Television Worth Watching

I am known as someone who does things the whole way. Obsessively, perhaps, but never entering the psychotic. I get into things and I do them and talk about them incessantly. I tend to leave things behind just as easily once something is over or the next best thing comes along. In any case, television is something I'm a little obsessive about. The television I watch I get a little passionate about. I lure others into watching shows I like. I talk about shows with other fans as if the characters are not only real, but our buds. I've done this for as long as I can remember. (My real relationship with television didn't begin until college, because my mother regulated our television viewing so stringently, even through high school, that anything prior to 1991, I've heard of, but don't have an intimate relationship with, unless I caught up through syndication, which I did with some things.)

For your reading pleasure, and perhaps viewing pleasure, here are my current obsessions and recommendations for television worth watching. In this age of Hulu and Netflix, I've managed to watch entire seasons in a weekend and entire series in a month or so. You, perhaps, might space it out some more: up to you! For the record, this isn't in any order of preference or best to worst. All of these I've deemed worth my time over the long haul, so they are all good!

Dexter, Showtime, Seasons 1-4 available on Netflix, Season 5 currently airing, twelve 52-minute episodes per season
This show, about a vigilante serial-killer blood-spatter expert is brilliant. It is well written, well acted, the scenarios are not so crazy that you can't buy them. The supporting cast members are great and the seasons are awesome in that each episode has elements that stand alone, but there is a story line that follows through the entire season as well. You will love a serial killer and cheer him on.

Grey's Anatomy, ABC, Seasons 1 - 6 available on Netflix, Season 7 currently airing, between 15-24 42-minute episodes per season
I have watched every episode of Grey's Anatomy in order the week they aired. I have cared about Meredith, Cristina, Alex, Izzie, George, Derek, Chief, and Bailey since the start. I have cared for Lexi, Mark, Callie, Arizona, Owen, Tedy and the others as they have joined. I have mourned deaths, wondered how someone would survive, cheered successes and cried with characters. I feel as though I could walk into Seattle Grace and know what everyone was talking about. Some say this show jumped the shark a while back, but I either don't care or don't believe it. I'm sticking here until this show ends.

The Amazing Race, CBS, Seasons 1-9 available on Netflix, Season 10 currently airing, twelve 42- minute episodes per season
The only reality show worth watching, TAR doesn't have any downtime for anyone to be a poser of any kind. The tasks and pace and exhaustion level requires people to be themselves, good or bad. The locations are great, the tasks are always culturally related, and watching 24 Americans make their way around the world is always good fun. As a traveller, nothing is better than this!

Breaking Bad, USA, Seasons 1 & 2 available on Netflix, Season 3 just finished and coming to Netflix, Season 4 slated, 7 eps Season 1, 13 after that
The lead actors in this amazing show keep winning awards. Walter is a high school chemistry teacher who is way too smart for his job and trying endlessly to make ends meet for his family (a wife, a disabled teenager and a new baby). His DEA agent brother in law introduces him to meth, and he finds an ex-student Jesse and begins cooking the best meth Albuquerque has ever seen. A tangled web of lies, crazy violence, some pretty dodgy characters and some edgy storylines ensue. I never knew I'd know so much about meth. Just this morning, there was a story on NPR about CVS being in trouble for selling too much Sudafed to repeat customers, and I knew why that was a problem before they even said that it was a major ingredient in meth! See what TV can teach you?

Friday Night Lights, DirectTV and NBC, Seasons 1-4 available on Netflix, Season 5 to air on NBC next spring, 22 42-minute eps Season 1, 13-15 thereafter
This show is about three things: football, Texas and Jesus. And I could care less about all three of those things (except that my sister lives in TX, but that aside...). People recommended this show to me for years and I laughed them off. And then I watched the pilot one night in a fit of boredom and I was hooked. On the pilot. This show is also about kids, and struggles, and marriage, and trust and love and hardship and selflessness. I have cried during approximately half the episodes and I sobbed (sobbed!) during one. I feel as though I know these people and I want to move to Dillon, TX and hang with them for a while. I miss characters who have moved on, and I"m worried about the fate of others as I await the final season to be available, because alas, season 5 is it for this beauty of a gem of a show.

Modern Family, ABC, Season 1 available on Netflix, Season 2 currently airing, 24 23-minute eps per season
Winning the Emmy for best comedy in their freshman year as well as an acting award for Cam, this show is hilarious and poignant at the same time. Everyone I know loves this show. No more need be said.

30 Rock, NBC, Season 1-4 available on Netflix, Season 5 currently airing, 22 23-minute eps per season
Tina Fey is genius. Alec Baldwin is brilliant. The rest of them are amazing. This show is esoteric, weird, hilarious, and just plain fun. Rumor has it Alec is leaving after this season and we'll see what happens after that, because Tina is no where near the end of her career and I can't wait to see what else she cooks up as we grow old together. Liz Lemons of the world unite!

The Office, NBC, Seasons 1-6 available on Netflix, Season 7 currently airing, 22 23-minute eps per season
The funniest shit on TV. Hands down. And when Steve Carrell leaves after this season, the rest of this ensemble cast will hold their own and whatever new person joins them will likely be hazed to hell and back, all for our pleasure.

United States of Tara, Showtime, Season 1 available on Netflix, Season 2 finished airing July, coming to Netflix soon, Season 3 in the works, 12 30-minute eps per season
Toni Collette is Tara, a suburban housewife with two kids, a husband, and bunch of other personalities. John Corbett is in this (I have been in love with him since his Northern Exposure days) pretty great series about how the family and Tara herself handles multiple personality disorder. Since I've only seen Season 1 so far, I can't completely vie for this one, but my roommate and I both loved it and I watched the entire of Season 1 twice, so there you go.

Big Love, HBO, Season 1-3 available on Netflix, Season 4 coming soon to Netflix, Season 5 in the works, 10ish 58-minute eps per season
I wrote an entire post about this. Check it out here. I'm anxiously awaiting the next season of this to come out so I can rejoin this interesting family.

Glee, Fox, Season 1 available on Netflix, Season 2 currently airing, 22 42-minute eps per season
Everyone loves Glee. It's fun, campy, important, and fun. It has a kid in a wheelchair, a gay kid, geeks, cute boys, pretty girls, pregnant teens, unconfident adults, mean people, and diversity. And singing. The singing is pretty great. It's broken all kinds of records and is totally worth watching.

Family Guy, Fox, Seasons 1-8 available on Netflix, Season 9 (I think) currently airing, lots of 24-minute eps per season plus a few bonus 2-hour specials
I know I already said that The Office is the funniest shit on TV, so I obviously can't say that again. So I will say this is the funniest offensive perverse shit on TV. For me, this sits on the right side of the line that SouthPark sits on the wrong side of. I love every gross joke, every reference, and every time my mouth drops open and I yell out, alone in my room, OH MY GOD! I can never believe what they get away with on this show and I can never get enough. Peter, Lois, Meg, Brian, Stewie and Chris are awesome. I hope Seth keeps making this for a long time coming.

Parks & Recreation, NBC, Seasons 1 & 2 available on Netflix, Season 3 airing (not sure when it's starting), 22 24-minute eps per season
The first season of this show was only okay. Season 2 was awesome. It really found its footing, Aziz Ansari really got funny and Amy Poehler really sat into Leslie Knope and made her the bumbling small town bureaucrat we all love. The side stories are funny, the small town feel is great, and Leslie is just an idiot, but a funny, sincere, loving idiot. Rob Lowe is staying on for Season 3, so we'll see how this rolls out.

The Middle, ABC, Season 1 available on Netflix, Season 2 currently airing, 22 24-minute eps per season
I was told that this is hilarious recently and just started watching in Season 2. I will likely never see Season 1, since its a sitcom and I probably won't bother. But it is great! Patricia Heaton, the mom from Raymond is the mom and the janitor from Scrubs is the dad. They have three idiot kids. Seriously - idiots. They live in the middle of the U.S., hence the name. Mom and Dad have never lived anywhere else and are trying their best to raise their three kids amongst no money, jobs they hate, and regular day to day craziness. It's the perfect show for a bad-economy US.

Woah. And to think I keep up with all of this, plus I read about a book or so a week. Remember that I don't have cable in the house, so I don't have access to stuff like HGTV and then waste hours watching Curb that House or whatever that stuff is called. I don't get pulled into Barefoot Contessa and watch her cook for an hour. I only watch stuff I mean to be watching. There's some perks to being single, too. Tons of disposable time. No kids or partner to care for. I don't even own my house, so I barely have to take care of myself, let alone anything else. Lots of time to experience media!

Happy watching!