COUCH POTATOES REJOICE!

Now that all the TV network series season finales are behind us, we couch potatoes are in a short holding pattern until June and July when a new crop of shows begin. And even in this dry period when sometimes the most entertaining fare is baseball, there are shows worth watching. FARGO on FX and GANG RELATED on FOX come to mind.
I remember when I was watching TV on my black and white TV when I was young. There were basically four channels and no remote. Sometimes, rather than get up off the couch, families would pick a network, say NBC, and just stick with it for the evening. They would watch Huntley and Brinkley for news, then go right into Bonanza, Ironside and the Dean Martin Show.
With the onset of Cable programming and the invention of the remote (or the clicker), viewers could now sail through literally hundreds of TV choices without getting out of their chairs. Of course, with that, came a lot of garbage like JON AND KATE PLUS EIGHT and JERSEY SHORE. But with the artistic freedom that Cable provided also came a new Golden Age of Television. Shows like THE SOPRANOS and THE WIRE  on HBO took television screenwriting to new heights. While movies were dumbing down with blockbuster entertainment, television was providing intelligent, gritty and thought-provoking shows that harkened back to TV dramas of the Fifties and Sixties. And now, TV junkies can watch additional programming on streaming video like that offered on NETFLIX. Viewers can binge watch full seasons of HOUSE OF CARDS or the upcoming third season of THE KILLING.
And the great thing about this programming is that it is year-round. In the old days, the TV season would begin in September and end in May. We were then left with Summer which was a wasteland of reruns. Now TV seasons are shorter, and as one span of episodes ends, another one begins. So as GAME OF THRONES ends, THE LEFTOVERS begins.
And the quality of these Cable shows is so good, take BREAKING BAD, BOARDWALK EMPIRE, TRUE DETECTIVE and JUSTIFIED for instance, that it is forcing the networks to improve the quality of their programming. You can see it in recent shows like LOST, THE BLACKLIST and HANNIBAL.
Another terrific improvement to the television viewing experience is Video on Demand,  Google Play and Netflix. While before we were stuck with the limited programming of four networks, we now have so much programming to get through, we can't possibly watch it all In one evening or one week. These services allow us to watch our favorite shows, often commercial -free, at our convenience, anytime we want! 
In the upcoming months watch out for more great Cable programming to continue with shows like THE STRAIN,  HALT AND CATCH FIRE, THE BRIDGE (second season) and GRACEPOINT.
Yes. It is a great time to be a couch potato!