I'm sure that's the same question the last 3 boyfriends asked themselves.

You watch a lot of TV just to tell us how bad it is. Maybe you could do something better with that college education? Just a thought.

Since my favorite show, "Firefly," was cancelled by Fox in the middle of its first season, I can't honestly say that it lived beyond its means/got too long in the tooth/overstayed its welcome/insert favorite euphamism here.

Now, I would say that "Monk" is getting a little old, but it still gives me pleasure, so who am I to complain?

Amen on Firefly . I guess we can "thank" Fox for sparing us the horror of watching it go into decline, by making sure it never reached its greatness first...

. . . finally revealed himself this season. All along I've been disappointed in Mackey's portrayal as a basically decent guy who just got caught up in things. Now we're seeing what he's all about: truly an evil guy.

I hope he fries, especially for what he's doing to Lem. You don't think he was really trying to protect Lem by having them all use the same lawyer? Ha, good one, sure.

(The lawyer should also be strung up for not refusing to participate in such and obvious conflict of interest.)

The first two seasons of The Sopranos were masterpieces. But the show continued, and it has deteriorated. The characters are no longer fresh. Livia is dead, and her character fueled the whole premise of the show.

But I still watch it.

I can't help it. Where else can I see a drama where the characters look and sound like real people? I'm so happy not to see dazzlingly white, even teeth or perfectly bobbed noses, or pert breasts and collagenized lips. I am bored by the perfection of most television actors. And I like seeing the Pulaski Skyway in the distance instead of the same 6 blocks of Lower Manhattan on the "Law and Order" shows, or the backlots and soundstages of Hollywood and Toronto. It's a guilty pleasure, I admit it. I know there are plot holes a mile wide on The Sopranos. (What happened to the Russian in the woods? Did any family members ever notify the police when the nude dancer disappeared from Tony's bar after Ralphie murdered her? Did the FBI ever try to find out details about what happened to Adrianna?)

But I'll put up with the inconsistencies because a scripted TV drama looks more like reality to me than the so-called reality shows I've come across while channel surfing; and it's light years away from the sheer fantasy of "Friends".

Some times I just want to see some validation that not everyone in America has spent their lives rearranging their appearance and changing their diction so they can pass a Hollywood screen test.

I'm with Ricky Gervais of The Office on this one. It's just really hard to keep an old series from going old and stale. Short formats just seem to work better for tv. For me, one of the saddest things ever has been to see the long sad decline of the Simpsons. Seasons 2-8 or so were some of the most inspired comedy I've ever seen, a real pop culture touchstone. And since then, there has been TEN years of terrible terrible episodes. Its awful the way greed has damaged that shows legacy.

USERNAME, so if the show doesn't tie up every loose end, it becomes a plot hole? I'd rather we never find out what happened to the Russian. And I really love that the writers did not feel the need to go back and let us know what's been happening to all the characters since we last saw them. I appreciate that the show thinks its viewers are smarter than that.

Ditto amen about Firefly -- people I know are STILL getting wildly excited about that show, thanks to Netflix, and then slamming into the wall of its cancellation. Likewise "Dead Like Me". And I honestly can't tell if the deterioration of what I once felt about West Wing is because of the loss of Aaron Sorkin's coke-fueled originality or because the current administration is so dangerously corrupt and malignant, I can't "suspend disbelief" long enough any more to pretend in a world where our President actually cares about human life or ethics.

I have to disagree with your impression of Dr. Melfi & the therapy sessions in the show. They represent the most realistic portrayal of therapy I've seen in TV or movies (Remember when Robin Williams attacked Matt Damon in 'Good Will Hunting'? What the Hell was that?!?!). Lorraine Bracco does a great job of showing the contradictions of being a therapist (intimate topics discussed with professional distance; attacking defences while trying to maintain a "safe" environment to explore issues). To me, these scenes are often the most interesting in the show.

Pay no attention to 'Try Going Outside...'. I don't watch any TV with any regularity - except '24' - but I love to read Heather's writing. She's got a hard job. How many of you could do it?

I don't watch nearly as much TV as Ms. Havrilesky (I'd have to get paid like her), but she's exactly right about series souring very quickly after the first couple of seasons. HBO's heralded shows are no exception.

The first ep of The Sopranos almost makes me want to cancel HBO -- I can get all the dreck I want on free tv. There will likely be a decent ep or two in this season (better be the final one or Chase should join Tony S. in hell), but is it really worth bothering with? At least with SFU, they killed off Nate and ended the show, even if two seasons too late.

The Shield is an exception (and to a lesser extent 24). The show never ceases to go over the top, but its real secret is bringing in top actors like Close and Whitaker. Here's hoping the show goes out with a bang on Tuesday, but TV is and always has been about making a buck. At least The Shield is still entertaining.

Mebbe they can send the Strike Team to deal with Tony and crew.