big Apple? Recently, movie critic Leonard Maltin, host of the ReelzChannel original series Secret's Out named his picks for the 15 greatest New York scenes in movie history. That got me thinking about the television shows that are intimately tied to New York, series that are inextricably New York shows. Whether they are -- or were -- filmed in the city, here's 15 absolutely, positively New York TV shows (in the order in which they debuted!). You don't have to agree with me -- and I may have overlooked one or two (which I urge you to comment and let me know) -- but I have good reasons for every one of my choices!

Remember last October when Jerry Seinfeld was all over NBC promoting Bee Movie? Well, maybe there was more going on with Jerry and the Peacock people than just honey-related promos. PageSix.com is reporting today that Jerry Seinfeld is in talks with NBC for a new series.

You have to assume that if there's truth to this, the network is probably bending over backwards to secure a new Seinfeld. Heck, if Jerry wanted to do a series about a forensic scientist who also does comedy on the side, they'd greenlight that, too! Will they call it Seinfeld Redux? Seinfeld Squared? Seinfeld Deux?

Mysterious. Mesmerizing. Interesting. Dynamic. Compelling. Any and all of these words accurately describe actress Michelle Forbes. She is one of the finest actresses in television, and yet she has maintained a distinct quality that makes her as elusive a performer to come around since Garbo! Intensely private, there's not much known about the Austin, Texas native. (However, I can tell you that she collects clocks -- broken clocks. As she told me, quoting the movie Withnail and I, "Even a stopped clock tells the right time twice a day.")

She's currently making HBO's new drama In Treatment appointment TV, drawing her loyal following to find her latest work as she did in 24, Prison Break, Homicide and Battlestar Galactica. And that doesn't even take into account the millions who first discovered this chameleon when she first burst onto the scene in Guiding Light, and then Star Trek: The Next Generation.

(S01E16-20) "Fuck all of you and the fish you swam in on." - Sophie

Laura
So it seems pretty obvious that Paul is jealous. What's worse is that Laura is so painfully aware of Paul's jealousy. The power has so clearly shifted in their relationship that it seems to be verging on malpractice.

You gotta love how Paul can be so detached when Laura is in tears begging him to have sex with her but when she is describing her sexual encounter with another man, the scowl on his face is severe enough to cut glass. He clearly needs a vacation.

Just last night, a fan named Kevin sent me this query...

"What actor/actress has received the most money for a sitcom syndication deal?"

Well, the short answer is Jerry Seinfeld. The long answer has all the details.

Believe it or not, I'm a little bit surprised by this news: According to The Smoking Gun (via AOL), Missy Chase Lapine has sued Jessica and Jerry Seinfeld over the flap concerning the similarities between her cookbook, The Sneaky Chef, and Mrs. Seinfeld's cookbook, Deceptively Delicious.

Jessica is accused of plagiarizing Lapine's book. But why is Jerry included in the suit? Because Lapine has decided that in the process of defending his wife in various TV appearances, Jerry defamed her by accusing her of being a "wacko" and a stalker. In fact, the suit specifically mentions Jerry's appearance on Letterman where the w-word was uttered.

Ask Men has a list of 5 Things You Didn't Know about Seinfeld. I don't consider myself the biggest Seinfeld fan on the planet, but I do think I've seen every episode, and I didn't know any of this stuff. Maybe you die-hard fans will scoff at the list and proclaim your knowledge of all those little known facts and more.

For instance, did you realize that we never got to meet any of Jerry, George, or Elaine's siblings? We got to meet their parents, but each of them referenced siblings during several episodes and we never, ever saw or met them. That's actually a cool little insight to their characters--that they really don't want to see their siblings. In case you were wondering, Elaine has a sister (her nephew was the one who was obsessed with the nipple slip Christmas card), Jerry has a sister, and George has a brother.

(S04E07) I think I've struck upon the perfect analogy to describe my feelings about tonight's Office. In keeping with the pastry theme of the episode: tonight's show was like a perfectly baked black and white cookie. I'm not talking the cheap kind that you buy shrink-wrapped at a rest-stop, I'm talking the high-end black and white you'd get from a top-quality New York baker. The kind of black and white that Seinfeld might buy.

The only problem is that I'm allergic to vanilla. So while I can see how some people might enjoy the whole cookie, for me to enjoy it, I have to concentrate only on the half I'm capable of digesting...

Here are the new TV DVDs, in stores tomorrow. It's a complete series extravaganza!

• The Andy Williams Show - Best Of
• The Bob Hope Show - The Ultimate Collection
• The Captain and Tennille - TV Specials
• The Colbert Report - Best Of
• The Cosby Show - Season 5 and 6
• Doctor Who - Series 3, Story #123 and 124
• Flight of the Conchords - Season 1
• Full House - Complete Series and Season 8
• Gilligan's Island - Complete Series
• House of Venus - Season 1
• King of Queens - Complete Series
• Martin - Season 3
• McLeod's Daughters - Season 4
• The Munsters - Scary Little Christmas
• The Pink Panther Show - A Pink Christmas
• Project Runway - Season 3
• Seinfeld - Complete Series and Season 9
• Sesame Street - Old School Vol. 2
• The Tonight Show - Heeere's Johnny: The Definitive DVD Collection
• Wildfire - Season 2
• Wings - Season 5
• Wonder Woman - Complete Collection
• The X-Files - Complete Collection Edition

What's happening on other blogs via the interweb.

• We all know what happened to Jerry Seinfeld after his show ended, but what happened to Man Hands, The Drake, Susan Ross, and Crazy Joe Divola?
• Tim Goodman has a podcast interview with David Duchovny.
• With this writers strike, could the Heroes season finale actually air in December?
• Don't worry, High School Musical fans: Vanessa Hudgens is going to be in Part 3.
• Here's a new way advertisers are trying to sneak past all you commercial-skippers. Actually an old way.
• MSNBC isn't happy with something Tucker Carlson said on his show.