My Five Favorite TV Shows

My Name Is Earl



Its very difficult to pull of a show like My Name Is Earl. Given that it takes place in a relatively rural town in the heartland of the USA, has a cast that portray a bunch of redneck halfwits, yet exhibits the many complicated facets of the ancient oriental principle of Karma and succesfuly exhibits and puts into play many numerous moral conundrums, most of which are unwittingly dealt with by these characters. We, the audience are treated to an intelligently written show featuring characters who think that "prerogative" and "preservative" are the same thing.

Earl is a no good, small time racketeer who has done many bad things. One day he purchases a winning lottery ticked using a stolen dollar and gets run over by a car before he could cash in the ticket. He learns about Karma while watching Carson Daly from his hospital bed and concludes that all the bad things going on in his life are the compound result of all his bad deeds. He then makes a list of all the bad deeds he has made throughout his life and sets out to correct each one. There are hundreds of them so, it was fitting that they make a TV show about it.



The Office



Watching the episodes of The Office in increments is almost impossible. There is no way I could keep myself from watching the next episode. It's quite simply the funniest new sitcom on TV right now.

The name of the company is Dunder Mifflin. Their boss is Michael Scott. He loves his job and his managerial position, and has very weird ways of showing it. His employees don't share his enthusiasm, and sometimes, they let him know that.

The mockumentary-style presentation makes The Office more real and is its strongest appeal. Somehow a lot of the jokes hit home with people because it deals with jargon, situations and drama that most of us in the workforce experience everyday. Imagine taking a camera crew to work one day just to see what happens. Itwill most likely look like an episode of The Office.



Prison Break



I have to admit, I have not gotten into the Prison Break bandwagon. I have had the DVD of the first season for ages, but never got around to watching it. I just thought it was worth mentioning here because my brother, parents and everybody who borrowed my Prison Break 1st Season DVD has loved it and says its their favorite TV show to date. You can't ignore that kind of accolade.

The story of two brothers in prison, one is set to be executed, and the other commits a crime to break himself into the prison where his brother is detained so they can break out together. They have a plan for their escape in the form of a very detailed map of the prison tattooed into the skin of the rescuing brother. A very effective tribute to brotherly love (not the prison kind, though.)


Heroes



I have never been more excited to see the next episode of a series after I get to the end of a Heroes episode. Initially, my interest on this series was piqued by curiosity. Just like everybody, I was intriged by the vocality of its following.

Ordinary people from all walks of life discover that they have extraordinary powers and are dealing with it differently. A New York congressional candidate who can fly, an office clerk from Japan who can bend time and space, a Las Vegas internet stripper and single mom who has dual personalities, a hospice nurse who seems to absorb the abilities of others, and a lot more.

Its the type of series that shoul have been written long ago but seemed for some reason, to have only come up now. With its surprising twists and turns every episode, you really have no idea how the story is going to end up. Yet given the dynamics of the story, there are millions of ways it can end up interesting.

The first season is set to wrap up in a few weeks. Better get ready for the complete season DVD.

House



House is what entertainment journalists call an anti-hero. Somebody unconventional, sometimes unattractive and uncharismatic, who ends up gaining the sympathy of the audience because of his sheer arrogance and infallability to break conformity. House is also what many in the medical field regard as the closest TV has ever gotten to portraying a real doctor. They aren't idealistic, clean, morally rigid professional practitioners who look like they did commercial modelling on the side. Most of them are unkempt, morally gray and look like they got passed over for Beauty and The Geek.

Dr Gregory House is the best doctor anywhere. He heads a diagnostic department for the Princeton Plainsboro Hospital in New Jersey. Along with his protege doctors, he solves medical mysteries like a modern day Sherlock Holmes with a medical license, often using unconventional methods such as not talking to his patients as not to be misled by their "lies" and even breaking into patients' homes to search for medical clues.