Since I suddenly find myself with a lot of free time on my hands... What're you watching these days? What's good? What's not?

I'm two ep's into TRUE BLOOD. So so. The tone is a bit weird, I think. Works decently well as a genre-flavored drama, I guess. Interesting cast. Not sure Alan Ball, as good as he is, is the guy for this material, though. He's a humanistic writer, to be suire, but quirkier sensibility than I might've liked for this show. Time will tell...everyone says it gets better each episode.

ENTOURAGE is pretty great. i don't get - well, i get, but don't agree with - the hatery backlash.

still a fun show, in my opinion. and its details are spot-on...the part where Vince asks Ari if he thinks Vince is a good actor or not...really good, and surprisingly honest.

THE SHIELD is solid, as always, and yet...I've felt like it's been a bit downhill the last few years. the high point, IMO, was the Kavanaugh (Forrest Whittaker) season. that was fantastic, every episode was pretty brilliant.

these days...just kind of feels like they've done it all. it was always a groundbreaking, tough as nails, ballbusting, "holy shit!" show not afraid to push the boundaries...but at this point, I'm sort of glad they're ending it.

though i'm curious to see how big of a bang they go out with.

How's the story/plot with Fringe? I want to watch it I also don't want to waste my time.

Manuel - i'm only the pilot into it. my friend said it tracks pretty well -- the big corporation fucking up the world thru genetic, mechanical, etc. tampering/advancements. but i've yet to get a lock on the "larger world view/mythology", a la THE X-FILES. Though supposedly it's less murky than the X-FILES came to be...

i plan to watch the next 2 episodes today/tomorrow, will let ya know my thoughts re: the story/plot

i attempted to record Heroes last night, but for some reason Tivo did that weird thing where it doesn't work - it records like ten seconds. i think this happens when i try to record different feeds, like on the alternate NBC channels or whatever.

Garak: Yup, they're all Britcoms. I'll provide the basics below.

Black Books: Irascible drunken Irish book-store owner annoys everyone around him. A showcase for Dylan Moran.
No Heroics: It's 'The Office' meets 'Heroes' at 'Cheers.'
Green Wing: Medical comedy. Like 'Scrubs,' only it's actually funny.
The Robinsons: Early Martin Freeman vehicle about a very dysfunctional family.

@Jas - i need to get into the latter two. my best friend swears by both. THe wire - i watched the first couple episodes, kind of found it boring, and gave up. aparently it got really good from then on. people tell me by season 3 or 4, it gets brilliant. but that seems like a long way to go to get to the good stuff...but i'm willing to give it another go.

Battlestar, i've never watched, b/c i heard the tv movie from a few years back was pretty lame. but everyone loves the show. sounds awesome. i should just buy the seasons, to ensure that i watch them, rather than renting on netflix, which i tend to be lazy abotu watching.

Weeds, i saw two episodes and just wasn't into it. I really dig Mary Louise Parker, but the show's humor/tone just didn't really do much for me... I love Albert Brooks, though, so am curious about the recent season.

i know nobody? i don't know anyone. i gotta work on my lazy grammar...

Garak: I caught a couple of episodes of "Knowing Me Knowing You" and I'd agree with the 'It's All about Cougan' review. He plays a showbiz twat pretty damn well. And the series finale was pretty ballsy, I'll say that.

As far as Galactica, I couldn't get into it -- it tried so hard to convince me it was Important Television I couldn't take it seriously. That said, I'm happy for Richard Hatch and Edward James Olmos that it's successful.

@garak - The Wire works if you like cop shows, but have outgrown the rigid formats of the CSI/Law & Order shows. I appreciate it for it's realism, how it's all gritty and not glamorous and nothing is ever "ripped from the headlines." It's probably also the only show to ever effectively portray the utter futility of the War on Drugs. At the same time, though, it shows there's nothing glamorous about being a junkie and that most street level dealers aren't doing much better than they would on food stamps.

As for BSG, I never actually watched the MFTV movie that spawned it. I just randomly caught the first episode on Sci-Fi and was hooked.

there's also: Dexter, House, Lost (yes, yes, i'm sadly loyal), and Supernatural (a bit bland but solidly made). i actually like Fringe so far (and yes, very like the X-Files) but agree with you about Josh Jackson. bad actor, too milquetoast, and his character makes no sense. still have never watched Weeds or The Wire. or The Shield, The Office, Battlestar Galactica, or Entourage.

some weaker-but-occasionally-enjoyable fare: Chuck, Doctor Who, Eureka, Medium, Monk, Pushing Daisies, and Torchwood. they're all fairly poorly made, but Monk and Dr. Who have fun-but-silly characters, Eureka and Torchwood are getting better (though still just fair at best), and Pushing Daisies might actually be good if it weren't so coldly written. i can't watch most of these shows with regularity.

also agree with you about True Blood. plus the brother really irritates me. but i'll keep watching for a bit.

Bluefish, there's online sources, is all i'll say ...

@Sosane - wow! I normally don't do cartoons anymore (I'm more or less a classic Disney/Looney Tunes/Tom and Jerry kind of guy, save for The Simpsons and Family Guy), but I TiVo'd an episode of "Marvelous...Flapjack" last night. So much fun! So snappy, witty, kooky! And cute. Loved the animation - really cool style/colors.

I might actually watch this consistently! (Modern cartoons usually either have a too-grotesque/ugly quality, or are just too off-the-wall for my tastes)