A quick word about the general state of television: We may be entering an era of actual programming again. I haven't been pimping the following shows as much as I should have been, but 'Psych' is a phenomenal television program. It's also available (and popular) on the iTunes Music Store so you can catch up if you have the guy from the Daily Show or the guy from Stuckeyville High. (The missing character from those commercials is an alabaster version of Horatio Sanz with overalls and a free t-shirt from a technology conference held shortly after Socks-the-First-Cat had kittens and is off-camera finding Morpheus or whatever. 'Knock, knock.')

So, yeah, 'Psych' is great. New. Different. Like '24' but funnier outtakes. ("You see, Mr. Bauer, the toxins are entering your ... [boom mike drops into the shot, followed by laughter which abruptly stops after Keifer Sutherland snaps the sound guy's cervical vertebrae and stares at everyone before returning to his mark.])

I've been intrigued by the show 'House, M.D.' but never actually watched any of it until today. I can see why people like it and having a relatively healthy version of his character seems okay for me. 'Standoff' was also good but a little, uh, clumsy. It's supposed to be Moonlighting-with-hostage-negotiators but the pilot came across as The-Negotiator-meets-Michael-Bay-with-Rose-DeWitt-and-Ron-Livingston. A lot of intersection shots but there were some really funny scenes and high drama, I guess. I don't envy the writers since if they pull it off it will be the only successful case of this formula working. (Example: Name a movie featuring an extended soft-focus love scene with a married couple. Having people already together leaves out the stuff that fifty years of domestic programming has honed to an art form. Needless to say, I really want this show to succeed.)

Okay, must sees:
Psych
House
Standoff
Prison Break

Plenty Good:
Meerkat Manor
Monk

Coming Soon:
Studio 60