loonyblog.

Actually, now would be a good time to check out Enterprise. The first two seasons were aimless exploration (think Voyager) and the last season was
all about stomping the Xindi.

Now they're finally turning their attention to how this rather untrekish universe evolved into Kirk's
universe. Put it this way, I won't pick up the first three seasons but I will pick up this one.

I'd also recommend Ghost in the Shell but I'm sure you've encountered it already. It's new to me, it was a Tivo suggestion.

Oh yeah, almost forgot, in January the Sci-fi network starts the new Battlestar Galactica series. I saw the movie expecting it to stink but it was quite good. How can you loose with Edward james Olmos as Adama?

New shows this season I've enjoyed are LOST (which will be back to back with Alias in Jan), which is pretty hyped but has some good folks on the crew - including Paul Dini - and Boston Legal. I know, I know, many people can't stand Shatner, but I kind of like the self-depracating style of the old guy and the James Spader character is an evil hoot as well. But it reeks of David E Kelley, so if you didn't like his stuff before (snappy banter), you might not now. For the record, I didn't like Ally McBeal, and was give or take on The Practice.

Plus there's football, but there's only another couple of months of that. heh.

Not sure when it's starting in the US, but I strongly recommend the new Battlestar Galactica. It's headed by Ron D. Moore, who was writer and producer on the excellent DS9. Battlestar Galactica has a couple of weaknesses, but overall it should remind you a lot of DS9 with its ongoing stories and character-centred episodes.

Lost is opposite Smallville, I believe. I had wanted to check it out, but can't for that reason. Thankfully, Alias won't be when it airs, so I don't have to worry about missing that.

I set up a season past for GITS last night, actually...I had forgotten that Cartoon Network would be airing those.

Battlestar I thought about checking out when it first aired, but i'm totally not a fan of the original. Is it still worth it?

Oh, gosh, YES it's worth it. I'm in my 30s, so I saw the original series when I was about 9 or 10. I remember even then thinking that it sucked somehow. I recently had the chance to go back and watch the original pilot again, and boy, was it ever a stinker.

The new show is FANTASTIC. It's entirely character-driven — no alien casinos in this one — and it's oh-so-smart. The writers don't assume their audience is filled entirely with idiots. They don't answer all the questions. They don't clear up all the mysteries. It's really fantastic TV. Check it out.

I love The Dead Zone on USA, can't wait until the new season shows up. It has a sci-fi element to it and most of the episodes regard 'mysteries' that Johnny Smith solves with his powers. Man, that sounded so cheesy, but trust me on this one.

Agreed on LOST! That's a fantastic show and I really enjoy it.

Hmm..otherwise its HBO dramas for me, The Wire I found this season (because I now have Video On Demand which is like Crappy Tivo But It Works), and I'm hooked. Watched a LOT of Deadwood, lovin every minute of it.

I have to throw Arrested Development in the ring here. It's a sitcom, but not live action (Scrubs too), good amount of subtle jokes, lots of replay value and the new season just started a few weeks ago and season 1 came out on DVD, so its easy to get into.

West Wing is picking up steam again too, and I'm also enjoying Veronica Mars (along with a bunch of cheesy mainstream shows I won't bother to recommend. Heck, I watch The O.C.).

If you get BBC America, you might want to give shows like Peep Show and The Kumars at No. 42 a try. Both are comedies.

I'm still working my way through all Farscape seasons on TiVo from their megamarathon back in October.

Finally there's a few sci-fi/fantasy min-series/pilot movies coming out soon that are on my TiVo radar: Anonymous Rex and Earthsea on Sci-Fi and The Librarian on TNT.

Since you and I have similar tastes in politics, I'd reccomend The Daily Show. Sometimes it's a hit and since the election is over it's mostly been Stewart's jaw hanging agape at religious right and their strong voting presence, but when he's not on the ball the rest of the cast is.