TV - Good, Better, Been Better, and Bad

Late to the Party, But All Caught Up and Ready For More

Mad Men (AMC): Love this show, checked the DVD boxsets out of the library and easily watched them marathon-style, now ready for its return sometime this year. Great characters. We hesitated on this one because the trailers did not entice me. An actor friend of mine recommended it to me, and came up with this interview question for someone who wants to be a manager: "Which 'Mad Men' character are you?" If forced to answer that question, I would have to pick Peggy Olson. Which one are you? Another thing I like about Mad Men is that it has an end scheduled after a few more seasons. Things should end before they become pathetic, and I hope that Mad Men goes the distance.

The Walking Dead (AMC): a newly discovered series that we are now caught up with thanks to a box set and a New Year's Eve marathon. (I'd rather watch zombies than Ryan Seacrest.) It has great characters. Very intense. It's nice to be watching Laurie Holden in a series again, and being reminded of Marita Covarrubias and the X-Files.

Doctor Who (BBC/BBCA): For most of my adult life, people have been telling me that I would love Doctor Who, but it never sparked. MrB got me started on Torchwood (the 3rd season) so we watched all of that in reverse order. We liked the Doctor Who spin-off a lot, and I actually started watching The Doctor because of it, during David Tennant's reign (the 10th Doctor). Now all caught up with the 9th, 10th and 11th regenerations (plus a smattering of the old series), Matt Smith and Tom Baker are fine but David Tennant is still my Doctor. Some of the most recent DW episodes have not been as good as when Matt Smith first came on the scene, in my opinion. Have not seen the most recent Americanized Torchwood beyond the first episode, but it has not gotten good reviews. Please stop Americanising BBC programmes! Grrrrrrr.

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Network TV

House MD (FOX): Still a damn good show. Not sure how long it can continue, seems like it is nearly used up.

Castle (ABC): The whodunnit gets figured out pretty quickly, but I like Nathan Fillion.

Bones (FOX): We are just tired of this one. My favorite characters are either gone, dead, or have gone all mushy. The occasional appearance of Billy Gibbons is not enough by itself to redeem it. We dropped it this season.

Fringe (FOX): Still very interested in this show and absolutely adore the character of Walter, but ratings are not good and I believe that this show will soon be gone. The title of the show kind of describes the loyal little niche that keeps watching.

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Reality or Educational
Not much regular viewing in this category. I like Pawn Stars and Mythbusters sometimes, also science/educational - and don't mind at all if Professor Brian Cox is delivering the message.

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Four or Five Days a Week

I watch these via a web browser during work lunches. We don't soak up much politics at home. I obsessed way too much during the Hillary/Obama wars and was rightfully reminded of it. At some point it's a good idea to stop driving yourself and others crazy, and leave the topic. Buuuut.... I haven't given these up:
Rachel Maddow
The Daily Show with Jon Stewart
Colbert Report

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Biggest "How Did We Miss This One" show discovered this year

Arrested Development: missed the entire original run but watched it all on DVD last year. This show is hilarious and brilliant. They are making a movie version, hope it's just as good.

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What we're not watching

Any of the live Republican debates. All I've seen are the few choice snippets that are worth watching the following day for their delicious awfulness. When they get down the the nominees, I will watch those debates. The American election process is far too long.

Reality TV that involves trying to become a pop singer, dancing, trying to marry somebody, wife swapping, or parenting. Enough!

Fox News (if I want to see a bunch of implausible made-up crap, I prefer a movie like Ice Spiders on SyFy, at least it's funny.)