With a wide assortment of talent including John C. Reilly, Will Ferrell, Alan Thicke, and Zach Galifianakis showing up as guests and plenty of satirical humor and special effects with editing tricks included this show is one to definitely catch whenever possible. The creators of Awesome Show, Eric Wareheim and Tim Heidecker also control the reins on this fun show, which is often surrealistic, satirical, and always entertaining. Watch for the faux-commercials for they are bizarre and often poke fun at the industry. It has been described as a nightmare version (as seen by us the audience) of the television industry itself. Wareheim and Heidecker's previous offering to television, Tom Goes to the Mayor, provides several of the comedy skits as well as repeat characters borrowed from their original show. A news channel correspondent, played by John C. Reilly, and "Weird Al" Yankovic, who's gravelly voice add humor to skits like the "Uncle Muscles Hour" and it's all done in fun"¦ truly hilarious!

Legendary bad-boy and all-around ace philanderer Charlie Sheen stars in CBS's hit sitcom "Two-and-a-Half Men," inspiring most loyal viewers to wonder how much the show and its situation actually challenge the million-dollar jokester really to act. Sheen plays, just coincidentally, of course, Charlie, a profligate composer living comfortably on the beach in Malibu thanks to his singular gift for making-up catchy commercial jingles. Charlie's steadfast devotion to "The Playboy Philosophy" meets serious challenges when his frighteningly repressed, skin-crawlingly anxious, and obnoxiously too-preppy chiropractor brother moves into the beach house, bringing his adolescent son with him"”both refugees from a Southern California tract-house divorce. Perfectly cast for his role in "Two-and-a-Half Men," John Cryer brilliantly recreates Alan's tics, quirks, and peccadilloes; and Angus T. Jones, television's consummate anti-Disney superstar, makes puberty and cluelessness look (almost) vaguely adorable. Brilliant, insightful, incisive, snarky and sardonic, frequently edgy, deliciously allusive writing keeps the show fresh and relevant"”lots of running jokes and familiar motifs have developed, but nothing ever seems even vaguely old"¦least of all, Charlie Sheen.

Of course, nerds, geeks, dorks, techies, and intellectuals of all advanced-degree descriptions deserve love and affection"”if only their lips could form the monosyllables, "Will you go out with me?" CBS's hit "The Big Bang Theory" explores this and other mysteries of the universe, putting a lab-coated coterie of Cal-Tech scientists directly across the hall from Penny, premier Pasadena waitress and aspiring actress. "The Big Bang Thoery" proves once again that excruciating self-consciousness and social ineptitude, unfortunately, are always funny; and GED holders may derive extra satisfaction from Penny's frequent mastery of difficult situations on the strength of common sense and hard experience. In its first seasons, "The Big Bang Theory" looked frighteningly like "My Boys" minus Wrigley Field, but the characters and show have evolved, and individual actors and actresses have put their distinctive stamps on their roles. Especially Kaylee Cuoco has found the right balance between ingenuousness and homegrown girl power in her portrayal of Penny. Audiences have noticed, giving "The Big Bang Theory" their nod for a People's Choice Award in 2010. At the 2011 Golden Globe Awards, relatively unheralded, deliciously diffident Jim Parsons took home a handsome statuette for his performance as physicist Dr. Sheldon Cooper, an immensely lovable uber-nerd supreme. And in January, 2011, giving "The Big Bang Theory" the ultimate vote of confidence, CBS extended the show's contract for another three seasons.

If bad guys forced you to choose only two programs for viewing during a long captivity, you wisely and happily might choose USA's new series "Fairly Legal." Engaging, engrossing, elegant, and electric, "Fairly Legal" is one of those shows you wish would go on and on and on. If only USA had made more than eight episodes. Sparkly, sassy, stylish, and seductive, Sarah Shahi plays Kate Reed, a once-upon-a-time lawyer who officially has resigned from the professional ranks to become a full-time mediator"”hence the two elements in the title, "legal" and "fair." Kate's goal: avoid costly and ugly litigation by finding settlements that meet everybody's needs. Kate's favourite phrase: "Win-Win." Of course, the show has sexual t4ension between Kate and her ex-husband, a district attorney; it has family tension between Kate and her newly widowed young step-mother; and it has just enough ongoing mystery and suspense in the sub-plot to sustain it from episode to episode. Having San Francisco as the setting doesn't hurt either. No one at "Law and Order" need feel threatened, though, because "Fairly Legal" is far too flirty and fun to harbour any criminal intent.

Scheduled as a mid-season replacement for "The Defenders" on CBS, "Chaos" is scheduled to premier on April 1, 2011"”just in time for spring sweepstakes. The producers describe "Chaos" with the oxymoron "comedic drama," which can translate to brilliant satire and much wry laughter, or which can degenerate into serious genre-confusion and disaster. A veteran small-screen cast and an eight o'clock time-slot give hope to producers and CBS programming execs. In "Chaos," a group of CIA renegades combat serious threats to national security under the auspices of "Clandestine Administration and Oversight Services," a hint the writers coined the acronym before filling-in the words. The group includes a young, ingenuous-looking super-sleuth, a psychologist turned spy with a gift for tactics and motivation from severe paranoia. "CAOS" also includes a disgruntled former employee of the British Secret Service, and a seasoned CIA veteran with the capacity to morph into a human weapon. The collection sounds like a sure-fire formula for chaos, and the "Chaos" ensemble has potential to wring big laughs from total incompetence, but they remain vulnerable to looking like the farm team for TNT's "Leverage."

"Bored to Death" seems so completely and consummately the work of Larry David it ought to come with some kind of designer label. Its characters show the same seen-it-all New York brusqueness that distinguished the most memorable characters on "Seinfeld," and the characters sleep-walk through their lives with the same un-self-consciousness as their cousins on "Curb Your Enthusiasm." Not surprisingly, therefore, David scored a prestigious nomination for a 2010 Writers' Guild Award. Based on a delectably quirky premise, "Bored to Death" stars Jason Schwartzman as Jonathan, a writer in search of meaning, adventure, and consolation has he struggles through a pretty routine midlife crisis. When his long-time girlfriend dumps him, walking roughshod all over his delicate ego, Jonathan becomes a Craig's List private detective. The New York Times explains, "One of the charms of "Bored to Death" is that the hero, a pothead and screw-up, secretly moonlights as a man of action" at least as much action as missing skateboards and cheating boyfriends can trigger. Ted Danson co-stars as George, a profligate publisher and socialite, who encourages Jonathan's new endeavor. Not surprisingly, Danson shows a marked tendency to steal all the scenes in which he appears. Mid-life man's marginalization probably is the well-spring of Larry David's most exquisite ironies.