Secret Millionaire

When Sasha Paley wrote her "young adult novel" about weight problems that are all too common in today's youth, she could have more than likely foreseen the popularity of a television series based on the concept. It is an enormous problem for many young people today and by addressing it within the context of a popular TV program it will be seen by many and perhaps help some who are struggling with their weight. A summer camp dedicated to weight loss, Camp Victory is the destination for the cast of "chubbies" determined to lose weight and become healthier along the way to becoming popular in school. Written capably by Winnie Holzman (My So-Called Life) and her daughter Savannah Dooley, the cast includes Nikki Blonsky playing Willamena, filled with resentment for being sent to "fat camp" by her parents, Hayley Hasselhoff is Amber, thinner and prettier than the rest but lacking self-confidence, and Raven Goodwin who plays Becca, bookworm who is painfully shy and becomes fast friend with Willamena. Good writing and a talented cast make this semi reality show well worth watching.

The three main characters involved in "Traffic Light" apparently represent the three colors involved on a light that directs traffic. Mike (David Denman), Adam (Nelson Franklin), and Ethan (Kris Marshall) have been best friends ever since their days in college and even though they've chosen different paths in life, still remain close now that they are in their thirties. Mike might be compared to a red light because he is married, has a small son, and settled in comfortably with his life and lifestyle. Adam is then the yellow or caution light. He recently moved in with a girlfriend and is cautiously optimistic about their relationship. Ethan, a British bachelor, has no plans for future commitments and hopes to remain "footloose and fancy free" with his life. This highly entertaining sit-com is popular in part due to good writing, interesting characters, and the fact it has no irritating "laugh track" does not hurt. This show is to be appreciated for its candor between friends as they each deal with life and balancing romance and relationships.

"Pushing Daisies" is an American television series created by Bryan Fuller. It aired on ABC from 2007 to 2009 and tells the story of a pie-maker named Ned who has the ability to bring dead things back to life with a touch.

Does "Californication" have an audience outside Los Angeles? "X-Files" hero and heart-throb David Duchovny plays a novelist who's addicted to both sex and drugs but takes a shot at raising his teenage daughter on his own. For the real Hollywood housewives, this Showtime staple may seem at least as ripped-from-everyday-life as their own weekly melodrama, but how does it play Omaha and Schenectady? If blocked writers really were seductive, a million part-time bloggers would feel empowered to rewrite Lady Chatterley's Lover. Two salient features keep premier cable viewers tuning in for their weekly dose of SoCal self-pity: First, son of a playwright and alumnus of Princeton, Duchovny has enough empathy for his ostensibly tortured character that he can invest "Californication's" uninspired screenwriting with a little angst, a lot of sex appeal, and a soupcon of roguish charm. Second, whatever "Californication" lacks in substance and depth, it more than makes-up in graphic sex. Wasn't there supposed to be some sort of relevant family drama woven-in there somewhere?

For all the right reasons, "Community" has become one of the mainstays in NBC's comedy line-up. During its first season, "Community" focused on attorney Jeff Winger, disbarred after the accreditation committee discovered his undergraduate degree was from Colombia the country, not the university. Determined to win reinstatement in his old profession, Winger enrolls in community college, forming a Spanish-class study group which includes, among others, a cynical divorcee and a mid-life millionaire who made his money in moist towelettes. "Community" bravely exploits the ethnic and economic diversity in the study group, showing its gifts as an equal opportunity satirizer. The writers also have courage to wring big laughs from realistic representation of life and attitudes in "junior college." During the second season, "Community" had large and loyal enough following to encourage writers' development of plots centered on characters other than Winger, and they developed some of their best material by focusing on the dynamics of the group itself. Every member of "Community's" all-star ensemble cast has impeccable comedy or small-screen credentials: Chevy Chase's resume, of course, reads simply "legend." Joel McHale, Gillian Jacobs, Yvette Nicole Brown, and the rest of the cast bring a combined gazillion years of small-screen experience into the mix, and they have imprinted their distinctive styles on their roles. Similarly, all the partners in the production team boast high-powered Hollywood pedigrees and trophy cases full of Emmys. If "Community" had gone dark after the first thirteen episodes, television sets all over North America would have gone straight to test-patterns, because NBC writers and producers would have abandoned all hope for traditional sit-coms' futures.

"My Name Is Earl" is an American sitcom that aired on NBC from 2005 to 2009. The show is centered around the life of Earl Hickey, a petty criminal who realizes he needs to make amends for all the wrongs he's done in his life. Earl creates a list of all the people he has wronged and begins to make up for his past mistakes one by one. Along the way, he is joined by his dim-witted brother, Randy, and his ex-wife, Joy.