What We're Diggin' on the Box

So this will be a weekly/fortnightly feature on all the new, old and somewhere inbetween shows that we are taking in at any given time. It aims mostly to just give you all rundown of what's out there at the moment and maybe get you all watching something new every now and again.

Heroes: What an arc Heroes has taken. It begins with the season's most blistering and intruiging pilot, blowing off the collective socks of our household and giving us reason to tune in for the season. It then slogs through 19 serviceable episodes of television, never rising above being just entertaining before, low and behold, episode 21 hits. The episode set 5 years in the future, it left us giggling messes of adoration for a show we nearly dumped not too long ago. The characters have got interesting again, especially the morally shaky Nathan Petrelli (can fly) and his uber-powerful brother Peter (can absorb other powers). It all building to a climax which better not ape Watchmen but will be hugely entertaining. Its ended up saving itself and at least going someway to justifying the hype.

The Sopranos: This took a sinister turn this week with Christopher finally coming back into focus and causing havoc while off the wagon. Michael Imperioli may never get away from his fantastic character in this but what a role to live on. Still though, James Gandolfini astonishing performance rules the roost and the seething tension building between him and basically everyone else is starting to come to a head with only 5 episodes to go. As it builds and builds, this could well end in a bloodbath but however it ends, it seems likely this will become the first show I've ever experienced to have never, never made a bad episode. Peerless.

The Colbert Report: Not on over in the U.K so I've only just got into this but I'm loving every moment. Stephen Colbert can start to place himself alongside Jon Stewart as the comic voice of political reason in America.

Life On Mars: About to get an American pilot made, this fabulous British series ended on a daft but wholly satisfying note a couple of weeks ago. It lived and died on its concept but the performances were good enought to justify its existence throughout. While John Simm does his best ever work, he's blown off the screen by Phillip Glenister as the Sweeney-in-one DCI Gene Hunt whose outbursts grow funnier and ever more un-PC by the episode. One for all those with prejudice against British shows to sit down and watch and then wipe the egg off their faces.

The Office: The climax next week promises much heartache and loveliness but more than anything else, despite the Jim/Pam storyline, this is just hands down the funniest show on television. When you have a cast of over 10, all of whom get regular laughs, you are doing something right and still, Steve Carell outshines them all. The man is the unimpeachable King of Pathos Comedy. All hail The Office!

Battlestar Galactica Season 1: I've begun my journey into the World of Battlestar and while I wasn't left a jittering mess on the floor by its brilliance, I did very much enjoy the sheer gaul of Ron Moore's writing, packing more into the first three episodes than most do across a whole season. Given this precedent he sets, the rest of the season's storylines can seem drawn out by comparison but the finale manages to be both heartbreaking, shocking and exciting all in the space of around 5 minutes while the infamous '33', episode 1, is one of the most relentlessly breathless pieces of television this side of 24. Season 2 apparently promises more but this will all be reported on soon enough.

Shows coming up in the rotation: Carnivale, Boomtown, Battlestar Season 2/3, 30 Rock, The Riches and more...