Dipping a toe in the pop culture pool

From what I've picked up talking to various people, I may be about to reveal a dark secret, but I like Jericho. I know that the acting isn't exactly top-notch, and maybe it does slip into naffness from time to time (thanks for confirming that in my brain, Gra), but the premise is intriguing and I'm currently half-way through the mid-season cliff-hanger and it's just working for me.

The characters have sucked me in, the "what's going on? who's on whose side?" thing is awesome. I loved American Gothic and I love Lost. It can get frustrating, but like the mytharc in X-Files, I don't hate getting little tidbits of info here and there. And all the stand-offs and stand-downs are just plain cool!

Another show I've fallen for is Entourage. A bit like Spaced, describing the premise of this one doesn't do it justice. True, it could essentially be a pretty banal tale of a young up-and-comer in Hollywood and his mates and brother hanging out and enjoying the high life, but the acting and writing are top-notch and something about the series just sets it apart.

There are celebrity cameos a-plenty, with standouts being Richard Schiff playing himself and telling his agent he wants to be an action hero and Seth Green also playing himself, only I hope he's not such a dick. It's sort of based on Mark Wahlberg's experiences as the young up-and-comer (he's an executive producer on the show) and includes such weak-sounding story arcs as "Will Vince get the Aquaman film?" and "will Drama get to the audition on time". But don't let the basic storylines fool you. This is cutting satire as well as a fun romp rolled into a slick, HBO-produced bundle.