I will be the first to admit that I'm stubborn and more than a little lazy. I'm kind of unique in that I can stubbornly refuse to accept new things, while being an early adopter of others. I waited for 13 hours outside a Best Buy to get a PS2 when it first came out and I have the new PSP (which I got on the first day of release). I've followed shows like Smallville since before they even aired to the last episode of the most recent season.

But, I have been slow to accept other things of the same kind, as well. I didn't get an XBOX until well over a year and several price drops later. I didn't start watching 24 until the 3rd season, and I've only watched one or two episodes of Lost. As good as being an early adopter is, I've found that waiting is sometimes better. Waiting to watch the first 2 seasons of 24 until now means I get to watch all of the episodes at once (or at least several at a time - even I can't sit in front of the TV for that long), experiencing on my own time and at my own speed. Having just finished the first season of 24 I have to admit it is one of the best shows I have ever watched. Watching all of the episodes at once makes some of the drama and suspense feel overly staged/manufactured. But still - awesome!

I have to admit that I would have loved watching this show from the beginning, and as much as I enjoy watching the first season now, I think it would have been fun to see it when it was new. So, in the spirit of learning that perhaps I should have adopted this trend a little sooner, I want to share some of my favorite new shows from this past year that some of you may have missed. (Still don't know if anyone is reading this, because there aren't any comments . . .)


Without further ado, here are my picks from last season/this season of tv:

Grey's Anatomy: Just what everyone needs, another medical drama. But, this mid-season show is really very good. It involves a few young new doctors and the hospital they work in. All of them have just finished medical school, and find themselves now on the lowest rungs of a completely new ladder. Beyond the setting and the tone (which is serious but lighthearted at the same time), the cast is top-notch. Sandra Oh (from Sideways and Dancing at the Blue Iguana), Katherine Heigl (from Roswell and Under Seige 2), and Patrick Dempsey (do I really have to tell you what he's been in???) are the big names in the cast, but everyone is truly phenomenal. Watch the 9 episodes from this past spring, and get ready for great things from this show in the fall.


Numb3rs: Again, this new show treads on very familiar ground - the cop drama - but it does so in a new way. The focus is always on how math can be applied to solve whatever problem occurs that week. I know how that sounds, but the show is truly excellent. The cast is full of big names, and the plots and presentation are superb. The main characters are 2 brothers, one an FBI agent the other a math professor, and their retired father. Rob Morrow (from Northern Exposure and Quiz Show) and David Krumholtz (from Ray, 10 Things I Hate About You, and Slums of Beverly Hills) play the two brothers, and Judd Hirsch (of Taxi and Independence Day) plays their dad. The supporting cast also includes Sabrina Lloyd (from Sliders and Sports Night) and Peter MacNicol (from Ally McBeal and Ghostbusters II), and don't get me started on the weekly guest stars - Lou Diamond Phillips and Doogie Howser! (sorry, I meant Neil Patrick Harris) Check out some of the excellent shows from this past year while you're waiting for this season to start off with a bang.


Global Frequency: This one isn't exactly a show you could watch. It's an unaired pilot for a show based an a comic book. It has been released on the internet, and is making big waves even though it was never actually shown to a tv audience. If you can find it (can't tell you how here - but feel free to email me for more info) it is a quite enjoyable show, and appears to have a lot of potential - if the studio execs ever really give it a chance . . .