1. Prison Break, Mondays at 7 p.m. on FOX: It's doing well ratings-wise, but only a handful of people I talk to are watching. The story is simple, but mysterious and captivating enough. A man is wrongfully accused of killing the vice president's brother. The wrongfully accused man's brother gets himself sent to prison, in order to clear his brother's name or break out (hence, the show's name). It's gritty, fast, suspenseful and not too highbrow.
2. Sons and Daughters, Tuesdays at 8 p.m. on ABC: This show tells the story of an ordinary man and every member of his ordinary family. The catch here is that there's no laugh-track (no fake audience laughing
at all the right times) and a lot of quieter, more human moments. But the characters are as funny as anything on TV right now. Take the 2-year-old little girl who tells her dad, "We're going to hell because we're Jews." When he freaks out at her about it, we find out that "Grandma told me!" These are characters you care about first and laugh with second. Funny, feel-good TV. (And yes, that's a Hitler-stache painted on the crazy aunt in the photo.)3. LOST, Wednesdays at 8 p.m. on ABC: Yes, I've already stood on my soapbox and praised this show. And yes, it has one of the highest viewerships in the nation. But it's worth telling people that no, it's not too late to get into this show. If it seems like it's "just not your kind of thing," believe me, it wasn't mine either. I'm not a fan of castaway stories, necessarily. I'm not a sci-fi or comic-book fan. I'm just a lover of good TV - and this is it. I dare you to watch an episode and not get hooked.
4. South Park, Wednesdays at 9 p.m. on Comedy Central: Sure The Simpsons is the gold standard in primetime TV cartoon-comedies. And Family Guy is the way to go for easy, in-your-face fun. But South Park is still bringing the funny every week. Take this season's premiere, in which Scientology gets lampooned in a hilariously creative way: They more or less liken the religion to a group of explorers who travel the world having sex with children. This show's been on for 10-or-so years now, but it hasn't lost its edge. Tune in.
5. Scrubs, Tuesdays at 8 p.m. on NBC: This show is in the midst of its best and, as Zach Braff puts it, most "stoner-friendly" season yet. The main characters are real and relatable, but the comedy is as random as it gets. The
surreal daydream sequences and off-beat comedy on this show are unlike any other live-action comedy on TV. If you like the way Family Guy goes off on random tangents for almost no reason every couple minutes, you'll like Scrubs. Of course, there are many more TV shows worth viewing, but five stellar picks will do for now. And I should probably note that Sons and Daughters and Scrubs are on at the same time. So, with that in mind, you should all go out and buy yourselves TiVo (or any other brand of DVR). You won't be disappointed because it is the greatest invention of our lifetime. And this coming from someone who really likes his George Foreman Grill.
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