I love TV.

There are people in the world who believe watching television is a colossal waste of time. I'm certain these people find lots of fulfillment in collecting stamps, or jogging, or reading Tom Clancy novels. But television is my hobby, and I find it every bit interesting as all the other crap I waste time on.

Any true television addict knows that Thursday's episode of The Office is pretty much guaranteed to be more amusing than the big blockbuster comedy coming out on Friday. And while only a lucky few saw Tony Award winner Richard Griffiths in the Broadway play "The History Boys", almost anyone can catch Hugh Laurie as Dr. Gregory House next Tuesday at 9pm EST. The point is, for all the worthless schlock on television at any given moment, there is a heaping handful of real gems. These shows (The Office, Grey's Anatomy, House, Lost, Heroes, Battlestar Galactica, Scrubs, and Weeds, to name a few) entertain and educate. They contain complexly layered characters. They challenge traditional notions of storytelling. They get people talking about relationships, humanity, war, work, torture, drugs and politics. I love television, and that doesn't have to mean that I'm shallow or lazy or common. I just take the time to find good TV.

That's what this blog is about: good TV. A few times a week, I will post blogs about television at it's best. The focus will be serialized fiction, both drama and comedy. Reality shows might make the occasional appearance, but only if they are well-crafted, novel, and interesting (if you know of a reality show that fits those criteria at the moment, please let me know). I'll be talking about what makes these shows so great, what the future might hold for them, and how they contribute to the richness and quality of television in general. I will discuss shows that want to be good, but don't quite succeed (Studio 60), shows you are not watching, but should be (Battlestar Galactica), and shows everyone loves, but with reason (Grey's Anatomy). Since this is the era of the internet, Netflix, and Tivo, I'll be talking plenty about shows I missed the first time around only to discover on DVD. I'm sure there will be a decent amount of kvetching about plot lines I can't stand and characters that annoy me, but that's just part of what makes television interesting. I hope you will feel free to agree, disagree, elaborate and extrapolate.

But if you're one of those people who would rather be fishing or attending dog shows or wine tasting, well, maybe reading this blog will make you reconsider television. It isn't all classless and lowbrow and offensive. And when it is, that can actually be pretty awesome, too. Read on. Your television misses you. You might just be inspired to turn it on.