Dirty Pop: Gasp! My DVR Broke

By Amanda

Confession: I am a television fanatic and DVR hoarder.

Not everyone is into television the way I am (and it’s probably for the best), but for those of you who can’t find the time to watch, or have conflicting shows, or Gasp! The unthinkable happened and your DVR broke—this post is for you.

GOSSIP GIRL: The plot always goes in a circle. It starts with some kind of Chair (Chuck and Blair) or Serena debacle. Nate, Dan and Vanessa have a side mini-drama. Eric, Rufus and Lily are thrown in at some event that everyone magically attends and the drama solves itself. Jenny’s still banned from NYC. Newbies Juliet (Nate’s former fling) and Colin (Serena’s love interest/professor) are apparently cousins, but there’s still no explanation for why Juliet and the guy in the orange jumpsuit (her brother?) want to ruin Serena. If you start watching next week, you’ll pick it up in no time.
*Best weekly recap: New York magazine’s Vulture blog.

GLEE: There wasn’t a new episode this week, so you didn’t miss anything. Recent episodes have produced some stellar singles you should download (“I’m a Slave 4 U”; “River Deep Mountain High”; “I Want to Hold Your Hand”; “Touch a Touch a Touch a Touch Me”) but in terms of plot, NOTHING HAS HAPPENED (except Kurt’s dad’s near death). If you started watching now, you’d see new hottie Chord Overstreet as Sam and John Stamos as Carl. But, Glee has failed its fans in terms of character-driven plot lines.
*Best weekly recap: EW.com and Vanity Fair’s Glee-cap.

PARENTHOOD: The return of Lorelai Lauren Graham! You’re missing out if you haven’t watched or kept up, as this show gets better and better each week. Buy the first season and then catch up on this season as soon as possible. Parenthood is the sole reason I can stand Dax Shepard.
*Best weekly recap: The Marquee Blog

MODERN FAMILY: My current favorite missed the sophomore slump. I think it’s as great as its first season! Unlike most shows, the story doesn’t carry over week to week, so you can jump in at anytime. And you should. Right now.
*Best weekly recap: EW.com

GREY’S ANATOMY: I only watch this show because I want to see how it ultimately ends. The show’s quality dipped in the past two seasons, but the writing seems to be recovering this season right along with the characters (who are in the aftermath of last season’s hospital shooting). Certain things are overdone (Get better already, Christina, or I’m tossing you out like I did Izzie), but other experiments are worth watching (the hospital as a reality star). New characters are minimal, so if you’ve seen the show before you won’t feel lost.
*Best weekly recap: EW.com

REAL HOUSEWIVES OF 90210 BEVERLY HILLS: Everyone’s face is plastic (Adrienne and Taylor are the most mutilated, while Kyle looks and acts the most normal); Kim is anti-social because she was a child actress; Camille is Kelsey Grammer’s ex-wife and just likes men better than women; Lisa doesn’t go anywhere without her dog. A whole lot of extravagant houses and spending mixes with the classic catty Housewives drama, and Andy Cohen wins.
*Best weekly recap: LA Times’ Show Tracker

I cut Life Unexpected, Raising Hope, The Event and many others from my schedule. Are these worth adding back in? What shows should I be watching? Anyone else excited for the Kendra premiere this Sunday? Sound off in the comments, or share your thoughts with me at [email protected].

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Get It: Willow Smith for her stellar television debut on Ellen this week. Watch it here.

Go Away: Campaign ads need to stop. Thank god Election Day has come and gone. Can we please take a long breather before the 2012 presidential campaign ads begin?