TV You Should Be Watching

The new television season is starting soon with new episodes for returning shows and a host of new shows that hope to be the next big thing. As an avid fan of good television, I have put together a list of current shows that are available right now. These shows are the best thing on television. If you are not already watching, start now.

Over There
Initially, I was skeptical of a Hollywood version of the real-life complexity and suffering of war but the show doesn't gloss over what is, essentially, hell. The show follows an Army fire-team. The fire-team's make-up reflects the diversity that the Army has come to embrace; men and women and all races are represented. Another poignant aspect of the show is that it also focuses on those people the soldiers had to leave behind, home in America: wives, girlfriends, parents and children. The stress the soldiers have to face, not only in trying to keep themselves alive during a war, does not abate when problems at home arise. It may be hard to hard to believe but the show combines the pain and hopelessness of war with hope and pride in America. 
FX Wednesdays 10/9 PM - Over There Website - Video Preview

Lost
I am hardly a prophet to declare that Lost is a hit and one that you should be watching. This is a very popular show, with good reason. A group of 40 or so passengers that have survived the crash of their airplane are marooned on a creepy island in the South Pacific. The show's drama comes from the passengers trying to survive on the island as much as the back-stories of the characters in their life before the flight. The passengers are not what they appear to be. The availability the entire season of Lost on DVD makes the addictive nature of the show bearable. Note: The 2-hour season premier airs on Wednesday September 21 and begins at 8 /7PM Central.
ABC Wednesdays 9/8 PM - Lost - ABC

Six Feet Under
"When death is your business, what is your life? For Nate, David, Ruth and Claire, the world outside the Fisher & Sons Funeral Home continues to be at least as challenging-and far less predictable-as the one inside." (from Dogmatic's blog) The Fisher's are a family that runs their own mortuary and funeral home. Even with characters that are so consumed with the business of death, this show is filled with so much life. At times, the show is graphic and the dialog is atrocious but the drama is real and heartfelt, come what may. From the opening credits, you cannot help but notice the immense production quality. Much like Deadwood (another HBO original series), each episode looks like it was filmed for a movie. Be warned, many will find a prominent gay relationship disturbing. The show is currently finishing its fifth and final season on HBO but the first four seasons are available on DVD. I have had more luck in finding them at Hollywood Video than Blockbuster.
Season has ended. Seasons 1 - 4 available on DVD - Six Feet Under HBO - Video

The West Wing
Political dramas are difficult for television to keep compelling due to the intense polarization that is present in the country. President Bartlett is a Democrat. However, the show is no mouthpiece for the Democratic National Committee. No other major network show, with the exception of Lost, is as compelling week-in and week-out as The West Wing, no matter what party you favor. This is President Bartlett's last year of his second term and the campaigns for the next president are in full swing. The Republican candidate, which bears no resemblance at all to President Bush, is Alan Alda (Hawkeye, the smart-mouthed surgeon from M*A*S*H) and the Democrat is Jimmy Smits (Bobby from the awesome NYPD Blue, currently in syndication on TNT). If this show played while I was in High School, I would have become a lawyer with governmental aspirations. The country should breathe a sigh of relief that it did not - the health of the republic is safe, at least from me.
NBC Wednesday 8/7 PM - The West Wing NBC

Pardon The Interruption
Washington Post columnists Tony Kornheiser and Mike Wilbon host this 30-minute weekday show that focuses on the major stories in sports. On the surface it might seem similar to those shows where 2 polar opposites argue about topics with nothing but yelling getting accomplished. This is not the case with PTI. Although they might disagree on topics, they do in good way with good, reasoned dialog supporting their views. They post an agenda on the right-hand side of the screen and a 'play clock' of sorts. They have about a 90 seconds to discuss whatever the selected topic is. At the end of 90 seconds, a buzzer sounds and they move on to the next topic. It's like a cross between speed-dating and SportsCenter. Awesome. If you have a Tivo, this is a must to schedule.
ESPN Weekdays 2:30/1:30 PM - PTI ESPN

Battlestar Gallactica
The Cylons Were Created By Man - They Evolved - They Rebelled - There are Many Copies - And They Have A Plan.
This show bears little little resemblance to the 80's version of the same name. This new show is complex, intriguing, and even spiritual. They cylons have attacked the humanity's home planet and only 40,000 or so survive, distributed among a rag-tag collection of ships headed by the strong Battlestar: Gallactica (a sort-of aircraft carrier for space). The new cylons are not the shiny, new-wave Star Wars Stormtroopers of the 80s show. While some are still robotic, new ones have 'evolved' the ability to mimic humans and are indistinguishable to the naked eye. The paranoia that ensues, given our current war on terror, is very applicable to real-life. This show is deeply compelling, if somewhat convoluted, at times. Note: when you see the hot chick talking close and sexily to 'Baltar,' she is a figment of his imagination (or at least, I think she is).
SciFi Channel Fridays 10/9 PM - Battlestar Gallactica SciFi   video

Law & Order: Criminal Intent
There are many spin-offs from the immensely successful original Law & Order. This one, Criminal Intent, is the best. This Law & Order focuses on two detectives of the major case squad and it is these two actors that totally make the show. While both actors are great and the chemistry that Detectives Goren (Vincent D'Onofrio) and Eames (Kathryn Erbe) share is magical, it is Detective Goren that is the star of the show. While the genius super-detective plot line is cliche, with Detective Goren it is more than believable. The show's writers live-up to the challenge of a strong, complex character with great writing that stays fresh. It appears that Special Victims Unit is the more popular of the L&O spin-off shows. However, Criminal Intent is in my opinion the best L&O show on television.
NBC Sundays 9/8 PM - Law & Order: Criminal Intent

Deadwood
I have been looking forward to telling everyone I can tell about Deadwood. I admit, I have never been a particular fan of Westerns, at least I didn't know I was. Deadwood had caused me to re-evaluate my standards. I took a chance on this show when I saw the episodes for rent in Blockbuster; what a find indeed! The show is set in the Deadwood, a burgeoning, lawless gold-rush town set in the heart of Dakota Native land. The characters are almost unimaginable by run-of-the-mill television standards. They are deep, complex, sometimes contradictory, and undeniably human. You will also be overwhelmed by the production quality of the show. Just like Six Feet Under, all the production, writing and acting effort of an entire movie seems to go into each episode. I realized what I love about Westerns, good and bad are so easily understood. The first season is available at Blockbuster and the second season will be released soon. If you watch no other show on the list, watch Deadwood.
HBO Saturdays 9 PM, Sundays Midnight - Deadwood HBO - Video Preview

The Closer
Closer is a show that just started on TNT this summer. The show features Kyra Sedgwick. She played Linda, Cambell Scott's new girlfriend in the fantastic Seattle grunge romantic comedy Singles, written and directed by Cameron Crowe (Fast Time at Ridgemont High, Say Anything, Jerry Maguire, Almost Famous). In the show Kyra plays Brenda Johnson, a new-to-Los Angeles police detective chief. The goal of each show is to have the suspect confess to the crime during Sedgwick's intense interrogation. The motto is "Confession is good for the soul" and I agree wholeheartedly. Brenda's southern hospitality mixed with a passionate, hard-headed desire to figure out the truth makes for a great show I highly recommend.
TNT Mondays 9/8 PM - The Closer TNT

The Simpson's
All the previous shows are somewhat new and unknown but The Simpson's is a classic. It's unbelievable to me that an episode that is one year or ten years old is still just as funny. Believe it or not, The Simpson's is the longest running sitcom ever. This fall, The Simpson's will begin its 17th season. 17 is older than many viewers of the show. The show is just timeless. No really, it's timeless, Bart is still in the 3rd grade!. The jokes are fast and seemingly never get old. "I smell burn."
Fox Sundays 8/7 PM - The Simpson's Fox

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Technorati Tags: mccannta, Over There, Six Feet Under, West Wing, Pardon the Interruption, PTI, Battlestar Gallactica, Deadwood, Six Feet Under, The Closer, The Simpson's, TV.

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