So growing up I watched a lot of T.V. in fact I was one of the kids that T.V. became a babysitter to when my parents were still at work. I was excited the day that I got my first T.V. in my room. It was a glorious day, I no longer had to watch what my parents wanted to watch, I now had the control. When Julie and I got married I quickly learned that Julie’s upbringing was much different than mine. In fact her family very rarely watched T.V. at all. It was a big adjustment for me when we decided to not have a T.V. in our bedroom or to get cable. That’s right I think I am one of the few dying breed of people who uses rabbit ears to watch television. I have to admit I am easily sucked into watching hours and hours of T.V. so the fact that we don’t have cable and don’t have a T.V. in our room is probably a good thing. With that said Julie and I do watch some T.V. some, actually we decided a cheap form of entertainment was to purchase a subscription to Blockbuster Online. For the low price of $18 a month we get unlimited online rentals and in-store exchanges, this has proven to be a pretty good deal (however there isn’t a lot of movies out right now that I really have to see), in fact we decided that instead of renting movies online we would rent T.V. shows. At first it was finding old shows that we grew up with, Doogie Howsier M.D., Cheers, Family Ties, etc… but have found that we can usually do a season of those and then they get a little old or are shows that only one of us likes to watch. Now we have been hooked on a couple of shows that we get excited for when the come in the mail. So I thought since I recently did a movie review I would do a T.V. review this time. Here are 4 shows that we can’t wait to watch. (in no particular order);

The Cosby Show. There is something about Bill Cosby that is truly endearing. That man makes life better, as I watch Bill interact with his T.V. family I find myself wanting to be a part of that family. They just seem to get what it means to be a family. Of course the fact that most of their family problems are solved in a 30 minute episode it still has a quality about it that is timeless. Besides Bill Cosby is one funny funny man.

The Commish. This was one of the few shows that Julie use to watch. I actually never really watched it growing up, however after getting it for Julie I have really started to enjoy the show. I think the writing in the show is great, it is a clever take on a pretty typical cop show of that time. I think the fact that the Commish is a middle-aged man who uses psychology to deal with people is a great premise. Julie and I enjoy watching this show together.

The Biggest Loser. So this is a reality show but it has quickly become a show that Julie and I very rarely miss. I think it has a lot to do with the fact that we both are working hard to get into better shape and watching people go through months of hard work and training and watching them change is a great motivator. Our biggest critic of the show however comes from the fact that the game play can sometimes be more important than the transformation that the contestants are going through, primarily as a result of the producers of the show changing roles and causing it. I think the show is good enough to just be a show about people overcoming personal battles with identity and self-esteem issues and doesn’t need the gimmicky game show stuff to make it work, however we still watch it regularly.

The Office. Now I put this show on here not because my wife loves it. In fact it is one of those shows that makes my wife want to watch a fishing show instead. But I couldn’t do a list of T.V. shows without including this show (I can’t wait until April 10th when new episodes start). I love this show. I didn’t think it was going to make it out of the first season because it doesn’t have the slap stick formulaic humor that most sitcoms have, but it has survived and now is going really strong. I think what makes this show great is the fact that the actors play their characters perfectly, so much so that I think if I was to meet them in real life i might be disappointed that they aren’t the character. The writing on the show is great and I think they are the only show that can take a social awkward situation and make it funny. Steve Carell is a very talented actor and one of the best real life comics, he makes awkward funny.

Monk. I did save this show for last. Julie and I rented the first season just because it looked interesting and didn’t know much about it other than I had heard it had one a few awards. Now it is the show that we can watch hour long episode after episode. I think this show is brilliantly written, they do a great job of taking a detective show and really I think making it different. So much of this show is in the brilliance of Tony Shalub, he makes the other actors around him better because he has the character figured out perfectly. The show itself is clean and a show that I think will stand the test of time because of the fact that they aren’t trying to push the limits and be edgy rather they just have good creatively written stories with some great actors. I’m excited because they are moving the show from cable to network T.V. in a couple of weeks.

Those are pretty much the shows that Julie and I watch (with the exception of the Office). I would love to know some of your can’t miss T.V. shows.