(Metaphorically) Around the Dial pt. 3

I once read somewhere that secondary education in the U.S is becoming more and more about specialization. In order to be a proper professional, one has to have a very specific knowledge of a small area of study. I, of course, rejected this notion at first because I saw myself as a somewhat well-rounded individual. Then I realized that I was entering my third hour of a America's Next Top Model marathon on The CW.

I guess I specialize in television. Really it should have been obvious sooner. I had always just assumed that I was depressed, lazy or both for spending hours a day in front of a television. It honestly never occurred to me that maybe I just really, really liked television. Now as I enter the ripe old age of twenty, it's becoming clearer and clearer to me that I want my career to revolve around the Idiot Box. I want to be exactly like these three men:

Tim Goodman - I first heard about Tim Goodman from Bill Simmons podcast, The B.S Report. Mr. Simmons had been a fan of his for years and had him on the show to discuss the Conan-Leno scandal among other things. Goodman convinced me to read his regular blog by knowing the correct answer to "what's the greatest show of all time?" (and if you need to know the answer then you're not worthy of Goodman's blog) He also has one of the coolest features I've ever seen on a pop culture blog. It's a weekly power rankings that ranks all the shows he is currently watching from 15 to 1, based on that series' most recent episode. I pine for the days when I can rank up to 15 tv shows for a week but for now I will try to settle for 5.

5. Treme

4. Glee

3. Community

2. Lost

1. Breaking Bad

Ken Tucker - Ken Tucker did nothing but endear himself to me when he named the second season of True Blood his favorite show of the year, and since then I've took more notice of a writer I've always consistently read but never really counted myself as an avid supporter. He is one of the most generous reviewers of Saturday Night Live, which I appreciate even though he calls many of the sketches "stale" as contractually required by every TV reviewer in the world. Still, he is mercifully free of pretension and "old crusty critic syndrome" as evidenced by his wholehearted support of shows like the aforementioned True Blood and Glee.

Alan Sepinwall - Alan Sepinwall is the King of TV critics. Period. His list of the best shows of the decade reads like the Gods' verdict of all that was truly grand in the 2000s. He somehow gets reviews written and posted within an hour or two of every episodes' airing that is infinitely more insightful and affecting than almost every reviewer out there.

So why did this impromptu list happen? Who knows. I haven't written anything in awhile and I think listing the three reviewers who I've been reading a lot lately to glean expertise from counts as productivity. Regardless of the obvious deep-seated psychological issues that keep me from producing new material as of late, you should bookmark these three dudes if you like TV at all.