mrshl | blog

The Fall TV Season is upon us.

Having been in law school for the past three years, I didn’t watch a whole ton of TV outside of The Daily Show and Colbert Report. But now that I’m done, I’m making a decidedly retrograde resolution. I’m going to try and watch more television. I’ve got time on my hands and the DVR is fired up. I’ve even got HBO. But I confess, I’m still a little bewildered.

The main problem I’ve had is that I’m not sure what to watch. I know almost nothing about the current state of TV. My only other regular shows include Jeopardy and Grey’s Anatomy, which I only started watching because my lady digs it so much. In recent years, I’ve missed the boat on quite a few popular shows: The Sopranos, 24, Desperate Housewives. Recently, I’ve also missed a few sci-fi gems I know I’d probably love (e.g., Battlestar Galactica, Heroes). I want to start watching these shows, but I’m already a year behind.

I’ve been throwing my life away.

But with the new Fall shows starting up, I’ve got a chance at redemption. Which brings me back to my central question: what new shows should I become obsessed with? Because this is me, I naturally started my research using a super-fancy new Web site called MeeVee.com. MeeVee is TV guide with a bit of Netflix or Last.fm thrown in. In addition to personalized TV listings that blow Yahoo away, you also get some other useful features:

• Save favorite shows or interests to your own ”channels.” For example, I have both “football” and  Aqua Teen Hunger Force listed as interest channels. You can right click on almost anything and add it as a favorite. Your favorite channels are then highlighted in their own section within your guide.
• Create profile page. Similar to Netflix or Flixter, your personal page includes a picture, username, and age, along with your interest channels, reviews, and TV show ratings. Like Last.fm, MeeVee uses this information to calculate your compatibility with other users on the site. Weirdly, there’s no way to add friends, but they just recently added this feature, so look for it in the future.
• Lots and lots of video. MeeVee, isn’t just a guide to television. It’s got links your episodes of your favorite shows online. The Community Section grabs content from video sharing site and organizes it by show. Want to watch clips of Buffy or CSI on YouTube? The links are there.
• Insight from television “experts.” I’m not sure whether expert is the right word, but the MeeVee blog is a good place to start for someone like me who has no real idea what’s on TV. There are helpful links to a bunch of other TV blogs as well.
• Context is key. Each show or interest has its own page on MeeVee, complete with links to video, blogs, and upcoming episodes. Check out CSI’s page.
• Get MeeVee on your Myspace or cell phone. This seems a bit excessive, but it’s there if you want it.

So what am I watching? My choices are easier because I don’t watch sitcoms or reality television, but I’ve still consulted out a couple of Top 10 lists (here, here, and here). I think I’m set to watch Bionic Woman, Chuck, and Moonlight (vampires!).

Got any better ideas? You tell me what to watch.