TVSquad

What if The CW did a new version of Seinfeld the way they've made new, updated versions of Melrose Place and Bevery Hills, 90210? Well, for one thing, there would be a black guy in it! Here's the video from Funny or Die.

As a bonus, we get a sneak peek at another CW remake, ER.

He is not a number. He is a free man -- and he's coming to Comic-Con.

The stars of AMC's mini-series remake of The Prisoner are headed to San Diego's mega-convention. The new Number Six, Jim Caviezel, will join Jamie Campbell-Bower (The Twilight Saga: New Moon) and Lennie James (Jericho) for a panel and preview of the six-part series.

The Prisoner tells the story of a retired spy who finds himself abducted and spirited away to a mysterious Village where nameless authority figures struggle to break his mind and spirit while he battles to escape. The show is known for its moral and existential themes as much as its sharp writing and distinctive art design.

A lot, surprisingly. Unfortunately, ABC's V remake won't take place in a universe packed with space cowboys who curse in Chinese, but it will star two Firefly alums, Alan Tudyk (Wash) and Morena Baccarin (Inara). Plus, the V pilot will feature digital effects by Zoic, the effects house that worked on Firefly.

Like most Whedon fans, I think the best things about Firefly were the characters, the dialogue, and the inventive stories. But the digital effects were just as amazing, especially for TV. They might not have been blockbuster movie good, but the ships and space chases always looked elegant and really specific to the show's quirky style and themes. That's what good visual effects are all about. Lets hope Zoic can create the same kind of magic for V, which is awaiting pickup by ABC.

When someone remakes a TV show or a movie, they often go more serious or darker. Is it because producers and directors feel they have to go "serious" to justify a remake? Do we live in more cynical times? Do the producers feel that they can't make a quality show that also happens to be light?

Kenneth Johnson, the creator of the original Bionic Woman series in the '70s (a spinoff of The Six Million Dollar Man), tells the L.A. Times that he's worried about the remake. I guess I would, too, if an NBC exec called my show "kind of cheesy." Although Johnson has been impressed with the work of producer David Eick on Battlestar Galactica, he's not so sure they're doing the right thing with the remake of his show.

If you just can't wait until tonight's season premiere of The Office, Slate has a little something to whet your appetite: clips from The Office. Well, more specifically, they have clips from Le Bureau and Stromberg, the French and German versions, respectively, of the original British classic.

The article, written by Liesl Schillinger, examines the reasons why the remakes -- including the American version -- were done, paralleling how each fictitional office is portrayed with how each country views their respective 9-to-5 grinds. For instance, the "Tim and Dawn" equivalent in Germany are even better looking than the American "Jim and Pam," and are already fooling around under the desk. And, the British and French Offices emphasize that life isn't all about work, while the American version reflect our nation's desire to revolve our lives around the workplace, even if we don't actually do much productive work. Not a bad read for a lazy Thursday afternoon at work.

Today's news that Will Smith will play the Robert Wagner role in a remake of It Takes A Thief got me thinking: what shows should they never, never, ever, ever update and bring to the big screen? I'm tempted to say "most TV shows," but I'm talking about the five that they should never touch. Here's my list:

1. The Dick Van Dyke Show: Can you imagine this show on the big screen? How would they recreate the rhythm and pace of the show, the ensemble chemistry, the writing? If anyone even attempted to redo this show on the big screen, they should be dragged to the California border and banned from the state forever.