by Chauncey Dumfry

Created on: March 05, 2007   Last Updated: May 09, 2007

The best current television series is a tough thing to point a finger at. Here's the deal, reality shows are horrible, by definition. We watch TV to escape from reality so watching a reality show is like being stuck in some horrible purgatory, but instead of just being there by yourself, you're there with all the idiots from MTV's road rules/real world challenge. Whats worse than that? Celebrity reality shows. Reality shows hit it big in the last few years, we all loved seeing "normal" people, competing in contests worked up by TV execs in order to be the most humiliating. Regular stars didn't like this trend of normal people being on TV at all. So we saw show's like whatever that was called with Dick Lachey and Jessica Simpson. Then, washed up celebs started jonesing for the reality money, and we got crap like the surreal life.

Allright, that point being made, the best shows going right now are The Office,(Yuuuup, the american version) and 30 rock. The characters in 30 rock are absolutely brilliant, the writing is phenomenal, you can really tell that someone as experienced as Tina Fey is behind that one. Now, that being said, I've got something to say about the office.

So many people like to talk about how the office is a rip off of the british version, and that is true. At first the American version took plot lines directly from the British one. But the fact of the matter is that the American version is much much funnier. At this point, they are not stealing plot lines, or jokes (lets be serious, stealing jokes from Brits would be like stealing a yugo, there are plenty of better American made cars). All that the office is doing now is something that sit coms don't do. They are developing characters over the space of a season, not an episode. It is so common for sitcoms to just reset everything at the end of an episode, a tactic stolen from animated cartoons, like the simpsons. The main character will lose their job, and at the very end get it back in a very unlikely twist. Not with the office, they give you something to look forward to, not to mention having the most engaging love story this decade.
Betweem the office and 30 rock, there is a refreshing display of creativity going on that gives me hope for the future of entertainment. I was seriously getting a little worried there when you couldn't turn on your TV without seeing a reality show or ten.

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