Thursday, February 4, 2010

The Best Dramas on Satellite Television

While we often love watching television to have a good laugh and enjoy some mindless entertainment, we also love the shows that make us cry, think and feel something deeper. While modern television is certainly marked by vapid reality shows and thirty-minute comedies that rely on cheap humor, there is still an abundance of quality television that will give you something more. One-hour dramas have long been popular with television audiences, as they give us the chance to really care about the characters and become involved in their lives. Here is a list of some of the best dramatic programming on satellite television today. If you haven't had the chance to check out these great shows, get caught up and start tuning in.

The Good Wife (CBS)- This new drama starring ER's Julianna Margulies and Sex and the City's Chris Noth, is loosely based on the marital drama of Eliot Spitzer, the disgraced New York governor. After her husband (played by Noth), a prominent Chicago attorney that is exposed in a scandal, is put in prison, Alicia Florrick (played by Margulies) must return to the law profession to support her family. It is a gripping drama about a wife trying to hold on to her dignity in the face of public scandal, while she similarly rediscovers who she is.

Grey's Anatomy (ABC)- A long time hit that is still a favorite among television audiences, this medical drama is emotionally gripping and highly addictive. Detailing the lives of residents at Seattle Grace hospital, fans are constantly rooting for the show's tortured heroine, Meredith Grey. While it has moments of humor, it is a powerful show that deals with the complexity of human relationships against the often tragic backdrop a hospital emergency room.

Mad Men (AMC)- This favorite about Madison Avenue advertising executives in the beginning of the 1960's is a drama that men and women both love. The show's handsome leading man, Don Draper (played by Jon Hamm), is constantly seen drinking and smoking in his office, having torrid affairs and generally being the epitome of an egocentric executive in mid-century America. It is easily the best period show on television, taking you right back to the days when playboys didn't have high definition televisions and expensive toys, just their charm and good looks.

True Blood (HBO)- While movies and television shows about vampires have long been popular with audiences, this gritty drama about vampires and humans coexisting in the deep south is as unique as it is thought-provoking. After vampires decided to come out of hiding and reveal themselves to modern society, there is an essential war of ideologies between vampires and their sympathizers, and those that think they are the manifestation of pure evil. The show makes subtle commentary about marginalized groups in modern America, and will get you thinking while you are entertained.

Big Love (HBO)- Another fantastic drama from HBO, this show is about a polygamist living in Utah with his three wives and children. While it may be a highly controversial subject for television, it is an interesting look into the lives of modern polygamists. Perhaps most interesting is the juxtaposition of Bill Henrickson (played by Bill Paxton) and his family's modern life, against the polygamist compound that his relatives continue to live on. Bill is hardly what you think of when you hear the word polygamist, as he lives in a nice modern house with an HD flat screen television and a swimming pool, but that is what makes the show so effective.

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