The Golden Age of Television

I'm not ashamed to say that I like TV. Sure, most of it is utter crap. There are, after all, hundreds of channels filled with hundreds of useless programs. But quite a few shows these days (and in days past) are excellent. Entertaining, fun, smart, even brilliant. To name just a few of the current gems: 24, The Sopranos, Deadwood, Lost, Alias, Prison Break, Veronica Mars. Soon to return: Deadwood.

These people who don't own TVs or claim not to watch TV--they all act like they're such cultured, wonderful, superior beings. If that's what they want to believe, fine. I happen to think they're a wee bit pretentious and out of touch. I read tons of book, see great films, go to art museums, read newspapers, and love the high-brow. But that doesn't mean I'm too good for TV.
Back to those shows. This season in particular seems full of amazing shows. Shows that are innovative, challenging, exciting, with the narrative drives of big-budget movies. I'm a big fan of the high-concept shows like 24, Lost, Alias, even Prison Break--shows that somehow, despite their sort-of crazy premises, keep going, adding twists and turns, even when you think they can't possibly top themselves. Lost is not only high concept, but it is a treasure of great characters and strong performances. The show's mysteries and oddities and conspiracy-like shenanigans are a big draw--but it's the characters who make it worth going back to week after week.

And 24 is a wonder--in it's fifth season, it's better than ever. What's made it so good this year, for me, are the strong, beautifully performed female roles. Chloe, played with feisty acidity by Mary Lynn Rajskub, is one of the best supporting characters ever to grace the small screen. Audrey now has a backbone, and Kim Raver has done a great job making her, finally, a likeable heroine. Jean Smart is brilliant--from her first scene, when she dunked her made-up face in cold water--as the first lady: emotional, humane, fragile but also strong. All three of them deserve Emmys! And Jayne Atkinson, who's an American Helen Mirren lookalike, as the new CTU chief is fantastic as well. And how can you not love a show, in this day and age, that makes the smarmy president its main villain? I can't wait to see how it plays out.

My only complaint about TV these days is that there are too many shows that I like, that I feel compelled to watch. Just like there are way too many books to read and too many movies to see. We live in a world that is just too much.