TV shows (Part 1)

I follow a lot of TV shows.

That seems to be a blessing sometimes. During this past dreadfully cold winter, I had the chance to catch up or familiarize myself with a lot of TV shows. I mean, when it's so cold that ice is forming in your apartment, who really wants to go outside?

So I'm going to post some short description and reviews of TV shows that I watch. If you're bored or the weather's bad, and you're looking for something to watch, this can be a good guide.

Some of these shows are no longer airing, so you might have to do a little digging. They will be listed in alphabetical order.

There are many shows on the list, so this post will be broken up into several parts.

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Show: 10 Things I Hate About You
Original network: ABC Family

Description: Based on the movie with the same name, sisters Kat and Bianca move from Ohio to California. The two siblings are like night and day -- Kat is a passionate environmentalist and feminist, while Bianca just wants to be popular at school. The series follow the two as they try to get through high school, with boyfriends, enemies, an overbearing father and so on.

My take: This show is no award-winner, but it's good for guilty pleasure. There is the odd funny moment, but you've really got to have a particular sense of humor for this show sometimes.

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Show: 24
Original network: FOX

Description: Jack Bauer kicks ass and saves the world. I think everyone knows this show by now.

My take: This show has its ups and downs. The downside of having every season take place in a single day is that if the storyline isn't good, the show will slump for a whole season. But that's also its strength -- if the storyline is good, the entire season would be excellent. The current season is very well done; too bad it's the show's final season.

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Show: 90210
Original network: The CW

Description: The Wilson family relocates to Beverly Hills after living in Kansas for a long time. Immediately, there is culture shock as members of the family have to adjust (or, in the case of the parents, re-adjust) to life back in California. But it's not only the newcomers with problems, as the local kids have issues of their own as they deal with love partners, friendship, sexuality and so on.

My take: It's an interesting update to an original series. However, sometimes I feel like it needs to kick it up another notch as the story arcs can sometimes drag on for longer than it needs to.

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Show: American Dad!
Original network: FOX

Description: Stan Smith is an agent for the CIA is politically and socially conservative, and handles his life like how he handles his work. His wife, Francine, is ditzy and tries to tolerate her husband. The son, Steve, is a nerdy geek who Stan cringes at, while the daughter Haley is a staunch environmentalist. Roger, an alien captured and sheltered by Stan, also lives in the family but acts as mostly an annoyance. The fish, Klaus, can talk as he is actually a human transferred into a fish's body after a botched CIA experiment.

My take: This show is consistently interesting but not consistently funny. But the funny episodes are normally extremely well done, so it's worth tuning in sometimes just to see if it's any good or not. The joke material has toned down quite a notch after George W. Bush gave up his presidency as the show is finding it harder to find relevant material.

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Show: Being Erica
Original network: CBC

Description: Erica is a woman whose life has been a disaster. She chose all the wrong decisions in her life, and despite having a great education and personality, it seems like nothing has ever gone her way. One day, she meets a man offering to change her life. Skeptical, she shows up and finds out that the man is a "therapist." In reality, the man has the power to give Erica the chance to go back in time and correct the errors and wrong choices in her life. While this sounds wonderful, Erica quickly finds out that sometimes it's better to leave the wrong choices alone than fixing them.

My take: This is an excellent show. It addresses what many of us often wish for, while not being overly fantastical. It addresses the question "What if?" and the idea of alternate realities that are even worse than the present situation is intriguing.

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Next time: Burn Notice, Caprica, The Cleveland Show, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Family Guy