Now That's Entertainment!

There are very few television shows I enjoy watching. When I do find something it's usually got a healthy mixture of comedy and violence. Of late there have been only four shows that I have enjoyed thoroughly: Monk, Burn Notice, Chuck, and Castle.

My favorite program has been Monk for the last eight years. I absolutely love the character Adrian Monk and find it easy to sympathize with him and the many, many problems that he overcomes. There are scenes in this show that have made me laughed 'til I cried. Unfortunately, Monk has come to an end, this last season being the final season.

Just this last week the third season of Burn Notice was released on DVD. I love this show. I'm not saying there's nothing better out there, there definitely is, but this is still a very good program. It satisfies the comedy through sarcastic comments, strange situations and some over the top acting on the part of the characters. But the intriguing part, for me anyway, is the narrative. The main character often provides a voice-over during a scene. This voice-over is not used to explain the story or provide depth as with most other narratives. Rather, it provides tips and advise on a variety of tasks. Instructions are provided on how to dodge a tail or tell if someone is lying to you. Advise is given on various products from C4 to water-saws. All in all I would say that Burn Notice is the most entertaining instructional program I've ever seen.

Chuck is absolutely hilarious. All the actors are very talented. Of course, it helps that one of them is the beloved Adam Baldwin, no relation to the Baldwin brothers. Adam Baldwin was in a very under-appreciated show called Firefly. In Firefly he played a gun toting mercenary named Jayne Cobb. In Chuck he plays a gun toting NSA agent named John Casey, but still manages to make the differences in the characters felt. Not that I wouldn't mind a little more Jayne.

Castle features another Firefly cast member, Nathan Fillion. Nathan Fillion is my hero. This guy is so fun to watch that I literally smile just watching him, even during the grim scenes. Maybe especially during the grim scenes. I would recommend this to anyone who likes Murder/Mystery style crime shows and anyone in the need of a good long laugh.

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