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I'm gonna give it a little longer since it's got some creators on the show I really like, namely Marti Noxon, who was the day-to-day producer/writer for the last few seasons of Buffy, and Ben Edlund, who worked with Joss Whedon on Firefly and the last season or two of Angel, not to mention being the creator of The Tick.

Well the second name is a plus for me, but I'm not a huge Marti Noxon fan. I didn't like the direction the last seasons took. Well, that's not true I suppose. I keep saying that but I think I just resent Hell's Bells.

As for Smallville and "Strange. Lana seems to be in a different show, too. It was better when any of the main characters ... I don't know ... talked to one another?", that is 100% correct. This whole Countess thing just gets me groaning every time I hear about it. I think they're just looking for a way to keep Lana in the show (which I can't blame them for, but they should have found a better way). I keep seeing people upset at the casting choice for Lois, but I think it was a good one. She has a different look from most of the WB kids. Anyway, I still really enjoy the show, and I might go so far as to say that Michael Rosenbaum is the best actor on the WB.

Your second list also matches my tastes pretty closely, though there are some places we differ. I still don't have any interest in seeing the OC, and I can't stand King of the Hill. But I do agree with the Simpsons. I think that out of nostalgia that show remains my #1 favorite historically, but these days we're getting somewhere around a 1-to-2 good-to-bad show ratio. Sad.
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Matt