Talking Television

As I’ve gotten older and free time has gotten scarcer, I don’t obsess about new and returning fall television as I once did. That said, I still watch plenty of TV, and we haven’t talked TV in a while. Here’s what’s on the rotation currently, and why:

The Mindy Show: not hilarious, but charming and funny enough to keep going with
Happy Endings: bizarre and often hilarious
Arrow: comic-book geek guilty pleasure, heavier on the guilt
Nashville: soapy, woman-centered guilty pleasure, heavier on the pleasure
Modern Family: for now. Feeling very been-there, done-that.
Parks and Rec: Love this funny, sweet show. From season 3 on, this has been a consistent entertainment.
30 Rock: last season, and they’re pushing some interesting boundaries.

We tried Elementary (another woman-violent procedural), Last Resort (didn’t see the hype) and Ben and Kate (almost cute enough but not quite.), all just once.

Currently watching past seasons of Downton Abbey, Homeland, Friday Night Lights.

Looking forward to return of Breaking Bad and Mad Men.

I read all of Alan Sepinwalls reviews of my shows at Hitfix. He’s got a smart, informed commenting base, unlike Entertainment Weekly’s, which is regularly horrible and hateful.

What are you watching that’s worthwhile?

One Response to “Talking Television”

  1. Kate Says:

    Preferring Ben and Kate to the Mindy Show at this point. Dropped Last Resort and Go On and others whose names I’ve lost already. Enjoying the music in particular on Nashville. The Hour starts up again tonight on BBC!

    Also, Sepinwall’s new book is fantastic. It is chock full of spoilers–as it ought to be, given its dual role as history and criticism–but the shows are divided by chapters, so you can easily skip what you don’t want to read about. Finally, he’s gone the self-publishing route, edited by Sara of Tomato Nation, and it’s a fascinating way to think about how social media is driving his work.