Recommending television shows to friends

I've never been much good at it. I think my brother will love 24, as far as I can tell he either hated it or hasn't watched it. I've praised Rome, Alias, and The Shield till I'm blue in the face, and no one I know watches them. I can't fathom my parents' taste, though oddly enough they did love Veronica Mars ... which I never recommended because I didn't think there was any chance they would like it. I purchased Veronica Mars for a friend, he couldn't get into it. The list goes on and on.

I'm not sure what it is. I watch a lot of television (Netflix and Shareaza are gods, gods I tell you), and I'd like to think I know what's good and what isn't. My latest love affair is with "Freaks and Geeks", the short lived show created by Judd Apatow of "Knocked Up" fame. It is fantastic, the best mass media presentation dealing with high school I have ever seen. It's authentic in a way that you rarely see ... it's often painful to watch. Now the question is, just who do I recommend it to? Having steered people wrongly in the past, maybe it's best to give it up.

Just for the record, the best shows of the last three or four years have been Battlestar Galactica (fuck you, it's fantastic ... basically it's WWII naval battles set in space), The Shield, Veronica Mars, Alias, 24, Rome, Lost, Firefly, Arrested Development, The Office, Angel, and Buffy. I recommend you watch them. You probably will like none of them.