Fresh Meat: Shameless

Welcome to our first ‘Fresh Meat’ column, where we will review and analyze new shows, determining whether their worth your precious time. Our first review is of Showtime's Shameless (Sundays at 10pm).

Based on the award-winning British series of the same name, Shameless premiered on January 9^th. Starring a brilliant William H. Macy, this show is based around a drunk and his six kids in Chicago’s west side. Unlike most shows dealing with family poverty or absent, alcoholic fathers, this show brings the drama on a personal level that many shows miss.

William H. Macy plays Frank Gallagher, a father of six, who spends his days drinking at his next-door neighbors bar. The children are a motley crew, ranging from the eldest daughter (Emmy Rossum) who acts as the matriarch, to a gay son who falls in love with his boss at a supermarket. Another son is a genius who takes the SATs for other people.

There are few shows these days that truly make you laugh, sympathize and relate to the characters so well. Shameless brings a real life American family struggling to stay a float straight to your television screen. According to Executive Producer John Wells, “we have a comedic tradition of making fun of the people in those worlds. The reality is that these people aren't 'the other' — they're people who live four blocks down from you and two blocks over."

If you subscribe to Showtime (or the internet...), I highly recommend giving this show a look. It's only three episodes in and is a fast hour of television, and William H. Macy and a supporting turn by Joan Cusack as his agoraphobic neighbor make this show a must watch.

Bottom Line: This show fits well with Showtime's current stable and has the potential to become another fantastic series for the network.

Why Aren't You Watching: Parks and Recreation

Welcome to the first post of our "Why Aren't You Watching" column, where we will talk about a great show that you really should be watching yourself. Today's show, Parks and Recreation on NBC (Thursdays, 9:30).

Parks and Recreation, which began its third season last week, had a rough start in its first (only six episode) season. It was created as a vehicle for Amy Poehler (fresh off of SNL), by some of the people behind the Office, who chose to make it an original show, instead of a spin-off of the office, which was the initial plan. Having been rushed into production, the first season didn't really find its voice and was largely written off. However, with the premiere of its second season, Parks quickly became the most improved comedy of the year, maybe even the decade, and one of the most original and hilarious shows currently on TV.

Though there are a number of excellent comedies on right now, Parks is able to set itself apart with the perfect combination of subtlety, absurdity, slapstick, plot, and, perhaps most important for a comedy, hilariously acted and written characters. Lets start with Poehler's character, Parks and Recreation Deputy Director Leslie Knope. Though she began the series as slightly grating, she evolved into someone you really root for. Her unflappable optimism and dedication are so extreme that, when coupled with her naivety, she is a true political rarity; someone who actually believes in the system. Contrastingly, her libertarian boss Ron Swanson (played with expert restraint by Nick Offerman) values capitalism so strongly that he believes government shouldn't really be doing anything. His unabashed glee over the budget cuts for their department was riotous, especially compared with Leslie's horror at the news. Other fantastic characters include the lovable but oafish and accident-prone Andy Dwyer (Chris Pratt), who ends up (poorly) running a shoe shine stand in the government building, and the sardonic and apathetic April Ludgate (Aubrey Plaza), the office's sarcastic intern. Of course these are only a few of the many hilarious characters that inhabit the small town of Pawnee, Indiana.

So check this show out, you can even go ahead and skip the first season, after a few episodes of the show's second season, you should be pretty hooked. Before you know it you'll be laughing at Leslie's intense paranoia over a first date and her desperate crusade against a teenage vandal. You'll delight in seeing the staff try to handle 93 meetings in one day (mistakenly scheduled on a presumed non-existent date so Ron could avoid them), while Leslie's subordinate Tom Haverford (Aziz Ansari) unsuccessfully tries to hit on every pretty girl he sees. Parks and Recreation plays out its stories like a straight-faced farce, though it is often aware of its own ridiculousness. Give Parks a chance and it will easily fit in with your current comedy line up.

Hello World

Welcome to Addicted to Television, a blog to treat your condition.

Here we will provide you with all the necessary info so you never have to leave the couch. We sift through the crap to find you the gold of past and present, while offering unique and occasionally insightful commentary. So please grab a beer and some snacks, sit back, and relax. Come join us and allow our opinions to become yours, while our collective asses sink further into the couch.

Here are some helpful exercises to keep you in shape (relatively)

Couch Potato Workout:

- Remote lifts (don't forget a spotter)

- Chip and dip crunches

- Thumb stretches

- Bathroom run cardio

- Best viewing angle lunges