Post Strike, Pre Writing Television

By Kirby

So I do not have an official stance on the Writer’s Strike other than the fact that it was ill advised. It pretty went down way I figured it would. The executives continued to light their cigars with 100 spots, meanwhile, they kept people watching their networks by paying $99 for a used polygraph machine on eBay, hire a nonthreatening talk show host type guy for just above minimum wage, and find a bunch of “contestants” desperate enough to make a mockery of themselves and every relationship they hold dear, for a chance to win $75,000. Its cheap for the networks and sadly, the number one show in its time slot (God damn you America). Meanwhile, all the writers finally got tired of trying to remember if the Venti or the Grande was bigger, leading middle aged housewives to find the last copy of The Secret, or just realized that hanging out in a room with Tina Fey or Rainn Wilson might actually be worth getting skimped out on DVD sales (hope their new contract covers Blu-Ray!).

But now we are in this television limbo. The fun, strike gimmicky shows are over (American Gladiators), and the good shows don’t return for another month. So what do we do? What is there to watch?

Glad you asked!

I am purposely leaving off shows like Lost where they are essentially written shows the networks held on to.

Breaking Bad on AMC. AMC first knocked the ball way out of the park with their original drama Mad Men (which also earned 2 Golden Globes). Their second original program is equally entertaining. It has taken a page from The Wire in that the first episodes start out building a strong foundation, and then engage you all as it quickens the pace in the end. And who doesn’t love Bryan Cranston? Seriously, he was the only reason people watched Malcom in the Middle, right? Watch this show. Otherwise it will just be another one of those shows you had never heard of when the Emmy’s roll around.

Parking Wars on A&E. Have a camera crew following around people writing parking tickets and booting cars? Its like COPS but for the country club set! And believe it or not, this show is wildly entertaining. Be careful, I flipped this on last night and before I knew it, an hour had passed. Will she write a ticket? Can he finish that doughnut in enough time to write a ticket before the double parker returns? It’s a good time.

Gauntlet III on MTV. Sure the are really running out of ideas for the challenges. Sure Beth is probably getting into clubs using her AARP card. Sure there is more steroids in Danny’s right arm than in the entire Mitchell Report. But this show continually brings it. Whether its Adam surpressing the urge to strangle CT, whether its MJ walking around, wondering why he even went on Real World instead of going to college, or whether its Frank wondering why his entire team hates him, this show will keep me entertained for the solid hour. Yes, you read that write, its an hour long now.

Jericho on CBS. Alright, so this show may fall under the Lost category mentioned above, but it just seems like it needs to be included on this list. The plot is really quite genius. What would happen if you lived in a small town in Kansas and an atomic bomb went off in the US, cutting off your communication everything. How does the town survive, what happened to the rest of the world? Sounds good right? Now, picture a show like that, but incredibly poorly executed. This show is beyond trainwreck, its, *bad joke alert* an atomic bomb. And you can’t ever look away. Embrace the cheese. Embrace Skeet’s unblinking eye. Embrace a town that acts really, really dumb.

Beauty and the Geek on CW. Alright, this doesn’t premiere for another week or so, but get ready. Dumb, hot, morally questionable girls? Nerdy, fun, loveable guys? Packed into a house and forced to do tasks that they are suited the exact opposite for? It really doesn’t get much better than this.

Know of any other shows everyone should be watching? Post it in the comments! I will watch and discuss later!