SFist celebrated a birthday yesterday and was unable to post. Apologies. But the little gap in posting also gave us time to think some about the current state of television, and the conclusion we came to? We need more "Whodunnit?" "He dunnit!" "Howdya know he dunnit?" "'Cause I'm super-smart, that's how!" shows.

Actually, it wasn't us who came to that conclusion, it was the networks. How else can you explain the plethora of shows like "CSI" (1, 2, and 3), Medium, "Law & Order" (1, 2, 3, and 4), NCIS, Without a Trace, Monk, Cold Case, and Numb3rs? In all of these shows we have smart criminals and even smarter crime fighters. Eventually, the smart criminals are outsmarted and the show ends with the perp giving a speech that's the modern-day equivalent to: "And I would have gotten away with it if it weren't for you pesky kids!"

But don't get us wrong. We admit to watching and even liking a few of these shows. For instance, we can't get enough of Vincent D'Onofrio's kooky detective Goren in Law & Order: Criminal Intent (AKA Law & Order 3). His Sherlock Holmes for the millennium can solve a murder just by looking at the knick-knacks someone keeps on their bookshelves. Yes, at times it's pretty ridiculous, but D'Onofrio keeps the show centered, and sometimes, if you think of it as a comedy, it can be pretty hilarious.