And so with the first hints of autumn stealing into my days I have been idly wondering what telelvision show will be the next compulsive, obbsessive time-waster that will keep me cosy on the couch throughout winter. And then, lo and behold, there it is, glistening seductively on the shelf - an oldie but the one that began my fascination with 'arthouse' television. Yes, the weird and wonderful world of David Lynch as experienced through Twin Peaks is back on the shelves and on special this month. Blueberry pie, 'wrapped in plastic', and the delights of that small odd town 'Twin Peaks. Who could ask for more?

Oh, you could?

Well, how about the sublime family story of life, love and death - Six Feet Under? I could watch that again from start to finish and still remain weeping and devastated on the couch as I did when I first watched the whole series to its bittersweet, heartfelt end.

And then, if that isn't enough to have you glued to the plasma, sit through the first series of Californication and tell me that you haven't been able to crack a smile, laugh out loud and gasp with a 'they didn't just do that, did they?' Sure, the joy is unusual but smart and never dull.

Similarly, with Weeds, another well-rounded and well-written family story, it reels you in and makes you pay attention - and makes you laugh and cry. Mary-Lousie Parker is simply fabulous as the marijuana selling (and then growing) suburban mother just trying to make a living.

If you are looking for delightfully superficial and evilly funny viewing time, you really can't go past Nip/Tuck. Plastic surgeons with their own agendas and quite ridiculously complicated personal lives. 'Now, tell us what you don't like about yourself'...always raises a smile.

Of course, for the more high-brow and cultured of us, Deadwood is HBO Shakespeare. This gritty, re-telling of the settling of the American frontier, has everything from gunfights to girls, from bawdy whisky-fuelled acts of bravery to corrupt Mayors and miners. It is a true re-imagining and a real delight. And, considering the linguistic joy that Swearengen brings, the series might just work for the whole of winter.