I am 42 but until just a few years ago I never had cable. I hardly ever watched TV. I was one of those folks that didn't think there was anything really worth watching. Well alas, I was kind of wrong. 200 channels, a DVR, and with some effort I've found there are in fact some pretty amazing shows. I thought I might share some of them with you and hope you might turn me onto a few I am not aware of.
Whale Wars
This is a show on Animal Planet. I had never heard of it, but South Park did a spoof a few years ago that was as brutal as anything they've ever done. I tuned in. Generally speaking I am not that emotional, but I often have tears running down my face as I watch.
See I didn't realize the Japaneses were killing more than 1,000 whales a year, and well whaling is illegal. They say they are doing it for "research" purposes. Well a group of people thought since nobody else was stopping them, they'd stop them. It took them seven years but this year, and the season finale was Friday, they did in fact stop them.
A couple dozen people, not even paid, with donated ships (one call the Bob Barker -- yes that Bob Barker cause he gave it to them) stop them. Sometimes their tactics might go a little far for me, but they were told they were crazy. They'd never stop them. They did!
The Closer
I have to admit I am stunned by how many cookie cutter crime shows there are on TV and I am not a fan, so I just tuned into this show in the last year or so. Now I have to admit the star of the show, "the closer" is Kyra Sedgwick. I find her so strikingly attractive I could watch her read the phone book, but the show is in fact amazing.
She plays a former CIA agent that now works for the LAPD. And much of the show is her interviewing people. It never goes as you might think. It can be riveting.
American Restoration
This is a spin off of the History Channels Pawn Stars. Basically the guy restores old "things." Juke boxes. Toy trains. Cash registers. You name it. I am not sure exactly what I like about the show, other than the fact (1) they don't build things like they used to and (2) I wish I had a fraction of the skill he had, cause what he does is flat out amazing.
Torchwood
I don't even know where to start here. It was a sci-fi show that ran for three years on the BBC. Got canned and the pay channel Starz picked it up. I don't want to give away any spoilers, but the show is titled Miracle Day, cause one day (and nobody knows why) nobody on the planet can die. How the governments and corporations of the world decide to deal with this, well it isn't pretty.
The Big C
Another pay channel show on Showtime. The main character has cancer and it is about how she deals with it. It is both touching and LOL funny. I mean literally laugh out loud. If I tried to explain it, well it would sound boring, but I swear is isn't.
Boston Legal
This is a show that is no longer producing new episodes. You can find it on TV Land. At its core it is a legal drama, but it is far more than that. Maybe the most liberal, progressive show I've ever seen. In fact a lot of folks think it got canned cause it was so in your face liberal.
They openly attacked a lot of important topics, ranging from mental illness to cross dressing, and George Bush. Oh my they went after Bush. The shows on GITMO and torture are staggering.
Well those are kind of my favorite shows. What are you watching. What should I or others check out?