by brettmerritt:
Of the 25 or so shows listed as "Season Series" on our family's DVR, a few are shows that only I like to watch. I got thinking as I looked at my list of shows. I started wondering which ones I could let go. I started asking, "Do the shows I like do anything to make me a better man? Do they teach me anything? Or are they just filler, a means to escape for a few hours a night?" If they were only filler, I deleted them.
Of the shows that were left, I could honestly say each one meant something to me personally. Some are shows I watch not only because they entertain but specifically because I like what a specific character shows about being a man in today's society. Here they are:
1. Friday Night Lights - Coach Taylor
I only started watching FNL
Quote: "Listen to me. I said you need to strive to better than everyone else. I didn't say you needed to be better than everyone else. But you gotta try. That's what character is. It's in the try."
2. Modern Family - Phil Dunphy
He often takes things too far (it's a comedy
Quote: "I am brave. Roller coasters? Love 'em. Scary movies? I've seen Ghostbusters like seven times. I regularly drive through neighborhoods that have only recently been gentrified. So yeah I am pretty much not afraid of anything. Except clowns … I am not really sure where the fear comes from, my mother says it's cause when I was a kid I found a dead clown in the woods. But who knows?"
3. Justified - Raylan Givens
Sure U.S. Marshall Raylan Givens has a lot of bad qualities. He can be reckless, promiscuous, hot-headed and arrogant. However, I do admire his bravery. He's also matter-of-fact, down-to-earth and super smart. I like that he tells everyone exactly what he thinks while being a gentleman about it. Another lesson I take away from this show
Quote: "Glen, I don't want you to speak anymore, 'cause once you start lying to me there's gonna be a river between us with no bridge to cross."
4. Parks and Recreation - Pawnee, Indiana
I don't have one particular man to highlight from this show, but I love the fictional town of Pawnee, Indiana. The reason watching PnR
Quote: "I believe I said that I thought we worked well together, and that I might disagree with your philosophy but I respected you. And I said that you'll get a lot of job offers in your life but you only have one hometown."
Bonus Quote: "One time when I was in high school a guy's mom called me and broke up with me for him. There was another time when I was on a date and I tripped and broke my kneecap, and then the guy said he wasn't feeling it, so he left and I waited for an ambulance. One time I was dating this guy for awhile, and then he got down on one knee and he begged me to never call him again … Another time a guy invited me to a beautiful picnic with wine and flowers. And then when I tried to sit down, he said, "Don't eat anything. Rebecca's coming." And then he broke up with me."
5. Southland - Ben Sherman & Lydia Adams
This is no "feel-good" drama
Quote: "Now you know what you're capable of. Everyone -- when they get out of the Academy -- they think its all black and white, but its not. We live in the gray. We live there."
6. The Amazing Race - Various
I don't always watch this show
Quote: "I'm trying not to projectile vomit all over you."
How about you? What shows do you watch and for what reasons? Do you like to escape or learn or both?
This post was originally published May 18, 2011.

