You've often said that you ...
Question: You've often said that you have many shows you watch every week and others that you just tune in to occasionally. So what shows are on your "must-see" list every week? And more interestingly (or painfully), if you were away for a week, in what order would you watch your regular shows upon your return?
Answer: This isn't so much a question as it is a game. But I'm game, so here goes. First off, any sitcoms and reality shows on my "must-see" list tend to fall off when I go away for a week's vacation (as I often do midwinter, even if it means skipping a week of February sweeps). The comedy exceptions:
Arrested Development, which you can't afford to miss a single episode of; maybe
Scrubs and hot HBO comedies like
Curb Your Enthusiasm. No "must-see" reality show makes the cut, not even
The Amazing Race,
Survivor or
American Idol. Once an episode has aired, I figure I'll be reading about it anyway if I can't watch it live. So that leaves, as you'd expect, a long list of dramas. Count out the procedural crime shows (with the exception of the essential
Without a Trace), which are usually pretty self-contained and can be caught up with at leisure. And so the "must-catch-up-with-instantly" list consists of, in order of urgency:
24; Lost; Gilmore Girls;
Desperate Housewives; Alias;
Veronica Mars, whichever FX drama may be airing at the time (usually
The Shield); ditto for HBO dramas (especially
The Sopranos or
The Wire);
Without a Trace; Everwood;
The O.C.;
The West Wing (out of duty); maybe even
ER (though not last season). And this year I'd probably add
Grey's Anatomy to the list, as well as newbies like
Invasion;
Threshold;
Commander in Chief;
Supernatural and
Reunion. On second thought, I may need to reevaluate ever going away again.
[Editor's Note: If you missed Friday's Ask Matt, you'll find it here.]
