So given my love for both sports and television, I’m going to try to go with a top 10 list in television.

One thing that I should point out – the top 10 only includes shows that are currently airing.  So that means no Breaking Bad, for example, even though it would probably be near the top.  Right now this list essentially is to highlight the shows that I am (currently) most excited about.

One other thing I should point out – there is a lot of television I don’t watch.  I can’t cover it all, guys!  So those shows are also ineligible.

So here we go:

Current Top Ten – October 8th, 2012

1. Homeland – On a list with 8 out of 10 comedies, the top spot goes to Homeland, which is firing on all cylinders early in the second season.

2. Parks and Recreation – Possibly the best comedy on television right now.

3. How I Met Your Mother – Although it’s long in the tooth, HIMYM still can tell compelling, temporally complex stories as good as anyone.

4. New Girl – 1+ seasons in I’m still not entirely sure how much I like this show, but I still watch it regularly.

5. The Mindy Project – The best new sitcom probably won’t get much higher than this all year, especially with Happy Endings and Community returning soon.

6. Last Resort – After the pilot, this would have been #2.  Tough one last week.  I’m still hopeful that they can turn it around, however.

7. Raising Hope – Few shows manage to fit in as much emotional growth into their third act as this one.  It somehow works, though.

8. Ben and Kate – Hopefully the show can find its audience before its too late.

9. The Daily Show – The only reason this isn’t higher is that I don’t always watch right away.

10. The Colbert Report – Same with Colbert.

 

Waiting To Return:

The Walking Dead – I don’t know how many more times I can let them get away with almost making me angry, but at least one more time.
Community – How will the show return without Dan Harmon at the helm?
Happy Endings – The funniest sitcom on right now returns in a couple of weeks.

As I was being disappointed by last night’s episode of Last Resort (mostly with the dialogue, which felt kind of simplistic and over-expository to me), a thought began forming in my head, thanks to a conversation I had with a friend earlier in the night.

This friend had told me that he had just read the GQ Oral History about “Cheers”, and how excited he was to learn that the seminal show is on netflix streaming, so that he could finally watch the show.

After I got over my shock that he had never seen Cheers (and telling him that he had to watch the pilot immediately), it reminded me of the problem that we run into these days with television now that we have all this fantastic technology.

Twenty years ago, television didn’t have a ton to compete with.  Other than other television.  But today television shows have to compete with the entire history of television.  Because we can watch Cheers on Netflix.  Or Friday Night Lights on Amazon.  Or The Wire on DVD.  A television show today has to be compelling, broad enough to appeal to as many viewers as possible (while still also attempting somehow to compete in the same cultural marketplace that has given us Breaking Bad or Homeland), and must be something we want to see more than something that we already know is great, something we already know we will enjoy at a certain level.

Nowadays, new television is like the new restaurant that just opened up in your neighborhood.  Of course, you want to be adventurous and try it out, but what if it’s too weird?  Or too expensive?  Or even though you know their organic fare is good for you, you just can’t get around the fact that you don’t enjoy the taste?  And how many chances are you going to give them before you return to your favorite place, the restaurant where you already know they’ll grill your steak just the way you like it?

It’s a daunting task.  And that’s even before we get into all the other entertainment options we have today, from video games and youtube to you know, actual social interaction with other humans, it can’t be easy to try and find your viewers.  Especially when your success depends on finding those mystical people who watch television while pushing buttons on some weird machines telling us what they’re watching.

With some of the shows that I’m highly anticipating yet to debut (looking at you, Nashville) or at least come back with the start of a new season (save us from comedic mediocrity, Community and Happy Endings!), it’s always at this point, about 2/3 of the way through the new fall season, where I begin to lose focus and forget that watching television is supposed to be fun.

I don’t have anything specific to add or cut yet (falling way behind, as usual, on dramas) due to my inability this week to keep up with television’s incessant demands, but a few thoughts have crossed my mind:

The Neighbors still isn’t bad, although it may be the first time that I want a show to be more cheesy/cheap looking visually – to really lean into the concept.  It got me to laugh hard once last night (to be fair, I’m a sucker for the bleeped-out curse + blacked out/blurred mouth).

Guys With Kids was defeated in the ratings last night by the aforementioned aliens show.  So… yeah.

Animal Practice also is apparently not long for this world.  Whether or not it beats Mob Doctor to the title of first show cancelled we’ll have to see.  It’s going to be a close race.

Revolution, The New Normal, and Go On all got season pickups.  So, you know, I guess NBC won’t be running a test pattern anytime soon.

YOU GUYS, WATCH Last Resort TONIGHT!  For every television fan who complains that there’s nothing good on, trust me, this is good.  And if we don’t watch it, and then we complain that nothing good is on, that’s on us.  Although to be fair, it’s really on those shady, mysterious persons known as nielsen families, so really…

YOU NIELSEN FAMILIES, WATCH Last Resort TONIGHT!