Thursday Thirteen III

I love these Thursday Thirteens because I feel they give me license to be incredibly shallow. After all, there are only so many Serious and Important things any one person can share about him or herself, so it's perfectly reasonable for people to expect a handful of inconsequential lists to show up.

On that note, here are my Thirteen Favorite TV Shows, in no particular order.

1. Buffy the Vampire Slayer - enough said. Except, anyone who writes off this show simply because of the title doesn't deserve to partake of its greatness anyway and so it serves them right that they will never have any idea of how good it truly was. They will die sad, lonely empty people while those of us who've lived in the Buffyverse will live long, contented lives, secure that a cute little blond girl is protecting us from things that go bump in the night. Heck, this is my favorite show for Spike alone.

2. Friday Night Lights - I'm not pimping this show *watchit*. Honest. Even though it is one of the best written shows on TV today *watchit* with actors who nail their parts so spot-on you feel like a voyeur into their lives *watchit* rather than a couch potato sitting in your living room *watchit*. I can't help it if you miss it *watchit*. Just don't come complaining to me when you realize you've been missing a great thing *watchit*.

3. The West Wing - great writing, great characters, Bradley Whitford, a guest role for Mark Harmon, what's not to love? Plus, I felt smart watching it. And I could believe - for a brief hour once a week at least - that the people who run our government actually are smart, clever, intelligent beings with the public's best interest at heart. TWW fed my delusions of competence.

4. Homefront - I claim dibs on discovering what a hottie Kyle Chandler was even in the beginning because I was a devoted fan of this show. I recall it being the first time in my life that I was crushed when a TV show was canceled by the network.

5. Queer As Folk - this was originally aired on Showtime, and anyone who has the tiniest smidgen of homophobia in them would never be able to stomach it. With very graphic portrayals of gay relationships, this program showed me that real love is gender-blind. One of the most romantic, heartfelt love stories I've ever watched was on this show. It's now airing in syndication on Logo television, but it's been watered down for free TV (and FCC rules) and is not nearly as impactful. The only way to truly appreciate this show is via the DVDs.

6. Firefly - a tragedy that this show wasn't picked up. A tragedy of epic proportions.

7. Over There - this one only lasted 13 episodes and caused a lot of controversy because the story revolved around a group of US Army soldiers serving in Iraq. There was controversy over how insensitive portraying an ongoing war is/was to people who have loved ones overseas. There was controversy over the depiction of the soldiers/life in Iraq/proper procedures and rules of operation. Real soldiers condemned it as Hollywood fluff, exploiting their situation to make some bucks. I don't know how real the show was - it felt pretty darn real to me. And it gave me a very hard look at what it might be like to be deployed to Iraq. My respect and sympathies for servicemembers increased exponentially, so I'd call the show a success. But, alas, it didn't even get picked up a full season. Thankfully it was released on DVD. I highly, highly recommend it.

8. Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman - this was a fun show. It got me hooked on superheroes. It started my love of writing and belief that I might actually have a go at it, and it always make me smile. Sure, it had a couple of hiccups *cough*cloneLois*cough* but for the most part, it done good.

9. ER* - this is qualified because, actually, I am a classic ER fan. I stopped watching the show the season before Dr. Carter (Noah Wylie) went off to Africa. I tuned in long enough to watch Luka be almost-dead, but for some reason I stopped viewing this as must-see-TV. Now I don't know any of the characters any more, so I don't bother. I figure one day I'll catch up via syndication.

10. Friends* - again, I loved this show - LOVED IT - but for some reason I slacked off watching around Season 8/Season 9. Around the time Rachel had her baby. I followed the crowd like a lemming and jumped back on board for the end of Season 10, of course. I'm not stupid. Really, though, it was a good show.

11. WKRP In Cincinnati - this show always made me laugh. Always. Still does. Always will. Les Nesman, I love you.

12. thirtysomething - yeah, I was a fan. And I was only in my early twenty-somethings when I watched it. Which makes me curious how I would feel about it now that I've nearly lived through my thirtysomethings. Maybe it would cause a lot of eyerolling? Maybe I shouldn't ever rewatch it and carry forever my sweet memories that it was a great show about being a grown up.

13. The Brady Bunch - because if you don't love the Brady Bunch, you are not a true child of America of a certain decade. If you don't know the significance of "Oh, my nose!" and "Marcia, Marcia, Marcia" or "Mom always said don't play ball in the house." you just don't get it. Plus, it warms my heart to know that any problem, no matter how big or small, can be solved in 22 minutes, especially if your dad has a super cool perm.

As a side note, I'm planning on getting addicted to Battlestar Galactica. I'm just waiting for my library's copies of the miniseries and Season 1/Disc 1 DVDs to be returned because I want to start at the beginning rather than jump in mid-3rd season. By all accounts, this show is amazing: well written, well acted, and great storytelling. That's all I need.