I need a new favorite show. Sell me on yours.

I don't know how I allowed myself to get to this point. I guess it started when The West Wing went off the air and I had nothing to replace it with. Like many other fans of Aaron Sorkin's work, I desperately wanted Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip to be that replacement, but those of us who even remember it know what a failure it was.

But I still had Battlestar Galactica, which I anxiously awaited every week and spoke about constantly. Took me two years to get one of my buddies to finally watch. It took him about a month to blow through three seasons on DVD because he was watching every spare minute he had. But that one went out in a blaze of odd glory two years ago. The prequel series, Caprica, just annoys me.

So when it comes to shows I wouldn't miss, I was left with Smallville and How I Met Your Mother. Last night, Smallville flew off the TV schedule for good and How I Met Your Mother has deteriorated so badly that I only watch it out of habit at this point. Family Guy was up there, but I tend to forget it half the time on Sunday night and I really don't mind when I do that.

So I need help. Is there some show out there that is too good to miss? I know we all love talking about our favorite shows here. Sell me on yours. Help me find something amongst the crap worth watching or doom me to searching of re-runs of stuff actually worth watching.

 

Modern Family is the funniest and best-written show on TV. Nothing else comes close.

 

My three favorite comedies on these days are "Community," "Parks & Recreation" and "Modern Family."

Community and Modern Family are closing out their second seasons, and both were amazing from the start. Parks & Rec is wrapping up its third season, but it didn't hit its stride until Season 2, so be forewarned if you don't like it right away.

And since you seem to be a fan of sci-fi stuff, you might like "Fringe." I'm not even sure how many seasons it's been on, but I've loved it all along. It's like "X-Files" for this decade. I should note that the recent season finale ended in a way that could mean it was the series finale as well.

There's also "Breaking Bad." If you have the time and intestinal fortitude, you should definitely check it out. My only qualm is how intense every episode can be -- I feel almost exhausted after each one. But it's totally worth it. I don't remember how many seasons it's been on -- maybe four or so.

 

Completely agree.

 

Maury.

 

American Pickers on Discovery.

 

If you're interested in food, aside from it providing sustenance, Chopped is a cool show.

 

Modern Family seems like the best candidate so far. I really can't figure out why I haven't given that one a shot before given what I've read about it.

I did try Fringe. Not exactly my thing. I was never much of an X-Files fan, either.

 

As I noted earlier, I'm definitely a fan of Modern Family. But to say that nothing is even close seems like an overstatement when you take into consideration Community and Parks & Rec.

I mean, some of the awesome stuff the writers of Community have experimented with this season is far ballsier than anything out there right now -- if not ever. It's almost like you're watching a different show with each episode.

Then again, if you're not a fan of pop culture references and paying homage to past shows and movies, then Community might not be your cup of tea.

But as far as I'm concerned, it's the bee's knees.

 

As a long-time Family Guy fan, I can certainly appreciate references to pop culture and old shows and movies.

I'll have to check that one out, too.

 

I watched the first season of Community and liked it. But Modern Family has been destination TV since the first episode. More laughs per minute than any show I've watched in years. Probably ever. There's a wide range of characters and every one is written perfectly, IMO.

 

BYH will probably not speak to me for weeks after saying this, but FG lost its fastball the last season-plus. Really hit-and-miss these days.