Is there anything ON tonight??

I confess that I grew up a couch potato and avid tv watcher. Back in the “old days”, or “in the day” as my kids put it, we had three tv stations, and then a couple more before I turned 18 or so. Our family watched a lot of shows together, and I watched way too many on my own. Sad, but true.

When my children were little, we were very strict about their tv viewing except for a few Disney movies and selected cartoons. We had a few sitcoms that we could watch together that weren’t animated, but very few that we could call “family” – worthy. Our favorite was “Even Stephens” on the Disney channel. If you have never watched the beginnings of Shia LaBeouf (AKA Indiana Jones, Junior) you MUST find these episodes and watch them. HILarious!!

So what about NOW? It is definitely not much easier (unless you live by some of the Disney Shows) even with 400 channels or more available to us. Ok, well, unless you are into Discovery Channel, or maybe History and National Geographic and the sort.

I don’t mess with network shows very much at all, and I really don’t like Reality TV except for “American Idol”, and occasionally “So you Think You Can Dance”. In my quest for TV entertainment, I have found that the USA channel is pretty much the best in my opinion (WARNING - they have very INAPPROPRIATE commercials on this channel - keep the remote handy).

Here I will share my favorites. and I would say that they are mostly “family – worthy”. You will have to judge for yourself. At least, we do not blush in front or our teenagers while watching them.

My most favorite show for the last few years is "Monk". Ingenious in my opinion - Hysterical, quirky, and often engaging. I love police dramas – and this is a great one, without the gory violence. There is a little bit of Monk in all of us.

We have also become attached to watching “Pscyh”. Same channel, same night. Two crazy single guys who mostly keep it clean, but not always – that is where you would have to judge for yourself.

I confess that I have become a fan of “What NOT to Wear” on TLC. I also confess that Hubby actually watches it sometimes with me!! He gets a kick out of some of the weird people who get to spend $5,000 in New York and who complain about
it the whole time. Maybe someday my wardrobe will make Stacy and Clinton proud (my shoes are definitely headed in that direction!!). So shallow and unimportant, I know.

Ok, now for the not-so-family-friendly ones. I LOVE LAPD Deputy Police Chief Brenda Leigh Johnson in "The Closer" on TNT. Kira Sedgwick does a great job, although a few of my friends find her accent annoying. I love her big purse, her ways of interrogating, and her LOVE of sweets.

Also on USA is “Burn Notice”. I hated the character that Jeffrey Donovan played in the movie “Hitch”, and the astronaut he played in a “Monk” episode. But I love this show. I know, another police/type drama…. I sense a trend.

Now to throw you all off, my latest obsession is….

Robin Hood on BBC America. Watch it – it will pull you in. This one may actually BE Family Friendly! I even rented the Season One DVD’s from Netflix. I would watch it with teenagers for sure. I guess since Princess Bride, Hook, and Peter Pan are some of my favorite movies, this one fits right in.

Share your favorites! I would love to know!