<p>Still love Grey’s Anatomy. I like White Collar, Good Wife and I used to watch Castle but I’ve been hooked on Smash! I love the singing/dancing…it’s a wonderful escape!</p>
<p>Yes, we have a DVR so I could record Castle, but it was getting old and I never think to play it back after I record it.</p>
<p>Modern Family, Downton Abbey, Nurse Jackie, The Big C, Homeland, Game of Thrones.</p>
<p>Wow, I definitely don’t watch much tv. I’v not heard of most of those shows, prefect.</p>
<p>also Smash, DWTS , This week with George Stephanopoulas, The chew.</p>
<p>I am a communications major who loves television and has a lot of feelings about it. Separating my favorite shows into groups because it makes it easier for me. My mom calls me a TV snob and I don’t really care.</p>
<p>Hard Core Drama:</p>
<p>Homeland is the best show to come of this lackluster TV season. It will go onto win multiple awards since the cast and the writing is flawless. The season finale was one of the most intense things I have ever watched. Damian Lewis acted like nothing I have ever seen before. The show has so many twists and turns and deals with an eclectic cast and intergrated them beautifully. President Obama has talked about this show and loves it. He invited Damian Lewis to the State Dinner last week which I think shows how big a fan he is. So that should convince you to watch it. Well that and Claire Danes completely nailing a character and portrays mental illness perfectly. She’s already won a Golden Globe and will hopefully win the Emmy because well you just need to watch and see.</p>
<p>Mad Men comes back on Sunday after being off the air for 17 months. A lot of anticipation to see what happens, what time period are we in, and whether Don Draper is engaged/married/something. Matthew Weiner is so scared of spoilers leaking that there has barely been hints on what is to come. I love Mad Men for its characters arc, how it doesn’t use the notion of being set in the 1960s as a main focal point. This show is about these characters and their relationships and their problems. Jon Hamm and Elisabeth Moss lead this cast (but dammit they didn’t win for The Suitcase) and it has some great supporting characters. It also is funny and makes you laugh some unexpected moments (Mrs. Blankenship is all I need to say here).</p>
<p>Shameless is a show I can’t really put in a category. The show is heavily carried by Emmy Rossum and William H. Macy and is run by some great people. It is unrecognized by a lot of things and Showtime doesn’t promote it extremely well. It is set in present day Chicago for a blue collar poverty stricken family who has too many kids to count and they mature so fast as they deal with their alcoholic and not trusted father. The story lines for these characters deals with things like being scared to tell your family that you are gay so much better than any other show on TV.</p>
<p>Procedural Drama Done Well: </p>
<p>Castle is consistently good every single week and is one of the more enjoyable shows on TV. It skims the line between comedy and drama without completely destroying the integrity of the show (ahem on another network). The next couples episodes are going to be a doozy. The chemistry between Stana Katic and Nathan Fillion is lightning in a bottle and it might be sooner rather than later that their characters discuss their feelings for each other (and don’t suffer the Moonlighting curse).</p>
<p>Fringe is done so well and written so well but viewership is nowhere near where this show deserves. Created by JJ Abrams (Alias, Lost, Star Trek) and helmed by some extremely creative people and acted like nothing else with most actors playing 2 or 3 versions of themselves. Whether it will get picked up for another season is worrying because it doesn’t make any money for FOX. Anna Torv and John Noble deserved to be recognized for their work on this show.</p>
<p>The Good Wife is a story about women and the men they deal with. It is set in a workplace and is done so well. It portrays women so wonderfully in characters like Diana, Alicia, and Kalinda. They are independent and know how to take charge in any situation. It has strong female characters which some shows severely lack. It also does what Mad Men does and has small moments of comedy that make you laugh. It brings in some great guest stars (Matthew Perry this week) and has a phenomenal cast. Of its 7 or so leading actors 5 of them were nominated last year with Julianna Marguiles deservingly taking the award home.</p>
<p>Comedy Night Done Right: (aka where I want to punch NBC in the face numerous times because all of these shows are so ridiculously well written, have some of the funniest people on TV but get poor ratings. They all deserve so much better).</p>
<p>30 Rock: Led by Tina Fey and produced by Lorne Michaels you can go wrong. It is in its sixth season and creates some of the greatest story lines. The guest stars of this show are what makes it great. It is written with characters and self awareness towards the network it is on. Alec Baldwin is completely fantastic in a role in which he is complete opposite of the character he portrays. </p>
<p>Community has had a lot of drama over the past couple months with NBC pulling it off its schedule with no return date. Fans of the show complained and created campaigns on Twitter like #savegreendale #sixseasonsandamovie. The cast is filled with funny people who are aware of how good a show they are on. They all want to continue working on this show that laughs at itself almost every week. Dan Harmon, creator, is all kinds of weird but has chosen to write a show that is extremely meta and makes you think (like the different timelines) but also does great theme episodes (the paintball episodes come to mind). I am on and off with this show (some weeks it is better than another) but it needs to be kept on TV.</p>
<p>Parks and Recreation is the best comedy currently on television hands down. Run by Michael Schur who worked with Greg Daniels on The Office so he knows how to maintain a show. If you do not like Leslie Knope something is wrong with you. Leslie is sunshine personified and it one of the best well written women on TV. Ben and Leslie are so happy and if you don’t smile when you see them I just don’t know. The supporting cast is outstanding with players like Aziz Ansari, Nick Offerman, Aubrey Plaza, Adam Scott, Rashida Jones, Jim O’Herr, and Retta. I dislike Rob Lowe to an extreme so would be totally okay if he gets shipped off to a faraway land. Critics love this show and is helmed as one of the greatest comedies of the past couple years. It is also Malia Obama’s favorite show so please don’t cancel it NBC.</p>
<p>Other Funny Smart Comedies:</p>
<p>Happy Endings is a show that I have recently discovered. I marathoned the show and is one of the laugh out loud ones. The creators are going for a Friends dynamic which works wonderfully. It shows a happily married couple, a not-cliche gay guy, the sort of benevolent character, and the will they won’t they relationship. It is good hearted and makes you relax so easily. </p>
<p>New Girl is a show that I didn’t think I would like. The Pilot was okay but as you continue to watch the show you smile at Jess’ quirks and laugh at the supporting players especially Schmidt and Nick. Schmidt is the breakout player of the year and I am really excited to see where this show goes. Eventually Nick and Jess will get together but the producers have already said that it won’t be anytime soon. Also the ******bag jar is brilliant. Small things make this show funny and I am ready to see it grow into something good.</p>
<p>How I Met Your Mother is coming to the point where I would like to know who the mother is. Will that happen anytime soon? Probably not. The show has its ups and downs but cleverly does things and has a serious heart to it. The characters are extremely likable especially Lily and Marshall (another happily married couple without dealing with cliches), the wanting for Ted to be able to find his dream girl, and Barney to stop messing around with that stripper and to get back together with Robin. This weeks episode was so spot on for a show that is hitting its seventh year.</p>
<p>/television nerd</p>
<p>I am slowly working my way through Breaking Bad and really want to finish it before the next season premieres. Cougar Town is another show that people need to watch. It is nothing like the title implies.</p>
<p>Smash, The Closer, Burn Notice, Big Bang Theory and White Collar</p>
<p>Big Bang Theory. I was engaged to a guy who ended up getting his PhD in astrophysics, so the show hits close to home! He was in a different galaxy, for sure.</p>
<p>Big bang theory, castle, supernatural. I am a huge supernatural fan!</p>
<p>I’ve heard wonderful reviews of The Good Wife. When is it on and how soon would I be able to understand what’s going on?</p>
<p>I LOVE Big Bang Theory.</p>
<p>@patsmom- Agreed. Breaking Bad is absolutely amazing.</p>
<p>The Good Wife is on Sunday nights…you’ll catch on quickly. It’s a very well written show.</p>
<p>^^Thanks, Thumper! I started watching The Celebrity Apprentice on Sunday nights, so I may have to wait till that season ends…</p>
<p>We like Modern Family, Parks and Rec and The Walking Dead. I haven’t seen many of these mentioned, so now I will be on the look out for them during rerun season. I also love Mad Men.</p>
<p>I do love re-runs of Curb Your Enthusiasm too. And some of the design shows on HGTV.</p>
<p>Shows that entertain me: Blue Bloods, Person of Interest, The Good Wife (although the quality has gone down drastically this season), The Amazing Race, Harry’s Law.</p>
<p>Best shows in terms of writing, acting, directing: Boardwalk Empire, Nurse Jackie, Dexter, Treme, In Treatment. No regular network tv can compare.</p>
<p>Louis by Louis CK</p>
<p>Big Bang Theory is our hands-down favorite. It’s one show both H & I agree on. It is consistently funny with really great characters–each one distinctly hilariously quirky. Even the re-runs win out at our house over most other televiewing.</p>
<p>That said, I also like dramas: my regulars are The Good Wife, Grey’s Anatomy (still!), and The Closer. H adores The Dog Whisperer.</p>
<p>PS I forgot SMASH! It’s on late for me so I catch it On Demand. It’s like Glee but way more grownup with outstanding acting from old pros like Debra Messing & Anjelica Houston. Katharine McPhee is stunning in this role (from American Idol).</p>
<p>I love to watch Southland and Justified , and Mike n molly</p>
<p>D and I watch Castle, Fringe, White Collar, Alcatraz, Hawai 5 O, New Girl, Lost Girl, Necessary Roughness,etc.</p>
<p>hubby, d and I watch Top Shot and Full Metal Jousting for mindless entertainment and to see ‘splodeys’.</p>
<p>Smash, Parenthood, and Modern Family</p>
<p>Homeland on Showtime</p>