News (Broadly Defined)
The Daily Show (11PM EST, M-Th, Comedy Central): I have a slight preference for this over The Colbert Report, but both are fantastic.
Mike & Mike In The Morning (6AM to 10AM EST, M-F, ESPN2): The only morning talk-show format I’ve ever seen that I actually enjoy. Hosted by an ESPN reporter and an ex-NFL player, they are clearly rational human beings who are interested in having intelligent discussions and who generally avoid taking absurd stances just for shock value.
By the way, I am generally of the opinion that the quality of punditry and discussion you find on ESPN is significantly higher than what is found on any traditional news network. Yes, the talk focuses on sports. But within that context, they hold charged and important discussions of race, gender, and the culture wars, and they do it without yelling at each other, without accusing each other person of bias or “playing the race card,” and without being disrespectful.
The Rachel Maddow Show (9PM EST, M-F): Yes, she can sometimes fall into the realm of partisan hackery just like the rest of them. But she is also capable of having intelligent and respectful conversations with people she disagrees with, without constantly undercutting them or trying to make them look bad.
Bill Moyers Journal: Sadly, Bill Moyers is no longer formally affiliated with PBS–he has a new syndicated show that I’ve not yet found. But he has long been one of my favorite journalists and interviewers. Moyers is always reasonable, rational, and polite, and yet he finds the truth.
Other Journalists I Admire:
Bob Costas (NBC Sports Anchor)
Charlie Rose (PBS Interviewer)
Brian Williams (NBC News)
Soledad O’Brien (CNN Anchor)
Peter Gammons (Baseball Reporter)
Jeffrey Toobin (CNN legal analyst)
Jim Lehrer (PBS News Anchor)
Prime-Time Favorites:
M*A*S*H: Always funny, often heart-wrenching. The movie was pretty good; the television show broke the mold.
Firefly: I was a huge Buffy the Vampire Slayer fan, but the one season of Firefly was even better. The follow-up movie, Serenity, is also a classic.
The Simpsons: Ranges from “pretty funny” to “hilarious”; it’s lost a little steam over it’s 20+ year run, but in it’s prime it was truly brilliant.
The Muppet Show: It’s the funniest, cleverest, and weirdest variety show you’ll ever see–and then every once in awhile, you’ll see Harry Belefonte or Paul Williams blow you away with a musical performance. The short-lived mid-’90s Muppets Tonight was equally brilliant.
Saturday Night Live: Incredibly hit-and-miss over the years, but man, when it hits there’s nothing better. From Eddie Murphy’s Mr. Rodgers Parody to Alec Baldwin’s send-up of NPR to Chris Farley’s dance-off with Patrick Swayze… just classic humor.