This season's lineup

OK, so the answers to the shows that I am psyched about seeing should be up in the right-hand column now. I asked for top 5, and I put in there the top 5 that are airing in the Fall, plus a few others that start up at midseason that I can't wait to see.

(1a). Battlestar Galactica
Because it's so frakkin' awesome. Time magazine named Season 2 The Best Thing on Television. The quote they led the article with was this: "Most of you think this entry has got to be a joke. The rest of you have actually watched the show." I think that says it all, don't you? Add in there a cliffhanger ending and this being the last season, and I'm there.

1. The Office
This is without a doubt the funniest show on television. Ricky Gervais (who wrote the original BBC show and who serves as exec producer on this version; you may remember him from the recent "Ghost Town") is a comic genius, and if you missed "Extras" on HBO, you missed a treasure. Too many American shows beat a concept into the ground with no real new development of concept or intriguing material, jumping the shark long before they actually go off-air (Simpsons, anyone?). The end of last season opened up so many promising new avenues that I am super-thrilled for this one coming up and optimistic about the show's long-term future.

(2a). Dollhouse
Honestly, this one gets on purely through strength of cast/crew. I am a Whedon-ite: I will watch him paint his bathroom puce while reciting the dictionary. The fact that it is on FOX, and that he has had to reshoot the pilot, is giving me nasty deja vu, but I'm a Browncoat and where Joss goes I follow.

(2b). Big Love
This is one of the most thought-provoking shows on TV, and it's on HBO so they don't have to pull punches like the major networks. Dad has had a long love affair with premium cable shows (i.e., Sopranos, Deadwood, Rome, etc.), so this fits pretty well. Plus, the concept is so intriguing and the way it has played out is so engrossing that I simply have to watch.

2. My name is Earl
Hilarious. Jason Lee has always been one of Dad's favorite actors, from his cult movie days (i.e., "Chasing Amy") on down to now. I don't know if he's a method actor or not, but I have rarely seen an actor "become the character" so much as he does in this show. Besides that, the supporting cast is fantastic. Mom and Dad both love this one.

3. Law and Order: SVU
Dad has a huge crush on Mariska Hargitay. Plus it's a police procedural. 'Nuff said.

4. How I Met Your Mother
Another Mom/Dad joint venture, this one reminds them a lot of their group of friends in college. Plus, it has NPH. If I have to explain who that is, I weep for you.

5. Scrubs
Actually, this is less of a "psyched for" vote and more of a "I liked the show on NBC so I'll watch it on ABC even though I am afraid they will make it go out with a collossal whimper or change the tone" vote. Still, the middle seasons (3, 4, 5) are some of the best comedy on TV, ever.

This is mostly my and Dad's list. Mom also likes Dancing with the Stars and Hell's Kitchen, plus they both really like the occasional edu-tainment show, like Mythbusters or Man vs. Wild. So everyone grab your popcorn, put off those important to-do items, and sit down for some quality programming. Or use DVR. Mom and Dad would probably go fetal and die without that.