TVSquad

Before Dallas and Dynasty and Falcon Crest and Knots Landings captured the imaginations of American viewers, there was a British soap import that was even more compelling.

From 1971-75, PBS aired the British upper crust soap Upstairs Downstairs. And now Upstairs Downstairs is going to be remade. It'll be filmed and shown in England first before coming to America in 2011.

What made Upstairs Downstairs classic television – it won Emmys, BAFTAs and Golden Globes – was the way it depicted of the British class system. Upstairs you had the rich, privileged Bellamy family. Downstairs there were the servants who worked for them. The lives of all these characters intertwined in a well-written, brilliantly acted drama series.

(S07E01) As the seventh season commences, the cases continue. Tonight it's a flashback to 1966 and the events on a ship known for suicides, but the real crux of the show was more current. What's going on with Lily Rush since her near-death experience last year? When the case against Kitchener seems to be going soft, her reaction makes me wonder if our Lily is contemplating going Dirty Harry (Harriet?) on us.

Zachary Johnson and Jeffrey Max are two effed up dudes.

Before they hit the "viralsphere" with Lasagna Cat, the production team and creative geniuses behind Fatal Farm created an incredibly twisted, brilliantly subversive, and unarguably hilarious series of "alternative intros" parodying the openings to classic sitcoms. No two intros follow the same theme or formula, except to say that they're all unequivocally... Messed. Up.

From blood and guts to go-carts and the hinting of pedophilia, each parody brings with it an innate ability to eviscerate any leftover nostalgia from the sight of, say, the Happy Days jukebox or the beginning chords of the theme to Cheers. (Believe us, you'll never think of Rhea Perlman the same way again.)

Strap in, sit back, and take an incredibly disturbing trip down Memory Lane, courtesy of your friendly tour guides at Fatal Farm:

AOL has chosen the best TV shows of the 1980s, and it's not a bad list. But I'm sure everyone reading this will have their own thoughts.

Sure, there are shows that were my favorites I'd like to see on the list, but those would be personal choices. The only problem I have is where the shows place on the list. For example, is Fraggle Rock really a better show than Spenser: For Hire, Miami Vice, and Kate and Allie (even beyond the fact that it might be an odd show to compare to the other shows in the first place)? Is Facts of Life better than MacGyver?

Here are the new TV DVDs, in stores tomorrow.

Hmmm...no idea why there's a new edition of Alias' season 5 coming out tomorrow. There was another version of the season already released, but it has been discontinued. I wonder if there's something different in the set that will tick off fans who bought that deluxe Alias Complete Series Set with Rambaldi Artifact a while back.

And the fourth season of Felicity too. Maybe it's J.J. Abrams' birthday?

• Alias - Season 5 (new edition)
  
• Ben 10: Alien Force - Season 1, Vol. 3
• Beverly Hills, 90210 - Season 7

It goes without saying that television from the 80's - as a decade - tends to stand on its own as having provided some of the oddest junk we may ever see: the glorification of cat-fights (see: Dynasty), the existence of Twin Peaks, and an alien as the star of his own sitcom (see: Tony Danza Alf).

Of course, classically cheesy schmaltz like Dancing With The Stars and American Idol continues to thrive, keeping viewers fastened to their couches amid every note sung or dance move executed by someone in a fedora or boa, respectively.

CBS is connected to the pulse of America, people. They're at the top of the ratings race, The Mentalist is the hot new procedural this season and life is looking good for TPTB over at CBS.

I'm also wondering if CBS realizes how sick and tired most viewers are getting of the same old types of shows. With the lack of originality in new programming, I know I'm not the only one turning to my old favorites on DVD. I love reliving Buffy the Vampire Slayer and I'm now discovering Supernatural for the first time.

I swear I didn't tell CBS about my longing for all things retro, but they have bugged my house or tapped into my TV set or something, because their latest venture is streaming vintage TV shows on their site -- CBS's "TV Classics" player.

Here are the new TV DVDs, in stores tomorrow.

The complete series sets seem to be coming fast and furious these days, though there really isn't anything here that I want to spend the cash on (already have The Outer Limits). I have the first Man From U.N.C.L.E. complete series set that Time-Life did several months ago (this one is from Warner). The Starlost? Maybe as a curiosity, but I doubt it. The Incredible Hulk? Eh. Knight Rider? God no.

• According To Jim - Season 1
• Ben 10: Alien Force - Season 1, Vol. 1
• Dynasty - Season 3, Vol. 2
• Family Guy - Vol. 6, Freakin' Sweet Party Pack, and Total World Domination Collection sets
• The Incredible Hulk - Complete Series and Season 5
• Knight Rider - Complete Series
• The L Word - Season 5
• Looney Tunes - Looney Tunes Golden Collection, Vol. 6 and Spotlight Collection, Vol. 6
• The Man From U.N.C.L.E. - Complete Series
• The Naked Brothers Band - Season 2
• The Outer Limits (Original Series) - Complete Series
• Route 66 - Season 2
• The Starlost - Complete Series
• Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - Season 2, Vol. 2

Here are the new TV DVDs, in stores tomorrow.

• The All-New Popeye Hour - Popeye and Friends
• Burn Notice - Season 1
• Californication - Season 1
• Dynasty - Season 3, Vol. 1
• ER - Season 9
• Galaxy High School - The Collection
• The Hudson Brothers Razzle Dazzle - Complete Series
• Jericho - Season 2 and Complete Series
• Meerkat Manor - Season 3
• The Naked Brothers Band - Polar Bears
• Popeye - Vol. 2: 1938-40
• The Real McCoys - Season 3
• Sabrina The Teenage Witch - Season 4
• The Suite Life of Zack and Cody - Lip Synchin in the Rain
• Transformers: Animated - Tranform and Roll Out
• Wanted: Dead or Alive - Best Of

Here are the new TV DVDs, in stores tomorrow.

• All Creatures Great and Small - Series 7 and Complete Series sets
• Aqua Teen Hunger Force (movie)
• Avatar: The Last Airbender - Book 2: Earth, Vol. 4
• Bewitched - The Complete Seasons 1-5
• Brian Regan: Standing Up
• Doctor Who - #75 and #158
• Dynasty - Season 2
• Elvis: The Miniseries
• The Fugitive (original) - Season 1, Vol. 1
• Home Run Derby - Vol. 2
• Kids in the Hall - Pilot: Headcrusher Edition
• Loonatics: Unleased - Season 2
• Masters of Horror - "Valerie on the Stairs" and "We All Scream For Ice Cream"
• McLeod's Daughters - Season 3

A roundup of TV people from in front of the camera and behind the scenes who have passed away.

• Lois Gibson: She was a writer and story editor for such shows as The Fugitive, The Invaders, Quincy, M.E., and The Untouchables. She was also the wife of actor/comic Henry Gibson. She died in Malibu, CA at age 77.

Various things I've been thinking about lately.

1. I don't know why I didn't notice this before, but the guy who plays Horn-Rimmed Glasses Man on Heroes, Jack Coleman, is the guy who played Steven Carrington on Dynasty in the 80s! I didn't recognize him at all. Not that I watched Dynasty. I was a Knot's Landing guy. Great hair though.

There's a quality I really admire in older women. It's the "I no longer give a crap what you think of me" quality. They've seen it all, done it all, been there and back and have no reason not to speak their minds. It's so damn refreshing in a world of publicists and politesse to hear some old curmudgeon honestly and blithely offer their withering assessment of the world.

The now 80 year-old Charlotte Rae, television's Mrs. Garrett of Facts of Life fame, gave a mouthful to reporters on the red carpet of the LA premiere of Joan Collins and Linda Evans' theatrical turn in Legends. When asked about Collins, Rae responded, "Joan Collins is a bitch! There's no doubt about it. Everyone says she's an extremely difficult person." The Insider sprung the tape of Rae's remarks on Collins in a backstage interview. Collins reply: "Who is this cow!" I don't know what it is about these catty old broads, but I love them.

[Via After Elton]

The bitches are back. Dynasty's Krystle Carrington and Alexis Carrington Colby have been reunited for a nightly cat fight in the touring production of playwright James Kirkwood's Legends. The production has settled down for a two-week stint in Washington DC, but you can expect to see it on the road over the next several months.

Former 80s primetime soap stars Evans and Collins star as aging movie star rivals clinging to what remains of their fading glamor. The play, itself, is notoriously lousy. Carol Channing and Mary Martin starred in a mid-80s tour of the show, which was more famous for the backstage rather than on-stage drama. None of that really matters though.

John Forsythe, known to television fans for his role on Dynasty and as the disembodied voice of Charlie on Charlie's Angels, has been treated for colon cancer in a hospital and is expected to return home this weekend. The actor, who last appeared (or rather, "didn't appear") in the film adaptations of Charlie's Angels, was diagnosed with colon cancer on September 28 and entered the hospital for a week-long treatment. There has been no information released on his condition at this time. Forsythe has appeared in numerous television series and movies since the early '50s, including the 1967 film adaptation of Truman Capote's novel In Cold Blood.