My Top 5*

So, a fellow blogger of mine recently posted her top 5 favorite shows on television, an idea she borrowed from a friend of hers. Anyway, since I believe all good ideas deserve to be recycled I thought I'd share my list of top tv shows. I try to tell myself I don't really watch that much tv, but then when I found myself trying to narrow down my list to 5, I felt like I was leaving off a few favorites. I guess I've become so dependant on my DVR that I don't really think about the fact that I follow several shows throughout the year. So, I decided to do my top 5, but then also share my honorable mentions!

30 Rock. Hands down my favorite show on tv. No matter what sort of mood I'm in I can always count on 30 Rock to deliver about 22 minutes of solid laughter. Tina Fey is a comedy genius, and I can never get enough of this show. It is also one that Josh loves so it's great to sit around and laugh together. If you've never watched this show, you are surely missing out. I have a few of my favorite episodes just sitting on my DVR. It would just pain me too much to delete them!

The Soup. Without question the only other show on tv that comes close to making me laugh out loud as much as 30 Rock. Take a 30-minute clip show that fills you in on all the ridiculousness and hilarity that has taken place on tv in the last week and combine it with witty (and not bad looking) Joel McHale's dead-on joke delivery and you've got The Soup. This show is the only reason I usually know when there is a popular reality show taking place, as I see all the funniest/most embarrassing/redeeming clips from The Bachelor, Dancing With the Stars, etc.

Mad Men. I first heard about this show when I read about it in Entertainment Weekly a few years ago. I decided to add it to the DVR schedule and give it a test run. The timer hasn't left my DVR since. It is dramatic, interesting and has the advantage of airing mostly during the summer and early fall. Mad Men has the chance to woo you when there really is nothing on tv and then you are hooked. The intriguing Don Draper, the inspiring yet sometimes confusing Peggy Olson, the debonair Roger Sterling, the annoying yet essential Peter Campbell. The list of fascinating characters is endless. Not to mention the whole thing takes place in the 60s. The time warp itself makes for interesting tv.

Grey's Anatomy. In case you've been living on another planet, this show is a medical drama that started by following a group of residents as they started their first day of their surgery residency. I never was a huge ER fan, but I guess I was lacking for a good drama in my rotation when this show began several years ago. Although the last couple of seasons seem to have been lacking in entertainment and a few of the initial characters have moved on, I'm still drawn to the show and interested in what happens to the characters. It also doesn't hurt that this show is one  I can count on to score me a Girls Night Out every now and then.



The Office.  Shot in a documentary style where the characters often make eye contact, gestures, etc. to the camera, this show is one that started slow. Like a fine wine (so they tell me), it has only gotten better with age. Steve Carell has made the fumbling idiotic boss Michael Scott a household name. Another show that Josh enjoys right alongside me, The Office rarely disappoints. I'm a little nervous about next season though. Carell is moving on, and I'm not sure the show will really be able to survive without him or his character.

And since I must share my remaining tv obsessions, here are my very highly ranking honorable mentions:

Law & Order: SVU. Since I couldn't rely on comedy alone, I enjoy the thrill and bit of twists that this crime drama brings. Another show that my hubby and I enjoy together, I've been an SVU fan for many years. Last year brought several great guest stars in some unusual roles.

Hoarders. A reality show that airs weekly on A&E, I stumbled upon Hoarders last year. Monday nights are my evenings to catch up on blogging, the DVR or in this case find new tv programming. Each week the show documents the struggles of two new sets of hoarders as they attempt to regain control of their stuff, their homes, their families and their lives. Incidentally, I have a much easier time parting with clutter these days.

Teen Mom. My other reality tv show obsession, Teen Mom, follows the lives of four young women struggling to find their way mostly because of the consequences surrounding an unplanned pregnancy. Maybe it's because I'm a mom to young kids, but I'm strangely curious about how these teens survive. Some of them make you proud while others infuriate you. Either way, I find myself watching.

Gossip Girl. A definite guilty pleasure, Gossip Girl is my time warp back to high school. It's a cross between Dawson's Creek, 90210 (the original) and Dallas. There is drama, suspense, ridiculous lavishness and often an intensely large vocabulary.

Thank goodness we're just covering current tv. Otherwise I'd have to give big shoutouts to a few of my old favorites, like this, this and of course this (pre-Tori, obviously)!