Today's little slice of awesomeness from New York Magazine's always-amusing daily Vulture blog:

Riffing on the sudden spate of mega-love pundits and members of the public are showering upon period drama series Mad Men, the folks over at NYMag have created a handy little guide for parsing what makes a Show You Should Watch™.

But what exactly is a Show You Should Watch™, you ask? According to them, it's, y'know, that

"It" TV show, the series that you realize you're going to have to catch up on if you [want] to be a civilized grown-up. [It's a show that makes you feel] that oppressive sense, delivered by critics and laysnobs alike, that if you aren't watching Mad Men you're out of touch with all that is good in our culture. That means Mad Men is officially a Show You Should Watch™ (or SYSW for short), following in the proud footsteps of The Wire, The Sopranos, and Arrested Development.

The SYSW phenomenon seems particularly prevalent in the hazy, lazy dog days of summer, when bougie folks find themselves with a little bit more time on their hands and rush to keep abreast of all the pop cultural ephemera they so sorely neglected during regular working hours. Mad Men is certainly on my vacation-viewing list, as is The Wire (all of the seasons). But I've also jacked up the camp quota by throwing in Melrose Place: Season 4 on DVD. Anything I'm missing?

Now check out their graphic analysis.

--Sarah Liss