tek's tv shows index page

Item One: Ratings.
I used to have a system of tiers for each category, different pages on which I'd group shows based on how much I liked them. I eventually decided to abandon that system, in favor of having basically one page for each category (with each page having a navframe with links to the reviews of each individual show). The show pages themselves will now have individual ratings (which are explained on the page linked to above). It's going to take a long time to move all my old reviews over to the new organizational and ranking system, however, so please bear with me....

Item Two: Links
I try to always provide links to entries for each series on The Internet Movie Database (IMDb), TV.com, TV Tropes, and Wikipedia, whenever possible. They're all valuable resources, so please avail yourselves of them. Just take anything they say with a grain of salt, because these sites rely to a great extent upon input from random people on the internet who submit info. I will also try to include links to official and/or network websites, and perhaps occasionally a favored fansite or other reference sites, for each show. Even official sites, however, are not infallible, and may occasionally unwittingly include misinformation (but my own reviews may do so, as well, I suppose). And network sites may disappear after a show is cancelled. Oh, I should probably also mention that sometimes I call official websites by the name of the studio or distribution company or whatever, if I'm pretty sure which one hosts the site; while other times I just say "official website," if I'm not sure or if for some reason I don't think it's important or if like... I dunno, it just feels more "official" to me, for whatever reason... Some of the other reference sites I may provide links to for some shows may include Retro Junk and Television Without Pity (TWoP).

Item 2a.: Additional links
I'm afraid it would be a bit awkward to list every single possible link related to some shows in each show's entry. You'll notice, for example, that I said favored fansites... but there may be plenty of other fansites I don't list in these pages, which may actually be quite useful. So, if you're looking for other sites, you might also check some of my links pages: TV links, anime links, cartoon links, and fantasy & science fiction shows links.

Item Three: Apologies & explanations.
Believe me, there are a great many things about this whole project for which I feel the need to apologize. I think I've already done a fair bit of that in Item One. Now let's get to a few other specifics:

Item 3a.: I suck.
Yeah, I'm no good at writing reviews, though some are certainly better than others. Sometimes I do little more than describe the show, which isn't really the same as reviewing it. Other times I might forget to describe it, and just give a brief note of what I think of the show... or else just say that I watched it, but can't think of anything to say about it. The most useful thing you're likely to find here is which tier I put things on, and as I've said, I'm rarely even sure about that. So, y'know...

Item 3b.: Opinions.
Of course, my placement of these shows, and anything I have to say about them, is merely my opinion. You all are completely entitled to your own opinions, which in fact I actually hope will often differ from mine, so that they come closer to matching a show's objective quality than my opinions sometimes do. You may completely disagree with some of what I have to say here. I don't mind, and I hope you won't mind, either.

Item 3c.: Memory.
Also I should mention that I've noticed that often, the longer it's been since I've seen a show, the less likely it is to be on a high tier, even if I quite enjoyed it when it was originally on. This is probably because the younger I was, the less my long-term memory had developed. Of course, on the other hand, I also have trouble clearly remembering some fairly recent shows which I've quite enjoyed. But hey, I've always said I have the memory of a particularly forgetful rutabega...

Item 3d.: Content.
These pages will include all manners of TV shows, specials, miniseries, and TV movies. For theatrical and direct-to-video releases, please see my movie reference pages. I may sometimes be mistaken about where to put a film, but I'll do the best I can. And then there's the question of OVAs (Original Video Animations). Some of them I'll put in the TV section and some in the movie section. I may not even always know if an anime was originally made for TV, theaters, or video. The most important thing is whether it's in series format or movie format, but most anything I see, I'll see on TV anyway. So I may get things wrong sometimes, but as I say, I'll do my best. It's just that it's generally more a bit more complicated a decision with OVAs than other types of direct-to-video.

Item 3e: Networks
Next to the title of any given show, I will try to list the network or networks on which it originally aired first-run episodes (in the US). For this I mostly rely on my own memory. Some sites out there to which I link as references may list networks that air reruns, or may even be mistaken about which network it originally aired on. At the same time, my own memory is quite likely to be faulty. I often fail to mention a network at all, if I'm not sure of it, but sometimes I'll be sure. That doesn't mean I'm necessarily right... Of course, another consideration is that when I was a kid, I only got 3 channels, and mostly only watched one of them. And while it was mainly CBS, it's always been awfully patchwork, so to speak, so I might've seen stuff on it and just assumed they were CBS shows, when I was younger. Also, for shows which originally aired in other countries, I may try to list its original network, but sometimes I'll just list its original country.

Item 3f.: Time slots
For series currently airing new episodes, I generally try to list the time slot of the new episodes in the title line of each entry, but sometimes I just don't because I'm not sure, or for whatever reason. For series airing in reruns, I try to list the time slot in the first line after the links line, just before my description of the show. Sometimes I don't do this because I'm not sure, or because it airs in lots of different time slots, or for whatever reason. Another problem is the networks may often change time slots for shows they air, or they may stop airing shows, whether permanently or just for a while. If it's a show I care about much at all, I'll usually try to update my pages to reflect any such schedule changes, but it can sometimes be hard to keep on top of, so my entries may or may not be entirely up-to-date in that regard. All times are Eastern. Check local listings.

Item 3g.: Spoilers
At the top of every page, I caution that the page contains "spoilers" or "potential spoilers" (or possibly even "major spoilers"). Of course, a great deal of my entries don't have any real spoilers, either because I can't think of much of anything specific to say about the show, or spoilers just seem unnecessary, or else... well, I can intentionally avoid spoilers. However, some shows... are just so complicated, as I see it, that it's sort of all or nothing. It's like, I just don't know how to talk about the show at all without saying too much... or not enough. And usually this means that I think the show deserves to be described as well as possible. Saying "not enough" just isn't an option, because it wouldn't do the show justice. So, such entries become more sort of guides than just overviews or whatever. Not full episode guides, but still somewhat comprehensive story guides. These entries sometimes become so long that I give them their own pages, with rather brief and entirely inadequate descriptions on a main category tier page, along with a link to the in depth entry. Read all entries at your own risk, but especially these longer ones.

Item Four: Attraction.
I have always indicated attraction to female characters (including animated ones) in my reviews by saying "who we like" (parenthetically after their name; and btw, I know it should be "whom," but I don't care). This has always caused me stress for a number of reasons, but not to do so would also cause me stress, for a number of reasons. (I've more recently tried to reduce my misgivings by saying things like that a character is "easy on the eyes" instead of "who we like.") But do bear in mind, when reading any of my reviews: if I don't specifically mention attraction, that doesn't mean I don't feel it. Obviously, in TV and movies and comic books and whatnot... most of the people are going to be attractive. In real life, I hate attraction, but in entertainment... it can be nice, as long as there's more to the story, and the characters themselves, than just that. And I guess that's all I have to say on the subject.