For those of you who know me, you’ll know I’m a huge fan of TV. And I mean huuuuge. I’m sure there are others out there who watch way more TV than I do, but I definitely *ahem* pride myself for being as big a TV fanatic as I am. So each September, when Fall season TV comes back on, I do a little dance in my seat and promptly indulge in every piece of pop culture as best I can.

This year, I was really really looking forward to the return of some new shows that have successfully escaped the various network’s axes and are safely in their sophomore season. And judging from their premieres, I am quite confident that there’ll be a few more seasons left in each of them. :)

I started watching Parenthood because it starred Peter Krause (who somehow always manages to charm and reduce me into a puddle of goo) and Lauren Graham (who I totally wanna be when I grow up). Little did I know the characters and stories would speak such volumes to me and make me care that much. Each character’s personal struggles are incredibly realistic, yet their triumphs have just the right amount of idealism for us to feel good and remain hopeful about. But what I love most is the perfect portrayal of how much this family loves each other. Unfortunately, Parenthood’s still quite underrated at the moment and as much as I love the show, I don’t see it going beyond 3 seasons. Fingers crossed!

The most well-known of the lot, mostly because Glee is now a bonafide pop culture phenomenon, whether you like it or not. For me, this is creator Ryan Murphy’s gift to everyone who loves musicals. It entertains me each week with the over-the-top song-and-dance sequences, and unexpectedly serious issues that many of the characters are made to grapple with. And while I know of many who find Rachel (Lea Michele) annoying, I think there’s no denying that she’s pretty good at what she does. I mean, being able to make us hate and sympathise with her all in the same episode? I say, well done. The cute fellas on the show are a nice touch too. :p

This Modern Family is as dysfunctional as dysfunctional gets (Arrested Development still takes top honours for that), but true to it’s title, it IS modern, and this comedy usually ends up making me feel more warm and fuzzy than anything. I guess it’s because there’s all that love and acceptance going around, in between the pure gold moments. Who can forget the boyfriend’s highly inappropriate song, the over-zealous tributes to pop icons courtesy of the cutest baby on TV right now, and pretty much everything that Phil Dunphy is in? Heh. I’m also a big fan of the mockumentary style of shooting, because it’s just more fun that way.

I just started watching Community about 2 weeks ago, and was immediately SOLD. Then, it was a mad rush to finish all 25 episodes of Season 1 before the Season 2 premiere (last night) and I’m happy that I’m right on track now. :D This comedy was completely off my radar cos A) I didn’t know anyone except Chevy Chase and I’ll admit, he doesn’t exactly excite me, and B) the concept didn’t seem too interesting. AND HOW WRONG I WAS. Because it? IS HILARIOUS. Each episode is filled with plenty of genuine laugh out loud moments, and the pop cultural references, OH THE POP CULTURAL REFERENCES. It’s like a great big nudge and wink to all the TV and movie fans of the world who would appreciate the mocking of/tribute to all the cliches that have ever graced our screens. Love. Love. Love. And even if some of the references are a little more obscure, there’s still more than enough for everyone to laugh about. Hands down, my favourite new comedy. (Disclaimer: Glee doesn’t count, cos I consider it more of a musical that also happens to be funny.) Besides, have you seen the EPIC that is Modern Warfare? I love it so much I want to draw imaginary hearts all around it.

So that makes up less than half my TV-viewing schedule. Yeah, how I get any work done is beyond me.