Television has replaced religeon as the opiate of the masses.
I find with many of the people I know casually that television tells them what to think - and they listen. I find sitcoms insulting - I am offended when a TV show feels it has to put fake laughter in to let the audience know something was funny. I think I am smart enough to recognize funny without a map. I don't watch them. It also annoys the hell out of me when people start repeating catch phrases from TV shows. It makes me want to moo at them - c'mon follow the herd.
Now that I think about it - I'm sure I've ranted about this before...
I do like to watch shows that teach me something or requires me to think, such as CSI - there aren't many of these.
My one guilty pleasure is Family Guy.
Reality shows are a waste of bandwidth - an extravaganza of the absurd and disgusting. People using people.
Game shows like Deal or no Deal are a celebration of greed.
I only keep cable so I can get the Scream channel.
I prefer to read a book rather than watch the mind numbing dross that fills the time between commercials.

LOVE Top Chef. The only issue that I have with it (which is a function of the show itself) is that I can't actually taste the food so that removes me one step farther from the Judges' decisions. At least with Project Runway I can SEE what their critiques are.

That being said, this is a pretty strong year for Top Chef and I'd love for any of them to cook for me!

No, I haven't watched any of the other Gordon Ramsay shows... Are they on Bravo too? Or Food Network? Personally, I don't watch enough Food Network.

Report back about Pushing Daisies. I was so incredibly romanced by it... It gets a little formulaic after a while, but that's the nature of the show and the format that they chose.

In terms of 30 Rock, that's EXACTLY how I felt with the first season. I actually watched the Pilot and a couple of other episodes and thought it was ridiculously overrated.

Then last year I started watching it again (since it was cleverly lined up after The Office, which I watch every week), and it had gotten SIGNIFICANTLY better. Seriously. They're going in the more absurd direction and Alec Baldwin is just hilarious. I think that last season was incredible, though Season 1 was pretty weak. Haven't been that impressed with this season so far.

...

Also, I forgot to mention...

Buffy the Vampire Slayer - Complete and utter guilty pleasure. I picked it up on reruns when I was in college (it would be on from like 3 - 5 on weekday afternoons; perfect timing when you're trying to avoid studying) and i just fell in love with it (it was the musical episode that did me in).

Lost - I was OBSESSED with this show in Seasons 1 and 2. Then Season 3 started getting more drama-driven and it lost my interest. I don't need 90210 on an island. I've heard that it's gotten better, but I haven't taken the time to catch up.

I think it's ridiculous to pay 60 bucks a month for basic cable around here so I don't have it...but I watch a lot of Niptuck, weeds, I dream of Jeannie, x-files, all of the vh1 reality shows, and myth busters.

Ahhhhh, X-Files. I was SO obsessed with that show in High School. Another one that I'd structure my Sunday around.

I think that it lost some steam sometime around 2000 - 2001. The writing just... went... bad.

But I think that it was a true ground-breaking show, though. I wish that there were more like it (and Fringe doesn't count because the writing is so awful I find it mind-blowing).

I grew up watching quality TV.....Mr. ED, My Mother the Car, Gilligan's Island, The Brady Bunch, My Favorite Martian....no comparison to the shit that's on today.

I hate hate hate hate "Reality TV" ....FUCKING HATE IT

I liked Seinfeld....Friends was aight.

Right now I only watch Dexter and an episode of Scrubs once in a while.

my favorite was The Beverly Hillbillies.

just funny - no morals, no messages.

So many people hate Ramsay...I LOVE HIS SHOWS! And I usually hate cooking programmes. Kitchen Nightmares is great, where he just basically tells the guys to shut the fuck up and do something good.

Urge, I think you sound like you haven't given TV a fair chance in a while. You didn't like it then so you assume you won't like it now. So many things are different that look the same at first glance (Friends and Seinfeld), so many shows aren't like the ones you've described.

Kitchen Nightmares is on BBC America & Fox- there are two versions, an American and a British version. Every week he goes to a different restaraunt that has requested his help because they are losing money and about to go under. He tells them what they need to do to fix their problems- which of course none of them want to do because it involves admitting they're all morons. There's also a Kitchen Nightmares Revisited where he goes back to places he's been before.

Hell's Kitchen is on Fox. It's ind of like Top Chef except it all takes place in Ramsay's restaraunt Hell's Kitchen and the only judge is Ramsay. Ramsay is a very "ascerbic" character and likes to yell & swear at everyone.

Don't worry....season 3 will not disappoint

1 more left for the season and I'm on the edge of my seat

The only four shows I watch all the time are the following:

Dexter
Entourage
It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia
Dirty Sexy Money

Everything else is just stuff I might watch if there is nothing to do or something but I normally am always around waiting to watch those four shows.