I cancelled my cable subscription last year and will start paying for it again only when Joss Whedon has another show. Actually, maybe not even then, because they'll only cancel it after 7 episodes anyway. I think I'll just save the money and use it to buy the DVDs later. I miss you, Joss!

Meantime, I admit, I have succumbed to "House". Seen it on DVD and it was a guiltily addictive pleasure; loved Hugh Laurie, the rest of the cast, not to mention the plot, was, feh, but Laurie is still worth it.

I signed up for cable 2 years ago to see the Sopranos and 6 Feet Under. I'm starting to wonder how much longer I'm going to think it's worth the significant monthly cost.

I'm watching season 1 of Lost on DVD and My Name is Earl on network TV. Not much out there, especially to justify the monthly cost.

The Closer has the best depiction of office politics on TV, and Veronica Mars is the high school girl I should have been. Both are permanent TiVo enties for me.

Sorry to see Commander in Chief wimp out.

I disagree about House being an improvement on the ER formula. I think it's actually an improvement on the CSI formula -- still formulaic, but with more realistic lighting, and with the machines, I mean characters, replaced by realer characters (and better actors) who happen to be doctors and not cops.

As for that other doctor show, Out or Practice, being laugh out loud funny, I'm happy for anybody who can laugh at that stuff, but when I look at it I see the kind of show that exists for the punchlines, all of which are italicized, in bold, and surrounded by quotes, and all of which are being pushed at the audience as if we won't get it unless they are spoken slowly and loudly.

TNT is re-running its whole season of "The Closer." I think it's one of the better cop shows on TV. Kyra Sedgewick's personality might get on your nerves, but that's her character. As for the rest of them, they're trying to act, which in itself is a big improvement over most of the stuff on TV.

TiVo / dvr technology has one function - to provide on demand access to The Daily Show / Colbert Report.

As an aside, I have really been hoping that the Zealots get their way and make ala carte programing a reality. My linup: Comedy Central, Weather Channel, Noggin (have to provide mind numbing content for the kids).

I don't know, is it me or is there something hypocritical about someone surfing a web site (staring at the 21st century boob tube) and posting that watching TV (20th century boob tube) is for idiots.

If your life was so virtuous and full of those healthy activities you tell us we should do instead of watching TV, you never would have read the post to start with.

There's just something goofy about someone ranting about how we all should turn off our TVs and go outside, while he's sitting inside posting on a web site. How different is it?

Of course the purpose of commercial television is to get eyeballs on ads. But, in theory at least, they need to provide incentive in the form of entertaining programs.

As for the other poster, I'm glad you have discovered that you don't like watching television. Perhaps you should take a walk next time you feel like posting a letter preaching to the rest of us about how smart/enlightened/superior you are for not watching. Seriously, how did you even have a girlfriend with that kind of sanctimonious attitude. The point of this article and these letters is to find programming you actually enjoy, not to just watch it all like automatons. Sheesh. You must be a lot of fun at a party.

I have to agree with the last poster.

Commercial TV programing is designed purely for the purpose of gathering an audience for a few minutes to deliver it to an advertiser.

Salon might just as well appoint a billboard critic to advise us on what to read from our cars on the Interstate Highway.

Seriously, you have better things to do. I know you don't believe me but it's true.

Talk to your kids. Take up a hobby. Read. Get off yer' ass.

If you absolutely must watch something, try PBS. At least you'll learn something more than the artificial animosity that is constantly thrown at you in commercial broadcasting.

How many murders do you need to see? Rapes? Assaults? Less offensive but (I find) equally draining is the constant arguing that "reality tv" gives you. The ridiculous part is that there is not much "reality" in reality tv. The shows are written. The antagonism is manufactured. The writers of the shows are getting pissed-off about having to incorporate (sometimes at the last minute) product placement into the shows. It's hard work getting somebody to say "Memoirs of a Geisha" five time in a ten minute span and have it sound natural - and they want more money to do it.

And please, don't miss the fact that they are whining about product placement. Your beloved Tivo will not help you at all in screening out the fifteen mentions of Tampax in your 30 minute - no wait - 18 minute, show.

How do I know about the shows if I don't watch tv? Osmosis really. I might not watch but I've had enough girlfriends/friends who do.

If your soul has long since disappeared and the only thing you can do to assuage the pain that your 40/60/80 hour work week saddles you with is sit in a tv induced coma for 6 hours every night, quit your job. Find something that excites you. Open your front door and go for a walk.

Maybe you'll find your soul again.

After saving the life of the boy who rescued him, the baby creature got shot dead on the last show before the break. It was like Old Yeller.

If pathos isn't your dish then stay around for the marine biologist story line. She was trapped more than a mile down in a homemade submersible with the guy who saw his brother (who was snatched by one of the creatures and pulled down to the depths) outside, walking across the ocean floor as the creatures lay thousands of eggs.

X-Files meets Flipper meets [put your favorite tormented, misunderstood creature here].

I like the visuals, like the skiers who, boat and all, went down to the center of the earth through a whirlpool in Lake Travis in Austin.

The show started slow and seemed to be running third behind Invasion and Threshold. Then in the last five episodes it just took off and it has been tense, exciting, moving and scary.

I even put it third in my SPM behind Veronica and Lost. Check it out.

Bones is pretty good too.