Wintertime Watching

Amid the self-indulgence of holiday cheer, the compulsory time spent with family and friends and the cyclical napping to make up for months of sleep deprivation, you might find yourself craving a little TV during winter break. Unfortunately, the yuletide schedule is mostly a mix of reruns, claymation specials and sporting events, so it might be a better idea to catch up on quality programming from the fall rather than channel-surfing the old-fashioned way. Here are three smart choices that'll keep you merry well into 2010.

"Better Off Ted"

The premise: "Better Off Ted" is a delightfully bizarre workplace comedy, well matched with its timeslot companion, "Scrubs." Ted (Jay Harrington) works for Veridian Dynamics, a company that conducts fantastical, sometimes morally questionable experiments (examples include attempting to freeze an employee for a year). The sane guy in a crazy world, Ted acts as the liaison between his amusingly stoical boss Veronica (Portia de Rossi) and his adorably obsequious researchers, Phil (Jonathan Slavin) and Lem (Malcom Barret). On the love front, Ted's flirty friendship with co-worker Linda (Andrea Anders) grounds the show in real-life awkwardness, while Ted's role as single father to his daughter, Rose (Isabella Acres), rounds out his life outside work.

Why you should catch up: Smart and silly, this show will definitely make you laugh. Most of the characters aren't surprising (Crazy boss? Check. Nerdy scientists? Check. Precocious little girl? Check.), but top-notch writing and comic delivery make for an original series that revels in the outrageous situations it depicts. Like a presenter in a long and hilarious infomercial, Ted sells the audience on his world, walking us through life and occasionally speaking directly to the camera. You wouldn't want to work at Veridian, but you'll enjoy your weekly visits.

"Chuck"

The premise: Now entering its third season, "Chuck" is a glimpse into the spy world through the eyes of one everyday nerd who gets caught up in it. The eponymous geek (Zachary Levi) leads an unfulfilling life fixing computers until he accidentally downloads all of the government's secrets into his brain. Suddenly, explosions and near-death experiences are the norm. With each week's mission, Chuck struggles to balance his exciting but classified new existence with the ordinary life he's still pretending to live. Chuck's confidence and competence grow as the series progresses, but daily dealings with software glitches, international terrorists and his burgeoning feelings for his government-issued handler, Sarah Walker (Yvonne Strahovski), make for a hectic life.

Why you should catch up: "Chuck" strikes a great balance between the different realms of its hero's life, relying on realistic relationships to ground its wacky premise. Chuck's family provides a loving taste of normalcy, and his friends' everyday antics provide a nice contrast to Chuck's spy adventures. John Casey, Sarah's colleague in handling Chuck, is gruff, but his tough-guy persona makes rare moments of sweetness all the more appealing. Finally, Sarah is trained to be brave and unemotional, but spending time with Chuck helps her gradually learn the value of trust and friendship. The pair's will-they/won't-they relationship, complicated by the fact that they have to pretend to be dating to preserve their cover, is alternately heartbreaking and adorable.

If sentimentality isn't your thing, "Chuck" also provides plenty of escapist fun. The action sequences are smart and unusual (one involves a chase sequence through a carnival Gravitron). When the characters aren't facing gunpoint, and sometimes even when they are, the show is littered with hilarious cultural references: We get everything from talk about the latest video games to an extended spoof of Josh Schwartz's first show, "The O.C." Speaking of which, "Chuck" features an excellently eclectic mix of music, from the expected indie discoveries to '80s throwbacks. Overall, "Chuck" has something for everyone, heightening the stakes without taking itself too seriously.

"Modern Family"

The premise: "Modern Family" sticks closely to the tropes of classic sitcoms, but with some welcome upgrades for the world we live in. The show, told in a mockumentary style reminiscent of "The Office," follows three related families, including a grandfather acclimating to life with his much younger wife and her son, a gay couple that has just adopted a baby, and a married pair raising three children. The families bicker, they tell stories, they occasionally do stupid things, but they love each other, and they're hilarious.

Why you should catch up: "Modern Family" does a great job of turning ordinary situations into laugh-out-loud moments. Though the children often prompt the action of an episode, the show focuses more on the adults, probably for the better. It's a credit to the writers that they create genuine laughs without relying solely on the cuteness factor that young cast members can bring. The show remains family-friendly, but a focus on more nuanced "grownup" issues allows it to reach a level of sophistication your average "Full House" episode never quite attained. The episodes usually end with a closing voiceover - a reflection on the themes of each storyline and a heartwarming message. At their worst, they can be a little sappy, but like the show itself, most of the closing lines express a new way of portraying families, focusing on works in progress instead of rigid definitions.