Recent Travels in TV Land

I've seen more tv recently than usual, an odd amalgam of popular shows and PBS (but popular PBS!).

• "Glee":  One of my perennial favorites, I didn't want there to be a suicide, but I saw the Karofsky attempt coming.  I'm just glad he didn't die--it might be more "real," but it would be too depressing in a tv show.  I hope Karofsky makes many more appearances . . . even if I can't believe the next new episode isn't for almost 7 weeks!
• "SMASH":  Well, while I wait for "Glee" to come back on, I'm reveling in this new musical/Broadway show for adults.  The songs (both original and popular), the stories, the immensely talented actors, the behind-the-scenes view, I'm loving it.  I can watch it over and over again, like "Glee," almost as my own MTV.
• "Downton Abbey":  Ah, an English costume drama a la Gosford Park!  And with Dame Maggie Smith.  Really, what could be better?  I liked the end of the second season better than the first half--some of the WWI plots were unbelievable, even if based in fact (miraculous paralysis healings and disfigured long lost cousins or impostors a la that Jody Foster/Richard Gere movie based on the French book, both of which escape me and I'm too lazy to look up).  I'm really looking forward to another season, and beyond.  
• "Old Curiosity Shop":  I like Dickens miniseries like the next person, but when I peaked at the plot summary midway through, I was bummed about the ending and quit watching, even with the entrancing period settings and costumes and dear Derek Jacobi.
• Grammys:  I hadn't watched the music awards since I listened devotedly to popular music 25 years ago! Thankfully, because of "Glee," I recognized some of the songs and artists and enjoyed the performances by Adele, Bruno Mars, Taylor Swift, The Civil Wars, and especially Jennifer Hudson's musical tribute to Whitney Houston.  It was a great show.  Well, except for all the aging white male performers who shouldn't have, especially the Beach Boys.
• Oscars:  Another example of old white guys who shouldn't have.  If the Oscars don't want to seem old, they shouldn't have hired 9-time host Billy Crystal with his lame and offensive jokes about the lack of black women in Hollywood, among many, many others.  The whole show felt old and musty.  Except Meryl Streep and a few others--she seems very funny.  Of course, I don't keep up with film much and I'm not their target geographic, being both female and over 25.  Telling that I should find more of interest in the Grammys.

Which means there are a lot of shows that people keep recommending to me (everyone asks if I watch "Modern Family") that I'm not really watching.  This is more than I've watched since I first hurt my back (when there weren't as many good shows on, I should say, and I watched cooking tv and movies).