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Being that I am a big fan of the boobtube and not a fan of this writer’s strike, which coincidently has spawned an onslaught of reality shows and is much like driving a railroad spike through my head, I tried to think of some fun and entertaining ways to pass the time. What are some of these ways you ask? Well since there are so many good shows out there on DVD I thought I throw out a few suggestions that have kept the Evanskey family occupied and glued to that glowing blue rectangle in the corner of our living room (please note that not all of the Evanskeys watch all of the below list).

1. Dexter - I know I’ve mentioned this show before but now that the second season is over all I can say is PHENOMENAL! This is hands down the best out there. With great characters comes great responsibility paraphrased a super hero couch potato one time (okay I confess, it was me) and boy has the writing team on Dexter held this as the golden rule… merciless, ruthless, sad, heartbreaking and just dripping with fun and creepiness. Everyone on this show makes it worthwhile and that’s including background characters and… man! the story is so involved and just gets better with every episode. I highly suggest renting the first season of DVD if you can stomach gruesome side of Dexter’s twisted moral code.

2. The L Word - Shocking as it might sound to some of you I really like this show. I caught the end of last season (the 4th) and am now watching the 5th season and enjoying the heck out it. Sure it’s over the top in it’s portrayal of some of the girls but hey so is Desperate Housewives and this show is waaaay better than DH and can even poke fun of itself even during it’s more serious moments. I am currently running season one in my DVD player between bouts of Angel and Dexter and loving every minute of it. Season one is pretty darn good and goes up on my recommendation list.

3. Angel - Now that I got Karen to sit through all seven seasons of Buffy the next evolutionary step was Angel. We are about 7 episodes into the first season and just like Buffy it’s a little rough and rocky but fans of the show know that it picks up 10 fold by mid-season and doesn’t stop until that last breathtaking episode of season five. If you like gritty crime noir films and supernatural demons and vampires this is a no brainer, but if you’re the slightest hesitant about Angel (or Buffy for that matter) then just try watching it for the great writing.

4. Scooby-Doo Where Are You? The Third Season - The lesser known third season is surprisingly fun and great to watch with the kiddies when you are not watching all that other educational stuff with them. There is a KISS-like phantom in one episode that members of the Monkees do the voices for and is hilarious for old dudes/dudettes that throw out pop culture references like a game of 52 Card Pickup. It’s also refreshing for the Scooby fans out there who thought they have seen them all and didn’t realize that there was a third season made before the big downfall which all of us Scooby-heads call the Scrappy Years. Also, on a lighter note Scooby regained his coolness years later by doing three seasons of newer series called “What’s New Scooby-Doo?” and I recommend this show for anyone with kids or who is a big kid at heart. It’s very entertaining and exciting to Scooby back on top of his game. Now all we need is a True Hollywood Stories biography to complete those dark times in the 80s.

5. ER - This steady steamship is still good after 14 years of being on the air and still has a wonderful cast to compliment the changes that have occurred throughout the course of this show. It has a great continuity woven into it and completely keeps itself in check with its characters and their past. I do miss some of the original members and they even stop by from time to time but the constantly growing and changing cast keeps this guilty pleasure fun and exciting.

Shows on must see list still include the soon to be coming Heroes: Season 1 DVDs and now I am adding Pushing Daisies as well. Anyone up for a good discussion on any of these shows drop me line and dig into the dirt and messy TV style