As 'Breaking Bad' nears its intense and climactic Season 4 finale, Bryan Cranston went on 'Today' (weekdays, 9AM ET on NBC) to talk about his character Walter White's descent into meth-dealing gangsterism.

White's de-evolution from a cancer-stricken high school chemistry teacher to a ruthless meth-dealer is rapidly accelerating, and Cranston spoke about what he's learned from playing such a morally ambiguous character. "It really isn't about glorifying drug use or drug making ... it's about a man's poor decision-making. What I've learned from this experience is that anyone, even the meekest person among us, could become a horrible, dangerous person," he told Matt Lauer.

One man bands have always creeped me out. They never brought joy or happiness to my life. Even as a very, very small (in height, not width) child, they always looked like steampunk jukeboxes trapped inside some kind of twisted mechanical music machine that mocked their every step with annoying oompah-pah tunes.

One man, or rather two of him, have changed my perception on that phobia forever. Musician Fredrik Larsson has put together a beautiful rendition of TVs greatest tunes using nothing but a keyboard, an acoustic guitar and a DNA perfect clone of himself.

Trust me when I tell you this: the 'Charles in Charge' theme never sounded this, well, listenable.


[via Buzzfeed]

That little smoocheroo between 'Big Love' mom Margie and her stepson, Ben, last Sunday? Whether or not you think the buss equals an incestuous act by the 'Big Love' duo -- she's sorta his stepmom, since she's married to his dad, Bill, though they're not legally married, since she's one of his polygamy wives -- eh, it makes out heads hurt, and our stomachs more than a little queasy, to contemplate the Ben/Margie, uh, affair much further.

Suffice it to say: The Hendricksons of 'Big Love' are more than a tweak or two away from being a healthy family.

And, thankfully for our quirky TV family-lovin' hearts, they're not alone. Sometimes the inner-family workings of TV kin lead to comedy, i.e. The Bluths of 'Arrested Development' and the Pritchett family on ABC's new hit 'Modern Family,' and sometimes it leads to dead wives in the bathtub or dead husbands in the shower, on dramas like 'Dexter' and 'Dallas.'

More of our best of the decade coverage, which started on Tuesday. You can read the other posts at the link above. Here, we talk about the women who made us laugh the most during the decade.

Since Lucille Ball, television has been a bastion of funny ladies, and the '00s were no exception. Like Lucy, many of the women on this list played second fiddle to no one. And those that weren't the stars of their own shows managed to steal the scene anyway the moment they got in front of the camera.

The '00s will probably go down in television history as one of those decades where the sitcom sputtered and almost died -- again! But it's alive and well now, with an amazing turn-around in 2009. But, as this list proves, it was never truly in danger. Throughout the decade these women provided plenty of laughs in both the hour and half-hour formats, proving that as long as we want to laugh, there will be brilliant actresses around to crack us up.

Here's our list of the top funny ladies of the decade:

I wasn't really prepared to like The Middle. I had no expectations, really, because aside from knowing that it was Patricia Heaton's latest sitcom, there had been very little scuttlebutt about it. So, when I tuned in, I expected the typical Patty Heaton I had seen for years on Everybody Loves Raymond or the upscale version I'd watched on Back to You.

Well, what a surprise when I saw her on The Middle. This is a Patty I had never seen before, and I not only liked her character, I admire her performance.

Real-life dads are sometimes preoccupied with their careers and distracted by life's many complications. Happily, on TV, all dads have plenty of quality time to share with their kids, while dispensing encouraging words and occasional tough love.

Maybe that's because TV dads never spend much time at work. (We're pretty sure everyone's fathers would sign up for that!) Step into the wonderful make-believe world where every day is Father's Day, and join us as we count down our 20 favorite TV dads.

And then there were two.

Golden Girls star Bea Arthur died this morning in Los Angeles. She was 86. This is actually a bit of a shock. Not that 86 is young, but she always seemed healthy and spry, even in the last few years, doing her stage show and guest starring on various TV shows and endless specials.

All of these lists are starting to get more and more specific. This one is a list of the ten best sitcoms since 1980. Soon we'll have the 8 1/2 best hour long dramas that appeared between 1988 and 1994 on Sunday nights (that start with "J").

But lists always get us talking and this one has some great picks. Arrested Development fanatics will be glad to see their show on the list (I won't tell you where you'll have to click the link above), along with shows like Scrubs, Cheers, and Sports Night. But there is one show that is obviously missing. There might be more than one show that isn't on the list that should be, of course, but this show stood out to me immediately. Can you guess what it is? I'll name it after the jump but don't click ahead until you read the list and guess yourself.

In the flush of all the returning series with fresh episodes comes this tasty morsel of news. ABC will premiere Miss/Guided, a new sitcom starring Judy Greer (Love Monkey) on March 18.

Miss Guided is the story of Becky Freeley, who returns to the same high school she went to as a teenager as a guidance counselor, sorta, kinda like Welcome Back, Kotter. But Becky wasn't a sweat hog in her high school days -- she was an ugly duckling with braces and teenage anxieties. Now, as an adult, she hopes to be able to handle HS with more elan. Becky's hopes hit a speed bump when she meets the sexy mechanic-turned Spanish teacher, Tim (Kristoffer Polaha), whom she likes...a lot. Then, she learns that the new English teacher is Lisa Germain (Brooke Burns), her former nemesis back in school. And wouldn't you know it, Lisa likes Tim, too!

AMC already has one critically acclaimed and Golden Globe nominated drama under its belt with the brilliant Mad Men. A second new series, Breaking Bad, hopes to follow that success, beginning in January. Malcolm in the Middle's Bryan Cranston stars as a high school chemistry teacher who turns to a life of crime in order to support his family after he is diagnosed with terminal cancer. If it's half as good as Mad Men it'll be twice as good as most of what's on TV.

But not content to wait around to see how Breaking Bad does critically and commercially, Variety reports that AMC has no less than four more shows in various stages of development, including two westerns. Westerns haven't been able to find success on the broadcast networks in years. Now by "Western" I'm talking the John Wayne/Clint Eastwood brand of Westerns with gunfights and saloon whores, not the likes of Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman, which did find an audience but was a very different kind of show.

Hey, Brigitte here with TV Squad Daily. I'll be covering the TV stories I find interesting each day, Monday through Friday, in this video blog.

Today on TV Squad Daily:

• Chris Sligh was so like-able until he got eliminated this week on American Idol.
  
• One is staying and one is going. But what's really the difference between Miss USA and Miss America?
  
• Frankie Muniz is desperate to be known for something other than "Malcolm in the Middle," but I'm not sure if a Mohawk makes me believe him as a race car driver.
  

The video's embedded below, or you can download the file directly (Quicktime required). You can also subscribe to this podcast via our feed.

How would you like to have the coffee table from That '70s Show? Or maybe Kitty's crockpot? Then again, maybe you're more of a Malcolm in the Middle fan and want to own the couch from the living room set? If any of these props (and others) sound cool to you, Mr and Mrs. Moneybags, you should check out this auction going on right  now over on eBay. This is a charity auction, and proceeds from the That '70s Show stuff will go to The Young Storytellers Foundation while money made off props from Malcolm in the Middle will go to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. The auction ends May 17.

This Sunday the final episode of Malcolm in the Middle will air on FOX. I fell in love with this show during its first few seasons, but eventually my interested began to wane and I don't think I've seen a single new episode in at least the last three years. Somehow, I think I just got used to the show's shtick and lost interest. Also, as shallow as it may sound, I liked the show better when the kids were younger and their antics seemed more cartoonish. At any rate, the Chicago Sun-Times has a fun interview with Linwood Boomer, the show's creator whose credits also include Night Court and 3rd Rock from the Sun. It seems Boomer didn't have much luck pitching the show to other networks before landing it on FOX, and he makes no bones about the ignorance of studio executives who are unwilling to take chances on anything. The series finale, titled "Graduation," airs on May 14 at 8:30.

I always cringe a bit when I interview a celebrity whose work I admire. I'm always afraid that they're going to turn out to be a jerk, or they hate me for some reason, or I'll find out they're into terrible things, like torturing puppies or watching Wife Swap. Thankfully, I've only found out once in twenty years that a celebrity I loved on the screen was a really terrible person (and no, I'm not going to tell you who it is). My lucky streak continues with Bradley Whitford, ex-Deputy Chief of Staff Josh Lyman on The West Wing, guest star on one of ER's best episodes ("Love's Labor Lost"), guest star on most TV shows since the mid 80s, and star of Aaron Sorkin"s new fall series, Studio 60. Whitford is an extremely nice, friendly, classy guy, I'm happy to report.

And I found out that Bradley Whitford is a lot like Josh Lyman, except for ... well, I'll let him explain that.

AOL has a great guide to the May Sweeps, one of those times of the year when the networks set their ad rates and all the guest stars come on the shows and/or the shows end in a cliffhanger for the season. Take a look at what's happening on the night of May 14:

• 8pm: The West Wing series finale (NBC, preceded by a one hour retrospective)
  
• 8pm: The Simpsons season finale (FOX)
  
• 8pm: Survivor season finale (CBS - two hours and then a one hour reunion show)
• Malcolm in the Middle series finale (FOX - not sure what time yet)
• 9pm: Law and Order: CI season finale (NBC)

Plus,  they'll probably be episodes of The Sopranos and Huff on that night.

What are you going to be watching?