Good Television Still Exists

If you know me, you realize I’m a nostalgic guy. I’d rather watch a movie from the ‘50s, a TV show from the ‘60s and listen to the music of the ‘70s than most anything available today in any of those formats.

Yet, amazingly in this crude, sex-saturated culture there still are multiple refreshing new programs on television every week. When I have the time, I don’t like to miss the following:

• CBS Sunday Morning. This 90-minute staple before church is the best news show on the tube, mixing an eclectic batch of interesting features each week. The correspondents are as varied as the segments, which all make for an interesting look at music, art, sports, religion and a whole lot more.

• The Middle (ABC, Wednesday nights). It’s been a long time since I’ve followed a primetime broadcast series, but I’m fairly hooked on this one. Patricia Heaton carries the series as a middle-aged harried, unsuccessful car saleswoman with a largely disengaged husband and three emotionally needy children. The fact that the family lives in rural Indiana and struggles to make ends meet only makes it more credible. The show is devoid of the bawdy talk and innuendo that passes for humor on much of network television.

• Monk (USA, Friday nights). This groundbreaking series is about to wrap up its eighth season. The scripts aren’t as crisp as in the early years, yet it’s difficult not to get wrapped up in the lives of the title character and supporting cast.

• You Are What You Eat (BBC America, Tuesday nights). Gillian McKeith is Britain’s weight cop, plucking two desperate people to live in her house each week in an effort to keep them from eating themselves into an early grave. She mercilessly scolds them for eating a variety of junk foods and sets the guidelines for turning their lives around. The show has a lot of pathos, as the houseguests hate her tactics yet realize they must incorporate better eating habits for their survival. The show always is informative and is never dull. By the end of the eight-week treatment guests generally have dropped 15-25 pounds.

• Jeopardy! (syndicated, late afternoon or early evening). Now in its 26th season, the classic answer and question game show always entertains.