Recommended TV Viewing

Before I begin a brief discussion on some of my recommended TV shows, here's the only funny clip from last week's Emmy Awards.



Very disappointing awards show, I must say... both in presentation and in selected winners. I guess I'm just a little bitter that fellow geeks Rainn Wilson and NPH lost to Jeremy Piven again. Stupid Piven, you already have two.

So, the fall season has begun and that means a lot of new shows are premiering, as well as some more familiar shows returning for a new season. Fall programming will be primarily be packed with sitcoms, but these series aren't what sitcoms used to be. The days of "Seinfeld" and "Friends" is gone, and this season we will see the return of "The Office" and the Emmy-winning "30 Rock." Both shows break the traditional rules of 30-minute comedy and become vehicles that showbiz experts like Carrie Fisher (Stars Wars, "30 Rock") and Joss Whedon (creator of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," directing stints on "The Office") wish to take part in. Also make sure that you catch the new seasons of "The Big Bang Theory" and "How I Met Your Mother," both of which offer many geeky references to pop culture franchises including Batman and Star Wars.

Feel like your missing out on anything? Yeah, same here. For the TV shows that I myself desperately need to catch up with, popular hit shows "The Sarah Connor Chronicles" and "Heroes" have recently premiered their new seasons. Other shows that will be premiering within the next few weeks include "Pushing Daisies," "Dirty Sexy Money," and "Chuck." And if you're still completely baffled by the plot of "Lost," the Sci-Fi Channel is rerunning the first season on Monday nights. Make sure you check your local listings before viewing. Hopefully we'll be able to catch up with the series by the time the next season premieres... just as long as we watch each and every episode.

However, one of the most talked about new shows this season is probably "Fringe," which is produced by mastermind J.J. Abrams. This series has gotten off to a great start with critics and viewers alike and promises to have an interesting story arc. It is not a show that you can sit down to dinner with--in fact, you should probably eat an hour or two ahead of time if you have a weak stomach--but the writing is phenomenal and the performances are amazing, especially by Joshua Jackson (Pacey in Dawson's Creek) and John Noble (Denethor in The Lord of the Rings Trilogy). I highly recommend that you watch the first couple of episodes on Hulu, and also catch the next episode on the Fox Network, Tuesday nights. Make sure you check local listings.

As for TV on DVD, if you haven't checked it out yet, make sure you watch both seasons of Brit-com, "Spaced." The premise follows twenty-somethings Daisy and Tim as they go apartment hunting and must pretend to be a couple in order to lease a flat. Co-stars Simon Pegg and Jessica Stevenson-Hynes also created and wrote all fourteen episodes in the series, which are filled with silly and delightful fun filled with references to the sci-fi universe and what it means to become an adult... if that part ever happens at all. The series is meant to be seen by adult audiences as it features adult language, sexual references, some nudity, and very, very, very little violence. If you would like some convincing, go ahead and watch this very popular clip (beware of language).