Television

There are some who say that I watch too much television.  My parents, for instance.  After reading this section, you might be in agreement.  I don't actually watch that much television, it just looks that way, but I can say that I'm a big fan.  I like to live vicariously through my favorite characters.  So read on!

Sports Night

Undoubtedly one of the best television shows to come along in a very, very long time.  It has some of the best writing I've heard on TV, and some of the most compelling characters.  For those who have not been fortunate enough to see it, Sports Night revolves around a fictional show (also named Sports Night), kind of like ESPN's SportsCenter.  It deals mostly with the behind-the-scenes happenings, and thrives off the interaction of the characters: Casey McCall (Peter Krause) and Dan Rydell (Josh Charles), the two anchors of the show; Dana Whitaker (Felicity Huffman), the executive producer; Jeremy Goodwin (Joshua Malina) and Natalie Hurley (Sabrina Lloyd), a couple of co producers, and Isaac Jaffee (Robert Guillaume), the head of the station.  It's a wonderfully funny show that looks like a drama and is better shot and better done than any sitcom you'd care to throw at me (not too hard, please, I'm a bleeder).  It uses long camera shots and witty repartee, and no laugh track, which makes it all the more enjoyable.  I highly recommend checking out this show.  Unfortunately, Sports Night has been cancelled.  It's sad to know that the most intelligent and entertaining programming can be tossed by the wayside for something silly and trite. In any case, for those interested, here's a Sports Night webpage.

Twin Peaks

There is no more confusing show out there than Twin Peaks, the 1990 David Lynch drama about the murder of Laura Palmer.  The audience is always a half step behind.  Maybe several miles.  There are more characters in this show than you can shake a stick at, and everyone in this "peaceful little town" is in cahoots with everyone else.  The main players are Sheriff Harry S. Truman (Michael Ontkean), a pretty normal fellow in the face of all this madness.  Coming into the town of Twin Peaks, Washington to investigate the murder is FBI Special Agent Dale Cooper (Kyle MacLachlan), one of my favorite characters of all the shows I watch.  He's got great delivery of very strange and funny lines, and he's just an all-around good guy. This is another show I recommend, but I imagine it would be hard to come in in the middle.  It's so very, very strange. A neat Twin Peaks link

Remember WENN

This is a wonderful show that used to be on AMC before it got cancelled right after a fourth-season cliffhanger (there were actually three cliffhangers) that will never be resolved.  I am still bitter about the end of this show. Set in the 1940's, Remember WENN is a television show about radio.  WENN is a Pittsburgh-based radio station that does news, daytime dramas, kids shows, music, the works.  The actors, writers, producers, musicians, and even a silent sound-effects man all work together to make it the best darn station they can.  The dialogue is delightful, the plots are gripping (a couple of the main running plots are World War II based), and the acting is just marvelous.  It's another show with no laugh track, and it certainly doesn't need it- it gets enough laughs on its own.  The characters are loveable and easy to sympathize with, even with all the faults they have (a few act less honorably than others, but they always repent).  This is a quality show, and I was sad to see it depart.  See the WENN page.

Voyager

I admit it- I'm a Trekkie.  I prefer The Next Generation, but Voyager is still pretty good.  These poor spacefarers are stuck in the Delta Quadrant, sixty years from home, and of course this brings up all wonder of adventures.  Some of the characters are more likeable than others... I'm a big fan of Harry Kim (Garrett Wang) and B'Elanna Torres (Roxann Dawson), and Tuvok (Tim Russ) is growing on me; Neelix (Ethan Philips) just bothers me.  I know he means well.  And of course, there's Seven of Nine (Jeri Ryan), who would be a good character if it weren't for the fact that so many darn episodes revolve around her!  I mean, she just gets a little bit tiresome after awhile. But it's a good show, and fun to nitpick about.  Try it sometime. A fun Voyager link Another fun Voyager link (ha ha)

The X-Files

I didn't use to like this show, but I do now, of course.  I mean, I love the paranormal and thinking about otherwordly things.  For paranoia and conspiracy, you can't beat the X-Files.  Special Agents Fox Mulder (David Duchovny) and Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson), the believer and the skeptic, respectively, have to find out what causes the odd things that happen on a regular basis in the towns and cities of America.  When they're not doing that, they're fighting an alien conspiracy that puts everyone's lives at risk by infecting them with a dreadful disease and doing other dastardly deeds.   I love the writing on this show.  It can switch between casual banter to scientific jargon easy as falling off a log (though it bruises less).  It's also a pretty effective campaign against the tobacco industry (who wants to be like that awful Cigarette Smoking Man?  Not I!).  Also, Anderson and Duchovny fit their roles just right, never over- or under-doing it.  Just playing at an even keel (though don't get them mad.  Hoo boy!).  And now that Mulder is (mostly) gone, I think that Robert Patrick has done an admirable job as the steely John Doggett.  He's a good kid.    Here's a neat X-Files page.

The West Wing

As if we needed further proof that Aaron Sorkin is a genius, here's The West Wing, with the same fast-paced banter as Sports Night but in a decidedly different setting - The White House.  The interactions between the characters are as intriguing as the characters themselves, especially the chemistry between Josh Lyman (Bradley Whitford) and his assistant Donna Moss (Janel Maloney).  President Bartlet (Martin Sheen) and his staff also have great repartee; his aide Charlie Young (Dule Hill), his chief of staff Leo McGarry (John Spencer), Sam Seyborn (Rob Lowe), Toby Ziegler (Richard Schiff), and CJ Cregg (Allison Janney).  There's probably someone I'm forgetting, but that's okay.  I'll get a site up here for TWW as soon as I remember the URL.

Other Notable Shows

Sailor Moon (yes, I watch Sailor Moon!) Mystery Science Theater 3000 ER (though I don't watch it as much as I used to) Michael Hayes (on CBS a couple of years ago) Belle and Sebastian (an old Nickelodeon show) Mysterious Cities of Gold (another old Nickelodeon show) Spartacus (same deal here)