Some Television Shows Should Not Be Missed!

There are a lot of them.

I understand and to some degree I envy people who tell me that they have no time for television viewing. By rights, we shouldn't. In the summer time I have a lot less time for watching the telly but in the winter... well... I love the telly. I do. It's got some really worthwhile viewing. After having mentioned many times about what a snob I am, it's only fair that I really go through the roster and genre of television viewing and really break it down.

Clearly I am a snob. That's OK, it doesn't bother me. I feel that some things people should be snobs about. I don't see the value in slapstick humour (I don't see the humour in it, either) or stupid TV. And yet, the air waves are loaded with just the worst shows! I consider, for example, almost all half-hour sitcoms to be a complete waste. There are exceptions... well. There is currently one exception - "Everybody Hates Chris". Yes, that is it for sitcoms for me. These days there is so little value to most sitcoms. First, there is the time factor. This is not Europe, where adverts are somewhat limited to allow for maximum viewing time. Most sitcoms are about 22 minutes long! That is one-quarter of your viewing time - poof, gone! Just like that. Then there is the material. It tends to be the lowest common denominator... i.e. the lowest brow, least intelligent material that any idiot can sit through and grasp. Two strikes. And they tend toward the crass. These shows are base, banal and just not worth wasting my time.

I used to watch a couple of sitcoms. "Two and a Half Men" did seem rather funny when it first came out but that ship sailed - not too long into its second season. The humour became less funny and more cruel and I never find practical jokes or cruelty funny. And then there was "Scrubs" - again, a great show at the outset. But they are no longer funny in a real-life intelligent way but just slapstick and stupidity.

I love to learn. This is a fact. I am not happy to not be learning something and discovering more details and new things. I love that. So sitcoms rarely hold any value as there is nothing to be learned from them any longer. On the other hand, one-hour shows, the dramas and such, now there is some valuable telly! I love all three CSI shows. Miami is a little weak but if they dumped David Caruso's character, they could really get up to a better level. CSI New York is quite good - excellent cast (they got rid of the one weak link and replaced her with a much better character) and a little more lighting. But my huge favourite will always be the original CSI. This cast is amazing - the coroners, the lab staff (especially Greg Saunders, who made it into the field) and all of the field staff. William Peterson does an excellent job playing the penultimate scientist who has an intensely private life and shares it with no one. He should have put the moves on Lady Heather - there is one character who would not try to change him or take over his life in that way that rightfully scares most men!

So all of those shows are great.

Boston Legal - I will admit that this was not a show I watched. I get sucked into it, though, and thoroughly enjoy it now! I usually dislike James Spader intensely, but in this role, he is despicable and likeable at the same time. Denny Crane, played extremely well by William Shatner (who knew he could act?!), is the most mercurial, nutty people on this show! It is really something else.

I love Bones. I must admit that I was afraid it was canned after February, but it is back and stronger than ever! Talk about amazing forensics!

I don't actually watch every single forensics or crime-busting telly show out there, although I do come close. I also watch Close to Home, Cold Case and the half-hour show COPS. I do NOT watch the World's Most Exciting Chase or any of those with little learning value. I don't watch NCIS, and I used but no longer watch Without a Trace... I don't know why, but it does not "suck" me in the way the CSIs do.

Outside of criminalist and forensic shows I do watch a lot of other things. Gilmore Girls is a favourite, although it is becoming a show that is less and less watchable to me. Unfortunately, it is suffering from the "how many pitfalls can our heroines survive" syndrome, a common disease of long-time shows. (Friends was once watchable until it came down with the sitcom version of that illness known as "we've run out of normal situational comedy so we will stoop to banal stupidity and base humour and cruelty".) While Luis still watches Scrubs, this is why I have moved on from it. I can't wade through the massive amounts of viewable garbage to get to the good part, which is at the end, and still makes that particular show worth while.

Just not for me...

Other shows... I am embarrassed to admit that I made it through most of the first season of Beauty and the Geek and a couple of the ones from this season. I am also embarrassed to admit to watching The Apprentice (clearly not the Martha Stewart one!). While never a fan of Trump, the show is rather interesting based on my profession and one thing that I delight in doing: people-watching. People fascinate me. And seeing all these "prefessionals" vying for the opportunity to work with Donald Trump... well. If you want to see the ugliest side of business come out, this is it. Quite frankly I would not hire the lot of them once all that back-stabbing ruthlessness came out. Especially this season with the emotionally unbalanced and socially inept Brent on the scene. He is extremely unsuited for office work.

Hmmmm. I have watched some Grey's Anatomy. It seems like a good show (it is certainly popular) but I'm not totally swayed to it yet. I suspect I will warm to it.

West Wing I have been watching since its inception and it is still wonderful but this May will be its last. That is sad. Quite frankly, I could not wish for a better more likeable and politically savvy guy than President Bartlet and would happily vote for him!

Shows you how politically savvy I am!

I taped and weeded through most of the Olympics. I even managed to stretch the lower-capacity ReplayTV to its limit with that one. I have about 20 hours left of Olympics. Other than that, we do not have any sporting events on our televisions at any time. Neither of us have any liking for televised (or live) sports.

One show that is brilliantly done and extremely enjoyable is Globe Trekker! This airs on Saturday early evening and is about 45 minutes long with (drum roll, please!) NO COMMERCIALS! I love no commercials! This is a PBS show that showcases some location of the world and a traveler goes there and walks you through it - the money, the food, the living conditions, the culture, the people, the music, everything. They give tips on what to miss and what not to miss in these places. They tell you what to be prepared for in each locale. It is a wonderfully educational show.

I did watch every "Weird US" episode, but it appears that they will not be back. That is sad. I still buy Weird NJ, and have been buying the various other Weird states that are out. I have Weird Pennsylvania and Weird New England and Weird US.

So let's see my weekly roster:

Sunday

  • COPS (x2)
  • Cold Case
  • Sopranos
  • CSI (rerun)

Monday

  • COPS (x2)
  • CSI: Miami

Tuesday

  • Boston Legal

Wednesday

  • Bones
  • Criminal Minds
  • CSI: New York

Thursday

  • CSI: Crime Scene Investigation

Friday

  • Close to Home

Saturday

  • CSI (rerun)

That is the whole roster for me. We both used to watch "Ghost Whisperer" but found the lead actress to be too... annoying. Too "la la-la la la"... if that makes any sense. Yuck. So by general consesus we stopped watching it.

That's actually not too bad, really. Now, Luis is a totally different thing. He watches almost all the same stuff I do, but a whole bunch more. Shows that are so dumb it is beyond embarrassing that anyone would watch them. I only know the titles as they show up on the ReplayTV:

  • What I like About You
  • Still Standing
  • The King of Queens
  • Twins
  • Joey
  • How I Met Your Mother
  • Will & Grace
  • Nip/Tuck (disgusting)
  • My Name Is Earl
  • Yes, Dear
  • The Office (also odious beyond imagining)
  • Courting Alex
  • Howard Stern (he's off now, thank the gods!)
  • Love, Inc.
  • Out of Practice

He does watch a lot of science fiction, which is at least intellectually stimulating. I may not watch it with him, but I'm not unhappy that he does watch it. The above list is all the most dismal viewing in existing. Nip/Tuck stands out - it's a one-hour drama - but it is disgusting and the lead character is despicable. Not something I want to watch! But he watches The 4400, Lost, Surface, Battlestar Galactica, John Doe, Farscape (when its on), Stargate SG-1, Stargate Atlantis, Supernatural, Smallville (I used to watch that ages ago but again suffered from the "how many pitfalls can our hero survive" syndrome - i.e. the show is way too dark).

And that concludes my television viewing critiria!

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