What is Thursday?

"You'll sit alone forever
If you wait for the right time
What are you hoping for?"
--23, Jimmy Eat World

My tribute to this glorious album continues. Do yourself a favor, if you haven't already, and go purchase this work of musical genius. That's all I ask.
As I sit at my desk on a Thursday morning, I'm wondering if this day of the week really has any special meaning. For me, it's bible study night. For many (myself included), it used to be Friends night (and going back a few more years, Seinfeld night). But Friday obviously signifies the end of the work week and the start of the weekend, Saturday is all about college football (or just about not working), Sunday is the NFL (and church) and Monday is the dreaded start of the work week. Tuesday might be as unidentifiable as Thursday, but Wednesday is hump day (that's one of those things that makes you snicker when a teacher says it in class, like "Lake Titicaca"). So Tuesday and Thursday are lost in the middle, with nothing really to show for themselves. Kinda sad, I guess. It'd be nice to have something significant every day, but just like every birthday can't mean something (b-days 1 through 21 are all important; 25 is the last semi-momentous one, and then it's only every ten years that it matters), I guess all the days of the week can't have something cool tied to them.
So yeah, it's Thursday, nothing day, and I've got a 9-to-5 edit session (a piece on the best soundbites of the year) mixed in with a promo edit session in another edit bay somehow, followed by serious preparation for tomorrow's show and next week's "experiment," where Tom Arnold and John Salley will be co-hosting the show by themselves--look out.
Watched "The West Wing" last night for the second consecutive week, having forgotten about its existence for the first month or so of the new season. Even though Aaron Sorkin is long gone, I still love the dialogue and the characters, and I try not to miss an episode. Josh Lyman (played exceptionally by the talented Bradley Whitford) is probably my favorite character in all of television, topped in historical terms (in my eyes, mind you) only by George Costanza and either Dan Rydell or Casey McCall (I never could decide which SportsNight anchor I liked more). I gotta come up with a list of my favorite television shows of all-time; that could fill up some of the free time I don't have today...
As a caveat, I'm excluding sports television (because that's pretty much all I watch) and that includes the show that employs me, so this list is limited to shows of the sitcom/drama variety. Reality TV is the bane of my existence, so no such show will be found anywhere near this list. Here's my top five, with an accompanying comment or two:
5. Sopranos
It's would be higher, but we have to wait like four years for the start of the next season, so that's souring me on it a little. It's easily the most action-packed and crazy of the shows I watch, and because it's HBO, they get away with a lot more than the networks can. Awesome side characters Tony Soprano is an amazing main character, as complex and conflicted as any man in television history, and Gandolfini does a tremendous job playing him.
4. Simpsons
Speaking of complex and conflicted, we have our good friend Homer Simpson, who's been screwing up his job, his children and his married life for almost fifteen years now. It's amazing to me that a show which started when I was in elementary school is still around, making new episodes. Granted, the animation allows them leeway that normal shows can't get, but it's still pretty cool. I can watch any episode from any season, no matter how many times I've seen it before, and I'll still laugh out loud on numerous occasions. Best episode ever: "A Fish Called Selma" when Troy McClure marries Marge's sister Selma to cover up his history of deviant behavior. Classic lines from Homer in this one.
3. West Wing
So intelligently written and clever, it's the only thing that's ever gotten me remotely interested in politics. An amazing cast from top to bottom, they should have dropped off a ton when Rob Lowe left, but Allison Janney, John Spencer, Richard Schiff, Josh Malina and the aforementioned Whitford have complemented Martin Sheen exceptionally. Sorkin = genius.
2. Seinfeld
Based on the comedy of two incredibly funny individuals (Curb might be show no. 6 on my list), and boasting a cast of amazing characters. Jerry, George, Kramer and Elaine could each carry their own show, and together they're a force of funny. Add in secondary characters like Newman, the Costanzas, the Seinfelds, George Steinbrenner, Elaine's various bosses, et al, and you've got the greatest comedy in t.v. history.
1. SportsNight
My favorite show ever, and it's not even close. I remember vividly watching the initial season on ABC, so excited that Dan Rydell was one of the lead anchors' names. I was mystified that the show didn't stick around more than two seasons though, and imagine my joy when it was re-discovered on Comedy Central (at 1 or 1:30 a.m.) in the Summer of 2001. The series was released on DVD about a year later and I now have every single episode at my disposal. Aaron Sorkin's genius on full display in the dialogue, the storylines and the character development. Peter Krause and Josh Charles were great, and Josh Malina preceded his Will Bailey role (West Wing) with an extremely likeable Jeremy. I will never get enough of this show, and I even appreciate it more now that I work in sports television. Didn't think that was possible.
Editor's Note (added at 10:26 p.m.): The 9-to-5 edit session I mentioned at the top has been shifted, and I ended up having to stay until 10:30 to work on this piece. Hopefully it'll be worth it, weekend's just ahead and there could be some major happenings...updates coming. Peace