A lot of people complain about television. They say things like, “There is nothing on TV,” or ”TV sucks,” or “My television is broken and I don’t have enough money to get it fixed.”

Whiners.

I am living through a personal mini-golden era of television right now. I am sharing this to counterbalance all of the bashing my good friend TV takes by snobs, media elites and other people who are idiots.

For the last few weeks I have been enjoying:

The final season of The Shield. My favorite non-Wire cop drama is racing to a spectacular conclusion. I want to know how it ends now, but I want to milk every moment of every episode before the final episode. If not for The Wire, I might call it the best cop show of all time. It might be. I think I will have to write about this after the final episode.

The Office. It is probably the best comedy on television. That is not saying much, compared to the competition, but it is consistently funny. This season has been a bit of a letdown with Pam out of the office. I hope she returns soon. I did not realize how integral she was to the show’s chemistry.

Mad Men. Go ahead. Take my Man Card. I deserve that.

Friday Night Lights. Great show. I’m probably not the target demo. Don’t care. The show’s characters have grown on me. Last year’s writers’ strike knocked the second season short and really killed its momentum. The show is finally rounding back into form. Spoiler. Seeing Smash get his scholarship was great. Same goes for the trials and tribulations of Principal Taylor.

Other reasons to watch television right now: The Soup, South Park, the baseball playoffs and World Series, college football, the NFL, Sunday Night Football and Monday Night Football.

Also, 30 Rock will be back soon and Lost returns in early 2009.

If the Mayor of Television existed, I would thank him.

I would love to see both of these shows.

With a writers’ strike looming, I thought I’d throw these out there and encourage everyone to watch them before we’re inundated with nothing but reality shows for the next three months:

1. South Park
The boys responded to being censored last year with a three-part epic centered around a terrorist attack against Imaginationland. The show has never been better.

2. The Office
I can’t get enough. It’s hitting a stride I’ve seen few sitcoms match. Like Arrested Development in its prime.

3. Friday Night Lights
I am shocked by how much I like this teen drama set in a Texas town surrounding the local high school football team. It is excellent.

4. 30 Rock
The most quote-able show on TV.

5. The Daily Show
The most important political show ever.