Basic rundown: A custom gun shop that tackles projects and builds that most people think can’t (and shouldn't) be done.
Cast: Will Hayden and his daughter Stephanie run the business, but a great crew made up of hilarious characters have a real-life chemistry that was obviously in place long before the show came along.
Why you should watch: In their first season, Will and the folks of Red Jacket Firearms have silenced a shotgun and an AK-47, built a .50 caliber machine gun from scratch (subsequently setting the woods ablaze with tracer rounds during the test firing), restored a WWII flamethrower for a Medal of Honor winner, converted a MAC-11 to a blank-shooting prop for a Jeffrey Dean Morgan movie, turned a replica Tommy Gun into a modern SWAT weapon, and created a robotic machine gun operated by an ordinary Playstation controller. Oh and Will let one of his guys shoot him with a bazooka they made. Fact.
Basic Rundown: An “Ordinary Family” (duh) that has its ordinary family problems is suddenly endowed with extraordinary abilities.
Cast: Biggest name is Michael Chiklis from The Shield and Fantastic Four movies where he played this guy. His ability? Super strength, duh. Julie Benz (Dexter) plays the wife, a.k.a. Flash’s soul mate, Kay Panabaker the teenage daughter you can’t lie to, and Jimmy Bennett plays the dumbest smart kid I know. (PLEASE somebody tell me you got Varsity Blues from that last line)
Why you should watch: Everyone who watched Saturday morning super hero shows should enjoy this. It’s hard to follow a lot of TV shows nowadays, because if you miss one week, you’re LOST. No Ordinary Family walks the line between “weekly build-up” shows and “no reason to catch every episode” shows. It cans up a self-contained adventure in every episode for the “every once in awhile” viewer, while continuing to march these adventures towards a big picture conclusion for the “I plan my week around this show” viewer.
Basic Rundown: A Shooting competition like no other. Take some of the best shooters from different disciplines (i.e. handgun, shotgun, rifle), and throw them all into a mosh pit of challenges with an extremely wide variety of weapons that test both physical and mental toughness. Oh yeah, and their ability to shoot, um, good.
Cast: An Air Force Spec Ops and Bronze Star recipient, oil company contractor, independent security contractor, realtor, professional pistol shooter, sheriff’s lieutenant, landfill supervisor, USAF Sniper, US Navy rescue swimmer, golf instructor, federal agent, restaurant owner, construction worker, waiter, 3-gun champion, and an environmental business project manager. Variety enough for you? Also, a former Survivor actually does a great job as host.
Why you should watch: Top Shot may be the first reality competition show that requires actual talent. Okay, okay, I hear you, Food Network watchers: “What about cake competition shows, cooking competition shows, and bartending competition shows?” I stand corrected. Top Shot is the first reality competition show that has GUNS. (In case you were wondering, that makes it MUCH cooler)
Basic Rundown: Internet video clips with an insult comic providing color commentary. Think Talk Soup meets YouTube.
Cast: Daniel Tosh as the aforementioned comic, and every idiot you’ve ever seen on the web has a possible cameo.
Basic Rundown: Two geniuses (Theoretical physicists, actually. They’re so smart, they literally make fun of rocket scientists) that live together become friends with a hot girl that moves in across the hall. And, of course, hilarity ensues.
Cast: Jim Parsons steals the show as Sheldon, a lovable genius’ genius with OCD (think Einstein meets Monk). Johnny Galecki (Roseanne and Christmas Vacation) plays Leonard, the center of the genius group, who is aware of his geekiness and, therefore, the closest to being “normal”. Simon Hedburg and Kunal Nayyar play Howard and Raj, respectively. They serve as a best-buddy pair within the group’s larger “friendscape”. Penny, an attractive out of work actress who has forever changed these super-genius geeks’ lives for the better is played by Kaley Cuoco (8 Simple Rules).
Why you should watch: The best sitcom on TV right now has possibly the most intelligent dialogue in TV history, while still providing the highest level of comedy in prime time. Jim Parsons won an Emmy as Sheldon. Chuck Lorre, creator of Two and a Half Men, is the producer. All the stars have aligned for the geeks in this show, and you’re definitely missing out if you haven’t caught it.
