NOEXTEHO

(coincidentally, these are almost all available on Hulu)

Stargate Universe - Not as schlocky as other Stargate shows, except in this case, that's a bad thing. As I've said before, it seems like they're trying to Battlestar Galactica-ize the Stargate franchise. Hell, it's practically blatant... A small group of people alone on a ship with intense struggles between civilian and military rule? Check. Did I mention that they're also constantly struggling with finding supplies to help them survive on their falling apart ship? Come on. The end of SG-1 took a decent dramatic turn, but like Buffy, it was a gradual change from schlocky comedy to drama. This might not be such a bad series were it not for the blatant Battlestar plot points, maybe... Or if they had started schlocky and slowly turned serious. Bah! It still has Robert Carlyle, and I'm still watching it...

FlashForward - Originally, I started watching this just because of John Cho. But I'm sort of into it. Sort of. What keeping me from being a real fan? Logic. I'm going to group this show into the same genre as Lost: a vaguely sci-fi mystery that slowly unravels over the course of the series, providing much drama. And, like Lost, the logic of the characters actions never fails to upset me. Now, the characters in this show do not seem to make as many stupidly illogical decisions, but they also have much less sci-fi mystery to deal with. So, it's a bit disappointing. I'll probably keep watching it at least until they kill off John Cho's character, though. And (not really a spoiler, due to it's vagueness) I was quite proud of the writers for adding the part where the FBI guy jumps off the roof.

It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia - Very, very good. I frequently find myself laughing heartily at this show, and I'm pretty sure everyone else will too. Or everyone else does too, already. Everyone's always talking about how 30 Rock is the best comedy on now, but I beg to differ... This show is the best comedy on now.

The Office - It took me a while to view this as a completely separate show from the UK Office. The UK Office is a really good (if really bleak) comedy... One of the best ever, in fact. This show, however, isn't. This is but a sitcom. A really good sitcom, mind you, but still, quite different. But once you accept that, it's possible to enjoy both.

Parks And Recreation - A similar sitcom style as The Office, but with a slightly different sense of humor. At first, I was quite disappointed, but I've come to enjoy it. Although I'm not sure how much of my willingness to watch this is due solely to Aubrey Plaza.

Community - My friend Jesse wrote a much better bit about this show than I can, and I agree with it completely... a sincere show that is actually good.

30 Rock - I think this show used to be pretty solid, but it much more hit or miss lately. It's unfortunate, since this show has provided some of the best laughs I've ever laughed, EVER. But now I've gone entire episodes with only a couple of chuckles. Bummer.

Better Off Ted - I had never heard of this show until Hulu told me it existed, but I'm glad I know of it. This is a rather sincere comedy, like Community. This show isn't great, but it is always pretty consistent.

Outer Space Astronauts - Another show I had never heard of until Hulu told me. This one is sort of crude (visually and thematically) and rough, but as a pretty big sci-fi fan, it's nice to see such a niche show as this: a show for sci-fi fans that pokes fun at sci-fi.

Dollhouse - I admit: I'll watch anything Joss Whedon puts his name on. I'm quite enjoying this show, even if it has felt a little all-over-the-place. It started out slow, and I was up for a slow build, but then it seemed like they kicked up the pace due to sagging ratings or something. This, too, was alright. Then they had an episode on the 1st season DVD release that took place in a dystopian future (and it was AWESOME), and now that show has changed pace and is rapidly approaching that future. Yet another huge change, but still quite welcome. As long as the show either stays in the place it's at or makes another progressive change, I'll keep watching. It's fun.

Fringe - I figured I'd hate this one, but watched it for the hot girl (and, I suppose, for Josh Jackson). Over time, I've gotten into it. Very X-Files-ish, I think.

Lie To Me - Tim Roth. I'll watch anything with him in it. Some of the drama is too blah, some of the proceduralness is too blah, and the episodic nature is not my thing in a drama. But I'm still watching it. I thing Tim Roth is the reason. His characters always have a darkness lurking underneath (or on top, if the role calls for it), and I think the writers are slowly realizing that and writing some more bad-ass plots for this darkness.

Trauma - When I first saw the adds, I thought it was a joke: someone took all the dramatic tragedies from ER and made a show out of it! But I watched an episode anyway (thanks, Hulu), and now I've come to look forward to this.

V - I can't take waiting a week between episodes. I'm not sure if this is because I really like the show, or because the episodes don't seem to cover enough in each one, or what. I'm digging this so far, although there have already been a few times I've been disappointed with a main characters logic, so who knows.

Mad Men - I just started this. I wish I had it on DVD. My current method of watching it really kills a lot of the visual neatness that I can tell the show has. Maybe I'll take a break until I get the DVDs from Netflix. But I'm digging this so far. Not as much as lots of people in the world, but it's alright.

I was watching Dexter, but I gave up on that once Netflix Streaming didn't have any newer episodes. Same with Californication.

I hear there's another season of Party Down coming... Is this true? That would make me very happy. Also, I'm quite looking forward to the new season of Doctor Who. And I wish there would be a new season of Torchwood, too, but I fear that might be totally dead. Are there any Doctor Who fans reading this who can advise me one way or another as to whether I should watch The Sarah Jane Adventures? The brief cameo I saw of the show in either Doctor Who or Torchwood (forget which) made it look a bit juvenile, perhaps.

Anyone have any recommendations for shows I should watch instead of any of these?