Do you like TV? With the advent of so many streaming services that put an Alexandria-sized library of old and current series at your disposal, do you sometimes find yourself at a loss what shows deserve your time and attention?

The good people at Rotten Tomatoes have the answers in The Rotten Tomatoes Ultimate Binge Guide: 296 Must-See Shows That Changed the Way We Watch TV. The book tells you all you need to know about more viewing options than most people could ever watch, so it's a good place to start your explorations.

The book is divided into several handy sections: "Classics That Made the Molds (& Those That Broke Them)," including shows such as I Love Lucy, Get Smart, M*A*S*H and The Twilight Zone; "Primetime Professionals: Procedurals That Brought a Little Something Extra to Work," including Hill Street Blues, House and Sherlock; "Tony, Walt, Don & the Antiheroes We Loved & Hated," including The Sopranos, Breaking Bad and Peaky Blinders; "The Biggest LOLs: Game-Changing Sitcoms & the Kings & Queens of Cringe," with the likes of Seinfeld, Arrested Development and Schitt's Creek; "Dramas We Can't Stop Watching," such as Gilmore Girls, Downton Abbey and The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel; "Genre Grows Up: Next-Level Horror, Heroes, Sci-Fi & Fantasy," including Doctor Who, The X-Files, Game of Thrones and Stranger Things; "Real(ish) Worlds: Competitions & Docuseries That Captured the Zeitgeist (&, Yes, Still Hold Up)," such as Survivor, American Idol and Planet Earth; "Animation That Demands to Be Taken Seriously," including South Park, Robot Chicken and Archer; "Mysteries & Mindf--ks: The Weird, Wonderful & Totally Perplexing," such as Twin Peaks, Lost and Russian Doll; and, finally, "TV Goes Global: Shows That Crossed Borders in the Streaming Age," including Midnight Diner: Tokyo Stories and Babylon Berlin.

Phew!

There are also "commercial breaks" with bonus information, such as "Five Ways HBO Changed TV Forever," "Know Your Very Special Episodes," "Those were the Days: The Groundbreaking 1970s Comedy of Norman Lear," "Five Ways Netflix Changed TV Forever" and "Know Your TV Superproducers." And there are "binge battles" that rate the pros and cons between such series as Dallas and Dynasty, the UK and US versions of The Office, and The Simpsons and Family Guy.

Text on each series ranges from a single paragraph to a couple of pages. Count on coming away from each entry with a basic knowledge of the show's premise and the reasons why you should watch it.

I imagine there are folks who have read this book cover to cover, but I prefer to keep it handy for random browsing. It's very entertaining, and sometimes even makes a good substitute for turning on the TV!

[ visit the Rotten Tomatoes website ]