Television, The Drug of the Nation

Since I haven't written anything in quite awhile and we are approaching May sweeps for television, I thought I would write a quick post on TV. Here are some of my favorite shows this year.

Drama
Friday Night Lights - I didn't start watching this show at first, as I thought it would be a cheesy, rah rah, Don't Mess with Texas crapfest. It turns out that it is a poingnant and insiteful look at rural america, average folks, and their passion for high school football. The football scenes are very unrealistic, but the storylines and acting make up for that.

Lost - It wavered at the beginning of the season, but it is back on form now. Wish they would work on Sayeed's character more, but the interaction between Locke and Ben has been great. According to a press release yesterday, there will be three more 16 episode seasons of Lost to wrap up the story.

Heroes - If you have even the smallest bit of sci fi dork in you, it is likely that you love this show. The writer's can use the character's super powers as a dues ex machina to make anything possible in the show, but for the most part, they haven't pulled too many far fetched plot twists. A solid, good looking cast has also helped the show.

Comedy
The Office - The interaction between Jim and Dwight has been great lately and the show has managed to hold on to it's freshness. The BBC show had a two year run, and I was a little worried that the US show wouldn't make it this far. Michael Scott's malapropisms have also been quite good - escaped goat, colored greens, "Webster’s dictionary defines ‘wedding’ as “the fusing of two metals with a hot torch”".

My Name is Earl - The second half of this season hasn't been up to par, but I think that growing up in a small town like Grand Junction really makes me appreciate this show.

Reality
Dancing with the Stars - Okay, laugh all you want. This is my one true guilty pleasure.

Real World - Only because it is Denver this year, and it is fun to see the places they go. Plus, there is one crazy beyotch, even by Real World standards, who cracks me up.

I don't have HBO, so there are several good shows that I can't watch that I like, such as Entourage (but season three is next on my Netflix queue). Are there any other good shows on that I am missing?