Just like Miranda...

Life has a funny way of sneaking up on you. I think that is a lyric in some song - I can't remember which.

Things have been insanely busy for me, but in a good way. I've been bad about writing. Not just in my blog, but in my other endeavors as well.

With all the work and running after things, I only have time to watch television late, late at night. So, I bought myself a Tivo- making it all the easier to watch all my shows on cable.

Thank God for the Tivo and for the new fall lineups in general. This year, there's more promising and engaging shows than there have been in a long time. ABC has actually produced, not one, but two good shows. And it only took them three years from "Gideon's Crossing" to do it.

So, follows are all my pics to click to. Please consider them, I'd hate for them to get canceled- that's usually what happens to the shows I love.

* "Gilmore Girls" (Tues. The WB, 8 pm) Just keeps getting better and better. The characters are well written with still easy to relate it. And this year with Luke and Lorelei together, I couldn't be happier (unless Michael was in more episodes).

* "Veronica Mars" (Tues. UPN 9 pm) Though the premise of a teenager going out to help her PI father with his cases sounds cheesy, it's not. Veronica is sarcastic, strong, sane and smart - a great female character. Plus, the cast includes one Mr. Kyle Secor - all shows with Kyle are worth watching.

* "Scrubs" (Tues. NBC 9:30 pm) Some people don't like it, I can't understand why. This show is, in my opinion, the best show left on NBC (and the silliest). And I think they've stopped moving it around-- even better.

* "Lost" (Wed. ABC 8 pm) Everyone's saying how imaginative this show is. Probably because it doesn't involve a hospital, a lawyer, an investigation, the life of teenagers or describe itself as "reality programming". It's interesting (in a good way) and highly addictive. What is on that island anyway?

* "Kevin Hill" (Wed. UPN 9 pm) It's fun, Taye Diggs is good looking and it has two former members of "H:LOTS" in it's cast. Plus, what else could people watch WEd. at 9 pm?

* "The OC" (Thurs. FOX at 8 pm starting on Nov. 4, I think) Yes, yes, I know. It's trash. Or so people tell me. But I can't escape it in that "Dawson's Creek"/"Melrose Place"/Soap Opera sort of way. Plus, I love the music and Seth Cohen. Hey, he's funny.

* "Joan of Arcadia" (Fri. CBS 8 pm) Okay, okay. I'll admit that I used to pick on this show before I watched it just based on the premise. But when I stayed with my parents over the summer and had no choice but to watch it with my mom, I got hooked. It really is a great show. It's not all touchy-feely like "Touched by an Angel" or "Judging Amy" or anything like that. It's a really good show and the actor's on it are superb. (On a side note, I just got finished watching that "Girl Next Door" movie and was thoroughly amused just by the character the guy who plays Adam plays in this movie. It's so different from his role on Joan.)

* "Degrassi: The Next Generation" (Fri./Sat. The N 8 pm) No, it's not just for kids. In Canada (where it's produced), everyone watches it. I used to watch the first series when I was a kid and grew to love it. It's a great show that deals with a lot of issues in a open, honest way. Sure, all the things happen to the same twenty people, but they can afford so many actors. What other shows can you think of that deal with homosexuality, racism, date rape, abuse and abortion without making it into a movie-of-the-week. The characters are fleshed out and, while the actors do say about like "aboot", it is very affecting. They don't sugarcoat things, and that is something that I admire.

* "Desperate Housewives" (Sun. ABC 9 pm) It's funny, addictive and makes you feel sorry for women. Like "Veronica Mars." it's got a couple of ongoing mysteries that make it impossible for me to miss an episode.

* "The Wire" (Sun. HBO 9 pm) The best, my favorite. It's hard to get into at first. It wants you to think, and for some people that's a problem. But after about three episodes, you're hooked. It's the best written show on tv, in my opinion. Right now, I can't wait for Sunday's new episode. No big names or really recognizable faces, but boy, can those guys act. My two all-time favorite characters: McNulty, a driven, talented detective with a shitty personal life and a bad drinking problem and Omar, an extremely likable bad guy with a serious scar who steals money from drug dealers and other corrupt individuals. The best, the best, the best.

* "Arrested Development" (Sun. FOX 9:30 pm starting on Nov. 7) You might not continuously cackle, but it's still the funniest show on tv. I love Jason Bateman, I love the guy who plays Gob, I love the guy who plays Buster, I love Jeffrey Tambor, I love the chick who plays Lucille, I love them all. But most of all, I love Slow Donnie (aka David Cross). I would watch anything he's in. Why? Because he's really fucking funny.

I know this post was really just an advertisement for my favorite television series, but can you blame me? I mean, over the years I would say a good third of the show's I love were canceled before their third season. Mostly because of shitty ratings.

So, try a few. If you do, I'll try a few of yours.