Now Cane is off the tube. But as much as I liked those shows, they weren't flawless classics. Homicide: Life on the Street was absolutely classic.

I never got into the book. Bought it. Completely depressing. Probably pleasurable reading for some serious fan of homicide investigation, but not for me. The TV show, though, was and still is pure poetry. Finding it on Sleuth TV in the past few days has made up for the major dearth and suckage of today's programming on the major networks.

Shows I once liked but got sick of:

Desperate Housewives. Too much talk, not enough action. No, I don't mean that I need car chases and explosions. But I can only take so much of the stereotypical gossiping between women, whether it's real life or reel life. There were some truly comical moments in the first couple of seasons, but since then, it's been ridiculous and pointless most of the time. Thud.

Grey's Anatomy. A show that had great promise, a wide array of characters ... and then it was whittled down to a flitty soap opera that forgot that some of us fans want substance, not just inane, babbling characters who care more about their petty crap than the actual patients. The show has survived thanks to "Dr. McDreamy" (don't remember his actual name) and the throng of female watchers. Cool for them, but I tuned out a long while back.

There are some decent, creative shows on the air, but most of them are on Showtime and PBS. The major networks have dumbed down their shows to the point that it's all about instant ratings rather than long-term development of plot and characters. They can't afford to be patient anymore, not with so much competition (from Showtime, for example), so it's a double-edged sword.

Lost is back, it's compelling again, and this month-long hiatus sucks. I still miss NYPD Blue. Heck, I still miss All in the Family.

But for now, aside from Lost -- the "reality" shows taste like cardboard to me -- some of the stuff that pins me down for an hour at a time include The Office, History Detectives, Nova, Frontline, Weeds, Iron Chef America and No Reservations.

Yeah, too much TV is bad. But good TV is good.

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