What to Watch When There’s Nothing to Watch

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"Dexter"
If you missed the first season because you thought a show that has a serial killer as its protagonist might be a little intense, you made the right call. For those who simply didn't get to it, now's the time. "Dexter" is a disturbing and ultimately heartbreaking tale of a man struggling in vain to resist his sinister urges. Michael C. Hall's performance as the titular character was among the most glaring omissions from last year's Emmy nods. The oversight will seem most disappointing after you see his work in the season finale. Just when you think the show can't get any darker, that's when Dexter really bleeds you dry.

"30 Rock"
Does the phrase "What's on my mind grapes?" mean anything to you? If the answer is nothing at all, give "30 Rock" a spot in your queue, for the sake of your cultural competency. Not since "Seinfeld" has a sitcom been so successful at shoehorning nonsense into the American lexicon, and with the show's surprise win at the Emmys and its steadily increasing audience, "30 Rock" references will become harder to avoid. If nothing else, watch it so you can sing along should a group of carolers burst into a rendition of Tracy Jordan's (Tracy Morgan) Christmas song: "Imagine Christmas wishes shooting out of your eyes/A candy cake full of snow dreams/A stocking full of smiles/It's a Jordan Christmas!"

"Friday Night Lights"
The other day a friend of mine saw me watching this show and said, "'Friday Night Lights' is a show?" I told him it was a metaseries that fictionalized the making of the movie, in which director Peter Berg is played by Bill Paxton and Peter Berg's assistant is played by Peter Berg. I was having a laugh, but Berg did adapt his 2004 film (based on the H. G. Bissinger book) into a series about a high-school football team and its coach. But it's not about football as much as it is about life in a small-town vacuum in which teen athletes are made superstars in a fishbowl that isn't big enough for them. It's also one of the most observant, well-acted shows on television.

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Posted By: popmanifesto @ 11/08/2007 8:52:43 AM

What? Where in the world are you getting this "fact" that none of the people who enjoyed the British "Office" watch the U.S. version? Your dirty little secret is that you just make stuff up.
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Posted By: Naomi @ 11/06/2007 3:06:41 PM

I don't mind reruns. As long as they play The Dresden Files I'll be happy! :)
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Posted By: Andycalifornia2007 @ 11/05/2007 6:36:38 PM

As long as we're recommending TV shows on DVD of monumental excellence:

1) "The Prisoner." Yes, the legendary and surreal Patrick McGoohan series from the1960's. It's still the best thing ever broadcast.

2) "MI-5" Very British, very suspenseful and disturbingly topical. Ever wonder what it would be like to live in a country where there's a CIA clone whose powers reach into the USA -- not just outside it? That's how it is in the U.K.