Al Abut

My Top Ten TV Shows

Tuesday, September 12, 2006

I noticed an interesting thing last year about my television watching habits. When I moved to a studio apartment in Hillcrest, I decided to try a little experiment that ended up going the entire year that I lived there - I decided to try not having cable tv, not even basic. I wanted to see if I’d read more, concentrate on freelance work, have more peace of mind, whatever.

What ended up happening, however, is that I ended up downloading tv shows instead of just plopping in front of the boob tube and searching for anything remotely interesting. The number of shows I actually cared about and tried to regularly watch went up rather than down. Maybe it was because watching without commercials was a different experience, maybe that I could watch them whenever I wanted was the main factor, but probably the biggest contributing reason was that I could see what else was actually popular with viewers (rather than what the tv companies were advertising the hell out of) and discover diamonds in the rough, like a show I completely overlooked when I had HBO the year before, The Wire. The Wire is a great example of finding something cool during this phase of my life - after having practically given up on tv as a medium for years and watching more movies instead, The Wire turned out to be my favorite tv show of all time by a far margin. I can’t wait to see where this fourth season goes.

Anyway, with the summer reality tv shows winding down and the fall season ramping up, here’s a few lists of what I’m watching now.

Top Ten

These are tv shows I am utterly addicted to and have to catch right away, as soon as I can download them.

1. The Wire - the best show ever created and I’m so glad to see that Jason thinks so too. I actually don’t think it’s for everyone, now matter how much I like it - there’s just too much of a learning curve. But boyohboy does it pay off when all the little strings come together.
2. Prison Break - it’s like a little puzzle unfolding with each episode, with each one fitting into the larger season-long puzzle. With each season being a puzzle that fits into oh never mind you get the idea.
3. Lost - puzzles of an even more complicated sort, this show is about as addictive as it gets. And that’s not even including The Lost Experience that’s being going on all summer on the internet and elsewhere. I’ve got several friends (cough cough) that have recently gotten hooked thanks to the DVDs and are cranking through the first two seasons in marathon sessions.
4. 24 - do your thing, Jack, I’m along for the cheeseball ride. Is this the season that finally breaks out of our own borders and goes international? The ending last season seemed to imply going abroad, what with Bauer on a slow boat to China (literally!) and beat up senseless by his captors.
5. The Office - cheesy Americanized version of the British classic? Sure, but whatever, I’m hooked. It really started taking off when it forked from the BBC version and the uniquely American episode about race relations at the workplace had me rolling, it was totally golden. And yes, I’m curious to see what happens to Jim and what’s her face.
6. World Series Of Poker - the classic show is just as good as ever, as the phenomenon continues to explode worldwide. It’s how I get my fix when I’m not playing.
7. Project Runway - the reality tv show format has found it’s groove with this and my next four picks. They’re essentially game shows but modelled around the naturally-occuring competitiveness in our careers, with contestants using their work skills to prove their worthiness in their respective industries. It just rings more true and is something that I can relate to more than trying to find a frigging coconut or voting people out of a tribe. Sheesh, at least people have a goal to work towards in Survivor - what the hell is the point of Real World again?
8. Top Chef - makes me hungry and inspires me to actually cook and/or get out to good places to eat. Way better than Iron Chef because at home, nobody has that much knowledge or a team of people to bark orders to.
9. America’s Next Supermodel - pure and mountain fresh catty goodness. Extra bonus: defeats the stereotype that models just stand there and look good for photoshoots - only the craftiest and hardest-working girl tends to go forward in the rounds, whereas the “just stand there and look pretty” chicks get eliminated fairly quick. Plus extra points for every time Tyra looks draggish.
10. The Contender - I never really got into boxing until watching Sergio outthink everyone last season on his way to the title. The man quoted Sun Tzu for Pete’s sake.

Top Five Runner Ups

These are shows that I wouldn’t quite say are my super duper all-time favorites, but I like them enough to try to catch when I can.

1. Top Gear/Fifth Gear - the way car shows were meant to be. There’s never been an American show that has ever come close to being as good (or relevant to me personally) as these two, even though one is a ripoff of the other. With crazy segments like pitting sports cars against fighter jets or powerboats, what’s not to like?
2. Flip This House - one of my dream hobbies-to-turn-into-a-career is becoming a house renovator and flipper. Sort of like George Costanza becoming an architect.
3. Small Space, Big Style - I actually like small spaces - instead of feeling claustrophobic in them, I feel more snug and cozy. Plus they’re usually cheaper, so you just have to get more creative.
4. Professional Poker Tour - this is an up-and-coming contender to the WSOP and WPT tournaments series, it’s actually pretty interesting. I’d put it ahead of WPT and approaching WSOP in terms of quality of play and editing.
5. The Unit - usually not my style (military, CBS, jingoist) but written by David Mamet, so I gave it a shot and got mildly hooked.

Former Top Shows

Shows that I used to be addicted to within the last few years that have lost their luster.

1. Queer Eye - I loved this show, but it’s run its course and all the episodes seem to blur together now.
2. Nothing else comes to mind, so let’s just call this the Queer Eye Memorial List Of Formerly Great Shows.

So that pretty much wraps up my list. What are you watching?

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