Spaced. Extras. The Office. The Young Ones. Have you ever wondered why most British TV comedies end after only two seasons, which in brief British season numbers translates to a paltry 12 episodes? Blame Fawlty Towers. The 1975 series, starring John Cleese as an easily outraged hotel manager, is considered one of the funniest shows in British television history, and yet Cleese called it quits after only two series, before he ran out of ideas (which was the reason he gave for leaving Monty Python's Flying Circus). Released in a newly remastered boxed set today -- along with the remastered set of Rowan Atkinson's Blackadder -- it becomes painfully apparent that this is a show we would have gladly watched for another hundred episodes. After all, 12 episodes is only half of a regular American TV season, and we've watched full seasons of some pretty awful shows over the years.

It was a lofty premise for network TV: A show based on a bible story, with a modernized feel but set in an imaginary town filled with a messed up monarchy. It looked totally lush, with gorgeous set design. It was doomed before it even started.

Though it was critically acclaimed at the time, thirtysomething kind of gets a bad rep now for being a show about white, middle class yuppies whining, and sure, it was a show about white, middle class yuppies whining, but it was also a lot more than that. Created by My So-Called Life producers Marshall Herskovitz and Edward Zwick, the show was written by the likes of Paul Haggis (let's put our Crash hatred aside and remember Letters from Iwo Jima and Casino Royale, people), and Winnie Holzman, and at the time, had this perfectly timely resonance with people dealing with the complications of modern suburban life like no other show before it.

Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles suffered many setbacks in its lone two seasons, from budget cuts that stripped the essential action from the show, to the insufferable Riley and Jesse diversions, to far too many boring Sarah-centric episodes designed to make us just fall in love with the miscast Lena Headey, but despite all of that, it really was a fantastic show. And as August winds down and I get more and more amped for all my favorite shows to return, I just can't get the disappointment that Cameron, Derek, Ellison and John Henry won't be returning to my viewing schedule out of the back of my mind.

If you usually avoid going to the ABC Family channel to avoid getting subjected to pregnant teens, teen gymnasts, teen sororities and other teen-related things, you were missing out. Nestled in between Greek and Make it or Break It was a true gem of a show called The Middleman. Following a twentysomething artist's initiation as the sidekick to the Middleman, a clean-cut, tie-wearing secret agent-slash-superhero, the show ran for 12 episodes of monkeys, luchadores, surreal humor, bizarre villains and astounding wordplay. Initially released as a comic book by Lost and Charmed writer Javier Grillo-Marxuach, the entire series was recently released on DVD, and will be followed up by a graphic novel telling the final chapter in the saga. We talked to him about his experiences making the show, his next project Day One and what it's like for dreams to come true.

This Sunday, the British series Merlin, a re-imagining of the Arthurian legend, premieres on NBC, with a cast of actors mostly unknown on this side of the pond. (The notable exception being Anthony Head from Buffy the Vampire Slayer.) But is America ready for a new medieval television series? Sure, Legend of the Seeker just got renewed, and Robin Hood airs on BBC America, but is period fantasy ready for one of the big networks? We took a look back at previous period fantasy shows to see whether they were hits or misses.

In late 2006, still suffering from Angel withdrawal, I started seeing commercials on the Sci Fi channel for The Dresden Files, starring Paul Blackthorne (Lipstick Jungle) as freelance wizard Harry Dresden. It looked like it had a real Angel vibe about it -- this is before Moonlight, mind you -- and I started watching it with my wife whenever I could (she was instantly hooked). We caught most of the first 12 episodes... and then the series was canceled. I know, there are a dozen of the original Jim Butcher-penned books out there, some of which inspired episodes of the TV show, but Blackthorne was delightfully roguish, and I can't bring myself to read any book whose cover shows Harry wearing a black duster -- it's a little too high-school role-playing club for me, and I speak from experience. Luckily, I can watch the 12 duster-free episodes over and over on Hulu, or pick them all up (with the original uncut pilot) here. Check out the first one below.

There are four completely unrelated reasons for me to write about Andy Richter Controls the Universe today. 1.) The complete 19-episode series is finally coming out on DVD tomorrow. 2.) Andy Richter is re-teaming with Conan O'Brien on the new Tonight Show starting next month. 3.) Show creator Victor Fresco recently debuted his new office comedy, Better Off Ted. 4.) ARCTU may very well be the best TV show that has ever aired on television. Ever. Better than Airwolf, even! ARCTU is like a perfect storm in a bottle, if that's even a metaphor. This kind of magic could only have happened once, with all of the right factors in place, and of course, no one watched it. Fresco would go on to create the awful series Life on a Stick, and Andy Richter would go on to star in the execrable Quintuplets and the mediocre Andy Barker, P.I., the latter of which lasted all of four episodes before getting rightly canceled. But for one glorious moment, the two teamed up, and with a highly talented cast of regulars and guest stars, they created TV gold. Let's look at that cast, shall we?

I can't believe how happy I am to type this title. This show ever so narrowly missed making our TWoP 10 of shows that were canceled too soon just last week (seriously, it was a tough call between that and Wonderfalls), and now word comes that we'll actually be getting more of it! In the form of a direct-to-DVD movie. I'll take what I can get. The one catch? Mandy Patinkin isn't in it. I kind of liked him as the boss of the reapers, but in general I'm not a huge fan (Princess Bride being the other exception). So I was torn about his absence. Until I saw who was replacing him. It's one Mr. Henry Ian Cusick! Those Lost fans out there should know him better as Desmond. He's fabulous. And I think I won't be missing Mr. Patinkin one bit.

So it turns out America is still the colonies. At least when it comes to network TV series concepts. The real power resides back in Britain. Where do you think ABC discovered the retro action of Life on Mars? Where did CBS find its moody Eleventh Hour and daffy Worst Week? Heck, England's even providing us the stars of these borrowed designs. Not that we object to importing such hot, uh, talents as Jason O'Mara and Rufus Sewell.

DVD now lets us compare two out of three translations -- and the verdict is strangely mixed.