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Imagine what it would be like if TV actually were good. It would be the end of everything we know.

– Marvin Minsky

TV: All-Time Favorites

I like to think that I’m picky when it comes to my viewing habits, but the truth is, I’ll watch anything—at least once, anyway. But though my viewing list may be long, my list of favorites is much shorter. These are the shows that I actually remember to sit down and watch; these are the shows I’d buy on DVD. I’m not saying they’re particularly high-quality, but hey: they please me, and I’m pretty hard to please.

Buffy The Vampire Slayer

For ages, I swore I’d never get into this series; the title made it sound like a typical teenage show, all about dating and sex, with maybe a token nod towards the supernatural. But when I finally watched it, I was pleasantly surprised—far from being a bland teen drama, the series was witty, sharp, and had more emotional depth than most of the “adult” shows. The supernatural aspects had been carefully thought out and consistently written, and the show wasn’t afraid to delve into the darker side of the demon world. As for the characters, I could take or leave Buffy, but found that the supporting players were remarkably well-drawn—Spike, in particular, has always been a favorite of mine.

Lost

The problem with most shows is that they don’t know where they’re going, and they’re trying to get there too fast. Was that a confusing sentence? Yeah, it’s confusing when a show tries to play that out onscreen. Fortunately, we have Lost, a show which is content to move slowly but steadily towards the solutions to its multiple mysteries. This show reminds me of The X-Files at its best, and I’m starting to give Lost the same devotion I used to show to The X-Files. Plus it’s got Naveen Andrews and Dominic Monaghan, whose work I knew and appreciated before they ever hit the mainstream. (Thank the powers-that-be for Masterpiece Theatre; it’s where you see all the up-and-coming British stars.)

Stargate: SG-1

If it weren’t for airplanes, I might never have found this show. See, it all started on one of my trips across the Atlantic when I was a kid; the in-flight movie was always Stargate, and, being in my Egypt-obsessed phase, I always ended up watching it—silently, of course, since my mother wouldn’t pay for headphones. So when I heard that a spinoff show was being made, I thought I’d give it a look-over, just for old time’s sake. Good thing I did—turns out this show is even better than the movie it’s based on, due in no small part to Richard Dean Anderson and his yummy sardonic goodness. What sets it apart from other science fiction shows is its wry self-awareness—every time something typically sci-fi happens and I find myself thinking, “Gosh, isn’t this just like [insert random sci-fi show/movie],” one of the characters (usually Anderson’s) gives voice to my thoughts, and then does something not at all typical for a sci-fi show. Not having cable, I have to wait for each new season to make it to syndication before I can watch it; as a result, I’m not really involved in the fandom as much as I’d like, for fear of spoilers.

The X-Files

I was fourteen when I first started watching this show, and I fell in love with it immediately—deep, obsessive, adolescent love. It was the closest I ever got to religion, I think; I watched both the new episodes and the reruns religiously, saved up for the magazines and companion books, collected a set of friends and pen pals who shared the same obsession. Besides the appeal of the spooky plots and complicated mythology, there were the characters—my devotion to Mulder lasted for many years, but I think my attraction to Scully has lasted even more. I even welcomed Doggett’s arrival, and eagerly cheered on the burgeoning Doggett/Scully ’ship. Only when Reyes became a regular character did I lose interest; her arrival touched off the final downslide of what was already becoming a somewhat tired show, and she screwed up my Doggett/Scully hopes. When I re-watch it now, I can see some of the deficiencies my lovestruck gaze never caught before; still, the warm and fuzzy memories of my devotion to this show will always make it one of my favorites.

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