Whatcha Watchin'

Anyone who knows me knows I watch A LOT of TV. In fact I can say with reasonable certainty that I watch more TV then almost everyone you know. So many people complain that there is nothing good on TV any more. I could not disagree more. I think just the opposite. I think today we have more choices then we have ever had for our entertainment. I think it is harder to find shows that you like because there are so many shows out there. I think it is much easier to settle on what everyone else is watching then to actually see what is on and what you may enjoy. There were several new shows that just came out this year. I watched a lot of them some I liked, some I didn’t like. These are 5 shows that debuted this season that I really like. If you can’t find anything to watch go get the DVDs for these new shows.


5. Being Erica – SOAPnet

This show is only 6 weeks old and I really hope it doesn’t get cancelled. To watch this show, you have to suspend disbelief. This is hard for me to do because I love time travel and all its implications. This show however, requires that you put the science aside and just watch it. This show is centered around a girl named Erica who is unhappy with many parts of her life. She meets a therapist whose methods are unorthodox to say the least. He is able to send her back in time and allows her to change the things she most regrets. Every week Erica leaps to a part in her past and changes it for the better. In this process she realizes what it will take to make her a better person and what changes she needs to make in her life. This is a story about dealing with your past and moving forward as a person. It is about realizing that no one is perfect and being comfortable in your own skin.

4. True blood – HBO

This is a vampire show with a twist. There are vampires all around us. That is not the twist. The twist is they are out in the open and are a part of society and not trying to hide there identity. This idea alone brings out several issues that have to be dealt with. Some of these concepts are that vampire blood can be used as a drug for normal humans. This leads to a whole underworld of people trying to kill vamps and sell their blood and people trying to get high. The romantic relationships between humans and vampires also have their own set of challenges. There are countless other issues of how vampires are accepted in society and how we as a society treat new arrivals in America. True Blood is set in a small Louisiana town around a girl who can read minds who falls for a vampire.

3. The Secret life of the American Teenager - ABC FAMILY

This is about a freshman girl in high school band getting pregnant and all of the things that result from it. This is your afterschool special type show with the standard cast of stereotypical characters. There is the bad boy drummer who was abused as a child. There is the slut feature twirler who is really smart and working trough her daddy issues. There is the good Christian girl, the jock, the geek, the crazy sister and so on. I can’t get enough of it. It has better writing then you would think. At its core, this show is about a family with problems who has to pull together to get through this life changing situation.

2. Fringe – Fox

If you like X-files type science fiction you will love this show. It is the story of a division of homeland security that investigates “fringe science”. Every week something freaky happens that the investigators have to solve. At the same time there is a bigger conspiracy know as “the pattern” that has to be unraveled. How the people interact to solve these mysteries is quirky and the cast of characters is very diverse. You will be scared and freaked out and chuckling and thinking all at the same time.

1. Privileged – CW

THE BEST NEW SHOW ON TV. It is based on the book “How To Teach Filthy Rich Girls” by Zoey Dean. An Ivy League graduate from a poor dysfunctional family looses her job and ends up taking a job as a tutor for 2 rich girls. This sounds like the same ol' same ol’ brat rich girls story but it is not. The plot is deceptively complex. You think this is going to be a silly teen show and then it takes you completely by surprise. The character development is amazing, and the show is very well acted. This is not just a show about beautiful people in beautiful houses with beautiful lives. This show deals with friendship and family and the place that these things should and do play in our lives. It also compares how rich and poor people view their life outcomes. It also has a really cute theme song with a Picardy third but what ever 

I also think that TV gets a bad rap but that is another discussion. I would love to hear what other new shows people have found interesting and why.