More TV shows that you're not watching

I like TV. I like it a lot. It's a rich medium, and provides a great medium to communicate thoughts and ideas. However, as with any similar medium, the better means it provides to push forward an idea, the higher the noise-to-signal ratio becomes (if you don't believe me, just check out the internet - how much noise is there on that bad boy?).

In an ongoing attempt to reduce that ratio for you, here's the latest set of really really good TV shows that I'm watching, and why you should be watching them.

• Battlestar Gallactica

There's been a giant hole in my heart ever since Star Trek Voyager went off the air. I grew up through adolescence and my teenage years watching The Next Generation and Voyager, and I TURNED OUT GREAT!

On the serious side, both of these shows did something I really appreciate - they used the context of the future (new technologies, new planets, new species, physics that we don't understand, etc.) to present new problems, and ways that human ingenuity may be able to prevail amongst that adversity. It provides the writers of the show a context within which they can prevent ideas that we may not have thought of - what if there existed beings that had powers like gods, but weren't benevolent? (The anthropologists out there will be quick to point out that we could just study the Aztecs when they encountered the conquistadors, but they're not the ones writing in this blog, so they can suck it).

Battlestar Gallactica was recommended by my friend Davey, and does a great job filling this void. The setting is that humans created artificial intelligence, which then rebelled and left our area of the galaxy. Years later, they've returned, destroyed most of humanity, and are now chasing down the rest.

If that sounds tacky, don't let it stop you checking out the show. There are some very cool ideas expanded on in the series, including ones like the Cylons (the AI) having their own set of gods and religion, and the notion of a soul. Intriguing stuff!

The characters are sympathetic and interesting. They've all got good backstories, none of them feel too cookie-cutter, and the pacing is great - rarely do I find myself thinking "man, I hope they move on past this part of the story soon".

Check out the trailer for the miniseries that kicked off the show here:

• The Mitchell and Webb Situation

David Mitchell and some guy who's last name is Webb (I think it's Mark, but I'm not sure) are two British guys that are hilarious. Anyone that is familiar with other good British comedy will recognize David Mitchell from his appearances on Qi, or possibly from some of his other shows, like Peep Show (also pretty funny, though a little more difficult for people on this side of the world to get into).

TMWS is basically a sketch comedy. It's got some good material, along with some material that many of my Canadian friends probably won't get (we don't really have Snooker, nor commentators over here for it, so it's a bit more difficult to understand), but most of the bits are funny and can be grasped solely from the context. That reason shouldn't stop you from checking out the show and seeing if fits with your sense of humour. I like my comedy fairly abstract, and they do a good job of avoiding the standard approach.

Check out the episode one of the first season here:

• Never Mind the Buzzcocks

Ahh, more British comedy! Anyone that has seen Qi is familiar with the UK panel-based approach to comedy, and this show follows that fairly closely. Although the material is a little more low-brow than Qi (it's based on pop-culture, mostly music), it is on-par in terms of hilarity for me.

The show is in its 21st season, and the two hosts that they've had are both very dry and witty in their own way. The most recent host, Simon Amstell, is very biting, and I never get tired of hearing him take the mickey out of various pop stars. He's rarely caught for a lack of something clever to say, and the banter is kept going by the two co-hosts, Bill Bailey and Phil Jupitus (both familiar to Qi's panels as well).

I grew especially fond of this show after seeing one of UK's boy-band members get up and walk off the show after getting ribbed by Simon. Seeing people that take themselves too seriously get rattled is something I'll never get tired of.

Check out the first of three parts of that episode here:

• Flight of the Conchords

You're probably living in a cave if you haven't yet heard about this show, as people have generally caught wind of how awesome it was. I try to limit my recommendations to shows that are flying low under the radar, but this one is honestly too good not to mention. That being said, most people I've talked to have seen YouTube clips of the songs from the show, but never actually watched the show itself. If you're one of those people, take my word for it that the show is every bit as funny as their songs are.

Brett McKenzie and Jemaine Clement play charicatures of themselves as two New Zealanders, come to New York to make it big with their band. They're joined by their manager, also from New Zealand, Murray, and their number one (and only) fan, Mel.

Whoever is writing this show is genius, and really gets comedy. Not only that, but Jemaine and Brett are both extremely comedically and musically talented. Part of what makes the show so funny is that they are deadpan and static whenever their band plays out.

The events and action in the show are broken up by song interludes, usually fitting with whatever is currently happening and always revealing the real talent that Brett and Jemaine possess. These interludes span a huge number of genres, are always done well, and are always hilarious.

If you haven't already seen it, the best introduction I can provide to the show is this song:

And if you've already seen that one, this is a great track from the second episode:

So, the next time someone smirks when you start talking about good TV, do what I do and punch them in the mudbutton. People that shun TV completely and act as though they are better than everyone else are really just denying themselves access to a medium of communication. It's up to you to determine what information gets through, but don't fool yourself into believing that watching TV is necessarily a waste of your time (Hint: laughing is a positive thing).