I’m hooked. Even though the show doesnt air here, a friend was raving about it, so I started watching via netflix. What a refreshing change from US sitcoms. Sometimes I think I was born in the wrong country. I dont like Seinfeld, Friends, Married with Children or any of the “cartoon” shows on TV (including but not limited to Sponge Bob Squarepants). Possible exceptions are Kim Possible and Jimmy Neutron.

There are a lot of things I dont understand about US television, though. Why are there so many cop shows? Are we so obsessed with murder that we have to make it a constant form of entertainment? I realize that a large percentage of these shows arent even violent, they’re just boring. How many pseudo-profound things can David Constantine say before Pete Townsend screams? I have to admit that I sometimes watch CSI:Miami just to see Emily Procter, but that doesnt indicate that I’d like to spend two hours every night watching her on TV. Have we run out of interesting story lines that dont involve death, kidnapping or emergency rooms?

If we have to continue with the theme, could we do a western version?

CSI: The Early Years - Starring Tom Selleck as Cuss McKinley, a crusty ex-lawman who solves crimes as he drifts along the trail. The back story could involve flashbacks of his life as a Marshall/Sheriff and include scenes with his beautiful wife, Belinda (Jessica Biel), who is evidently dead, but we dont know exactly how she died. We only know that it soured Cuss into a tragic figure with a hard fist, a fast gun and a tender side that he doesnt like to show.

Then we could spinoff CSI: The Next Generation, in which Mark Wahlberg plays a no-nonsense police captain in the 23rd century. He has never been married, because he’s in love with the badge. There is a romantic connection between him and a certain woman of questionable repute (Halle Berry), on Delron 5, but it can never go anywhere because he suffers from an incurable disease which could kill him at any time.

Another time we’ll discuss my complete inability to comprehend our preoccupation with reality shows, and my incredulous disbelief that Disney replaced Lizzie McGuire with Hannah Montana.

Meanwhile, enjoy this clip from “Help, Hobo! Help!”