I have used bittorrent for a number of years.

The software I use is simply uTorrent. I also have access to a number of private trackers. These private trackers are even more paranoid then you are, so if you can get onto them, it is a lot harder for the powers that be to discover what you are downloading. The best TV trackers have HD season packs, so you can just click on Big Bang Theory Season 1 and boom, it's yours.

The best website to find information, and sometimes even invites to private trackers is this blog: http://filenetworks.blogspot.com.au/

Lately, I have moved back to using Newsgroups, instead of bittorrent. This is because my download limit in Australia (where we have data caps) is now much higher. For this, I use supernews.com. I got the whole 5 seasons of Big Bang off newsgroups in the last few weeks.

Lifehacker can explain it better: http://lifehacker.com/5601586/how-to...e-simple-steps

I also paid $10 (lifetime) to have access to NZBMatrix. With the SABNZBD extension and addon for firefox and chrome, whenever something pops up on NZBMatrix I just hit the SAB button and it starts downloading it. I don't have to worry about maintaining ratios on the private tracker sites anymore.

Lastly and specifically in terms of TV show downloads, the method I have setup on my windows system is to use SABNzbd and Sickbeard. You may need a geeky friend to help set it up for you, but once you have it all set up, you can download not only old episodes off the newsgroups, but you can also tell Sickbeard which shows you want it to automatically download in HD for you. This is great for me as it saves so much time, especially in Australia where we don't get half the US shows at all, and most are on a delay.

Here is the best guide for settings up Sickbeard and getting SABnzbd to automatically handle TV episodes for you. I have it all setup nicely to play with XBMC too:
http://www.howtogeek.com/72267/how-t...th-sick-beard/

For example, when I turned my PC back on today, I instantly got the latest episode of the Simpsons straight from the US in HD, and in the next few hours it will automagically download The Good Wife, Californication and The Walking Dead. I love it! It also tells me Big Bang is on hiatus for two weeks, and the next season of True Blood starts in June.