Now that I read quite a few blogs, I’ve learned that there are lots of intelligent, thoughtful, politically-aware, involved people out there. Some of these people are even parents, parents of small children.

Which is why I am quite ashamed to admit that I watch a LOT of TV.

I have excuses. My kids are young, I’m tired a lot, I don’t have the ability to go to rallies on the weekend or to read the newspaper every day. But also, I just really like it. I’ve always been a pop culture junkie, and right now, my primary access to pop culture is the television, so I watch it. A whole bunch.

(Smart, socially-involved people should probably stop reading now, before I die of embarrassment. Especially my friends from Toronto who were just here, who do not even own a TV, but not in the obnoxious, enraging, we’re-better-than-you kind of way, but instead in the super cool, funky, involved kind of way that makes you realize what a better person you’d be if only you got out a little more. Yipes.)

So.

Every year I look forward to the arrival of my Fall TV Preview edition. It details what will be on every night, with reviews and recommendations. I go through it excitedly and decide what I’m going to watch every night.

Then I blog about it, only because FameThrowa says she needs my input so she knows what to record on her PVR, while she is out having a life. Really, it’s all for her!

Here’s my list for this coming season. There are several new shows but you know, I don’t think I have room for them. I’m a very busy lady and I can’t possibly meet any new shows until someone gets cancelled.

Monday: This night is absolutely crazy. We can only watch/record two things at once on our PVR and I don’t know how we are going to manage. There is enough content on Monday nights to keep us busy for the rest of the week. In the 8pm time slot, I’m only really committed to How I Met Your Mother, a fantastic show that should be the top comedy on television, so WATCH IT ALREADY, dammit. It’s actually on at 8;30pm, on CBS, and debuts September 22. Sir Monkeypants has a tough decision to make though — three shows that he watches are also on at 8. There’s Chuck on NBC (Sept. 29), Terminator on Fox (started Sept. 8) and Gossip Girl on the CW (started Sept. 1). What will win the race? I think he can record both Chuck and Terminator in the middle of the night due to time shifting, so it’s Gossip Girl that will be appointment television.

At 9pm, we will definitely be watching Heroes — I’m hot and cold on it, really, but everyone at Sir Monkeypants’ work watches it and talks about it the next day so we have to watch it live. It starts Sept 22 with a two-hour premiere. Also on at 9pm — One Tree Hill, a Sir Monkeypants show (started Sept 1) and Prison Break, a show I can definitely take or leave but I’m willing to watch it sometimes because they brought Dr. Sarah back (started Sept 1). We have to tape Prison Break in the middle of the night, so we can be watching Heroes and recording One Tree Hill.

And then our PVR collapses from all the stress.

Tuesday: Dear Lord people, 90210 is on at 8pm. NOTHING ELSE WILL BE WATCHED. It already premiered, so hop to it if you want to join me on the couch. We’ll be recording House in this time slot, though (starts Sept 16). At 9pm there’s a bunch of new shows premiering, but I’m not sure we will watch any of them — instead we’ll probably just try to get caught up with Monday’s nights’ taping. Fringe is on at 9, the new show by the Alias/Lost guy; we did watch the premiere but it wasn’t spectacular and I just don’t feel up to adding another big committment show with a lot of mythology. So we’ll see. Eli Stone is on at 10pm (starting Oct 14). We watched that show during the big strike when nothing else was on, but it constantly infuriated me with its flip-flop characterization and crappy writing, so I’ll definitely be giving it a pass now that better stuff is on.

Wednesday: Pushing Daisies is back! Oh man, how I have missed that show. It doesn’t debut until October 1 at 8pm and I can hardly wait. I was kind of interested in watching The New Adventures of Old Christine and maybe Bones in the same timeslot, but sorry, Daisies must win out. Private Practice is on at 9pm, and I was very disappointed in it last year, but I still love Addison and I hear the show has been drastically revamped this year (to focus more on medicine) so…maybe I’ll give it another shot. It would make a good treadmill show. At 10, Dirty Sexy Money is back for a final gasp before probable cancellation (Oct 1), but I’ll be glued to every episode because I just love that show, and I’ll never understand why the rest of the world doesn’t love it, too.

Thursday: You know, Thursday used to be so full of must-watch TV when I was a teenager…how the mighty have fallen. Still, there’s Grey’s Anatomy starting on Sept 25 at 9pm, and 30 Rock is back as of October 30 at 9:30pm (why must you make me wait, Tina Fey??). The American remake of Life On Mars is on at 10, starting October 9, which might be good to check out for a laugh — I cannot imagine an American version of the show having the same lovely combination of humour and drama as the original English show. We’ll see. Oh, and I expect Lost to be on this day of the week when it returns in January.

Friday: Life is on at 10pm, starting Sept 29. I really wanted to watch it last year but I couldn’t get Sir Monkeypants interested, and I was so behind on all the other shows I was watching I never had time to catch up with Life. I’m going to give it a try this year, though, especially since it has no PVR competition. The rest of Friday is, as usual, a dead zone. (I will NOT admit to watching Don’t Forget The Lyrics at 9. You can’t make me!).

Saturday: There’s nothing on. Which is very helpful, so that I can catch up on all the other shows I’ve recorded during the week. Or you know, maybe leave the house. Shocker!

Sunday: The Amazing Race is on at 8, starting September 28. Other than that, I have to let Sir Monkeypants watch Sunday Night Football, since he won’t have any access to the television on Monday nights. But that’s okay, I like football, and besides, by then, I’ll need the break!