What You Should Be Watching on TV Right Now

A few years ago the various networks started implementing winter breaks in their TV seasons. This is like college, suddenly, when you work on a hit television show. You get to go home for Christmas or something. This seems to cause a major disruption to many shows, however, and can positively be poisonous to new shows who have just started to get a following. People have very short attention spans.

Part of the problem this time around is that some, or most, of the best TV shows are on ABC. ABC, however, has the Winter Olympics this time around and that is pushing back the re-start of many of their shows even further than they would have been pushed back if not for the winter break.

Still, there are shows that you need to start looking for now. The race for best TV show has been narrowed drastically these days. The amount of junk on the air is staggering, but here are some quality shows you need to watch for.

The first is Lost. Lost. Lost. Lost. The show that still gets my award for one of the best-written shows ever is coming back for its final season. For those of you who gave up on this show back in season two, you have missed out on some great stuff. Of course, before the writers had a clear idea of where the end was, it meandered a bit. It has lost the desire to wander and the stories have become laser-focused and more intense. Can the ending possibly live up to the anticipation? Not at all, but it will be fun to find out anyway.

A companion piece to Lost is Flash Forward. In fact, the first episode gave a nod to Lost with an ad for Oceanic Airlines in the background. This show is the first to be worthy of successor to Lost. However, the plot seems to move forward more quickly and answers found more rapidly. The large cast of characters are remarkably well-drawn and the plot twisted and yet, somehow, understandable. What would happen if everyone suddenly fell unconscious for roughly two minutes and then saw their future? It's a great concept and it is executed well.

For consistency nothing can be the extended streak of quality shown on House. Yes, I know, the same plot has been done over and over and over again since the show started. We see the patient as they fall ill and only Dr. House can save them. You can almost judge the time by what happens on the show. Have they reached their first, and unlikely, cure? Then it is probably at the half hour mark. Still, the performances hold this show together. At the center is the always fascinating performance of Hugh Laurie as House. How can a man be so hateful and yet we care about him so much? Laurie pulls it off beautifully.

Back in my childhood the TV show V was something you had to see. We would gather at school the next day and talk about the woman who swallowed the guinea pig, for instance. Well, the new version of V manages to be even better. The special effects are better. The plot is more intense. The characters are more realistic (the human ones at least). Yes, the aliens are still lizards, but the rest of the plot is a great conspiracy story for the modern age. Of all of the shows that could be hurt from the break, this one could be hurt the most.

There are other shows, of course, that are still pumping out quality. The Office still manages to bring squirm-inducing humor to the living room every week. However, the promotion of Jim to a manager at the Scranton branch has, I feel, weakened the character that was the touchstone for those of us who are working schlubs in our real lives.

Also, the animation on Fox is still excellent. The Simpsons still manage to be better than most non-animated sitcoms even as it celebrates its twentieth anniversary on the air. Seth McFarlane has taken over the rest of the night and his shows vary wildly in quality. I have yet to fully warm up to the Cleveland Show and find I don't mind if I have to take a phone call or do some writing during American Dad. However, Family Guy still manages to shock and awe the audience into laughter.

So, enjoy the Olympics while you can, but start setting those TiVos now. Before you know it, the shows will be back on the air and in more need of your support than ever. These are the shows you should be watching and you will not be disappointed.