You gotta hand it to Matt LeBlanc. The guy must have a pretty good sense of humor to star as himself in a show where he's essentially nothing but a punchline.

The former 'Friends' cast member is the joke (or at least one of the jokes) in the new Showtime/BBC comedy series 'Episodes', about a successful UK comedy duo forced to cast LeBlanc as the lead in a crappy US version of their hit show.

Bob posted a promo for the show last month, in which LeBlanc is humiliated having to audition to play himself ("You want Matt LeBlanc, you get Matt Leblanc!"). Judging by the funny promo, it looks like 'Episodes' could appeal to fans of 'Curb Your Enthusiasm', 'Entourage', and 'Pilot Season'.

We don't have a premiere date for the series yet, but THR is reporting that three actors have signed to co-star alongside the one-time Joey Tribbiani.

So where has Matt Leblanc been since Joey left the air? I'm not sure, but he has a new show coming up on Showtime that has an interesting premise and could become one of those clever, quirky cable comedies that everyone tells you to watch. In it he plays Matt Leblanc, who has to audition to play, well, Matt Leblanc in a new series for Showtime.

Here's a clip that explains a bit more. Looks like Leblanc is having a fun time spoofing himself.

If you haven't seen our game before, we give you a picture from a recent episode of a TV series and you provide the caption! Last week's winner is RobynM, with this:

"...and here's to the on-staff STD specialist."

This week we have a picture from a recent episode of MTV's Real World: Cancun.

And I should add that you should be grateful that you missed this last night. My God, are the new people on The Real World: Cancun really this crazy? Remember that episode of The Real World: San Francisco where Puck put his finger in the peanut butter? This is even worse.

"Herpes on your lip! Herpes on your lip! Herpes on your lip!"

When TV shows have made the leap to the big screen, the results have not always been great, except when they keep the same cast and come up with a good story that builds on the series, like Sex and the City and Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan. The same is true of some TV movies that have built on a show's lingering appeal even after it's been canceled. James Garner came back for a couple of Rockford Files movies, for instance, and The Return of The Man from UNCLE with David McCallum and Robert Vaughn was excellent. Of course, it doesn't always work -- the Rhoda and Mary reunion was painful to watch -- but I'm still a fan of the follow-up TV movie.

Here's my ideas for ten TV shows I'd like to see as TV movies.

There are many Thanksgiving traditions we all enjoy: the turkey, the stuffing, watching football, fighting over the drumstick to see whose wish comes true, and putting up with family members you avoid 363 days of the year (you see them at Christmas too).

There's another tradition, this one TV-oriented: Friends!

We've talked about this a lot here at TV Squad: what are the worst spin-offs of all-time? Joanie Loves Chachi always makes such a list as does AfterMASH. So it's no surprise that both shows made Time's list of the 10 worst spin-offs of all-time. In fact, AfterMASH is in the number one slot.

Other shows on the list are good examples of bad spin-offs too, including The Ropers, the Three's Company spin-off that was rather unnecessary; Joey, the Friends spin-off that just couldn't recapture the magic of the parent series; and Baywatch Nights, which always amazed me with the fact that Mitch Buchannon never mentioned to the other lifeguards at his day job on the beach that he was fighting monsters and evil spirits in his night job.

I'm impressed that they not only picked the Spenser: For Hire spin-off A Man Called Hawk but placed it so high on the list, at number three. That really was a disappointing show. Some characters are just more effective in supporting roles.

If you've been watching NBC's Olympic coverage, you must have seen all of the promotion they have been doing for their fall season. New shows My Own Worst Enemy, Crusoe, Knight Rider, Kath & Kim, and America's Toughest Jobs have all had plenty of play. As have the returning Chuck and Life. Given that the latest Olympiad is closing in on becoming the most watched television event of all time, you might think those promo spots were pretty valuable.

Apparently, not so much. The Hollywood Reporter runs down the record for the network promoting new shows during past games. In 2004, the Athens games led to one show, Joey, making it beyond its first season. Likewise for the Sydney games in 2000, which brought us Ed, and nothing else. Things were a little better in 1996 from Atlanta. Profiler, The Pretender, and Suddenly Susan all lasted another four years. Not a stellar track record and it leaves you thinking that those precious spots might have served the network better pitching more beer. It has the makings of a good poll though. After the jump, place your vote for the one new show that will make it out of season one.

I'm a sucker for stunt casting. Sure, it can get annoying after a while, (hello Will & Grace) but I still love seeing a Michelle Trachtenberg on Gossip Girl or a Britney Spears on How I Met Your Mother. So I was really excited to read that Courteney Cox has signed up to guest star on Scrubs this season.

Cox, who was most recently seen on her FX drama, Dirt, is returning to the small screen for a three-episode arc as Sacred Heart's newest Chief of Medicine. The position was left open after Dr. Kelso (Ken Jenkins) retired at the end of last season. Since Cox is only going to be on the show for a handful of episodes, something tells me that she's not going to do well in her new position. Her character is said to "ruffle some feathers," and it sounds like she's ruffling the wrong ones right out the door.

If there is one rumor that never dies it's the one about the possibility of a Friends reunion. Since the series finale aired in May 2004, rumors about a reunion popped up here, there and everywhere. Sometimes the rumor takes the form of "there will be another spinoff" (remember Joey?) but most of the time it's a "there are talks about a movie but one of the stars doesn't want to commit." This week's revival of the rumor is of the latter kind.

Here are the new TV DVDs, in stores tomorrow.

• Are You Afraid of the Dark? - Season 6
• Beverly Hills, 90210 - Season 4
• Burke's Law - Season 1, Vol. 1
• Cheers - Season 9
• Dark Shadows - The Beginnings Collection 4
• Desperate Housewives - Seasons 1-3
• Grey's Anatomy - Seasons 1-3
• I Spy - Seasons 1, 2, and 3 (Remastered)
• Joey - Season 2
• Lost - Seasons 1-3
• Roswell - Seasons 1, 2, and 3
• Sabrina The Teenage Witch - Complete Series (Animated)
• Scrubs - Seasons 1-6
• The Waltons - Season 7
• A Touch of Frost - Season 13
• The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles - Vol. 3: Years of Change

What's got you down, Dinky? Tired of watching the same old holiday specials on television over and over again? Does the greenish fur of the the Grinch actually make you sick? Do you wish that The Year Without a Santa Claus actually came true? Can you recite every single line from It's a Wonderful Life?

Well, perk up, Flyboy! AOL's IN2TV has the prescription to cure your holiday television blues, courtesy of two dozen Christmas specials that you didn't even know existed or didn't even care. Be amazed at the Cabbage Patch Kids' First Christmas, where the Kids leave the patch and head to the big city in search of some Christmas spirit. Laugh with Hanging With Mr. Cooper as Coop loses his patience with the commercialization of the holiday. Gasp in shock as you realize that Joey actually had a holiday episode.

And, the cost for all of this merriment? FREE, my holiday-impaired friends! All you need to do is follow this link to bask in the glory of a Kirk holiday episode. Don't thank me, dear patrons, thank the Internet for this wondrous Christmas miracle.

Tonight at dinner, a friend of mine mentioned that he recently met Brent Spiner at an event. He then proceeded to tell me about how a particularly annoying Star Trek fan spent the entire evening bothering Spiner with questions about his character Data.

It reminded me of an episode of Joey where a similar thing happened, except in the episode, Spiner was more than happy to reminisce about his Star Trek days. He even went so far as to take Joey's nephew out to his car to show him his actual uniform from the show.

In July, I was at a sitcom writing seminar in which Sam Simon (who helped develop The Simpsons) declared: "the sitcom is dead." Veteran comedy writer Ken Levine (who hosted that sitcom seminar), however, disagrees. Ken believes the traditional multi-camera sitcom might be on a respirator, but still has a pulse. Levine said, "I would amend Sam's statement and say that yeah, the bad, stale, family sitcom with tired rhythms, forced laughs, and bogus characters is dead."

I guess if you're trying to revive the dying sitcom, a good way to start is by assembling a top-notch team. And Fox's new Wednesday night comedy, Back to You, does just that.