There was a time when I never watched TV, but since my last year of college, I've become a TV whore. While some of what's out there is just crap, there is some good stuff that is worth while. I like a little of both.
The West Wing: In an ideal world, I'd vote for Josiah Bartlett. I'm glad that they haven't swayed too much from the first season, given that there was a change of power here. I don't know if anyone watched the episode this past week. At first I was a bit disappointed, but I think it was very good, considering it was written in a matter of days by Aaron Sorkin. I can't wait until the season premiere Wednesday.
The Practice: I'll admit that I'm pretty much an NBC whore, and that this is one of only two shows on ABC that I watch. Some folks might consider it "scum of the earth attorneys with hearts" schlock, but the storylines and actors are great.
Philly: I had to watch the first episode, given the location of the show. Not bad from what I've seen so far...
Law & Order/SVU/CI: I think my favorite of the 3 is SVU b/c Richard Belzer and Ice-T are cool as hell. But I've been watching the original "Law and Order" since it came on 9000 years ago. Even with all the cast changes over the years, it just keeps getting better. "Criminal Intent" looks to have promise. The first one was good...
Given that I was out of work a total of 2 months in the past year, I watched a lot of TV while at home, and seem to have a soft spot for some of the court shows...primarily b/c I like yelling back at the TV. Amazingly, the one I don't watch is "Judge Judy," although I catch it on occasion. There's a new one on now called "Texas Justice." The title was off-putting at first, but it's grown on me.
There's another one out there that caught my eye while I was channel-surfing one night called "Moral Court." (For Philadelphians, it's on Channel 48, I believe in the early evening.) Basically, the plantiff leavies a "moral charge" against a defendant, e.g. The plantiff is upset because the defendant slept with the plantiff's boyfriend or something like that. A judge determines whether the action was bad, really bad, or just absolutely bad. Depending on what the judge rules, the plantiff wins a certain amount of money. (It's obviously not a standard court show.) They have a reporter who talks to the audience, and the audience members may say something like, "I can't believe you would do that to your cousin! That's disrespectful!" It's more for the humor than anything else.
