TV Shows

With the Academy Awards coming up, let me list a few of my favorite TV shows of 2004.

Monk - As an OCD sufferer myself, I enjoy seeing how Adrian has to cope with his "curse," and the fact that he can still be a useful and productive member of society using his "gift." (And the "gift" and "curse" are in the end different sides of the same thing). I also like the story arc about Monk's murdered wife.

House - As a biochemist working on my Master's, I understand in broad terms, and sometimes in specific terms, what they are talking about on the show, so I don't suffer from the "jargon" factor that many do. And I like the idea of a misanthropic character who, underneath his exterior, really, truly cares. He may not say it, but the fact he'll do anything to cure someone shows he does. There appear to be character arcs in here, too, which are interesting.

Law & Order: SVU - I find the psychological aspects of sex crimes interesting. Moreover, the show is very fair in that it doesn't always assume one side. To be honest, the most interesting episodes in my opinion involved women as sexual predators. One of these, "Head," was the 2003-2004 season finale. (Another one, "Ridicule," my favorite episode, occurred in 2001. It involved a strangled woman who was one of three women accused of raping a male stripper - one of them was actually played by Diane Neal, who is now playing the ADA).

That is all.