A Little Boob-tube Therapy pt. 1

Here is a post that I originally began on 09/29/08. I'll be following this up w/ my current TV therapy. Remember the ones listed below were from 2008. What are some of your favorite shows to unwind to?

Because I'm so busy this semester and dealing w/ a fair amount of stress, I thought I'd detail for you what is, I realize, a very silly post. Trust me - this is purely for therapeutic purposes. Between work, school, homework, internship, my church calling and the stake play, I have very little time to decompress, but when I do, it's usually to the tune of some TV show that I watch online. Come on. You have your own television distractions too, admit it.

Because not every show has premiered yet this season, here are a few of my current distractions...followed by a few of my ongoing distractions.

Psych - If you haven't watched this show yet, it's one you can jump into at any point and still enjoy fully. I haven't found clever, funny, truly laugh out loud writing like this since the early days of Gilmore Girls. In fact, this is kind of like Gilmore Girls for guys....uhhhh, kinda. And it doesn't hurt that Shawn and Gus are equally adorable.

Burn Notice - Another show that is a mere distraction. It's a little deeper than Psych, but still formulaic and simple enough to follow. It's really only slightly weightier material, but still has a good amount of humor. And again...it's led by a pretty face. Are you seeing a trend here? Hey, it's my therapy, okay?

Chuck - Yet another light-weight show, centering around an average guy caught up in above average circumstances. Dialogue isn't as clever as other shows like Psych, but the characters, twists, and ultimately the actors keep me coming back for more. Plus, it's got a lot of humor and it's relatively innocent - which is refreshing w/ all the trash on TV right now. And yeah, you guessed it. THIS is another big draw for me. (I mean, for the LOVE! Wow, he's a beautiful boy!) So I have a thing for tall, lerpy, brunettes, okay?

The Office - Classic. Season 5 has just started, but it's already off to a great start! Humor and silliness abounds.

Heroes - (Insert added 2011. I have no idea what I would have written here three years ago, but I think I was on my way out with this show. Heroes had a BRILLIANT first season, followed by an alright second season aaaaand then it rapidly spiraled out of control. I went back to reacquaint myself w/ Season 3 from 2008 and I don't remember much at all, so I'm guessing this is about the time I jumped ship. Such a great idea. So convoluted and ugggggghhhhh. Enough said.)

Pushing Daisies (I bought Season 1 on DVD and I've been enjoying every last bite - of the show and of this guy. Sigh. Oh, and the new season premieres this week.) [Insert added 2011 - Adorable, light and joyous show. Unfortunately, it jumped the shark in season 2 and was thusly canceled.]

Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles (Insert added 2011. I know, I know. It's just what you think it is and it is admittedly both more intriguing than you might expect and just as cheesy as you might expect. The show ended getting canceled early. Go figure.)

Eureka (A perfectly enjoyable diversion, without a lot of complicated plot developments. It's both humorous and sweet. This is definitely geeky, quirky, clean, and funny. While it's got plenty of deaths, the show always seems to end on a positive note.)

Battlestar Galactica - (Insert added 2011. I'm just saying if you haven't watched this show....whoa. Okay, this is NOT for everyone. It has some VERY racy scenes that I highly recommend you fast forward or watch on a clean flick dvd player, but it also has some really deep correlations to the gospel. So this is a remake of that incredibly cheesy 70s/80s TV series and creator of the original show was (not sure if he still is) a member of the LDS church. So some of the mythology surrounding the show is kind of awesomely steeped in Latter-day Saint theology. Also, for those afraid of science fiction, rest assured that this is very light on the "beep-boop" components so prevalent in many ridiculous science fiction shows. So yeah. It's kind of great...aside from the icky sex scenes. Justification much? Hmph.)

Lost - (Insert added 2011. Do I really need to say anything about this show? Well, I could, but so much has already been said about it that I just don't feel that I need to make my own contribution. Suffice it to say I love the show. I'm still not sure how I feel about the way it all ended, but I'm really glad that it did. It was betimes simultaneously brilliant and incredibly frustrating, but I have a soft spot in my heart for it all the same.)