Today I was planning on going into work, but an impatient truck driver decided to run through a train crossing and get creamed by a freight train, thus closing the street I use to get to the office. Sure I could have taken an alternative route, but I instead decided to take it as a sign that the work gods didn't want me on the job this morning, and stay home today. I'm not a big believer in signs, but sometimes I choose to selectively interpret things in such a way as to benefit me and call it a sign. I'm a bit psychotic that way.

Anyway, I did manage to get some work done at home, but then turned my attention to my extensive videotape collection, or at least the third of it I managed to drag out of my closet...

I have hundreds of 8mm tapes filled with television shows I collected throughout the 90's. Some good, some bad, but all preserved in sub-standard quality from a crappy cable connection I was cursed with at the time. Such is my love for television.

But here's the deal: Many of these shows are out on DVD now. In fact, a good half are on DVD and I've got them. Dozens of the remainder are due out on DVD this year, and I'll be getting them as well. Dozens still I have no idea why I taped in the first place (The Single Guy?!?). This means that I've got several shelves stacked with useless tapes I'm never going to use. I guess it's time to throw most of them away, then record what few shows remain on DVD until they're finally released for sale...

• Cupid. The greatest show ever to air on television featuring stunning writing by Rob "Veronica Mars" Thomas and brilliant acting by Jeremy Piven and Paula Marshall. It is criminal that this show has not yet been released on DVD. Criminal. PLOT: Piven is Cupid, Roman god of love, sent to earth as punishment for the sad state of love in the world... he's forbidden to return to Mt. Olympus until he's successfully matched 100 couples. Naturally, he's branded as insane and institutionalized. He is eventually released to the care of a psychologist (Marshall), who is charged with keeping him from getting into trouble, all the while trying to figure out who he really is.
• Now and Again. Clever show that deftly blends action with a sci-fi edge. Featured Eric Close pre Without a Trace and Dennis Haysbert pre 24. Also featured the lovely Margaret Colin who should be working more. PLOT: A loving husband and father (John Goodman) dies, only to have his brain be brought back to life in a scientifically perfect body. In order to stay alive, his government overseers forbid all contact with his former family, but some ties cannot be broken.
• The Palace Guard. The best role of D.W. Moffett's versatile career, and one of the few shows on my list that I find impossible to understand how it failed... it certainly seemed like a crowd pleaser, and was mindless fun in a way people usually respond to. PLOT: Moffett is a career jewel thief who is caught and imprisoned. As a part of his parole, he gets a job as a security expert in a megalith hotel chain. A Moonlighting-like twist is thrown in when he starts to fall for his boss (Marcy Walker) who pretends to despise him but, of course, is falling for him as well.
• P.S.I. Luv U My love for Connie Sellecca knows no bounds, as proven by my addiction to the fairly lame (yet watchable) show that probably died because of it's stupid title. PLOT: Similar to The Palace Guard... Sellecca plays a New York City con artist who must enter protective custody for a couple of years with her captor (played by Greg Evigan of all people) so she can testify against a mob-boss. Hilarity ensues when their cover involves working for a private security firm in Palm Springs.
• Strange Luck. An odd, yet strangely appealing show that was doomed to fail because it challenged viewers with complex plot points that most people are entirely too stupid to pay attention to. PLOT: D.B. Sweeney is Chance Harper, a guy blessed with incredible luck ever since he was the sole survivor of a plane crash that took the life of his mother. His "strange luck" leads him on adventures in the lives of others, all while he searches for his long-missing brother, who disappeared under strange circumstances before the crash.

Some others I haven't decided on yet: Strange World, an X-Files clone that was actually pretty smart, but arrived late in the "conspiracy" phase of popularity and was doomed. Space Above and Beyond, a passable sci-fi show that was just cheesy enough to be worth watching. Dharma & Greg, mildly entertaining comedy that was pretty good the first season. The American Embassy, interesting Ally McBeal-inspired show about an American girl relocated to London for a job at the American Embassy there. Sam & Max: Freelance Police, nifty cartoon based on the brilliant comic about a homicidal rabbit and his canine pal who fight crime as imitation police officers... how cool is that?!?