TV is fun!

I've been watching a LOT of TV lately. Granted, since I grew up in the golden age of basic cable, that's an unsurprising statement, but I've been upping the ante, despite the main networks being done with their seasons.

As far as properly televised shows, Law and Order: CI has two dedicated networks. Even if I don't watch the whole show, if I get there before the last ten minutes, I can get a really nice summing-up and it's like I saw the whole thing. I prefer SVU, honestly, but it just isn't on as much, so I'll go with the slightly twitchy, suddenly grey and fat Detective Goren. I have no desire to watch In Plain Sight though. Cable originals are a rare thing for me.

Speaking of cable originals, Battlestar Galactica's season 4.0 just wrapped ... holy crap! Every time I see an episode, nay, every time I see the cold open of that show, I think of the completely true and indisputable words of Dwight Schrute from the Office:

Do you watch Battlestar Galactica? No? Then you're an idiot.

The Office finished a month ago, and this season had its highs and lows. Although, I suppose if I was disappointed with certain things in the finale, it's because the writers are doing their job very well.

My lovely fiancée Liza and I managed to catch up with House MD this year. I think it may be one of the best shows on television, and because of it I've started adding other Hugh Laurie projects to my Netflix queue. A Bit of Fry and Laurie stands out, partly because I enjoy semi-nonsensical Pythonesque sketch shows, and partly because of the song "America".

Doctor Who is entering its final stretch on BBC One. New Who is excellent, but Old Who has a definite charm. I'm watching season 11 at the moment, which is the third Doctor's last season, and Sarah Jane Smith's first. I'm greatly looking forward to Tom Baker's tenure as Doctor Who, almost as much as I am looking forward to Rose Tyler's return in season 30.

Speaking of Billie Piper, I'm going to be checking out Secret Diary of a Call Girl whenever I get a chance, and its Shotime lead-in series, Weeds. I've heard good things about both, and I sincerely hope I don't get sick of it like I did with Huff, the last Shotime series I tried to watch.

Despite previous denouncements of non-Family Guy/Futurama/Robot Chicken series on Adult Swim, I've really grown to like such series as Venture Bros, Metalocalypse, and Boondocks. I've finished watching Metalocalypse series one, in the middle of Venture Bros series two rewatch, and I've just got Boondocks and it's queued up.

Liza introduced me (ten years late) to X-files, which we finished watching about two months ago. I say finished watching, but really we just quit after the first two discs of season eight, because if David Duchovny's not in it, I really don't give a shit. She did buy the Lone Gunmen complete series though, which is very amusing, although I can see why it didn't get renewed ... it sort of depends on Conspiracy-of-the-Week, which can get old if one isn't careful. Also, the pilot, which aired in spring 2001, can never be re-aired, because of the subject matter.

Throughout the summer, or possibly early fall, I'm going to pick up Babylon 5 from the library and start on that. I've heard enough good things, and I certainly can't rely on rewatching Galactica and Firefly all the time. There's plenty of good sci-fi out there, and it's not all in the same two series, dammit! If I get desperate I might try Stargate, but I sincerely doubt it.

The best thing ever is TV on DVD. Seriously, if I can watch a good show without constant panicking and scrambling for the mute button because that goddamn credit report advert is on and I'd rather commit harikari than listen to it, that makes the show so much better.