For many years I proudly avoided TV. Everything I saw on it was, to a greater or lesser extent, boring and anti-intellectual. This was so pervasive that I became convinced it was a flaw of the medium itself: television (I figured), with its constant commercial breaks and 44 minute cap, had nothing to teach us and was incapable of communicating emotion. Then I discovered Buffy.
Here was a show that communicated drama, emotion, life lessons, and facts, while doing it with beauty, grace, and humor. I was hooked.
Good television is out there. It’s hard to find, not taken seriously, ignored by the critics, and quickly canceled by the networks, but it’s out there and it’s wonderful.
Without out further ado, here’s what’s good on TV (your contributions appreciated).
A special note on the West Wing: after I watched Buffy and 24, I noticed this show’s name popping up everywhere. I watched a couple episodes and it looked interesting, but not interesting enough for me to try and download or buy all four seasons of it like I did with Buffy. Soon after I decided this, I noticed that Bravo announcing it was going to run an episode of West Wing, starting with the very first all the way up to the current season, four days a week. I started watching and was quickly hooked. After watching the whole first season, I’m in love with the combination of comedy, drama, and political subjects I’m interested in.
Lucky for you, you can watch all the episodes too. Starting Monday, Bravo will be showing all the first season episodes again at 11AM Bravo time (conversion to local time depends on cable provider). If it sounds like the kind of thing that interests you, set your VCR/PVR.