The average person watches some 5 hours of television a day. I have some 200+ cable channels and sometimes there is still nothing to watch. At different times of the year, it seems that everything that is on, you’ve seen before. There is nothing new under the sun.
Like movies, we all have our favorite TV programs. And sometimes the type of shows that we watch change over time. When I was younger and actually played sports I liked to watch them on television.
I even used to listen to the Cardinals game on the radio practically every night. But not so much anymore. If the Cardinals make the Word Series then I’ll watch, but that hasn’t happened for some time. Now about the only sports programs that I watch are the occasional boxing match or MMA.
When I was growing up the westerns were the most popular shows on television. Gunsmoke, Bonanza, Bat Masterson, Have Gun Will Travel. The list goes on and on. My two favorites were probably Gunsmoke and Bonanza. Marshal Matt Dillion was probably the best portrayal of a lawman on TV ever.
And how could you not like the Cartwright family, especially big Hoss? It was odd, but for the first few episodes of the series, the Cartwright’s were pretty mean. They’d just as soon shoot you as look at you if you ventured onto their property. The whole town hated them. Only later did they become the fair unbiased good guys that became their legacy. I stopped watching westerns years ago, but I must admit that now I do watch them occasionally on TVLand.
For the seven or so years that the Sopranos were on, they were my favorite program. They probably won more awards than any other show, so I wasn’t alone. The reason that they appealed to me so much wasn’t just the great acting and writing, but also the fact that when I was growing up my next door neighbors were also in the “business.” Uncle Paulie was the splitting image of Tony Soprano.
Then I got hooked on True Blood. Not literally though. I think it was (and still is) the best of the so-called vampire shows. A town where vampires co-exist (and are discriminated against by the local town folk), drink synthetic blood, and who have affairs with “fang bangers” can’t be all bad. I don’t know about the addition of the witches, shape shifters, and werewolves in the later seasons though. I sort of liked the program when it was a little less complicated, a simple love story about a psychic country girl and a vampire named bill.
For a little light comedy relief I started watching “Weeds.” Weeds is about the adventures of a weed selling suburban housewife and her crazy family and friends. I really liked the first couple of seasons, but then a couple of characters disappeared and their adventures became international and more unbelievable. With that, some of the original gut-busting humor was lost as well. Now the series has almost turned into a drama. Nancy Botwin is still my favorite MILF though.
Then “Dexter” came along and challenged “The Sopranos” as my favorite TV show. Michael C. Hall “IS” Dexter. And I’m not the only one who has said that. I’ve never seen anyone portray a character so well. I’m afraid that he just might be typecast for the rest of his career. I think that the unique feature of this show that makes me like it so much (besides the excellent cast and writing) is the voice over that really lets you get into the mind of serial killer Dexter. I even like it when he does the Dodge commercials.
And finally, the last program that is a favorite has been on for years and is a very popular show staring the multi-talented Hugh Laurie. “House” is about a very brilliant doctor who doesn’t really have a lot of personal skills and thinks that most patients and people that he meets are really stupid.
I wonder if people know that the show is based on the Sherlock Holmes character? House is Holmes and Wilson is Watson, except House/Holmes bounces his ideas about the “Criminals/Germs” off his team of interns instead of his best (and only) friend. They both also play musical instruments and have a drug addiction. Holmes is cocaine while House is addicted to pain killers. And House was originally in a wheelchair.