TV shows that are better than movies?

We've been watching a lot of TV lately. Well, not TV, not stuff that comes on a cable or over the airwaves, but shows we're renting from Netflix. We miss watching full-length movies, but by the time Q goes to bed we're exhausted, and need just a mere 25 minutes of chill out time before we're ready to hit the hay. And I'm sorry, but life is just too darn short to spend any of it watching commercials :) So, TV shows on DVD have been a godsend for us.

Some favorites we've been watching?

Slings and Arrows. Wow. This is truly better than just about any movie out there. The writing is so real, the cast is so true, it's so funny and so heartbreaking at the same time. It's from Canada, so chances are you've never even heard of it, but I'm telling you, this is the real deal. Rent it NOW! What's it about? Oh, golly, it's too much to encapsulate - Read about it on Netflix, for goshsakes! But it is kind of a "Waiting for Guffman" thing set at a Shakespearean theatre company.

Freaks and Geeks. So many great shows seem doomed to early extinction. This one focuses on high school years, and is one of the best explorations of the reality of high school I've seen. The parents are rather 2-dimensional, but the kids are very real. Funny and true.

WonderFalls. Only one season, so if you fall in love with it, know that it's doomed to end too soon. The heroine is a marvelously mixed-up college grad who has taken a deadening job in a souvenir shop at Niagara Falls, as a place to kind of 'drop out', only to find that various souvenirs 'talk' to her and convince her to do things which complicate her life terribly. Kind of like Joan of Arc, only funny. Or maybe Joan of Arc was funny, but this is funny in a different way.

Arrested Development. Best thing I've found on U.S. TV. A mixture of humor - reminds me of what Woody Allen would be doing if he hadn't gotten so darn serious. If you haven't seen it, give it a try. Better than so many movies (really!).

The Office. This is a funny series, but it can make you squirm uncomfortably. So, be forewarned, it may not be for you. If you've EVER worked in an office, however, you should be required to see it. (NB, I found the British series to be too acidic for my tastes - I just couldn't handle that much copper in my mouth. The U.S. version is somewhat lighter)

Sorry, gotta go. Time for more TV.