Between running to class, balancing extracurricular activities and maintaining some sort of social life, college students barely have spare time-let alone time to watch hours of television. In honor of the new year, with so many television series back from hiatus and even some new shows celebrating their winter premiers, four Justice editors have compiled their favorite TV shows (or at least those that are worth watching). Consider this your four-step guide to televised bliss. What do you think? Check it out and tune in!

'Girls' displays real life
HBO's new series Girls certainly made waves at the Golden Globes, but not all viewers are convinced of its merit. The show, which follows a group of twenty-something post-college white elite living in a stereotypical hipster neighborhood in Brooklyn, can sometimes hit a bit too close to home. The graphic, rather awkward sex scenes and the fallible, irrational characters are both easy to criticize. Yet it is the rawness of the show that, if you can bear to watch it, makes it so relatable. After all, real life includes making poor decisions and learning from them.

The girls struggle in their romantic relationships, but the true beauty of their characters is found in their interactions with each other. Each female character represents a different personality that resonates with the audience: Shoshana represents a certain na??vet?(c); Marnie comes to terms with her own loneliness, dealing with rejection for the first time in her life; Jessa is that free spirit we are all somewhat envious and skeptical of; and Hannah demonstrates what it means to struggle with reaching adulthood, being cut off from her parents and losing her jobs.

Writer-director Lena Dunham, who also plays Hannah, describes a double-standard in society's expectations for girls. They pursue men who treat them badly, balance their personal finances poorly and act unprofessionally at work. The behaviors are bad, but the characters are not. The writing encapsulates what has traditionally defined Jewish humor-a low self-worth and high self-confidence. Despite their flaws, Dunham hopes that ultimately the audience is rooting for them.

With the new winter premier, and ratings as high as ever, it seems we all have the faith in Dunham's characters that she hoped for.
-Robyn Spector

'Mindy' sasses up doctor drama
Since last fall, Mindy Kaling's show The Mindy Project has fully captured my attention with its subject matter, witty writing and superb acting. On the show, Mindy plays an Ob/Gyn working with two other male doctors, creating a great dynamic for each episode because Mindy is the complete opposite of the two male doctors.

The supporting cast surrounding Mindy is dynamic, adding a lot of depth to the show that some TV shows lack. The two receptionists are complete opposites, and the male nurse Morgan (Ike Barinholtz) could probably have an entire show based solely off of him-he is completely nuts and 100 percent amusing.

What I find most appealing about The Mindy Project is that it seems very honest. While some aspects of the show (Mindy crashing her ex's wedding and giving a drunken toast to the couple) are probably somewhat embellished for comedy's sake, I find myself believing that these incidents are based off of ones that Mindy experienced in her own life.

In the same vein as HBO's Girls, the more realistic (a.k.a. not perfect) characters add to the honesty and allure of the show. As much as I love HBO's huge hit Sex and the City, the lives of those four women were often too neatly packaged. In The Mindy Project, the characters have dilemmas that us "normal" people have. While some critics of the show complain that the problems Mindy faces are too relationship-focused for such a strong female character, I find it's the opposite: Mindy is a strong female character and she isn't afraid to go out and find exactly what she wants from a relationship. Luckily for us, her journey in her personal and professional life makes for great television.
-Marielle Temkin

Perry resurrects himself in 'Go On'
As a Friends lover, I started watching Go On hoping Matthew Perry would continue his role as a witty and hysterical character. In his new role as Ryan King, a big time sports reporter, he attempts to cope with the loss of his wife, Janey. In doing so, he joins a therapy group containing anything but ordinary characters, all of whom are dealing with some sort of a loss, ranging from the death of a cat to the death of a child.

The group, which is lead by Lauren (Laura Benanti), who has no formal training, somehow manages to encourage the members to lean on each other, creating a family-like bond and support system. They help one another move on through weekly get-togethers and supporting each another in and out of their meetings, including birthday celebrations and family events. While he has struggled to transition to new roles after finding success with Friends, Matthew Perry makes the leap brilliantly into this comedic, yet realistic series in which he once again immerses himself in a television pseudo-family.

In Perry's past role, he was one of the six gifted actors who equally contributed, but in Go On he establishes himself as the clear star. Initially skeptical of joining this group of misfits, Ryan soon finds he's more like them than he thought and ends up establishing himself as their new leader. They seem to idolize him, not only because he is a famous sportscaster but also for his phenomenal sense of humor. With his "too good" attitude Ryan ridicules the group members for their strange characteristics, yet also pokes plenty of fun at himself along the way, and joins in their antics.

Although Perry excels at his role, the show's plot, while often humorous, can seem uncreative at times. All of the plot's most basic elements have been seen before, such as a lonely, successful man searching to find love, and a seemingly strange group of people who happen to get along.

Overall, Go On is a simple yet immensely satisfying show. With the seemingly depressing theme for a show, the writers do a great job of deciding what about the subject of loss is funny and what is just sad. It may not have won any Golden Globes, and I'm not sure it should, but I still find the time to keep up with the episodes.
-Rachel Burkhoff

First family isn't all it's cracked up to be
NBC's new comedy this season has been compared to The West Wing and Modern Family, two masterful shows in their respective genres. But 1600 Penn, a sitcom based on a fictional first family and their life in the White House, doesn't live up to the promotional hype.

The show has funny moments but it largely disappoints due to predictable and caricatured characters.

1600 Penn follows President Dale Gilchrist (Bill Pullman), his second wife Emily (Jenna Elfman) and his five children from his first marriage.

Josh Gad, the Book of Mormon star, plays Gilchrist's young adult son, Skip, who has moved back in with his parents after seven unsuccessful years of college. He is a sweet-hearted idiotic buffoon who acts like a kid in a candy shop while running around the White House.

Becca (Martha MacIsaac) is a goodie two-shoes, and an impressive and intelligent daughter. However, in a moment of weakness, she makes one of the first poor decisions in her life and doesn't use a condom, leading to an embarrassing pregnancy plastered all over the media.

The show has moments of true humor, like when son Josh Gad mouths off at a racist old senator at a public reception--or when he inadvertently lets slip details of his sister's pregnancy to the media. But as much as Gad brings the humor, his character's flaw is that he is too lucky to believe (he secures an international trade treaty by giving a pep talk to a room full of Latin American ambassadors).

Aside from Gad, wit is hard to find in the first three episodes of the simplistic comedy that defines 1600 Penn.

In all, it's a decent new show for NBC, which is facing some significant losses in its sitcom repertoire. The good news is that the characters have the potential to grow and improve.

-Andrew Wingens