Let's Talk TV

In keeping in line with the theme of "I have no idea what I'm doing," I would have no idea what good shows exist on TV today if it weren't for the following:

• my friends telling me "you have to see this show"
• my stepdad or cool sister saying the same
• Netflix recommendations

I don't have a whole lot of time or desire to watch a lot of TV, so if I do buckle down and commit to a show, it usually ends up being outstanding. Here is what I've found that I love.

1) House of Cards

Everyone knows that D.C. is a cesspool, but this show just confirms what we all suspect really goes on in the upper levels of our government. Scheming, backstabbing, and no one actually caring about constituents, doing some incredibly sketchy things to secure their position of power. Frank Underwood could be any of your darling politicians - so charming in interviews but a complete and total wanker in real life. His ruthlessness is both appalling and irresistible, because who among us hasn't harbored fantasies of absolutely crushing their opponents? Orchestrating a social massacre of people who have wronged you? It's so satisfying to watch. Also Claire Underwood's wardrobe makes me want to drop like, fifty pounds, and start dressing like I'm the #1 Bad Bitch. Except ::effort:: but it is so pleasant to watch and fantasize.

2) Mad Men

This show just wrapped up in May, so you can binge this series from start to finish just like I know you did for Breaking Bad. First of all, this show is perfect in its adherence to period details. Whatever you see in a scene is something that really existed and was in use in the same situation at the same period in time that you're watching. They don't even use fonts in background products unless those fonts were developed at that time in history. You will not see any modern details in this show. You are absolutely transported back to the 60's, from the blasé feelings about smoking and littering and children running around with plastic dry cleaning bags over their heads. Okay so now that we've established that the scenery and costumes in this show are perfect, the story lines are worthy of such a set. Don Draper is far more screwed up than most of us, but his redemption and successes make us root for him as a character. This show has a supporting cast that's one of the most well-established I've ever encountered, and you're left caring about the details about the lives of the secretaries and neighbors of the main characters.

3) Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey

I remember watching the original Carl Sagan version of this and being interested for about an hour and a half before starting to zone out. It's not that the content was boring, because we all know that science is about as engaging a subject as they come am I right, but the presentation was a little stale for me. So I was a little hesitant to check out the Neil deGrasse Tyson version because I just couldn't stand to have my heart broken twice. Okay, holy crap, seriously, this version was so mind-blowingly amazing that my not-sciencey-at-all husband was enthralled. The animations and explanations are interesting and easy to understand, and how cool is Neil deGrasse Tyson seriously?? The man was born and raised in Manhattan and I basically wish we were best friends. But that position has already been filled by Bill Nye just to give you an idea the caliber of awesome we're talking about here. So, Cosmos breaks down science history and science future and gives you a very interesting spin on things like molecules, physics, space exploration, tectonics, black holes, stars, and the people who have contributed to science. Rather than lecturing you on these subjects, Cosmos tells you stories with such beautiful animations like this

Even if you're not even remotely nerdy, I am willing to bet that you too will enjoy everything about this series.

4) Orange Is The New Black

I have a soft spot for any show that is as female-centered as this one, even if those females are incarcerated felons. While not always accurately portraying life in a federal prison, this show does show the female experience in a lot of ways - like when we're left to our own devices, rather than form violent gangs, we form micro-families and take care of each other. I love that about females. Sure we can be like Vee and Poussay sometimes, or like Piper and Alex, but most of the time we're Sister Ingalls and Lorna (including the crazy. Not sorry). This show is funny and sad and the scene where Piper reports for prison brought back a whole lot of boot camp memories (spoiler: we wore the same skivvies).

What shows are you hooked on, and what have you loved watching?