I’ve always been a TV junkie. I was a latch key kid for a lot of my youth, so TV served as a babysitter, friend and learning tool. I know, that explains a lot about my intelligence, or lack thereof. Even as an adult, I’ve watched a lot of television. So the writers’ strike really sucked for me as it stretched beyond three months and led to the hiatus of most of my favorite shows. I’m not a big reality TV fan, and the non-stop diet of reality shows had me in a winter funk. With the strike settled, and new shows about to hit the airwaves – real shows with scripts and plots and all that stuff we too often take for granted – I thought it was time to look back at the past few months and list my five favorite shows that got me through the strike. In no particular order:

1. Survivor

 One of the very few reality shows that I’ve ever watched regularly. I’ve watched it from the first season, before networks realized how comparatively cheap it was to produce reality programming and began hammering out reality show after reality show. Survivor’s always been well made, though, and is a little more compelling than watching washed up wrestlers or rockers “living” their every day lives. I was so excited when the new season started.

2. The First 48

 Although this A&E series has been around for years, I just stumbled upon it during the strike, when I was scouring every channel on my satellite to avoid yet another airing of “New Adventures of Old Christine.” Now I’m hooked. Luckily, A&E shows about 50 episodes of it every day. The real life detective series that shows homicide investigators tracking killers in cities across the U.S. is gripping. Shot in a documentary style, I cannot watch the beginning of an episode without staying on to find out “whodunnit.” 

3. Later with Jools Holland

 Yet another series that has been around forever that I only recently discovered. I came across this live musical variety program when I got my satellite system and got hooked on Rave HD, an all live music channel. Holland, former keyboardist for Squeeze, brings a half dozen or so acts into a small studio, each on their own stage, forming a circle. The cameras are stationed in the middle of the circle and turn from one act to the next. Each episode offers a huge variety from world music, to rock to folk to pop, with each act playing a couple songs. As I watch both new and old episodes of the show, it seems EVERYONE has been on “Later.” In just the few months I’ve been watching I’ve seen Pearl Jam, Wilco and Old Crow Medicine Show — and that’s just bands I really like a lot.

4. The Universe

 This History Channel program is outstanding. Anyone even remotely interested in the cosmos would enjoy this show. It’s like astrophysics for dummies, with incredible visuals.

5. Man vs. Wild

 The adventures of Bear Grylls have been a guilty pleasure of mine for some time. I know a lot of the trials and tribulations faced by this former member of the British Special Forces are staged. But man, it’s fun to watch him eat all the gross stuff he does as he offers tips on surviving some of the earth’s most inhospitable environments. The desert episode where he not only eats raw zebra meat off a half-eaten carcass, but also drinks “moisture” that he squeezes from a huge pile of elephant dung, is a favorite of both mine and my son Zach’s. To this day, Zach will hold a wash cloth over his head in the bath tub and squeeze out the water while squealing, “Look daddy, I’m drinking elephant poop.”

As a rock ‘n’ roll fan, I’ve always loved the guitar. Bone-crunching riffs and ear-searing solos are what drew me to the music in the first place. As my passion for music grew, so did my appreciation of those who played the instrument. Remember, this is a list of my favorites, not necessarily who I believe to be the greatest. Who are your favorite axe-men (or women)? Here are mine in no particular order:

1. Jimmy Page

 My musical fervor was fueled first and most effectively by my discovery of Led Zeppelin. Page took rock music in so many directions. Early on he was regarded as a blues guitarist during his days with the Yardbirds, then pigeon-holed as a heavy metal guitarist after Zeppelin took full flight. But if you listen to his body of work he runs the gamut from folk to country, and covers styles from around the world. His complex guitar orchestrations were nearly impossible to replicate live, since the Zeppelin recordings typically had layer upon layer of guitar work on them, yet Page attacked live performances like a mad man. Some have criticized him for being sloppy, but he would take chances live — and in the studio for that matter — that just about no other guitarist would dream of. Both live and recorded, I love to hear him play even to this day. Such fast solos, and the riffs … my GOD, the riffs.

2. Mike Campbell

 Generally overlooked by everyone but Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers fans, Campbell has been the guitar voice for Petty for more than three decades now. Not the fastest fretman out there, but he’s about as tasteful a guitarist as you’ll ever find. Both in the studio and live his solos are always clean and soulful — capturing the precise feel of the song – and he’s got that unique tremolo style. Even when he plays on other artists records, from Johnny Cash to Don Henley, his guitar sound is unmistakable.

3. Eric Clapton

 I’ve never seen a guitarist who makes it look easier than Slow Hand. Listen to his early work with John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers, particularly the live tracks, and it is easy to hear why graffiti everywhere around London in the mid-1960s proclaimed “Clapton is God.” In the middle portion of his career, he went to great lengths to shun the guitar hero label. This disappointed many fans, who feel he simply got lazy. While he’s never been the risk-taker that Page or Jimi Hendrix were, the solos roll from his Fenders with an effortless grace that blows me away.

4. Stevie Ray Vaughn

 If I could just sit and watch one guitarist play all day, it would probably be the late, great SRV. Some have criticized him for being derivative, and for not having enough original material, but man could he play the six string. Eric Clapton once described him as “an open channel.” Fiery, passionate solos just poured from him. His showmanship reminded me of Buddy Guy, while his playing is almost like Clapton on crank.

5. Randy Rhoads.

 Another of the greats taken from us too soon. I grew up a metal head, cutting my teeth on “Blizzard of Ozz”. A classically trained guitarist, Rhoads added a touch of class to metal. But don’t think for a minute that he didn’t shred. He not only inspired countless metal guitarists, but he resurrected the career of  the godfather of metal, Ozzy Osbourne.

Of all the five favorites lists I could make, I think my list of favorite movies is probably one that evolves and changes most often. If I made this list next year, or even next month, it would probably look quite a bit different. But at this moment in time, here are my five favorite movies in no particular order. What are yours?

1. “Rocky” (1976)

This is probably my favorite movie of all time, and would be on this list regardless of when I made it. I’ve always related to the story line of a loser who comes from nothing to make something of himself simply because he refuses to give up. While the sequels increasingly became big-budget action movies, the original was a true character-driven film with so much heart. Like the Rocky character himself, Sylvester Stallone’s screen play came from out of no where to shock the world, winning the 1976 Oscar for best picture.

2. “Coming to America” (1988)

This movie is so funny somebody ought to put it on a plate and sop it up with a biscuit. So many great lines. So many great characters, played primarily by Eddie Murphy and Arsenio Hall. I always wished they’d had a sequel focusing on the characters in the My-T-Sharp barber shop.

3. “The Empire Strikes Back” (1980)

The darkest of the Star Wars movies until the release of “Revenge of the Sith,” this was the best of the original trilogy. It gave us a deeper understanding of the Force and of course, let us all know who Luke Skywalker’s daddy was. People forget just how big a shock that was to moviegoers in 1980.

4. “The Graduate” (1967)

Such a well made movie, with so much subtle humor, and Katharine Ross was yummy as Elaine Robinson. I first saw this film as a freshman in college, and it really struck a chord with me at the time. There is a scene where Benjamin Braddock (Dustin Hoffman) is in the pool, and his father asks what he is doing, and Benjamin responds, “Well, I would say that I’m just drifting.” That summed up my life at that point.

5. “The Big Lebowski” (1998)

I could have chosen any number of Coen brothers movies for this list, as I love nearly all of them. But the Dude and his pals make me laugh out loud every time I watch this movie. Talk about great lines, I could read quote lists from “The Big Lebowski” all day.

Today I’m kicking off a new feature I’ll update every Friday. I’ll call it Five Favorites. It’s pretty self explanatory. I’ll list my five favorites in a given category. I hope you’ll respond, and let me know your five favorites in those same categories.  

 My initial list of five favorites is something near and dear to my heart — albums. I’ve always been a fan of that musical format. While others love singles, or hit records, I’ve liked the variety and sense of a complete work offered by albums. Some of my favorite songs of all time are deep cuts on albums, not necessarily the singles released by the record company.

Without further ado, my five favorite albums of all time, which aren’t necessarily listed in any particular order:

1. “Damn the Torpedoes” Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers:

Probably my No. 1 favorite album of all time. TP really started to find his voice as a songwriter on this album, sounding less like the Byrds or Beatles and more like the great American storyteller that he is. So many great songs, from “Refugee” to “Even the Losers”, and the band sounds fantastic on this album, raw, yet tight – like a great bar band.

2. Led Zeppelin’s untitled fourth album:

It was the first Zeppelin “cassette” I ever owned and opened the door to a whole new musical world for me. Many bought it for “Stairway to Heaven,” but “Rock and Roll” and “Black Dog” were the songs that led me to it. I’ve probably listened to that album more than any other in my lifetime.

3. “Toys in the Attic” Aerosmith:

One great song after another. Not only the classics like “Sweet Emotion” and “Walk This Way,” but the deeper cuts like “Uncle Salty” and the title track flat out rock, with those great Aerosmith riffs, and a hook every other second.

4. “Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap” AC/DC:

I think this is one of the most overlooked rock albums of all time. Everyone knows the title track, but every song on this album tears it up. “Rocker” is just unbelievable — packing a great riff, great lyrics and three solo breaks into one 2:51 jam. The late great Bon Scott is at his best on Dirty Deeds, particularly on songs like “There’s Gonna Be Some Rockin’” and “Ain’t No Fun (Waiting Round to Be a Millionaire)”.

5. “Wildflowers” Tom Petty:

This album really snuck up on me. It was released in an era where everything TP  touched turned to platinum, so its quality wasn’t surprising when I first heard it. But the more I listened to it, the more impressed I became. Every song is so good, from the radio staples “You Wreck Me” and “You Don’t Know How it Feels” to lesser known beauties like “Wake Up Time” and the title track. This album has a timeless elegance to it that any artist would love to achieve.