It may be hyperbole, but it also may be true. Sunday nights, at this point in the fall 2010 TV season, may be the richest one-stop shopping source for quality television in history...
This occurred to me, the last few weeks, when I was selecting five shows to highlight as the Sunday BEST BETS, and rejecting as many excellent TV shows as I accepted. And this was AFTER the season runs of Mad Men and Rubicon.
Last Sunday, for example, featured the premiere of AMC's The Walking Dead, the second episode of PBS's Masterpiece Mystery! installment of Sherlock, and the latest episodes of Showtime's Dexter, HBO's Boardwalk Empire and BBC America's Luther.
Five fantastic shows. And not one of them, by the way, presented by commercial broadcast television.
But look at what that particular BEST BETS list left behind on the cutting-room floor. Game 4 of the World Series, for one, but I figured anyone interested would have found that no problem. There was also the NBC Sunday night football game between the New Orleans Saints and the Pittsburgh Steelers, who between them won the last two Super Bowls. And, by the way, that Saints-Steelers game outrated the World Series that night. So much for America's pastime.
On CBS, there was a fresh edition of 60 Minutes, and another funny episode of ABC's Desperate Housewives, a show that has regained its creative footing but, at the same time, lost its traction with the audience. So that's nine really strong entertainment options... and counting.
There also was a new episode of HBO's Bored to Death (that's 10), and showings, on various cable channels, of three perfect Halloween-night offerings: Jeff Goldblum in The Fly on Encore, Stand By Me on Flix, and The Rocky Horror Picture Show on Fox Movie Channel.
That's a baker's dozen of fine TV choices -- and I didn't even mention TCM's showing of 1963's The Haunting, a movie that scared me 70 percent to death when I was young.
At my age, a list this impressive is scary enough. So much TV, so little time. And Sunday is supposed to be a day of rest...