SF Signal: What do you watch on TV?

What do you watch on TV?

A recent comment by JP where he stated that he only watches Lost and Battlestar Galactica regularly made me start to think about what TV shows, if any, the readers here watch?

You can read mine below - but let us know what shows you watch on a regular basis and why.

The TV shows I watch on a regular basis are:

Junkyard Wars - a BBC/TLC show (there are both British and American versions) that puts two teams of bodgers against one another to try to build something out of the stuff found in a junkyard and then use that to compete in some challenge. It's good fun!

CSI - CBS' rating leader about the Las Vegas crime scene investigation team still tends to deliver week after week. The earlier season episodes seemed to take more risks, so if you can catch the re-runs its worth watching.

Naked Science - a pop-science show on National Geographic that happens to interview some of the best and brightest scientists. So while the topics don't always get into much depth, it's great for getting to hear folks like Stephen Hawking put things into lay men's terms.

West Wing - NBC's show about life in the White House was better with Aaron Sorkin writing it (with the episode after 9/11 being one of the best TV shows I've ever seen) but still has compelling characters, very strong actors, and interesting plotlines most weeks.

The Soprano's - HBO's mob show hits hard (although certainly some episodes are very poor) and I'm hoping it will go out like a bang in its last season.

Weeds - Showtime has this interesting show about a housewife that decides to start dealing pot to make ends meet after her husband dies. The writing is sarcastic, sharp, funny, and even acerbic at times as the show comments on life in the suburbs.

Law & Order - NBC's crime drama has lost some appeal recently as they've played musical chairs with the actors and introduced some bizarre plot elements. The good news is, this show continues to be about the legal cases and NOT about the regular characters (which, in my opinion, sounds the death knell for shows as they unintentionally transition from drama to soap opera - such as ER.)

Frontline - PBS documentary series that goes into depth on important issues. It leans a little to the left but not so much that it becomes one-sided most of the time.

Lost - I'm having a hard time figure out if this CBS show is sci-fi, fantasy, or just a fever dream. A show that sounds like a modern Gilligan's Island wouldn't normally catch my attention - but elements of Forbidden Planet and other oddities had me enthralled. We'll see if the second season can keep it up. At some point the inability to get off the island will become hackneyed.

American Chopper - Discovery Channel's #1 show continues to interest as the crew builds some great bikes. The team there makes the job look easy, despite the blowhard antics of Paul Sr.

Penn & Teller: Bullshit - Funny, mostly libertarian, and not afraid to call a spade a spade - even in a card trick. Penn & Teller have a sort of news magazine show that can tackle subjects the ones on mainstream TV can't. My only complaint is the show sometimes is too one-sided, but hey, it's their show I guess.

Cathouse: The Series - HBO's reality show about life inside a Nevada brothel - there are several reason why I watch this show, none of which I feel comfortable writing about. Oh, and because you're wondering, it costs anywhere from $400 to $8,000 for a session depending on your particular needs.

Nova - PBS science documentary show that usually gets quite in-depth on today's science topics.

Monster House - this Discovery Channel home make-over show is part game-show as the construction crew competes to complete the monster build in only 5 days. I like watching the crew work together to solve problems and to see what interesting things the designers come up with to fit the weeks theme.

MythBusters - this Discovery Channel show was awesome when it first aired because the team went out to debunk myths around things such as cell phones causing gasoline explosions (they can't), that daddy long legs spiders can't bite (they can), or that Pop Rocks and soda can kill (it can't.) Unfortunately, the folks seem to have run out of myths so lately the show has wandered a bit trying to figure out what they are going to do.

Rough Science - a reality show from the BBC that puts a group of real-life scientists into the wild and asks them to rough it. They get a series of challenges each week that involve sound science - such as determine the height of the highest peak on an island or create an effective mosquito spray - all while using only the items they have access to the in the wild at that location. They usually have plenty of wood and nails, a good heat source, and writing material.

Wow. That's a lot of TV every week. Fewer shows get my personal regular attention.

Battlestar Galactica - Soap opera in spaaaaaaaace! I like its grittiness.

24 - The second season hooked me enough to buy the first season on DVD. Although the third and fourth seasons were much more uneven on quality (in fact, season three sucked), it still gets Tivo'd.

Arrested Development - A critical success but a ratings failure on the constant verge of extinction. Too dad - this is the funniest, most clever show on TV today. Although, admittedly, it's probably not "pop" comedy.

Scrubs - Another funny show that I try to catch. The formulaic heartwarming-lesson-at-end-of-show format is wearing very thin, though.

Law & Order: SVU - This was the first of the L&O franchise that I stumbled on (and I don't wish to devote any more time to TV than I already do) and is usually top notch.

Surprisingly, there's little scifi in this list. As usual, most TV scifi fails to get my attention. Then again, I only discovered the awesome Firefly after it was canceled, so what do I know?

That's 4 hours per week of usual viewing, Tivo'd down to about 3 hours.

Posted by John on Saturday September 10, 2005 at 3:53 PM

Stuff I watch regularly:
Law & Order: Criminal Intent: I've come to enjoy this show far more than the original, but I'm not sure yet about splitting the detective duties with the upcoming season... but it's bringing back Chris Noth, so that's all good.
The 4400
The Dead Zone
Battlestar Galactica
It Takes A Thief: cute show on Discovery, two ex-burglars offer to break into someone's house to disabuse them of their notions of how secure their homes are, and then give them a security makeover. New season starts airing next week, I believe.
Medium
CSI: Miami, CSI: NY
Without A Trace
NUMB3RS: definitely my new favorite of the crime/mystery/thriller bunch.

I know I'm forgetting a few shows, but I'm sitting in a bar at CopperCon right now, and nowhere near my TiVo

Oh, and one of the Starz or Showtime channels has been running the 1998-1999 Magnificent Seven TV series since January or so, and since the chances of that series showing up on DVD are slim, I've been saving them for my own use.

Posted by Summer on Saturday September 10, 2005 at 11:25 PM

I watched the pilot of NUMB3RS and, while somewhat entertaining, it also sorta irritated me that the numbers guy would look at a set of data, come up with an equation to produce that data with one starting spot, then come back and go "Oh! There is also another equation that will produce the data but with two starting spots! I am so smrt!" I didn't buy it, but then again I'm not a math guru. Also, the Ghostbusters 2 guy seemed to be there only for dispensing psuedo-mystical pronouncements that are only tangentially related to physics and/or math. It didn't do enough for me to watch more. If both Scott and Summer where watching it, I might watch more of it, since two 'recommendations' are better than one.

And yes, I only watch two shows regularly, the afore mentined ones. If there were more quality SF on TV, I'd try to watch more. As it is, I'm either outside with the kids in the evening reading/surfing, or, when they're asleep, playing BF2 or some other game. I've got too much other good stuff to do to waste time with crappy TV.

That said, I did record The Man With The Screaming Brain and I'll at least record the pilots of the new genre shows just to see what they're like. Sadly, I don't have HBO/Showtime so I don't get Cathouse. But why pay for that when you can find that stuff for free on the internets?

And Pete, you do know they have cable in Austin right? I mean, I had cable when I lived there and that was 1986 - 1991, for crying out loud. Don't tell me you spend every night down on 6th Street.

Posted by jp on Sunday September 11, 2005 at 8:36 AM

This is a fun topic. Don't know if any cares, but I watch Battlestar Galatica, Stargate: SG1, The 4400, House, Veronica Mars, CSI, Without a Trace, King of the Hill, Air Emergency (National Geographic Channel), and Seconds from Disaster (NG) regularly. I am trying to limit my TV and over the past couple of years made the conscious decision not watch just for mindless entertainment. That said NCIS, JAG (cancelled now but I dropped it before its last year), Cold Case, the Law and Order franchises, CSI: Miami, Stargate Atlantis and some others I can't recall got dropped. Right now CSI and SG1 are on the brink.

I know some people seem to think SG1 has been revived this season, but I think it has just continued its downward spiral from season 8. My two favorite characters' screen time has dropped significantly and the Ori plot is depressing. I greatly enjoyed the early seasons "we're exploring the universe" feel, but now that feeling of exploration is gone. The early days reminded of ST TOS with humans stumbling around unexplored planets and trying their best to get it right. Now the exploring is done and they?re just trying to figure out how to kill the bad guys. Also, my ability to suspend disbelief left me about the time SG1 saved the entire planet or universe for the 5th time.

CSI just wasn't that interesting last season and I can't put my finger on why. The cases didn't intrigue me and I was more interested in seeing Without a Trace on Thursday nights. Maybe it?s the beard. I used to think Gil Grissom was the sexiest character on TV - cute in a geeky sort of way, smart, and somewhat socially awkward. I don't find him that interesting anymore.

Last season I didn't consciously add new shows at the start of the season. I discovered House while visiting my parents, and I think it was Ain't It Cool News's hawking of Veronica Mars that drew me in there one Tuesday when I was looking to watch something on TV. By the time Lost hit it big (I had tagged as quick cancellation), I was moderately intrigued, but I knew it was highly serialized and that I had missed the beginning. So far I have managed to avoid being drawn in. It probably helps that I watch nothing else on ABC.

This upcoming season I am considering giving Bones, Invasion, and Threshold a try. Surface/Fathom intrigued me since it sounded similar to my favorite SF movie The Abyss, but everything I read about Surface recognizes it one of the worst of the season. No need to devote time to something that isn't going to be around for more than 4 or 5 episodes.

Posted by Kristen on Sunday September 11, 2005 at 10:55 AM