Normally I talk about tech but something about tv shows has bugged me. . . Let’s be honest.  Television writers are underappreciated and do not get the recognition they deserve.   I’d like to think of them as the offensive lineman to Tom Brady’s heroics.  The actor gets all the fame, but credit should be towards the writer.  The writing makes the show and not the actor.  Yes, that’s right I said it!

I look around on television for a quality show to watch that is both BELIEVEABLE and entertaining.  I have to emphasis the believable aspect because just about nothing on tv has realistic enough dialog to make me think it can actually happen.  Most of tv dialog is horrible because it can’t simply sustain itself week after week.   If I don’t believe that the world the writer created is believable then they’ve lost me.  So let’s get to my list of television shows that I think are the most brilliantly written.  (without spoilers).

1. Dexter  :  Based on novels by Jeff Lindsay
   
   Dexter Morgan is one of the most fascinating characters I can remember.  How often do you root for a serial killer to succeed?  The concept of the show is so awful that I felt bad for even taking interest to see it.  The whole premise seemed to be a little bit too dark for me. 
   
   Is the show bloody?  Yes.  Is it disturbing? Hell Yes.  Dexter is inhumanly human.  He has no emotion, but he can bring it out of the viewer and other characters in the show with no problem.  Jeff Lindsay created a uniquely twisted plot that snakes its way towards season finales that are simply gut wrenching.  If I had a heart, it would be telling you to buy the DVDs.
2. House M.D. : David Shore, Lawrence Kaplow, and many many others
   
   For those of you who haven’t seen the show, it may seem like just another doctor tv series.   It seems like each tv promo is overly dramatic with Dr. House saying “Do this or SHE DIES!”.  It’s true and kind of cliché, but there are so many levels to the show that it blows the viewer away.  Sustained character development in House is remarkable. 
   
   The writing is so good that it can move you in merely 40 minutes.  There are at least 5 stunning episodes that have to be watched multiple times to truly appreciate.  The characters can be summed up as flawed brilliance.  I look at the show, not as a doctor tv series, but as a satirical take on human interaction and the human psyche.   People never change, except for the times that they do.


3. Lost (Season 1 Only) : J.J. Abrams
   
   Lost is a show that could have easily been number one if it could have sustained perfection past the first season.  Back in 2004, it started a whole new generation of tv shows that are still being felt now.  The premise was revolutionary, as was the directing and the way the story was told.
   
   I believed it.  I believed everything that was happening was real and relatable and they totally sucked me in.  The island was this mythical presence that the entire plot revolved around.  How and why? . . . We did not know.  The island was actually a main character . . . how crazy cool is that?!  I remember watching the entire season 1 in less than a week.  The character development was consistent and the plot moved at a pace that was just right. 
   
   I highly recommend watching season 1 but the problem is that it is too difficult for any human being NOT to watch season 2,3, etc and be disappointed.  Unfortunately the show is a shell of its former self and gets progressively worse as the seasons progress.  Actually, I am giving it too much credit with that last statement.  It’s more like if Michael Jordan kept playing in the NBA until he’s at the age of 75 and says, “What do you mean I can’t play anymore?  Didn’t you see the ball skim the rim that one time 4 months ago?”.


4. Seinfeld : Jerry Seinfeld and Larry David
   
   There is not much I have to say that hasn’t already been said about this show.  It is the last truly hysterical sitcom that has been created.  I divide my life into Before Seinfeld (BS) and After Seinfeld (AS).  To this day I (and many others) recite lines from the show with our friends.  The characters never really evolved but they all remained consistently funny to who they were from the start.  
   
   Sure the plots were off the wall at times and weren’t perfectly realistic, but they were still hilarious and somewhat relatable.  ( The guy was just trying to return some pants!) To write humorous and unique plots over a long period of time is extremely difficult.  Not to mention they ended the show before it became bad.  We felt cheated and sad that they took such a great show away from us too soon.  Not to get nostalgic or anything right here but. . .  Wait a minute . . . what is this salty discharge?


5. South Park : Matt Stone and Trey Parker
   
   It is amazing to me that the show has been around since 1997.  I still remember watching the internet video of this thing called “South Park” on my dialup modem and could not believe that Santa was fighting Jesus.  It looked so horrible which made it all the better.  So funny and so very wrong.
   
   Today it is even more off the wall.  They have an uncanny ability to pick out what is going on in society and make fun of it.  By the time the show has ended the viewer is somehow taught a little bit about the issue to open their mind.  Oh, except for that time when Cartman made that kid eat his own parents.   Boy was his face red.

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