It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year - But Not for TV

December is the worst for TV junkies like me. While cable shows we all know and love (Dexter, Boardwalk Empire, Weeds) have sadly ended for the season, and we await upcoming seasons for other cable shows (Californication, Big Love) AND while network shows have gone on their month-long hiatus (seriously?!, is that necessary), I find myself scrambling to find something to stimulate the visually-obsessed person that I am.

Then again, in a way it's nice to catch up on shows I haven't had the chance to add to my already-jam-packed schedule. And so, the time has come to embrace this holiday season and (re)visit some fantastic TV shows - I suggest you do the same.

Breaking Bad. First things first, I have a ridiculously weird obsession with stories about drugs and addiction. With a really cool premise, kind of like an old-favourite of mine, Weeds, it's one of those 'do what you gotta do to survive' stories about a high school chemistry teacher who is diagnosed with advanced lung cancer. To secure his family's future he starts making and dealing meth, and the rest is award-winning history. Bryan Cranston, who stars as the meth-dealing Dad, has won an Emmy for this role three freaking years in a row. If that doesn't make you wanna watch, then I don't know what will.

You can actually watch the entire pilot right from AMCTV.com:

The Walking Dead: I've only heard good things about this show's gruesome depiction of a post-apocalyptic world. It tells the story of the aftermath of a zombie apocalypse, following a small group of survivors as they fight, basically, to live.

My So-Called Life. Two words: Jared Leto. Oh, yeah, and Claire Danes was in it too. For any child of the 90s, this is a welcome trip down memory lane. One of the first teen-centered dramas, My So-Called Life dealt with hot-button teen issues (at that time), but in a realistic way. There were no quick-solves, five minutes before credits.

Freaks and Geeks. Not a day goes by that we don't hear about, or see something new from the ridiculously talented artist, James Franco. There could be no better time than now, to go back to where it all started, when James Franco was the eternally-tortured bad boy Daniel Desario, who could steal, melt and break our heart in one episode. It's so unfair this talented cast only got one season, but it just goes to show people don't want to watch the outsiders. Instead, we're force-fed a regurgitated archetype of severely vacuous, popular kids.