must see tv

i don't know if it's because i've gotten older and my appeal has broadened or i'm not really concerned about the backlash of saying something like, "did you catch the OC last night?", but my appreciation for tv seems to be at an all time high as compared to the rest of my life. as children, we weren't allowed to watch that much tv (and in retrospect, the 70's and 80's didn't put out much in the way of quality) and not until i got a steady 9-5 job, did i really start to see what i had available to me from the 300 channels i pay for. there are definitely things i can do with and do without. reality tv has reached it's limit. it actually reached it's limit 3 years ago, but no one told any of the tv execs, so theyr'e still churning out crap, night after night. the only reality tv i can actually stomach is most of what's pumped out on discovery. discovery has turned into one of my favorite channels, for obvious reasons with shows like american chopper and the great biker buildoff, but i can pretty much watch everything they play at most times of the day. so i was driving to work this am and was thinking about the fact that about 4 of the 7 days of the week, i'm found in front of the boob tube watching something on a pretty regular basis. so i thought i'd run down some of the shows that i've leaned to appreciate on a weekly basis.

monday
fear factor - i discussed this in a previous post, but i don't know why i find this so appealing. other than the obligatory large breasted women wearing only bikini tops for an hour, this isn't really 'fear' as described by webster. and ineveitably, i always end up eating dinner during the second stunt which is always the 'gross out' stunt. eating live, baby pigs or something that comes outta their butts. still, i can't not watch it. it's the regular monday night car wreck.

las vegas - again, solid acting, attractive people, good storylines and good music. if you've not watched this, set aside the hour on monday and i know you'll like it. it's hard not to.

tuesday
gilmore girls - yeah, WB is for canadians and anyone under 13, but this show has proven that its audience is more than just teenage boys and girls. excellent writing and the banter back and forth between characters is definitely adult and not just 'bobby is dreamy' like every other WB show. GG is in it's 3rd season and some things have occurred that we've all been hoping for for the last two seasons, and as good as the show is, it's starting to fall into some more predictable plotlines and the banter isn't as witty as the first two seasons. i'm not giving up hope yet though.

wednesday
lost - this new drama that has a reality twist to it is keeping me coming back each week, but i'm not sure how long it will last. jj abrams, the guy behind one of my new, all time favorite shows, alias, has created this story of a plane crash on a desert island and its 48 survivors. strange things begin to occur on the island (other survivors from other crashes, dinosaurs, etc.). i think the show has a lot of potential and we are handed just enough each week to want to come back for more, but i think this can only go on for so long before the viewers get tired of being led into plot twists only to not give us some answers. this is a good show to record and watch in an off hour.

sunday
desparate housewives - this has only shown 2 or 3 episodes, but this is a guilty pleasure. again, lots of potential if it keeps up at this speed, but the second it turns into days of our lives, it's gone.

boston legal - i never watched the show this was spun off from, but i had numerous others stress the quality of the show since james spader and bill shatner joined the cast. now that the two have their own show, i finally watched it last sunday and was instantly hooked. shatner has always represented the ultimate in cheesy acting, thus i never watched much of anything he ever did. and yes, i'm not a star trek fan. i'll say that and get death threats, but there's plenty of scifi out there to choose from and ST was never one of the shows i really appreciated. spader, on the other hand, tends to not do anything badly. he plays some of the strangest characters you've ever seen and playing a smart, wise-cracking attorney is right up his alley. this show is a must.

not a huge list, but a bunch of shows that i'll continue to watch until any of them prove not worthy of my time. there are a bunch of other shows that weren't mentioned here that are on my list but just aren't in the rounds yet. hbo puts out some quality tv as well like the sopranos and 6 feet under (although, 6 feet did start to drop this last season). then there are shows like the OC (yes, i really do watch it), Tru Calling, 60 minutes (bet you didn't see that coming) and the shield that are all worth my time. and i'm certain that there are others here that i've missed, but these just come to mind. this time mixed with any of the movie channels that always have something decent running and my netflix subscription and my video library make for to short a week.