six feet under

Lauren Ambrose of 'Six Feet Under' has taken a role in the upcoming fourth season of 'Torchwood,' which will air this July on Starz.

She'll play Jilly Kitzinger, a public-relations maven whose charming demeanor masks a steely will. In 'Torchwood: Miracle Day,' she'll line up the most important client of her career -- and as the season progresses she comes to find out just how important that client is.

Ambrose will appear in seven of the 10 episodes of 'Torchwood: Miracle Day.'

The producers of HBO's 'Six Feet Under' were on to something.

Meredith Local Media, based in Des Moines, will start to syndicate a local televised paid obituary service after introducing it at WNEM-TV in Flint-Saginaw Bay City, Mich., according to a TVNewsCheck.com report.

The concept was first introduced, in a way, during the run of 'Six Feet Under.' The Emmy-nominated HBO show, which ran from 2001-05, would post obits of recently departed characters on the channel's Web site. In Michigan, a CBS affiliate scrolls the obits while soft music plays in the background at the end of weekday newscasts.

On hearing from the Ausiello Files that 'Ugly Betty' creator Silvio Horta is steering his leads -- sweetly dorky Betty (America Ferrara) and her womanizing boss, Daniel (Eric Mabius) -- toward romance, our first reaction was "Nooooo!" Although that exact hookup takes place in the original telenovela, that's one romance we just can't -- or don't want to -- picture.

Which got us thinking, what other TV romances were so wrong on so many levels, they've brought down entire shows?

The "Ask TV Squad" column, published every Wednesday, answers your questions about current and past TV shows, as well as about the celebrities appearing on TV. Every week, I will pick a question (or more) sent to us and provide answers in the column. If your question is not picked for a column, it may be answered in a subsequent column or in TV Squad's APB Podcast.

To submit questions to the "Ask TV Squad" column, you can post them below in comments or email them to asktvsquad@gmail.com.

This week, I follow up on the last "Ask TV Squad" about TV shows on DVD and answer a question about which TV DVDs you should own.

It's a good (or at least a slightly better) year to play gay on prime time TV, according to the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD).

Eighteen regular characters on scripted TV are either gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender, an increase of 2.6 percent over last season. Of course, not every character that is gay is played by someone who is. Here's a look at some of the straight guys who aren't afraid to play against personal preference and buck musty old stereotypes at the same time.

Here are the new TV DVDs, in stores tomorrow.

If you loved The Rockford Files and you own the season sets, you'll probably want to buy Volume 1 of the movies (four in this batch) that is being released tomorrow. They weren't as good as the series, of course (sort of like the Spenser: For Hire movies that Robert Urich did after that series ended), but they're actually pretty good.

And season 6 of Kate & Allie is out. That reminds me: I still have to get season 5.

• Afro Samurai - Complete Murder Sessions
• The Clone Wars - Season 1
• Doctor Who - The War Games and The Black Guardian Trilogy
• Edge of Darkness - The Complete BBC Series
  

HBO has slowly become my favorite network over the past few years. I don't know if it's because the mainstream networks have turned to lots of reality programming or what, but HBO just seems to get better and better. Just about every show on the premium channel is feature film quality (if not better), and I've got some favorites listed below.

I know I'm missing a few biggies, like Rome, Deadwood, Flight of the Conchords, and Extras, but it's only because I either haven't watched these shows or have only watched a few episodes -- not enough to make an informed opinion. I'm sure they'll make my Jane After Dark column at some point in the future. So I hope you'll tell me your favorites in the comments below.

How will the producers of NCIS make sure that fans tune in to the show they don't switch the channel after the end credits and stay put for NCIS: Los Angeles, the spin-off? One way will be with crossovers. We've already reported the Rocky Carroll will appear on both shows, now comes word that NCIS mainstay Pauley Perrette will do a two-episode stint on NCIS: L.A.

And they aren't waiting for the guest stint. In the second episode, Perrette's brilliant, goth scientist character, Abby Scuito, will do a "fun little cameo" according to exec producer Shane Brennan.

NBC seems to be sending out their screeners in dribs and drabs, so I'm making my way through their fall offerings very slowly. I've already given you previews of both Community and Trauma, and now we've got Parenthood, a new series based on a movie that was already turned into a series nearly twenty years ago. Who says Hollywood is out of ideas?

Parenthood is basically a less-melodramatic Brothers & Sisters. It follows the Braverman clan, a family in Fresno made up of four siblings: Adam (Peter Krause), Crosby (Dax Shepard), Sarah (Maura Tierney), and Julia (Erika Christensen), along with their children and parents, played by Craig T. Nelson and Bonnie Bedelia. They all have their share of drama, but at the end of the day, they're all brought together in the most suburban of pursuits: Little League. Say it with me now: "awwww."

Can you remember how it all ended? ...

With finale season underway, we're taking a look back at some of television's best show-stopping moments.

Can you remember Hunnicut's final message to Hawkeye on 'M*A*S*H'? Or what happened to the 'Seinfeld' gang?

Test your knowledge with our end-all series finale quiz.

Everyone loves lists, and everyone has an opinion, so it's not always nice or productive to point out that another person's list might be lacking in some way. Having said that, let's talk about how this list is lacking in some way.

It's a list of the 10 best series finales of all-time. I'll get right to the point: Newhart should be on this list.

It's not easy winnowing more than 50 years of small-screen gems into a list of 50.

But AOL TV's picks of the top TV dramas include the most brilliant doctors and lawyers, the angst-iest teens, sci-fi series that transcend their genre molds, family dramas that both warm and break your heart, terrorist- and mobster-fighting heroes ... and a show that combined the best of family and gangster drama into one unforgettable series.

Click through to see all 50 of the best TV dramas of all time.

I read today that Desperate Housewives might run for an extra two seasons, instead of the original seven planned by creator Marc Cherry. According to TVGuide.com, Cherry made the announcement today at a cake-cutting ceremony celebrating 100 episodes of the ABC suds-fest.

Unless they can ramp up the storylines, I'm not sure this is such a good thing. Sure, the series has picked up steam this season, but it's still slow-going. While I'm on-board and watching it every week, nothing about the storylines has really wowed me. An extra two seasons? Not feeling it at the moment.

Let's see here ... If the original pact between Cherry and ABC stands, the series would wrap in 2011. That seems like a good amount of time to throw a few more juicy stories into the mix and give the housewives of Wisteria Lane a good send-off.

It's no big secret. People love their movies and TV shows based on vampire book series -- romantic vampire book series, to be exact. Proof of that will be crowding your local multiplex this weekend thanks to the release of Twilight, the teen vampire flick based on Stephenie Meyer's inescapable best-seller. (I'll guess I'll wait another week to catch Role Models. Navigating through a sea of rabid teenage "Twilighters" isn't worth it. Sorry, Paul Rudd.)

Want more proof of the popularity of blood suckers? HBO execs are saying their freshman vampire series True Blood, also based on a series of novels, is developing an audience faster than The Sopranos, aka one of the most financially successful cable series in the history of TV. Michael Lombardo, HBO's chief of West Coast operations, says that The Sopranos' viewership numbers grew slowly. The big ratings jump didn't come until season two. But True Blood has fared better, with a 66 percent jump in Sunday night viewership since its premiere in September.