So Florida plays Purdue later on today...I can hardly wait...I should be working on a paper, but am not feeling it...Instead, I will ramble about #9 on my list of favorite shows...ever...Talked about Sports Night last time out...This time I am going with a new favorite...one that is only in it's second season, but was renewed early...prompting me to believe that maybe, just maybe, people are starting to see the light...Drum roll please...Number 9 on the list (and climbing, since I actually don't have a firm ranking system) is Bones...That's right a procedural is on my list...But as the fans have been saying from the beginning and the critics are starting realize...The show is so much more...Credit the cast for creating an atmosphere that crackles with innuendo, jokes, and pop culture references while examing some of the more disgusting bodies on TV...and I don't say that lightly...I also watch CSI and CSI:NY...and was an X-files fan as well...If you saw Bodies in a Book, you know what I am talking about...crabs eating flesh...rats eating flesh...ants eating flesh...Although to be honest it was really just the rats eating flesh that got to me...childhood trauma...maybe more on that later...Moving on...Bones is the one show that I know is going to have me laughing at some point during the episode...I am not really one for slapstick or broad physical comedy...I appreciate the difficulty and timing necessary, but give me a few well placed looks or glances and a well delivered tongue and cheek line and I am good to go...I didn't care for the camera work in the last episode, but other than that no complaints...For the most part there is a consistency to the story overreaching arc of the story...Things mentioned briefly in season one have come back in season two...I appreciate that attention to detail...I love that the characters' backstories are developed and not just used when convenient as a tool to further the plot...see Booth's gambling problem vs Warrick's gambling problem...I think the chemistry between the leads is fantastic, but am not all that concerned with the will they, won't they...There are too many other interesting things going on...Booth in therapy...Angela and Jack...any story invovling Caroline...This show has so much to offer...It seems that the writers and producers are going out of their way to remind us that this show is so much more than just a crime procedural...And that I can get on board with...A friend of mine finds Brennan so abrasive that she can't watch...To me that is all part of the character's journey...what she is learning from Booth and the others about what it means to really participate in the human race rather than just study it...I for one cannot wait to see where this show goes...Lastly...Go Gators!!!

So I was online reading the press coverage of the Bones episode last night and stumbled across an EW review calling it the Must Watch episode of the week...I have to say...I was actually a little disappointed and hated the camera angles, but that is neither here nor there...While on the site, I also came across an article about authors giving listing their 10 favorite books for all time and what their choices say about them...It got me to thinking about what my favorite books are and why they are my favorite and what they say about me...I am an avid reader, but am in the minority with most of my friends...however, we do have TV in common...so that got me to thinking about what my ten favorite shows say about me...So to start I am going to go with Sports Night...a show that ended far too early and introduced me to the genius that is Aaron Sorkin...I am also an avid sports fan and when I live in the States an ESPN junkie, so the sport references were a nice addition to a show that broke records with dialogue per minute...those Stars Hollow gals don't have anything on Natalie and Jeremy discussing just about any topic under the sun...The character interactions were often hilarious and heartbreaking...How flawed was Danny...How screwy was Dana's dating plan...There was just something special about this show...It hit all the right notes...except of course for the series finale...I am not one for loose ends, so I am still annoyed by the abrupt end...but even with old references to Bo Jackson and Danny's odd obsession with soccer this is a show for the ages...

So I was talking to a friend of mine about House. I haven't seen the latest episode yet, but I heard it was great. Anyhow, the discussion turned to the idea of why so many shows incorporate relationships into them. Gimp maintained that she doesn't like shows that make too big a deal about relationships. She was a CSI fan, but the recent Grissom/Sara stuff has turned her stomach. No worries though she has found Psych, which while completely different from CSI, is still a hilarious show. Of course, I felt compelled to point out that the main "relationship" in Psych is between Shawn and Gus. She said it doesn't count since it is not romantic in nature. To a point I agree. But for the most part, I have to say that the shows that interest me focus on human relationships, whether romantic or not. I guess I don't see the point of escaping to watch your favorite show and not experiencing a cathartic release of some sort. I guess we will have to agree to disagree.

I watch way too much tv. Not that I consider this a bad thing, but sometimes I wonder. With the advent of Tivo, DVR, and Itunes, you can watch everything, even living overseas. I wasn't always a tv watcher. As child my parents limited how much tv my brother and I were allowed to watch. Perhaps I am now overcompensating. I had my shows growing up like The Wonder Years and 90210 (go ahead mock me), but it was definitely more a pick and choose evironment. You couldn't watch everything because shows conflicted. Now you can watch one, tape one, and download whatever one you missed. I have found that this has made me less discriminating than I was in the past. Currently, I watch Heroes, House, Psych, Ugly Betty, Grey's Anatomy, Smallville, CSI, CSI: NY, Scrubs, One Tree Hill, Bones, Avatar, Veronica Mars, Wildfire, Friday Night Lights, Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, and Gilmore Girls. However, I will also go on record saying there is an awful lot of good television to watch these days. The variety in of itself is mindblowing. Avatar is a kids' show, but I will happily admit I think you should watch it, because it is so much more than a kids' show. Give it a shot. So it's a cartoon. I didn't even watch cartoons growing up. Moving on...Take Bones, for example. I do watch procedurals, but Bones is so much more. The show makes you laugh every episode. The banter between the characters is quick and witty. There is sexual tension between the leads and the supporting cast is outstanding. They took Kathy Reichs's idea/life and made it into one of my own must-sees. Another of which is Friday Night Lights. FNL is gripping. There is a raw feel to the show and the actors do a great job delivering dialogue that rings true. The Taylor family cares about one another and you can tell, and not in the Cosby  way. When they disagree, they mean it. It is too bad the show  was marketed as a football show, because it is so much more than that. A cartoon, a procedural, and a family drama illustrate the randomness of tv. If I were in the States, I would probably add in the Amazing Race or Dancing with the Stars for the reality show element. Both are addictive, guilty pleasures. I am addicted to television. Thank goodness there actually is something on tv these days.