I had someone give me some pucky over my admission that I have, in fact, seen an episode or two of Gilmore Girls. Apparently GG is a ‘girl’ show, and, as a guy, I should either pooh-pooh it or pretend I don’t know about it.

Here and now, I publicly state the following:

• I have seen the show.
• There were times I enjoyed the show.

I can admit this because I’m secure in my manhood. Sensitive, but manly. Rugged and manly, yet sensitive. Strong, rugged, manly, sensitive... and secure. I’m a veritable wellspring of strongly rugged sensitive manliness. Eat that.

I’m not a writer (as you can tell, I’m sure), but I can tell that a good script makes a TV show work. Actors’ abilities can only take a lame story so far. For a TV serial, you need a good story, a decent arc, and smart lines here and there. Characters with whom you can identify come out of good scripts.

The TV shows that I tend to like most are those with witty lines and real (often sarcastic) characters. The better of these, though, are the throw-away lines spoken quickly and semi-randomly. And these lines aren’t belabored--you have be paying attention in order to hear it. Someone says it; it’s funny; they move on.

Shows I know and like that do this: Scrubs; House; West Wing; Gilmore Girls; Sports Night; M*A*S*H (note: only one ‘girl’ show on this list). And now I add Firefly.

Some other TV shows try to do the one-liners (the Laws & Orders; the CSIs; Without a Trace), but their lines usually fall flat to me. Maybe the writer is working too hard at trying to be memorable, pithy, or ironic. I’m not saying I could do better than these; in fact, I’m pretty sure I couldn’t. But that doesn’t mean I have to like lameness.

But this wasn’t supposed to be about trashing poorly written TV shows. It’s about rejoicing in, and enjoying, good scripts, whatever the target audience. And that I’m manly.

Update 1:22pm: Another good show: The Tick (animated) (I have no opinion on the live action show.)