Tube
Tube
Yup, this is the TV page, a small site of praise to the one-eyed cathode-ray tube presence. I really don't watch that much TV, but that's because I'm probably doing something else. I'm not a Luddite. There's good and bad TV, and I don't expect it to be high art. What I do like and dislike is outlined below. I'm sure I've let some stuff out, since it is summer and I'm really not watching much on a regular basis other than reruns of Newsradio and the obligatory Sunday Morning.
Likes
Witty, smart, off-beat comedy.
Which leads us to what might be the most-unappreciated show, Newsradio, a show that's been on almost every day of the week as it has been shoved around the schedule, under-promoted, nearly canceled several times, yet garners quite a bit of critical acclaim. The site referenced above is a good starting point. Phil Hartman's talent will be missed next year.
I first saw Melissa Joan Hart before the beginning of the last season of Clarissa Explains it All on Nickelodeon. I try to catch Sabrina, the Teenage Witch whenever a new episode is on. Although it is part of a kids lineup on ABC's schedule, the writing is pretty good and Nick Bakay is great.
I was a big Mad About You fan for the first three seasons, and much of the fourth. Unfortunately, I think the show lost direction after that point. Most episodes involve Paul doing something stupid and Jamie being pretty much out of established character. There's no subtlety these days. I'm still a big fan of looking at Helen Hunt, though.
I'm still a Friends fan, and I get a kick out of the media frenzy that's surrounded this show. It is still pretty well written for a show that's been through four seasons. If only they'd continue to consistently write Phoebe and Joey well. Lisa Kudrow's great when she gets a well-written part. (If your can't find any Friends web sites, maybe you should put down the computer and take up another activity.)
Another show I watch regularly is Sunday Morning on CBS (although the rerecorded theme lost a lot of its character). I started watching in high school, back when Charles Kuralt was hosting. Well-paced, interesting stories that don't seem to get covered elsewhere, especially in depth. What other show ends with a couple of minutes of environmental footage with only a little bit of narration.
I've been to known to watch Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and Star Trek: Voyager. I'm a fan, yet I'm not the sort to be reading the news groups and writing fan fiction.
A friend got me a tape that has every episode of The Building and The Bonnie Hunt Show.
Give South Park a chance if you haven't seen it yet. Better written that most of the rest of the stuff on the dial. Sharp and funny. Eric Cartman was my favorite character of the 97-98 season.
Larry Sanders has come to end end, and I've got all of last season on tape to look forward to this summer. A final chapter on what it is probably like when the camera stops.
Dislikes
I'll pass on the supernatural stuff, thanks. No X-Files for me. I tend not to watch hour-long shows much, so I'm not interested in Melrose, Party of Five, Ally McBeal, and such. Aside from the random Cubs or Bulls game, I'm not much for sports on tv either. The extreme commodification of the whole bit has worn me down. Haven't seen a Xena or Hercules. Happy Seinfeld's gone, it had been around too long and gone soft when it stopped being about the small stories and turned wacky.