"Lost," "American Idol," "Life," "Justified," "Breaking Bad" and Many, Many More: Hundreds of Channels and Too Much to Watch - Ed Martin - MediaBizBloggers

There was a scene many years ago on The West Wing in which President Josiah Bartlet during one of his typically humorous exchanges with his stubborn and beloved personal secretary and friend Mrs Landingham threatened to beat her about the head with large vegetablesI know exactly how he felt I have lately felt the urge to take an eggplant in one hand and a zucchini in the other and clobber anyone who complains about not being able to find anything worth watching on television Where in the world are such people looking Perhaps they have mistaken their microwaves for their flatscreensRegardless the next two months will render such complainers irrelevant Looking over network schedules for the weeks to come I can39t recall a time in recent memory when there were so many spectacular offerings available on so many networks I realize most people don39t have access to all channels but surely everyone can find a few things to be excited about even if they rely on TV antennas for delivery of their programming Consider the followingThe Pacific HBO Not everyone subscribes to HBO but most people do receive their television over cable and as far as I39m concerned it would be worth subscribing to the paycable giant for the next two months just to share in the firstrun experience of this emotionally charged World War II epic A miniseries of this magnitude is the kind that makes memories You remember where you were when you first watched such television touchstones as Roots The Thorn Birds Holocaust or Band of Brothers don39t youLife Discovery This tenpart wildlife documentary is a stunning followup to the unforgettable Planet Earth another coproduction between the BBC and Discovery I39m not convinced that Oprah Winfrey was the best choice as narrator of the American version replacing Sir David Attenborough in the BBC presentation and I sometimes tire of watching animals eat each other Life is a savage buffet But damn Life is filled with more howdidtheydothat moments than Avatar Happily such questions will be answered in The Making of Life a bonus hour set for telecast on April 18 at 10 pm ETJustified FX The hugely talented Graham Yost Boomtown created this enormously engaging detective drama centered on US Marshal Raylan Givens a character that has appeared in several stories by acclaimed crime novelist Elmore Leonard who serves as an executive producer on the show In the process Yost gave FX and us the best new drama series of the year Savor the dialogue the dialect and everything else that sets Justified apart from the restLost ABC The most challenging show in broadcast television history has entered its exciting home stretch Even with time running out it39s still raising more questions than revealing answersBreaking Bad AMC I don39t think it39s possible to have watched the first five minutes of last night39s season premiere and not stick around for the next few months The disturbing sight of those crawling people topped last season39s bizarre beginning with the plastic eye creepily floating in the Whites39 pool and we know what that led toAmerican Idol Fox I could fill this column with complaints about TV39s biggest show Four judges Ellen The judges39 save The disappointing Top 12 But I have to admit I39m all caught up in it all over again More importantly I39m not alone One can39t go anywhere these days and not find people who will respond to the names Siobhan Crystal and CaseyDancing with the Stars ABC This streamlined starpacked Samanthafree season will be second only to Idol in mass appealDamages FX Here39s a densely plotted legal drama that39s as dark and twisty as anything Meredith Grey could imagine and it39s blessed with the most exciting cast working on any television series today Glenn Close Lily Tomlin Martin Short Campbell Scott Len Cariou Keith Carradine Reiko Aylesworth Rose Byrne Tate Donovan Ted Danson Madchen Amick Michael Nouri Craig Bierko Zachary Booth and Dominic ChianeseGlee Fox As a rule when a broadcast network yanks a freshman series off its air after only a few weeks then waits a few months to put it back on said series suffers a slump from which it never recovers That ain39t gonna happen when Glee returns next month in part because the two CDs that were released late last year have become the soundtrack of millions of lives I just hope series creator and executive producer Ryan Murphy doesn39t overdo the whole guest star thing and puts most of his creative energy into further developing his beloved charactersDoctor Who BBC America Can young unknown Matt Smith follow in the footsteps of the already legendary David Tennant as The Doctor Will new stories from new executive producer Steven Moffat live up to the legacy of the departed genius Russell T Davies These are the biggest cliffhangers of the seasonNurse Jackie and The United States of Tara Showtime These sexy sassy sophomores about a drugabusing nurse leading dual lives and a woman coping with multiple personalities respectively aren39t just an unbeatable comedy combo They are the best comedies on cable periodIn Plain Sight USA Network This drama about US marshals risking everything for the witness protection program is TV39s most underappreciated show If I ran the world series stars Mary McCormack and Frederick Weller would be prominent among this year39s Emmy Award nomineesChuck NBC Chuck comes out as a superspy to his best pal Morgan and this already entertaining show is suddenly better than ever Sexy guest turns by Kristin Kreuk and Brandon Routh haven39t hurt eitherCastle ABC After years of trying ABC finally has a popular procedural crime drama to call its own Nathan Fillion as bestselling crime novelist Richard Castle and Stana Katic as Detective Kate Beckett are TV39s sexiest noncouple Let39s hope they never get togetherSouthland TNT The only good thing to come out of the recent mess at NBC was its decision to dump this gritty LA cop drama allowing TNT to scoop it up and run with it With its strong adult language and very adult themes Southland already felt like a cable show If we39re lucky TNT will order new episodes and make it more like The ShieldSouth Park Comedy Central Its fourteenth season is off to a riotously rude start Just ask Tiger WoodsNew episodes of Seven Successful Broadcast Freshmen Any season that includes among its newborns CBS39 The Good Wife Fox39s Glee NBC39s Community The CW39s The Vampire Diaries and ABC39s Modern Family The Middle and Cougar Town is one for the history books The next two months will be filled with new episodes from them allAfter pondering the current and nearterm shows mentioned above think for a moment about what this list does not include Fresh episodes of NBC39s Friday Night Lights AMC39s Mad Men HBO39s True Blood Showtime39s Dexter and Weeds TNT39s The Closer USA Network39s Burn Notice and White Collar and FX39s Archer Rescue Me and Sons of Anarchy Still think television is a wasteland Then grab an eggplant and let39s go

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"Lost," "American Idol," "Life," "Justified," "Breaking Bad" and Many, Many More: Hundreds of Channels and Too Much to Watch - Ed Martin - MediaBizBloggers

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"Lost," "American Idol," "Life," "Justified," "Breaking Bad" and Many, Many More: Hundreds of Channels and Too Much to Watch - Ed Martin - MediaBizBloggers

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