My Long, Ultimate (But Not Really), Super Personalized Television Shows List

Hello my lovely readers... if there's anyone still out there.

I apologize profusely for my long absence. It has been a long several months in many ways - academically, personally, and in the entertainment and art world. I've seen many a movie and many many a television episode. I do not have much new to talk about or analyze. I could do quite a bit with We Need to Talk About Kevin, but I'd rather not because that would be digging too deep into my personal life and I really want to talk to my therapist about my relationship with that movie. I could talk about how things like We Need to Talk About Kevin and Breaking Bad, amongst many other things, remind me of my weirdly complicated relationship with my brother - which shouldn't be that complicated considering we've spoken very little with one another in about a decade. This is a subject matter I fully intend to explore through my film work. Expect lots of bizarre stories of young men and older brothers.

Right now, I feel more like discussing something more to my liking - making a list. I will delve into the personal realm (as I always do) as I plan to write in this post the master list of all the television shows I have ever watched (well, dedicated more than an episode or two to) and my experiences with them. Some I will brush over quickly, others I will talk about more extensively. This has little to do with whether I think a show is great or terrible. I will leave my thoughts as these shows as art and entertainment to another post another time, but here I do plan to explore my relationship with each of these shows. So, I hope this is enjoyed and I hope you don't mind that it's not as analytical or exciting as anything I'd like to write but this is what I want to write right now.

Note: I am skipping over a fair chunk of the television I watched as a kid. Things that have stuck with me, or that I've rewatched more recently, are more likely to be listed here. But things like Sesame Street, which, though great, I haven't watched since probably the mid-nineties isn't going to make it on this list.

Note Part 2: I will be including a lot of television I watched sporadically (as, pre-Heroes I didn't watch most television regularly). This will all be noted below.

Let us begin...

- 10 Things I Hate About You
Originally, I thought this show would be stupid. I loved the original movie it was loosely based off of and this was going on ABC Family. It also didn't get renewed. I also never finished this show. But it was actually kind of enjoyable and I liked being proven wrong for once. The sisters were good... the boys, especially the supposed-to-be-Joseph-Gordon-Levitt one weren't quite so solid. I haven't been able to bring myself to finish it because I know it won't be satisfying as it was canceled.

- 2 Broke Girls
Being as this is a more recent show, I've watched it from the very beginning. I'm thinking of quitting it now though. I love Kat Dennings and Beth Behrs as the leads, but the show doesn't seem to honor their talent and chemistry well enough. And I'm worried about messy mythology - which, for me, is essential in a good sitcom or any show really.

- 7th Heaven
I'm not (too) ashamed to admit I've seen every episode. I watched the first seven seasons in reruns and then started watching it from there. Not going to lie, I even embraced fan fiction for this one. I enjoyed the middle seasons where it started making fun of itself but wasn't as melodramatic as it started out and ended. I admit it's all pretty friggin ridiculous, but it was on after Gilmore Girls reruns on ABC Family afternoons so I ended up watching it too... and Smallville.

- 8 Simple Rules
I never got super into this one - I watched some reruns and caught a few new episodes. It was before I got into regularly watching television.

- All That
One of my childhood loves - I didn't get the Disney channel until I was about eleven or twelve (when it became part of our basic cable plan) so Nickelodeon was my place. It deserved to be too - shows like All That really were fun and kind of funny - especially to a kid who didn't get Saturday Night Live humour yet.

- The Amanda Show
Same as above. I watched both sometimes regularly, sometimes sporadically. I've probably seen most of the episodes of both, if not all of them at one point or another. With All That, though, I know they brought it back for years after I stopped watching with people whom I know nothing about so, at least for The Amanda Show, I probably watched it all.

- America's Funniest Home Videos
Some of them were really hilarious. Some weren't. Sometimes I watched. Frequently I didn't.

- American Idol
My relationship with American Idol is actually a fun story. I watched the season one finale, just the very end, where Kelly Clarkson won and sang "A Moment Like This." I was always into music and that's the moment I decided to be a pop star and eventually audition when I was old enough. I started watching around the Top 8 of season 2 and then watched regularly seasons 3 through 5. Then I was old enough to audition. At that age, 16, I wasn't sure I still wanted to do music, but I decided to go through with it anyway. As you can probably guess, I didn't make it. Didn't even make it to the proper auditions you see on screen. Not surprising to me (I was nervous as fuck all) and I didn't mind after a bit of childhood dream-crushing. See, American Idol started to literally put me to sleep in the 5th season. I would eat dinner, start my homework, half-watch TV, put on American Idol, pass out halfway through, sleep for a couple hours, finish my homework, then go to sleep proper. It was a regular thing. Nights when it wasn't on, it would be another show that would put me to sleep. Sophomore year must've been an exhausting year (oh 15/16-year-old self, I don't think a single year has been chill since). I watched a bit of the season 6 premiere to look for any sign of myself and then recently part of the NY auditions in the most recent season (where I recognized a girl I'd taken a PoliSci class with flirting with Steven Tyler... oi).

- Angry Beavers
Watched frequently as a kid, probably caught most of it. Seems funny to me now that I know other meanings of beavers.

- Animaniacs
This is how I learned e=mc2 amongst many other important things as a child. Watched a fair chunk, though not particularly regularly.

- Arrested Development
Currently progressing through (halfway through season 2). Everyone told me I should watch it. So far I'm really liking it. Like I've mentioned above, mythology is everything to me. It screams consistency and care in any television show. It doesn't have to be huge or central, just present.

- Batman
This live action Batman TV series was my show as a kid. It was my introduction to Batman, even before the animated show. Seeing the porno Batman XXX inspired by the show was wonderful too - the porn parts didn't matter to me but OH MY GOD was it hilariously pitch-perfect to the old TV show. I love this shit. Believe me, I love almost all of Batman, but this is my origin story.

- Batman: The Animated Series
A continuation of my love affair with Batman over my life, I've seen most, if not all, of this show. I started rewatching it a couple years ago (having downloaded the whole show) but got really lazy about it and stopped in the single digits.

- Battlestar Galactica (2004)
Well, if you know anything about my love for television, you know about my love for this show. One of my favorite television shows ever, I've seen every episode at least twice (though I admit to skipping over "Black Market" most of the times I've rewatched it), seen all the webisodes, and I own the entire series (TV movies included - well, not The Plan, but I've seen The Plan... it's kind of crap). 4.12 and 4.13 are probably my favorite episodes in the series, and Laura Roslin is likely my favorite character. She's one of the best female characters ever and that Mary McDonnell never got an Emmy nod is bollocks. Same about the show, but Jesus Christ especially her.

- The Big Bang Theory
Started watching this a couple years ago, caught up on the entire series, and have seen it all. It's got its moments and I do like it overall, although I understand discomfort with it - it can be pretty clear that the people behind it are painting a picture of nerds they know, not nerds they are.

- Bill Nye the Science Guy
Like any kid who took science in the '90s, this man is everything and his show was the highlight of science classes to me (until I took chemistry in high school and fucking loved it). We got a history teacher in 11th grade named Chip Nye and we had a kid in our class named Chip, which was in place of William - so we all hoped desperately that he was Bill Nye the Hist'ry Guy. Alas, that wasn't his first name, we had him for one class, he ended up in the hospital, and we never heard anything about him again.

- Boy Meets World
Boy Meets World was one of my favorite television shows growing up. I started watching it just as it ended its run at the end of the nineties/the early '00s and watched reruns constantly. I've seen it all and loved it all (even the more blah parts). "Chick Like Me" was one of my favorite episodes ever. Mr. Feeney was the best - one of the few folks I've ever splurged on a graphic tee for (I gave up on graphic tees generally when I was about 15 or so - now I buy them once in a blue moon for good reason - my Mr. Feeney T-shirt, my Nightwish T-shirt, my Hunger Games themed teefury T-shirt, my Leon Botstein T-shirt, and my Harry and the Potters T-shirt). I laughed, I cried, I admired Shawn's hair, and I to this day believe in the power of the contents of my purse to reveal everything about me.

- The Brady Bunch
My lesser of my two favorite shows in the Nick at Nite line-up, The Brady Bunch was good wholesome fun but also kind of dull at times. Still, I watched pretty much all of it. I still don't believe they never thanked Alice before that one episode though.

- Breaking Bad
This is my newest current project. After telling myself I'd watch it for years and being told to watch it by anyone whose site I read (and my brother most recently - though he was actually telling our parents but I'd been planning to eventually anyway), I finally dove last evening. I'm still on season one and slowly working my way into it. The scene with Jesse's family, so far... it makes me think this is who my brother might paint himself as. When I watch shows I know my brother loves (like this and The Wire), I see how he looks at them from what I know about him. He used to dress like Jesse. Still sort of does. Used to consider himself pretty "hood" but he had a nice wholesome home to come home to and a younger sibling, whom I can bet he imagined had conversations about whether to continue the piccolo or oboe. Just to let you know, Drew, we never had fucking conversations like that, considering I don't play any classical instruments and I had the decency to continue playing saxophone into college even though that drumset mom and dad bought for you went unused for years after you quit a year and a half into it. Ahem. Like I said, my personal life has been on a mind a lot lately. Excuse me.

- The Cape (2011)
Unlike Abed, I gave up on The Cape pretty quickly. I fell behind after the first four episodes and then it got canceled and I never bothered to catch up. I wanted to like it - I did like it - but it didn't work out between us.

- Caprica
Did you not read above how everything to do with Battlestar Galactica is my life? No? Well then, I've seen all of Caprica. I started from the beginning. I remember seeing advertisements when I visited my roommate in L.A. - I was so excited to see them. I was so excited for the show. Overall, I really did like it, although I liked 1.0 better than 1.5. Tamara's episode where she conquered the Matrix essentially... best. And Daniel threatening Zoebot with fire. Beautiful shit.

- CatDog
Watched this here and there as a kid. Never got very attached. As I had a cat and a dog, I found the premise pretty amusing though.

- Chuck
I started watching Chuck from the start because it aired with Heroes, which was my favorite show at the time. By the second season, Chuck was one of my favorite shows on the air. I even attended Chuckfest 2010 when I was in L.A. with my roommate (whom I had gotten into it) and watched the third season premiere there. I admit I've fallen behind on the latest season (the latest twist at the end of season four was not my favorite to say the least) but I intend to get back into it by the time my beloved series ends.

- Clarissa Explains It All
Oh Melissa Joan Hart - you were everywhere in the nineties. Including in my television when I watched the occasional rerun of this.

- Community
I started watching this from the start and have kept up with it lovingly. I own the first season on DVD as of a couple weeks ago. Community is one of my favorite shows ever and possibly my favorite sitcom ever. I love all the characters and admire Abed's dedication to pop culture I could never reach and, most of all, I relate most to the show as a whole and its feelings and opinions because very few shows have that sort of character of its own you can touch (that aren't simply the lead character) and feel connected to.

- Cowboy Bebop
Someone suggested I watch Cowboy Bebop when I was fifteen because the way we were Role-Playing Atton and Mira (from Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords) reminded her a lot of Spike and Faye's relationship. I caught the second half of the third episode at about 2AM that night on my tiny TV in my room and was intrigued. I caught the entirety of the fifth episode a couple days later. I fell in love. I borrowed the first five episodes from a friend who was super into it, then bought the entire rest of the series myself. I've seen this show a number of times, and the movie, and it is one of my favorite shows ever, competing most frequently with Battlestar Galactica for that top spot. I named my cat Spike after Spike Spiegel. And more than the show itself, I absolutely love the music. Anybody who's seen the show would say the same. Being a saxophonist myself, the jazz music (and the many genres the music actually covers) was a revitalization of my love for music that had fallen away and assurance that being a saxophonist was super boss and a good thing to have chosen to identify as. I have never gotten sick of the music at large (though some songs, of course, have lost their touch). I've learned some of them on saxophone, including "Tank!" of course. I wrote my own song to the tune of "Goodnight Julia." That music, that show, made me love jazz. And I love jazz.

- Dexter
I'd started hearing a lot about Dexter after its fourth season, now that I had started listening to the winds of pop culture and the entertainment world. So I started watching. I worked through the first four seasons, assured I would love Lilah by an acquaintance and then hating her with a passion, realizing that season one was my favorite by a longshot and that I still liked the show overall. I've kept with the show, liking it and being disappointed in it in equal measure. Mos Def was the best part of season six and the big reveal came too late and in an otherwise blegh finale. But I won't quit it yet. I care too much about what happens next.

- Dexter's Laboratory
Who, my age, didn't watch this as a kid? Goddammit, Deedee, gtfo of his lab already! I've seen a fair chunk of this show though possibly not all.

- Doug
I really have no attachments to this show, though I watched it pretty regularly as a kid.

- Downton Abbey
Marathoned the first season early last semester after I'd started hearing about how good it was and loved it dearly. Then season two came and wasn't quite as brilliant, though still good, and thank god for that Christmas Special.

- Even Stevens
Shia LeBouf, I will always remember you as Louis Stevens and Stanley Yelnats, even if I questioned your casting as Stanley at the time (Stanley was supposed to be Caveman! He was supposed to be bulky!). I watched most of this show in reruns once we got Disney.

- Falling Skies
All the reminders to me of Battlestar Galactica have helped me really like this show more than I might have expected. It's not brilliant, but it's pretty good and I like most of the characters (even the teenage son - which is weird because teenagers on TV usually suck unless they're the main cast... when they still might suck but it's a bit more up in the air). Mostly though I love finding connections to one of my favorite sci-fi series.

- Firefly
Speaking of brilliant sci-fi, I finally watched through Firefly over the summer. I wasn't sure that I'd like it as much as I did because I'd been told for so long by so many people how great it was, and been told more underwhelming things by a few others. But whether it's a great show or not, I loved it. The movie too. Reavers are the most terrifying embodiment I've seen on TV in a long time. And man oh man was I all for Kaylee and Simon to live happily ever after. Spoiler alert, but someone told me the end of Serenity was like a bloodbath so I was expecting the worst. I was so glad I didn't have to watch everyone die like I expected.

- FlashForward
Well, Voldemort's younger brother Shakespeare was the lead and I find him mighty attractive and I was intrigued by the show and I stuck through it and watched it all and discussed it and liked it pretty well, but I wasn't so impressed that I was at all disappointed when it was canceled.

- The Flintstones
Watched this sporadically but quite a bit as a kid. This and The Jetsons were a big thing back then. My whole family were big fans.

- The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air
Seen most of it via reruns. Oh Will Smith, I have adored you.

- Full House
I've seen the whole series, most of it multiple times, thanks to reruns. This is one show I regularly watched reruns for (and there were a lot of them) throughout my adolescence. I still watch reruns of it occasionally. It's got its moments. I liked the three dads routine. It also made my home feel pitifully small. Most TV I watched as a kid made me feel isolated. I did live on top of a hill at the end of a dead-end road in a rural town filled with lots of old people.

- Game of Thrones
Started watching this from the beginning and have seen it all. Nothing much to report, besides my love for how goddamn attractive Robb Stark is.

- Gilligan's Island
This was my favorite of the Nick at Nite crowd as a kid. Man oh man I loved this show. I loved that island. I loved the whole goddamn thing.

- Gilmore Girls
Like its other ABC Family rerun friends (7th Heaven and Smallville)), I started watching Gilmore Girls via reruns. I saw the first four seasons that way (the best seasons, in my opinion, culminating in that beautiful kiss between Lorelai and Luke and Kirk running naked out the front door). I watched the rest of the show as it aired regularly. Even though the secret Luke daughter drama and the Rory boyfriends drama (I was always, ALWAYS partial to Jess and think he should've been the one) got tired, Stars Hollow was always the best friggin place ever. It and Mystic Falls are my favorite fictional towns. Stars Hollow probably wins though because a lot less people die there. But they're both so adorable and tight-knit and event-y!

- Glee
I've seen it all (except the most recent episode) I'll admit. I loved it, I hated it, I have had extremely mixed but mostly annoyed opinions about it and I think it is one of the most ridiculous things ever. Even the covers, which were wonderful and fun at the start, have gotten terrible (for the most part). I mostly enjoy the show when it's just performances and no really dumb and inconsistent drama. This show is one example of how important continuity is to me. It's hardly existent here, thus I kind of hate Glee. I can't quit it though because it's such an interesting trainwreck to watch.

- The Good Wife
I caught the first two seasons over the summer, watching them through rapidly and realizing how much I was falling for this show and its brilliant cast despite its appearance as a procedural (I am generally not into procedurals). I can accept procedural format when the weekly-cases-of-whatever are actually interesting (like House in the first several seasons). Luckily, here they are, and here everything outside of the cases is even better and there's a lot of it, but it moves at perfect pacing. Not too quickly, not too slowly. Just right.

- Gossip Girl
I wasn't expecting to get into this. There was a really funny tumblr that featured pictures of outfits Chuck Bass wore and had cute snippy commentary for each. I realized how much I loved the fashion and began watching with that in mind. I really did enjoy the first two seasons very thoroughly, though. After that... I kept watching, liking certain parts and hating others, and enjoying overall the melodrama and still loving most of the fashion. I can accept Gossip Girl for being pretty terrible most of the time because it seems so self-aware most of the time... even if it does recycle plots and misuse guest stars pretty badly.

- Heroes
This was a big turning point in my television watching career. I wasn't regularly into television until Heroes. I didn't even watch it from the start - I got into it about halfway through season one. I started it, I caught up online, and I was addicted. I recommended it to everyone I knew. I obsessed. I loved the wiki for it with all the hilarious "fan theories" about Mr. Muggles. It made me want a Pomeranian. I even stuck with it lovingly through season two. I watched season three as well, enjoying moments more than the show overall, bonding with fellow college students as we watched it in a small group on Mondays after the Gossip Girl crowd (before I watched the latter). I even started watching season four. Then my parents' DVR ate the next few episodes and I was so disappointed in the show I had once loved that I gave up after the first two episodes of season four. Only once has someone defended the fourth season to me. I never went back.

- Hey Arnold
I hated how cool Arnold was. I hated how he could ride alone on a subway at age nine. I hated how isolated I was and that he had the freedom in a big city. I watched most of this, if not all, and hated it but not really - it was a good show, I was just so envious.

- Home Improvement
I watched this intermittently as reruns for the most part. This was Tim Allen's introduction to my life. And in Toy Story of course.

- Homeland
I heard this was good. It was fucking brilliant. My favorite new show of this season. Claire Danes has been a loved actress of mine for years even though there hasn't been much for me to celebrate about her (besides Temple Grandin last year, which was amazing). Now there is. So much to love, so much to think about, so much to look forward to.

- House
I started watching House in its fifth season. I concurrently watched the current fifth season while catching up on the prior four seasons on DVD. I even hid away a lot during our annual Thanksgiving trip to western New York to watch more of the back seasons on my laptop. I was rooting for House and Cuddy all along. Then they kissed. And then I stopped watching, because I got sick of how far the show had fallen and how bored I had gotten with it.

- How I Met Your Mother
A few summers ago, I decided to try HIMYM. I blazed through the first four seasons, while catching up on True Blood at the same time. Even though I'm not sure how much I love it anymore, the mythology has always been a strong point and the importance of callbacks and quirks has made me appreciate the effort and time put in. The characters have gotten a bit obnoxious the past couple years though. I still watch, but enjoy the drama more than the comedy these days.

- Human Target (2010)
I was super into this show, even though I never finished it once it was canceled (I made it a fair way through season two). It was greater than I think most people gave it credit for and one of my favorite things, as I've blogged about before, is its similarity to Cowboy Bebop. I also love action. I grew up on James Bond, loved MI4 recently, and dug the action in this.

- Invader Zim
I watched a bit here and there but, to be honest, I never liked this show or understood exactly why it caught on so popularly.

- The Jetsons
Like I said above with The Flintstones, this show was a great jam as a kid. I loved sci-fi in all forms, even dorky domestic ones.

- Johnny Bravo
I watched it here and there. The most I can remember is how much my mom loved this because she loved that Johnny treated his mother so well. I wonder if this was around the time my brother started treating her like crap. He grew out of it but there were several years (his teenage ones for the most part) where he was really dickish to her.

- Kenan & Kel
I watched a rerun of this a few weeks ago and it still feels fresh to me. I will defend Good Burger for all eternity because I love that shit... even if it is shit. And I loved both Kenan and especially Kel. I always wonder what happened to Kel. I watched most of this, if not all.

- Kim Possible
Ron Stoppable for some reason frequently reminds me of Ron Weasley. Kim was so badass - it was great. It was fun and I watched most, if not all, of this awesome set of missions.

- Life with Derek
I watched this show here and there and, have to admit, this was one of those times, since I was a bit older than a kid, where I was just focused on how much the two leads needed to hook the fuck up.

- Lizzie McGuire
Like any other girl my age, I've seen it all. I loved and hated Lizzie because she reminded me of myself so much. She was better and worse. But mostly better because she was a TV character and I was a real kid whose middle school years sucked massive balls enough to switch schools.

- Lost
I found it poetic that I started watching Lost on the day of its series finale. I watched it from the start, though, on hulu. I dove right in and marathoned through quite a bit. I made it to about halfway through season 5. I'd managed to spoil quite a bit for myself. I'd known from the start that Charlie died (I originally had thought I might watch it for Dominic Monaghan until I heard he died... and something about polar bears on a tropical island...) but I also found out about a handful of sixth season deaths. Then I joked to a friend that everyone died in the end and I knew. She, having seen the whole thing, lamented to me about everyone being dead. And then I was like "WTF I DIDN'T ACTUALLY KNOW THAT." I never finished it. One day I might.

- Mad Men
I started in the second season, marathoning the first on DVD. I've loved much about this show, but especially Peggy. Everything about her, everything she's done, how human she is. And "The Suitcase" is one of the finest episodes of television ever, in my humble opinion.

- Misfits
After the second series had actually ended, I thought I might as well try this show - I loved superpowers after all. I really enjoyed it all, even though I was skeptical about the third season and super pissed off during the second season Christmas Special. Simon had been my favorite for a while, and like anyone, I loved Simon and Alisha together. Tumblr spoiled that for me before I bothered to finish season three though. Alas.

- Modern Family
I'd heard it was good, so I watched it, and it was good and it still is, though not the best.

- New Girl
I was skeptical at first, but it's grown on me as I've kept at it. And mostly Schmidt. I'm one of those people that liked the douchejar.

- Nikita
The pilot didn't impress me much. But since then, being a sucker for action and great female characters (especially leads), I've fallen pretty in love with the show. And Owen. Because he's skilled and super hot.

- The O.C.
There was a time when I watched this! About halfway through the first season, I started in. I wasn't super into each episode, but there's always be an amazing tease for next week, so I'd have to tune in. This continued for about a year, until I missed an episode about halfway through season two. Then I realized that I didn't really feel the strong desire to keep watching anymore. I hadn't been teased with a promise that wouldn't be fulfilled, so I stopped.

- Once Upon a Time
I've watched the first few episodes with friends. We've had a brilliant time mocking and somewhat enjoying the ridiculous fairytale drama.

- Parks and Recreation
One of this past summer's discoveries. I marathoned quickly through the first three seasons. I completely understand everyone's love for all of the characters. They're amazing and wonderfully presented by the writers and the actors. I've kept up and fully intend to until the end, whenever that may be.

- Phil of the Future
Phil was adorable. I watched this sporadically, though quite a bit. Another show where I just wanted the guy and girl to friggin hook up. They were clearly meant to be.

- Pinky and the Brain
I watched this plenty on and off. Home of one of my favorite catchphrases ever. "What we do every night, Pinky... try to take over the world."

- Pokemon
Possibly the first show I ever watched regularly, I would arrive home after school in the fourth grade, drop my backpack, plop on the couch, and immediately watch Pokemon at 4PM every weekday. I've seen a fair chunk of the (very long) first season and a sporadic other episode here and there. Recently, my friend and I started rewatching the show. We've made it about halfway through the first season. I miss Charmander. He was the cutest fucking thing ever. Pikachu also is. And Mew in the Pokemon movie. So. Cute.

- The Powerpuff Girls
I watched this loads as a kid, seeing a fair amount of the show overall. Bubbles was my favorite. Probably because she was blonde and wore blue (my favorite color at the time).

- The Proud Family
Al Roker has never been the same to me after this show. I watched most, if not all, of this. It, along with Kim Possible, was one of the animated series that was in my adolescence with me and was worth the time I put in.

- Recess
I wish I had watched more of this as a kid. I watched quite a bit, but not all of it I am sure. It was witty and great and in retrospect it's one show I regret not having spent more time on.

- Revenge
I was curious about the good reviews it was getting, and have been with it from the start. If not for Homeland, this would be my favorite new show of the year. I really hope Daniel dies though. I'll be disappointed if they don't go through with that tease. Madeleine Stowe is amazing. And Nolan is everything I wanted him to be and more, so far.

- Rocket Power
I watched this pretty often and probably saw a good chunk of it. I hated it though. Like Hey Arnold, part of it was the independence these kids had. Part of it was the fact that our leading man was a dick, though. He was just kind of an awful kid.

- Rugrats
Having watched Rugrats very frequently as a kid, it was the first place I realized I really wasn't into potty humour. I liked everything else about the show and found it quite funny but I could not stand behind the potty humour, even after reading an essay about body humour in children's lit.

- Sabrina, the Teenage Witch
Melissa Joan Hart part II, since this actually aired when I was attentive enough as a kid, I probably saw more of it than her other show.

- Saturday Night Live
I've never been a regular watcher of SNL, but I've watched enough episodes that I wanted to include it here. There's a lot I've loved, and a lot I've found distinctly unfunny. I hate Seth Meyers' Weekend Update. I rarely find it funny and he's always almost laughing. He made the "Founding Fathers would shit themselves due to cars if they were here, not care about our politics" joke I thought was hilarious and thought I had come up with in the fourth grade. Come on.

- Saved by the Bell
I am not sure how much of this I actually watched, but it was the first drama I actually watched as a kid. I was pretty young when I saw most of it and got a lot of my impressions about teenagers and high school from it.

- Sex and the City
I've never watched it regularly, having been asked to watch it with friends and watching reruns here and there when it's on TV. Everyone always asks themselves which girl they are. Everyone wants to be a Carrie right? I'm probably more of a Charlotte though with a bit of Miranda thrown in there. I'm probably none of them really because I'm actually Sarah.

- Sherlock
Just marathoned this about a week ago, I am so glad I was convinced to watch this because it's fucking brilliant and I love it.

- Sister, Sister
I'm pretty sure I've seen it all. I found the boyfriends interesting and I loved the later years, weirdly enough. The appendicitis bit is etched into my brain forever. My appendix has never been removed so every once in a while when I'm paranoid it's ruptured, I think of the scene in this show.

- Smallville
I watched the reruns of the first four seasons of this on ABC Family. I was intrigued, as I've always been pretty into superheroes (thanks to my indoctrination into Batman as a young child). I was into them, especially the mythology because, say it with me I love mythology. I started watching the fifth season regularly when it started up. I got bored though and didn't feel like bothering anymore and gave up. I've seen an episode here and there since I gave it up and am glad I did.

- So You Think You Can Dance (US)
Summer before last, I realized I should watch this show. Why? Because I love watching people who can actually dance. So I started with season seven, while hunting down the previous seasons online. I started season one but got so bored with it that I stopped just after the performances began. Maybe it was the lack of Cat Deeley. Maybe it was so many people whose dancing was not being challenged or really shown off that much. But when I started season two, I was in love. I watched all of the back seasons while and after I watched the seventh season and found my favorite routines and dancers and wanted to talk about it always. I watched last season too and, while I enjoyed it thoroughly, I can say confidently that my favorite seasons are three through five.

- SpongeBob SquarePants
I'm pretty sure I watched the first episode ever when it aired. It was the perfect timing - I was nine and watched a lot of TV, especially everything on Nickelodeon. I watched it quite a lot for the first few years (though not regularly, frequently enough with enough reruns that I probably saw most of it at the start). Then I grew out of it and it continued anyway.

- Star Wars: Clone Wars
I almost forgot about this short lived series of short episodes. It was boss. I watched it all, bought the DVDs, and watched it with a bunch of friends at school in the senior lounge senior year of high school during free periods. At one point, there were like six or seven of us watching, these two girls came in, Lexi and Shaina, and gave the TV and us this look (Mace Windu was being super badass, as per usual) and asked us what we were watching, why we were watching it, and if they could watch something else. Considering how much we were enjoying it and how much we outnumbered them, we turned them down and they, disgusted, left. Whatever.

- The Suite Life of Zack & Cody
I've hardly watched the spin-off, but I watched most of the original. Since I got Disney a bit later, as I was hitting adolescence, I watched a lot of Disney TV at an age when I might have been getting a little old for it. Just a little. I stand by the PRNDL over stickshift. I loved Brenda Song here. Like, legit - she was perfect.

- That's So Raven
Oh psychic Raven... you were so cool. I watched most, if not all, of this.

- Tom and Jerry
God knows how much Tom and Jerry there is and how much I've actually watched, but whenever I want something chill to watch and there's a Tom and Jerry rerun on, you know that's my channel.

- True Blood
As I mentioned above, I was marathoning True Blood's first season and the start of its second as I was marathoning How I Met Your Mother. I had started the former thinking about the gay rights metaphors I'd been told about. I also just really enjoyed Eric's existence and was pretty into Sookie/Bill. I hadn't decided whether I actually liked the show or not. I don't think I ever have, even though I've watched it all now. I don't think I like it much anymore, although I might have used to. I might quit it next season. I can only handle so much ridiculous camp.

- The Vampire Diaries
I was surprised when I heard this was actually good. I figured I didn't like vampires much. I couldn't get through Dracula when I tried to read it and Twilight was obviously dumb. I had been watching True Blood but wasn't sure I liked the vampire part of it. I'm still not sure I like vampires but after actually giving The Vampire Diaries a shot, I realized how awesome it was. I realized, and explained to friends I recommended the show to, that the diaries in question weren't really the angsty journals kept by the leads but, to me, were the old journals kept by folks like Johnathan Gilbert during the Civil War era about the vampires plaguing the town. The mythology of the show is great and never has a group of teenagers been so appealing to me (mostly because I like the adult characters too and they actually do things besides act like grown up teenagers, like the adults on shows like, say, Gossip Girl do). One of my favorite shows on the air, surprisingly. Or not so much - the pacing is also brilliant. So much happens but it never feels like too much.

- V (2009)
Alien invasion! Rebellion resistance! Shouldn't this be more exciting? I tried, and I did get into this show, really liking Hobbes in particular, more than it probably deserved (and began my love affair with Morena Baccarin). I watched it all, and was so glad at the death of Tyler, even though the show was canceled after that point.

- The Walking Dead
I was hesitant to start, but decided to try it over Thanksgiving break anyway. I wasn't sure I'd like a zombie show. The pilot was fucking brilliant, in my opinion. That poor goddamn horse, was all I thought. It hasn't been as good since, though I love crazy Shane and usually like Rick. Lori needs to act. Carl needs to gtfo. They need to get off that farm. But the mid-season finale was strong and I did get a fun zombie-related nightmare after my first night of watching. So it's progressing for me.

- The Weakest Link
Who didn't love Anne Robinson, the wonderfully snippy host of this? I loved her. I watched this pretty frequently when she was on. I was disappointed when there was a new host, but when she was around? My scene, man.

- Whose Line Is It Anyway?
Thank god for ABC Family reruns. This show introduced me to all things improv - my best friend later started an improv club in high school, which I was involved in. I loved it so much and this show made me laugh out loud more than most anything else. And they were all having so much fun, which was the best part. I've seen most, but probably not all, of this show.

- The Wild Thornberrys
Like most of my childhood shows, I saw quite a bit, but I'm not sure how much, of this show. I find Nigel's recent return to relevance hilarious. Tim Curry is my birthday buddy and I love him. It was a weird but fun show.

- The Wire
Ah, The Wire. The brilliant fucking Wire. Once day I will finish you. Until then, I will be stuck at the beginning of season three where Littlefinger appears. Where I am so sad Frank Sobotka could be so dumb. Where I am so depressed that everything always goes wrong. And so pleased that Omar Little exists.

Why I Watch The Human Target

I think I've discovered what it is that really draws me into The Human Target, and it's not just the really awesome action sequences and the slowly building mythology. I know there was a fair amount of sad faces over Chi McBride being somewhat underused thus far, but his partnership with Mark Valley's Christopher Chance reminds me very strongly of Jet and Spike from Cowboy Bebop, and the whole series at large is very reminiscent of that brilliant anime series (as someone who has never gotten into a single other anime series, I believe it's a sign of the quality of Cowboy Bebop that I love it so much).



Just look at those pictures and try to tell me how different those scenes are.

I don't know how influenced the current incarnation of Human Target is by the 1992 series, but I wouldn't be at all surprised if this relationship in Human Target was influenced by Jet and Spike from Cowboy Bebop rather than anything from there. As for the rest of the Bebop, Guerrero is obviously Ed and his flaky, casual attitude is very reminiscent of Ed's excellent craziness. The host of female figures that wander in and out of Human Target play the role of Faye (although I hear a permanent female lead is coming in next season and maybe we'll get a real Faye going on). But in the end, it all comes back to Chance and Winston.

I had a conversation with a friend of mine a few years ago about the Cowboy Bebop cast. He commented about how he thought Jet was a rather unnecessary character next to Spike, Faye, Ed, and Ein, who all had their own purposes. I defended Jet, because I really like Jet and he is really the unifying link. His partnership and friendship with Spike was what was at the beginning and it was what was at the end.

Jet and Winston have a lot of those stick-in-the-mud sidekick characteristics to Spike and Chance's more reckless attitudes - they both tend to chide the lead character a lot, do a fair amount of yelling and sighing and eye-rolling, and sit to the sidelines a fair amount of the time. On the other hand, of course, it's proven in both Winston and Jet's cases that they are capable of much ass-kicking. Their histories are similar, as they are both former cops, just like Spike and Chance are the same person for their shady histories (Spike being an ex-mobster and Chance being an ex-assassin). Layer on top of that the characters of Baptiste and Vicious and their former-friend/protege-turned-rival relationships with Chance and Spike and it's kind of hard to distinguish the differences between these two series. They also both alternate between mission-of-the-week/bounty-of-the-week and the overall mythology of the series. And, of course, the mysterious dead(?) dame - Victoria is Chance's Julia - a badass woman worth falling for.

Human Target and Cowboy Bebop have their differences too, of course, namely that the bounty hunters of Cowboy Bebop are mildly less successful than Winston, Chance, and Guerrero, but even then, both Spike and Chance are infamous for causing major, expensive damage in the line of duty. Bounty hunting is also much different than the work Chance does, of course, which is essentially the opposite of bounty hunting.

But besides the series' similarities and differences, the central relationship between the reckless lead and his more sobering partner is one of my favorite parts of Human Target which, to be quite honest, makes better use of this relationship than Cowboy Bebop (but then Cowboy Bebop's got Faye, whom I adore to bits and pieces and I love all of her scenes with Spike so freakin' much).

Human Target doesn't attract a huge audience, which isn't surprising but is still a bit of a disappointment. It follows the good television rule of half procedural and half mythology, allowing current fans to be pleased while not shutting out potential fans. I'm really pleased Human Target's got a second season at all, even if it is in the death slot of Friday. I'm really excited to see more of the adventures Chance, Winston, and Guerrero go on and see a hint more of the mythology. Of course, I doubt the show will last much longer, but I can live with that. After all, Cowboy Bebop only has 26 half-hour episodes and it's still brilliant.

TV talk-a-thon

I know I'm really pre-empting this, but I want to come up with some of my dream Emmy nominations that may not happen/probably won't happen.

Chuck: Best Comedy Series, Best Leading Actor in a Comedy, Best Writing for a Comedy Series (seriously, last year there were FOUR from 30 Rock... LAME), and I'm not sure who yet, but I feel as if at least one of the guest stars deserves a nod.

The Big Bang Theory: Jim Parsons for Best Leading Actor in a Comedy! And this time maybe a win? I'd also throw some props to Simon Helberg in supporting...

Glee: Well, we all know it's going to get a Comedy Series nod, but beyond that, I hope they don't go overboard with love and restrain it to a nod for Jane Lynch and (it'd be awesome if there was also a nod) for Chris Colfer in supporting.

Human Target: Total longshot, but wouldn't it be awesome to see Mark Valley get a Best Actor in a Drama nod?

Community: I'd love for a Best Comedy Series nod.

FlashForward: Can I get a nod for John Cho in supporting drama land? Or, if not John Cho, Dominic Monaghan?

The Vampire Diaries: I know The CW will never get recognized EVER, but seriously... Ian Somerhalder for Best Actor in a Drama? Best Drama Series even? And give something to that bitchin' supporting cast!

Caprica: Sci-fi will never make it... but Best Drama Series? Seriously, I love Mad Men and all, but Caprica is like ten times smarter than Mad Men, but with a robot (which ruins its chances). I'd also love to see either Eric Stolz or Alessandra Torresani get recognized in the leading categories.

Mad Men: Well, of course it'll get its usual bout of nominations, but I'm mostly just pulling for its finale getting its due. The rest of the season was good, not spectacular, but the finale and the lawnmower episode were stunning.

True Blood: Let's get some love for Nelsan Ellis! Maybe even Alexander Skarsgard, Deborah Ann Woll, Anna Paquin, Michelle Forbes, Rutina Wesley... aw hell, can we just nominate the entire cast? Also Best Drama Series, please and thank you. You already snubbed the show once last year, Emmys. Don't make that mistake again.

Dexter: Two names: Michael C. Hall and John Lithgow. Nominate the series if you'd like, just make sure those two are on the ballots.

I'm not even going to kid myself by suggesting Leighton Meester from Gossip Girl. If the Emmys wanted to recognize Leighton Meester's surprisingly excellent work on Gossip Girl, they would have done it last season when she kicked so much ass it was CRAZY.


Also, I like House, I really do, but I hope it gets snubbed this year. Maybe throw Hugh Laurie a bone because he's still been doing it well, but this has been an off season all around and there are much better shows out there that deserve recognition. Watch this be the year they actually recognize Robert Sean Leonard. Blaaaaah.

But then again, it's the Emmys. They are boring and predictable. Watch 30 Rock and Mad Men conquer again.

...ALSO, congrats Chuck for getting renewed for a fourth season, V for getting a shot at a second, and Human Target as well. I look forward to seeing you all in the fall. Vampire Diaries too, because that was one BITCH of a finale. Suchasurprisinglyawesometasticshow!

Movies are my life, Television is my hobby.

So, as we all should know by now, my love for movies has extended to my interest in theatre work recently and a love for television shows (scripted, that is) that has been growing over the past little while. While I only watch a little over a dozen television shows and am behind on a few, after watching the most recent Caprica, I wanted to do a little bit on my favourite TV shows right now (a la EW's recent article, but mine will be specifically catered to... me, duh).

1. CHUCK.

Goddamn, I love Chuck. What started as a casual viewing experience because it aired before Heroes has grown into a full-blown love affair, including glee at seeing Yvonne Strahovski in Mass Effect 2. While it could easily be the mission-a-week experience it started out as and would still be entertaining, it has built so much into the past two and a half seasons. It has a strong cast and writing and through that it has presented some of the best character development ever. Chuck has grown as a character and a series over the past couple years and I've loved every moment of it. The chemistry between our two leads as well as their peripheral interests proves to be interesting. And while things sometimes don't change that much, there are important developments over time and although Chuck is in a similar position than what he was in at the beginning of the show in a superficial way, way too much has happened to ignore.

2. CAPRICA.

Battlestar Galactica was the best show I missed and later watched and watched again. It is one of my favourites shows ever and would only lose out to Cowboy Bebop. But Caprica would be close behind and maybe if Caprica makes it through four seasons, it too could top BSG. Because, honestly, the two series are so different. While BSG was filled with excellent action set pieces and featured a lot more militaristic drama, Caprica does present us mostly with the actions of two families and their affiliates, so the crazy romantic webs aren't as rampant (yet). Caprica is also wicked smart; while BSG planted a lot of great philosophical debates and questions over time, Caprica has carried on that tradition most strongly. Not to mention superb writing that helps support just how smart this show is. While it started off slowly and I wasn't sure that it would keep my attention, I have most certainly fallen for Caprica.

3. THE BIG BANG THEORY.

While I don't normally love sitcoms because I'm more of an intensely complex scripted series (which is why it's so weird that I haven't watched Lost yet; but I'm too far behind now, I'll watch it in a year or something), TBBT has proven to be hilarious, smart, and genuinely fun. Smart, obviously, because it's about a bunch of scientists. TBBT is one of the series that has not disappointed me in its sitcom-y ways. I enjoy the nerdy references as a professed nerd myself and have so much fun each half an hour.

4. TRUE BLOOD

After I disliked Let the Right One In, I assumed that I just didn't like vampire things. I never get into Dracula and, unsurprisingly, I hate Twilight, so how on earth did I like True Blood? I'd heard it was decent, so I gave it a shot and while it took me a while to really fall for it, I did, Stephen Moyer's horrid accent and all. Again, we have here an excellent cast and a well-written program that doesn't treat the supernatural like a disease; the best sci-fi and fantasy use their genre as a setting more than as a plot point, and True Blood excels at that, which makes me love it even more. And it hardly hurts that Alexander Skarsgard is as hot as he is.

5. GLEE.

While inconsistent and sometimes downright annoying, every Glee episode is still fun and the cast is too talented to stay mad at. And when Glee is good, it is GOOD. I still love watching the football team break out into the "Single Ladies" dance the fiftieth time I see it. I'm hoping that the show has now found its footing and will use that to its advantage. Not to mention that it has one hell of a breakout character in Jane Lynch's Sue Sylvester (and major props to Amber Riley and Chris Colfer for bringing us Mercedes and Kurt).

6. THE VAMPIRE DIARIES.

Judge me all you want for this, but for a show that could've been so bad, I have been pleasantly shocked by how good this show really is. I love shows with complex mythologies and The Vampire Diaries has certainly been building us an interesting one. The characters, despite some supernatural influences, are believable and well-portrayed; I just love seeing my female protagonists kick some ass (and stab pencils into evil vamps). The Salvatore brothers are also incredibly hot, and Damon is so deliciously evil and a wonderful villain/potential anti-hero? He's totally a Lex Luthor in his wavering alliances and villainous deeds, and those are the best kinds of villains.

7. MODERN FAMILY.

Again with the sitcoms! But Modern Family also boasts a wicked talented cast of all ages, from the infant Lily to patriarch Jay. The series is witty and always fun to watch, not to mention that the lack of a laughtrack really helps. But the stories are not only fun, but also smart and warm; Modern Family reaches out to its audience and doesn't try to outsmart us or make us rely only on some stupid gimmicks.

8. DEXTER.

While at times I don't LOVE the show Dexter, I am always absolutely fascinated by Michael C. Hall's portrayal of the character Dexter. I was so pleased when he won the Golden Globe, folks, and I hope he brings home an Emmy too. The supporting cast has always also been talented, even the often annoying Rita (I never found her so bad as many other people criticized though). And if I'm ever in doubt about the strength of the series as a whole, I just look back to Dexter's stellar first season; since then, it may not have been AS strong, but it hasn't let me down.

9. MAD MEN.

Although I completely understand some people's complaints that the series is too slow, too much talking, characters that we can't relate to, I still find myself totally invested in this show. While not every episode satisfies me in the way more action-packed series do, there are those moments where everything is just beautiful, for instance, the season three finale. And even if the characters are sometimes inaccessible, that's no fault of the fantastic cast. (Just remember to bring back Sal for season four, PLEASE!?)


10. FLASHFORWARD.

FlashForward mostly gets this spot for its potential. While thus far the show has been a bit too slow, I've still been pleased by it and enjoy the world that it is trying to build around it. While Joseph Fiennes, though gorgeous to look at, isn't the strongest lead, his supporting cast is outstanding, particular call-outs to Dom Monaghan and John Cho (Merry and Sulu!). But even when considering the critiques of the show's sometimes too-slow pace for its premise, there are a number of moments that I still absolutely love, particularly the sad but fantastic exit of Al.

11. COMMUNITY.

When I'm looking for laughs and one of my favourite bromances ever (Abed and Troy together forever, please!), I need not look further than Community. (again with the sitcoms, Sarah, why do you watch so many of them?) While not always spectacular, Community is always funny, though sometimes funnier than other times. Also, I LOVE telling people about the mascot The Human Being.

12. V.

Another show with a too-slow pace for its premise, but still my attention, I hope desperately that V will step up its game. I enjoyed the first four episodes, but they did feel kind of like Battlestar Galatica's introductory mini-series: interesting introduction, but now let's bring in a "33" like episode where we can all be blown away by how fantastic this premise can be. I like all the threads that are building from different directions. I hope my interest will not be in vain.

13. HUMAN TARGET.

Mind you, I'm wicked behind on this show. But I love me some straight-up action. Human Target has so far, of what I've seen, been what Chuck could have been if we didn't want to make it about character. We get to go on fun action-packed missions every week, and I love that. That's all I want out of this show and it does that superbly. Not to mention that Jackie Earle Haley is so great.

14. GOSSIP GIRL.

I'm not in love with Gossip Girl this season, but I loved the second season's playing with the perfect pair: Chuck and Blair. Now that they're together, Blair is still fun to watch, although a bit dull, but Chuck has been spiraling down into truly boring territory, which is disappointing, because HE'S CHUCK BASS. Also annoying me this season has been Serena's long string of boring relationships (let's hope Nate works out better for her; I've liked them for the one episode we've seen of them so far). The positive? Jenny has FINALLY gotten interesting to me. After two seasons of finding her so freakin' annoying, seeing her as a true bitch and a drug dealer has gotten me interested.

15. HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER.

This season is definitely not my favourite. I love NPH and Barney Stinson, but I am a bit sick of Barney. I'm much more interested in Ted. Ted is the center of the show and his distinct personality should not be relegated to the background just because Barney is more dramatic and a total usually-but-not-recently fun sleazeball to watch. We got some fantastic hints about the mother; can we meet her? I'd really like that. Or at least some more Adventures In Ted-Dating; I like those too.

16. HOUSE.

And here we conclude the shows I watch. House, despite being entertaining, is not my favourite show. I like it, sometimes love it, but this is one of the most habitual shows I watch. But then, having it finish my list does not mean that I don't like it. Rather, I don't watch shows I don't like (i.e. why I dropped Heroes). So while House is entertaining and good and sometimes really good, it's more a worthwhile habit than a conscious devotion.


Well, this was a fun waste of time!