Parks and Recreation – has become my favorite half-hour show.  Leslie Knope (Amy Poehler) and her staff at the Pawnee Indiana Parks and Recreation office are likable, quirky, and fun. The short six-episode first season was a bit rough but the show really found its stride in seasons two and three. Check it out on Netflix Instant!

[Seasons 1 & 2 are available on Netflix Instant Viewing. Season 3 is being repeated on NBC on Thursdays at 9:30 pm. Hulu also has about 5 episodes of season 3 available at a time for free viewing. The entire third season is also available to buy by episode or whole season on iTunes.]

The Big Bang Theory – expanded its story world by creating a girl group to go along with its established boy group.  That kept the jokes and storylines from getting stale.

[Not available to buy on iTunes. Can rent DVDs from Netflix for seasons1-3.  Season 4 is being repeated on CBS on Thursdays at 8pm.  There are also a couple episodes available for free online viewing on CBS online.]

How I Met Your Mother– just finished its sixth season. The writers have been stringing the "mother" plot along for far too long and the show is starting to show it’s age, but I still like the characters and most episodes are still fairly enjoyable.

[Can rent DVDs for seasons 1-5 from Netflix. Season 6 is repeated on CBS on Mondays at 8pm.  There are also a couple episodes available for free online viewing on CBS online.}

Modern Family – finished its second season. I wish the writers could come up with better stories for Mitchell and Cam than stale gay stereotypes, but overall the show manages to take family stereotypes and twist them in surprisingly fun and heartwarming ways.  My favorite moment this season was probably when Gloria "won" Valentine’s Day after her husband thought he could pull one over on her.  It was a nice twist on the know-it-all-old-man plot.

[Can rent DVDs for season 1 from Netflix. Two episodes of Season 2 is repeated on ABC each Wednesday at 9pm and 9:30 pm. Five episodes at a time are available on Hulu  for free viewing too.  Episodes or seasons are also available to buy on iTunes.]

Posting Notice:  I’m skipping next week’s post.  The next new post will be up here Wednesday, June 22nd.  See you in two weeks!