TVSquad

There are a lot of TV show set designs that I love, but I've never really given any thought to how put them together exactly. I used to assume they just drew up plans and/or blueprints with the measurements and all that and then the set designers and the rest of the crew would build the sets. I never once thought they were done this way.

On The Set has pictures of the original dioramas (those little models you might have built for a class back in school, though I never did) made for various shows over the years. These things are great! Check out the Price is Right set above. The site even has more dioramas from the show, from different angles.

I had to pause for a second there when I typed "Barr." I don't do a lot of stories about Roseanne Barr so I'm not used to typing her name, so I had to think for a moment, is she called Barr again? There was a time there she went as Roseanne Arnold, and while she's obviously not going by that name again, I was wondering if she was still just going by the name Roseanne like she did for a while there. But it is indeed Barr again.

She hasn't done any regular prime time in many years, but the comedienne is planning to make a comeback to the world of sitcoms in a new comedy that will be produced by Caryn Mandabach (who was one of the producers on Roseanne) and will be written by Jim Vallely, who was a producer and writer for Arrested Development, My Wife and Kids, The Geena Davis Show, and Action.

Damn, I wish I had thought of this.

Artist and writer Dan Meth has created a series of cool pop culture charts at his web site, and the one on the right is a handy guide to sitcom homes. Sense a pattern? The shows in the top half all have kitchens on the left and living rooms on the right (how we see them via the camera angle), and the ones on the bottom have the living room on the left and the kitchen on the right.

I guess there are only so many things you can do on a sitcom, especially if it's filmed in front of an audience as many of these were.

The network that brought you Family Matters, Cavemen and is still bringing you the parade of unfunny that is According to Jim wants to bring the sitcom back to its rightful throne on the airwaves.

ABC made a solemn vow to bring back more hit, half-hour sitcoms to the airwaves starting with the new TV season, according to Variety.

The network's heads made their announcement at last week's Television Critics Association gathering.

On CBS's The Big Bang Theory, we've met Sheldon's mother. Emmy-winner Laurie Metcalf appeared in season one as a super-religious Texas mama who knows better than anyone how to get to Dr. Sheldon Cooper. Now, Leonard's mother is going to be introduced, and she's equally as accomplished as Ms. Metcalf.

Tony, Emmy and SAG award winning actress Christine Baranski will be Leonard's mom, Dr. Beverly Hofstadter. That's right, she's a brainiac.

Her specialty is research on the human brain, and according to Bill Prady, Big Bang's executive producer, "There's the possibility that Leonard is the least successful in his family, that his parents always pushed him toward academic success." Sounds like a funny set up to me.

Recently, the AOL list of the 50 Best Sitcoms of all time got me thinking about ten all time great sitcom sidekicks. Working on that list inspired me to look at the best in sitcom siblings -- ADULTS ONLY. The brother/sister relationship, brothers, sisters, family dynamics are great fodder for comedy. For my collection of the best, I've limited it to grown-up siblings only because there are some truly funny things that happen only among adults brothers and sisters that are unique and universal at the same time. After all, unlike the childhood years when kids are controlled by parents, adult siblings remain close and in each other's lives by choice -- and that has made for some wonderful situation comedy.

Niles & Frasier Crane, Frasier
Two brothers, both psychiatrists, both opera buffs, both wine connoisseurs, both heterosexual despite evidence to the contrary. The Crane brothers were like two peas in a very funny pod, sparking each other in comedy, competitive and supportive at the same time. Making their brotherly friendship even funnier was the fact that their Dad, Martin, who was nothing like either one of them. What's even funnier is the fact that when Frasier was originally spun-off from Cheers, the writers didn't include the character of Niles. It was only after seeing an 8x10 of David Hyde Pierce, and how much he looked like Kelsey Grammer's brother, that they put him in the pilot. Frasier would not have been nearly the hit comedy it was without the brother angle.

The CSI/Two and a Half Men writers switch was a very clever promotion for CBS. Fortunately, the writers saw the opportunity to change places as more than just a publicity stunt. They really took the scripting seriously and came up with inventive episodes for each program. If this were a competition to see which team would deliver the better show, who would take on the task of writing winning TV in a genre not their own and succeed beyond expectations, the comedy scribes take the gold. Chuck Lorre and Lee Aronsohn's CSI was pure genius, and if it were up to me, CSI should submit it for an Emmy.

But first there was Two and a Half Men. In an episode called "Fish in a Drawer" (and if somebody could explain what that title means, I'd be most appreciative), the story picked up after Evelyn married Teddy. In the teleplay by CSI regular writers Evan Dunsky and Sarah Goldfinger, Charlie and Courtney check out of the reception for a little romp in his room upstairs only to find Teddy's dead bod on the bed. Talk about spoiling the mood. Teddy wasn't only a corpse, he was a corpse with his pants pulled down around his ankles and lipstick stains on his hoo-ha. The cops were called in, a detective who was a dead ringer for Marg Helgenberger -- played by redhead Jamie Rose -- had the vaguely Bondian name of Jagov, Sloane Jagov. Naturally, Charlie had to make a move on her. He couldn't keep his eyes off her cleavage.

There's no denying it: we're currently living in a utopia. Not a day goes by that I don't thank my lucky stars that I get to live in the greatest country on earth during the greatest time to be alive. I think even the harshest critic of the current world order would agree with me when I say that there's not a single problem anywhere in the world that anyone is dealing with.

But how did we get here? What was the spark that spurred us from barely cognizant man-apes into the enlightened, elegant creatures that we are today? Look no further than that great black monolith sitting in your living room: your TV. Five VERY SPECIAL EPISODES that saved society after the jump...

AOL Television has compiled a list of the 50 Best TV Comedies -- Ever, this week revealing numbers 50-41. Inspired by what they did, I've decided to list my favorite sitcom sidekicks, those funny foils that oftentimes make the star shine even brighter than you might have thought. Coming up with just a ten-pack hasn't been so easy. Many times, I'd look at a show and think, "No, it's more of an ensemble. There isn't one sidekick." Falling into that category were B.J. and Trapper John on M*A*S*H. Neither were Hawkeye's sidekick, really (any more than Radar was). Same thing with Friends -- they were all each other's sidekicks. Also, on The Odd Couple, Oscar and Felix were equal; neither was a sidekick. Ditto Two and a Half Men and Laverne & Shirley. Also, because it's my list, I decided not to include married couples -- sorry Rob and Laura, Ricky and Lucy, Archie and Edith.

Whew, after all that, here, in alphabetical order, are the ten I love -- within my own parameters! Feel free to comment with your choices, if your favorite isn't on my list.

Here are the new TV DVDs, in stores tomorrow.

• Absolutely Fabulous - The White Box
• Charlie and Lola - Vol. 6
• The Christmas Blessing (TV movie)
• The House Without A Christmas Tree (TV movie)
• Ironside - Season 2
• MacGyver - The Complete Series
• Masters of Horror - Season 1, Vol. 2 and The Damned Thing
• Medium - Season 3
• Mythbusters - Collection 2
• Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares (UK) - Vol. 1
• Roseanne - Season 9
• Squidbillies - Vol. 1
• Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip - The Complete Series
• That 70s Show - Season 7
• Wanted: Dead or Alive - Season 3

When one of our favorite TV shows goes off the air, it always brings sadness. However, many times, the silver lining in the cancellation is the birth of a spinoff. Sometimes it can be a great thing (Frasier) and sometimes the results can be less than ideal (The Art of Being Nick). Last month's spin-off ideas were so popular, I decided to make this a regular post. Here are some more spinoff ideas that I would love to see.

The Sherwood-Forrest Report
After the retirement of veteran newswoman Murphy Brown, Corky Sherwood-Forrest and her husband Will Forrest become the hosts of a new show on Court TV. Corky is the moderator while Will provides legal expertise along with a rotating team of guest legal scholars (Marcia Cross, Star Jones, Greta Van Susteren).

Here are the new TV DVDs, in stores tomorrow.

• 8 Simple Rules... - Season 1
• The Adventures of Jim Bowie - Complete Series
• Charlie Lola - Vol. 5
• Daniel Boone - Season 5
• Darkwing Duck - Vol. 2
• The Dresden Files - Season 1
• Full House - Season 7
• The Hills - Season 2
• Home Improvement - Season 7
• Inside The Actor's Studio - Barbra Streisand
• The Muppet Show - Season 2
• Rome - Season 2
• Roseanne - Season 8
• Saved By The Bell - Hawaiian Style and Wedding in Las Vegas movies
• The Simpsons - Season 10
• Soul Food - Season 2
• The Suite Life of Zack & Cody - Vol. 2
• Superfriends: The Legendary Super Powers Show - Complete Series
• Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - Season 5
• That Girl - Season 3
• The Tick - Season 2

Practically the entire CBS prime time line up was attending the all-stars outdoor party on the Wadsworth Theatre Great Lawn in Brentwood, Calif. on Thursday night.

But I only had one objective: make peace with the gang from How I Met Your Mother (and TVSquad readers) for missing the informal panel at Wednesday's TCA presentation attended by Neil Patrick Harris (Barney) and creators/executive producers Carter Bays and Craig Thomas.

Welcome to TV Squad Lists (formerly 'The Five'), a feature where each blogger has a chance to list his or her own rundown of things in television that stand out from the rest, both good and bad.

Ah, the friendly neighborhood drinking hole. In one way or another, they're there to give you that much needed morning/evening buzz before/after work or school. In what order you visit them is up to you. We've seen our fair share of these booze and caffeine shoppes on TV throughout the years, and here's my pick for the top 18 -- why settle for just ten?

1) Cheers (Cheers) -- Let's get right down to it and start with the obvious number one choice before we move on. I'm not going to insult you with dragging you on to the end to see what is very obviously the most famous of all TV bars. And since I'm from the area, I have no business not making this number one.

New TV DVDs, in stores tomorrow.

• The Brady Bunch - Complete Series
• Entourage - Season 3, Vol. 1
• Law and Order - Season 5
• The Lost Room - Complete Mini-Series
• Mind of Mencia - Season 2 (Uncensored)
• The Pink Panther Show - Vol. 5: The Ant & The Aardvark
• Roseanne - Season 7
• She-Ra - Season 1, Vol. 2
• Tom Goes To The Mayor - Complete Series
• Twin Peaks - Season 2