TV is the New Reading

My wish list for 2008

With the ongoing writers’ strike threatening to keep us in reality schlock and game shows well into next season, here’s my wish list for 2008:

A medical drama that is interesting because of the medicine that is practiced. Character-driven medical dramas are exciting, but “ER,” “Grey’s Anatomy,” “Private Practice” and “Nip/Tuck” seem to be almost exclusively about relationships, as is a lot of Lifetime’s “Strong Medicine” except for being even less interesting. And of course “House” is just an outrageous grump.

Lifetime’s “State of Mind” took things in a different direction, but not far enough. A building full of psychiatrists, each with their own take on the psyche, was potentially a lot more interesting than it ultimately became, and again it got hung up in its characters’ pants.

I’m not disputing the place of romance in a drama – not for a moment. But it seems to shove everything else to the back burner.

What about a show centered around a second-generation Asian American practicing traditional Eastern medicine? His – or her – Western-trained interns could grump and grouse about his energies and herbalism and the show could open some amazing cultural dialogues as well as an interesting window on traditional practices.

Sitcoms

Comedy is in a troubling place. The only situation comedy I’ve watched recently that made me laugh out loud was “Samantha Who?”

While the situations are evolving slightly the shows tend to cater to the shortest common attention span. Improv seems like it’s been mined to within an inch of its usefulness and wacky sketch comedies on networks are populated by wacky sketch comedians from Nickelodeon.

My approach on this is to go back to the future. What would happen if we exclusively hired out-of-work Canadians to take over the writing of our comedies in 2008?

Seriously, between “The Royal Canadian Air Farce” and “This Hour Has 22 Minutes” – heck, just turn funnyman Mike Myers loose on absolutely any topic – there was the exact right mix of obscure references and wacky sight gags, of out-of-control over-the-top intellectualism and the breaking of wind.

These writers seem to have a built-in comfort level with political and philosophical humor, gags with delayed payoffs and frankly, between “The Office” and “Back to You,” I’ve never seen any workplace humor as instinctively devastating as the continuing adventures of Cathy with a “C” on “Kids in the Hall.”

Sci-fi, fantasy

Blame “Heroes.” “Heroes” was so popular to the most desirable demographic that the grid exploded with genre productions this season.

First and foremost, yay. But not all sci-fi is created equal. I stopped watching “Bionic Woman” when it became clear to me that I was simply enduring the show each week and waiting for it to end. Over on the Sci-Fi Channel, “Painkiller Jane” and “Flash Gordon” were easily the least watchable premieres on the grid and while they’re gone, the even less watchable “Special Unit 2” rolls gamely forward while quality shows fall by the wayside.

“Journeyman” is reportedly on the bubble, which is sad because it’s getting more interesting with each passing week. “Smallville” is inconsistent and “Supernatural” is one I’ve still never gotten into. Kind of like “Ghost Whisperer.”

My wish list for 2008 includes the return of “Medium,” planned for sometime in January, and the ever-hastening of David E. Kelley’s take on the BBC’s phenomenal “Life on Mars.” I’d also like to see a lot more “Jekyll” and if we must have “Bionic Woman,” lets improve the heck out of it by ...

OK, for one thing, employ the concept of the upgrade to at least bring her up to the current state of the art. Her communication implants need to improve a lot. Also, contentwise, the psychiatrist needs to be given more to do because whenever she does or says anything it’s extremely interesting.

Finally, if there were 18 shows on the air like “Pushing Daisies,” that would be overkill. Plus, viewers might start taking psychotropic drugs. But maybe there could be two shows on the air like “Pushing Daisies.” One set in a nursing home, perhaps, called “Pushing Miss Daisy.” Or one set in a landscaping firm called “Pulling Daisies.”

I’m open to suggestions. As is demonstrated by my viewing habits, I’m highly suggestible.

Features Editor Terry J. Aman compiles the Best Bets for The Minot Daily News.

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