Well, now that the blog is humming along, I thought I’d dive into another one of my favorite subjects – TV.
As I tell people, I don’t watch A LOT of TV (which is kind of a lie) but I definitely watch smarter than most viewers. Really people – get a DVR, record some stuff and stop watching commercials and/or be a slave to the programming guide.
That being said, I thought I would discuss a list from my favorite go to TV writer - Tim Goodman.
Today, Goodman came out with an article in the SF Chronicle listing the 25 best TV shows of 2008. Below is the list, and I bolded anything I watch on a regular basis – or have tried to.
1. "Mad Men." AMC
2. "The Shield." FX.
3. "The Wire." HBO.
4. "Battlestar Galactica." Sci-Fi.
5. "Breaking Bad." AMC.
6. "Lost." ABC.
7. "30 Rock." NBC.
8. "Generation Kill." HBO.
9. "Dexter." Showtime.
10. "Sons of Anarchy." FX.
11. "Parallel Worlds, Parallel Lives." Nova. PBS.
12. "True Blood." HBO.
13. "The Life & Times of Tim." HBO.
14. "The Office." NBC.
15. "Weeds." Showtime.
16. "How I Met Your Mother." CBS.
17. "South Park." Comedy Central.
18. "Pushing Daisies." ABC.
19. "The Tudors." Showtime.
20. "My Name Is Earl." NBC.
21. "The Daily Show"/ "Colbert Report." Comedy Central.
22. "Burn Notice." USA.
23. "Life on Mars." ABC.
24. "Secret Diary of a Call Girl." Showtime.
25. "Top Gear." BBC America.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/12/29/DD2L14VFUV.DTL
I must admit – I was kind of surprised how many items on his list I’d never seen. That being said, in Goodman I trust!
I think Mad Men must be the best show on TV I haven’t given a shot – previous winners of that award were the Sopranos, the Wire and the Office.
I suggest going to the article and reading the captions he has for each show, it’s quite interesting
As for my own personal breakdown: I think Mad Men has gotten so much hype I will eventually get into it, but in this age of DVDs and Netflix, I doubt I’ll ever view an episode on TV.
I have watched plenty of episodes of The Shield, but after a few episodes realized I missing a lot of back-story, and agreed my online blockbuster subscription was the best remedy for that situation. The little I have seen does show off the intensity it brings to the police-drama world.
Generation kill came heavily recommend from a good friend (Mess – yes, I have a friend I consistently call Mess – most people don’t even know his real name) but I didn’t give it more than about half an episode, if that. Upon seeing it has “Wire” geniuses David Simon and Ed Burns attached, I believe I will have to give it a second try, see what I missed in the first go-round.
Dexter I think is the second best show I haven’t gotten into – I was always thrown off by the lead actor since I wasn’t a “Six Feet Under,” fan, but with all of the love Dexter has gathered, it almost is guaranteed a spot at the top of my “queue” list for rentals.
Also on my radar are “Sons of Anarchy,” (Joel swears by this), “True Blood,” (watchers of this silly sounding show LOVE it), and Mr. Goodman is starting to convince me I have to drop my guard and start giving BBC a shot.
As for the things I do watch, I agree with his assessments wholeheartedly – “30 Rock,” IS the funniest show on TV, “Life and Times of Tim,” is the most awkward show on TV, “The Office,” has remained fresh, Weeds is great even though the laughs are disappearing, and “How I met Your Mother,” is a show that continues to surprise me with the amount of laughs they get out of such a basic comedy.
And of course, “The Wire,” is the best – who wants to argue with me? They can take it up with Omar Little…
I am looking forward to some shows coming back as well, namely “24,” and “Rescue Me,” two great shows affected by the strike, wiping out their 2008 seasons.
It will be an interesting ’09 TV season, with some great series coming to an end (the Wire, Shield), waiting for someone to take the torch an run with it – maybe five nights of Jay Leno at 10:00 PM each night will appease some of you, I’ll be looking forward to the next wild show that network TV is afraid to put on – and will get beaten in the ratings because of it.
For more TV info, or just to be entertained, you can check Tim’s blog at http://www.thebastardmachine.com/.
As I tell people, I don’t watch A LOT of TV (which is kind of a lie) but I definitely watch smarter than most viewers. Really people – get a DVR, record some stuff and stop watching commercials and/or be a slave to the programming guide.
That being said, I thought I would discuss a list from my favorite go to TV writer - Tim Goodman.
Today, Goodman came out with an article in the SF Chronicle listing the 25 best TV shows of 2008. Below is the list, and I bolded anything I watch on a regular basis – or have tried to.
1. "Mad Men." AMC
2. "The Shield." FX.
3. "The Wire." HBO.
4. "Battlestar Galactica." Sci-Fi.
5. "Breaking Bad." AMC.
6. "Lost." ABC.
7. "30 Rock." NBC.
8. "Generation Kill." HBO.
9. "Dexter." Showtime.
10. "Sons of Anarchy." FX.
11. "Parallel Worlds, Parallel Lives." Nova. PBS.
12. "True Blood." HBO.
13. "The Life & Times of Tim." HBO.
14. "The Office." NBC.
15. "Weeds." Showtime.
16. "How I Met Your Mother." CBS.
17. "South Park." Comedy Central.
18. "Pushing Daisies." ABC.
19. "The Tudors." Showtime.
20. "My Name Is Earl." NBC.
21. "The Daily Show"/ "Colbert Report." Comedy Central.
22. "Burn Notice." USA.
23. "Life on Mars." ABC.
24. "Secret Diary of a Call Girl." Showtime.
25. "Top Gear." BBC America.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/12/29/DD2L14VFUV.DTL
I must admit – I was kind of surprised how many items on his list I’d never seen. That being said, in Goodman I trust!
I think Mad Men must be the best show on TV I haven’t given a shot – previous winners of that award were the Sopranos, the Wire and the Office.
I suggest going to the article and reading the captions he has for each show, it’s quite interesting
As for my own personal breakdown: I think Mad Men has gotten so much hype I will eventually get into it, but in this age of DVDs and Netflix, I doubt I’ll ever view an episode on TV.
I have watched plenty of episodes of The Shield, but after a few episodes realized I missing a lot of back-story, and agreed my online blockbuster subscription was the best remedy for that situation. The little I have seen does show off the intensity it brings to the police-drama world.
Generation kill came heavily recommend from a good friend (Mess – yes, I have a friend I consistently call Mess – most people don’t even know his real name) but I didn’t give it more than about half an episode, if that. Upon seeing it has “Wire” geniuses David Simon and Ed Burns attached, I believe I will have to give it a second try, see what I missed in the first go-round.
Dexter I think is the second best show I haven’t gotten into – I was always thrown off by the lead actor since I wasn’t a “Six Feet Under,” fan, but with all of the love Dexter has gathered, it almost is guaranteed a spot at the top of my “queue” list for rentals.
Also on my radar are “Sons of Anarchy,” (Joel swears by this), “True Blood,” (watchers of this silly sounding show LOVE it), and Mr. Goodman is starting to convince me I have to drop my guard and start giving BBC a shot.
As for the things I do watch, I agree with his assessments wholeheartedly – “30 Rock,” IS the funniest show on TV, “Life and Times of Tim,” is the most awkward show on TV, “The Office,” has remained fresh, Weeds is great even though the laughs are disappearing, and “How I met Your Mother,” is a show that continues to surprise me with the amount of laughs they get out of such a basic comedy.
And of course, “The Wire,” is the best – who wants to argue with me? They can take it up with Omar Little…
I am looking forward to some shows coming back as well, namely “24,” and “Rescue Me,” two great shows affected by the strike, wiping out their 2008 seasons.
It will be an interesting ’09 TV season, with some great series coming to an end (the Wire, Shield), waiting for someone to take the torch an run with it – maybe five nights of Jay Leno at 10:00 PM each night will appease some of you, I’ll be looking forward to the next wild show that network TV is afraid to put on – and will get beaten in the ratings because of it.
For more TV info, or just to be entertained, you can check Tim’s blog at http://www.thebastardmachine.com/.
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