2 months ago I had never seen 24. But I'm slowly catching up via netflix. It became an instant favorite. I was talking about the end of the show this year with some drunk guy at a strip club. He said "I wish I was you and still have that much 24 ahead of me". I can see where he's coming from. I've also never seen Lost. But it's in my que. I like Friends much more than I should. Shut the fuck up. Breaking Bad And a cancelled Fox show that's about 6 or 7 years old right now called Fastlane. I wouldn't be surprised if anyone here hasn't even heard of it. It was only two seasons long and ended on a cliffhanger. I'm under the impression this means they thought they'd have a couple more seasons, but then Fox cancelled them. The runner ups are Entourage, Dexter, The Office, The King of Queens and The Simpsons up to circa 2003 That's more like a list of all the shows I watch (excluding talk shows that go on forever). But I guess that's why they're my favorites.
Drama The Wire: Well, what can I say about this show? Its quite simply one of the best things I have ever seen. I was a bit apprehensive after hearing so many good things about it and coming off the back of watching the Sopranos box set spread over 4 months, I didn't think it would live up to expectations. Boy was I wrong. Yes it starts slowly and yes the police jargon, street lingo, nicknames of people etc intially goes over your head, but its a slow burner and I was rewarded by sticking with it. The Wire was an education, a commentary on peoples lives that you hear about, a deep storytelling masterpiece, an emotional rollercoaster. The character development and peek into the complex hierarchy from mayoral office to street deals, where everybody has their own small and excessive motivation is excellently portrayed. There are simply too many plaudits to give to this show - it changed my perception of so many things and the injustice that goes on in the deep dark places people dare not venture into. If you haven't seen it, then go get the complete box-set. It will be the best thing you do this year. Rant over. The Sopranos: After all the hype died down and the show finished, thats when I decided to watch the Sopranos. For me, it was the character development that shined through. Yes the storylines were architecturally sound and woven so delicately, but to get into the psyche of men who live a life of excess, anxiety, joy, unwritten rules, depression, excitement and camaraderie all wrapped into one and an insight into the families that have to live and function with these men then you start to get a picture of how amazing and fucked up life can be. Tony Soprano, Carmela, Christopher, Paulie - great characters that I can watch over and over again. Comedy Curb Your Enthusiasm: What has not been said about Larry David? I can watch Seinfeld all day without getting bored, but Curb took it to the next level. No laughing track which is critical to my acceptance of sitcoms these days and subtle comedy of real life situations is what makes the writing of Curb so special. We certainly may not all be as neurotic, or narcassitic as Larry and the role he portrays, but this is comedy and putting a magnifying glass on the 'little things' that excite, annoy or send us into rage is so brilliantly executed with some of the dialogue that simply just oozes with exceptional wit and timing. Entourage: Vince, Drama, E, Turtle and Ari fucking Gold. This show is a fantasy, and as a guy its the sort of life that you could see yourself living and enjoying every damn minute of it. Its a show of hanging out with your buddies and shooting the shit and thats the appeal. 'A group of 30-something men living together - who would buy a show like that?' So ironically put in one of the episodes. Each character has a role to play and sum of all the parts equals comedic gold. Peep Show (British Comedy): This has not hit the shores of the States and it probably wont, but this show is an insight into a 2 friends and the mishaps they get into in life. (1) a very free-spirited, morally bankrupt and scheeming individual and (2) A very British, uptight, social outcast. The concept of the show is what adds to its uniqueness and the way it is shot. Essentially, we mostly 'see' out of the eyes of the characters not as if it is being filmed. Its weird, but it works. A lot of the writing is done excellently with many references to British culture and social class executed in a very, very dry way. It is so fucking funny. The duo on this show have done other things, but this is head and shoulders above the rest.
It took 3 pages to get to one of my all time favorite shows that kept me on the edge of my seat and I fucking hate them for canceling it. Motherfucking Jericho. I'm a huge fan of Fallout, so when I heard about Jericho, I knew I had to watch it. The only thing that disappointed me about Jericho is how they had to rush to tie everything together at the end because the show was canceled. I loved how it was so in-depth, interconnectedness of the show. In the opening credits, there would be morse code that would give you a clue about the coming show. Allegedly, there's going to be a Jericho movie. I hope to God, Buddha, Muhammed, Vishnu, and any major deity I may have missed that it happens.
COPS Maybe it's just the white trash in me, but no show will ever hold a place in my heart like COPS. I mean, its been on for 20+ years, and I still can't wait for new episodes. I can watch the same episode over and over again and never get tired of it. The fact that it is on pretty much all evening long on most days (thank you TruTV & G4) makes it all the better. It's like a COPS grab-bag. Am I gonna get an awesome episode where some fat dude gets the shit tasered out of him? Or am I gonna get one of those crappy Mardi Gras episodes where the chicks from the early 90's show their (blurry) tits. God damn, I love me some COPS
How has no one said Rome? One of my absolute favorite shows, with some of the most amazing characters. Ciarin Hinds was a stroke of genius as Caesar, and I'm hard-pressed to think of one character that wasn't badass in their own way. Pullo and Vorenus was one of the best on-screen friendships I've ever seen. Other than Deadwood, that is one of the best. However, my very first television love was Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Fuck anyone who thinks this wasn't a good show. It was quirky, comedic, dark and depressing all at once, with lovable characters and villains that were legitimately creepy (The Gentlemen still freak me out). I followed it around all the network moves because it was so very compelling, and despite being riddled with monsters, very relatable and real. It got a little strange after Season 5, but I still miss turning on my TV every Tuesday to watch.
I'm a little disappointed it hasn't been mentioned yet, but The Kids in the Hall. Most other kids on their sick days (fabricated or not) would often look forward to the Price is Right. Fuck that. Depending on the agenda ahead, I would often skip to see The Kids in the Hall alone. It's probably responsible for my weird, but insanely hilarious sense of humor. Link and Linky.
Doctor Who Twin Peaks I have various childhood memories involving both of them but they are too fuzzy to pin point what they actually are. I own a fancy Twin Peaks box set and have seen a large amount of Dr.Whos throughout the years and have been trying to find the Tom Barker as the Doctor DvDs for years with no success.
Have you ever watch those couple of shows that give takes you on such an emotional trip you hold your breath? Yah, Farscape is that scifi/action/drama show. May have also started the best TV drinking game ever: "Fuck the Puppet." I won't go into much detail but Babylon 5 pretty much pioneered the five season story arc and helped jump start people taking real science fiction seriously. Without this show you would not see shows like the above and: BSG, Caprica, Firefly, etc. I'll also go ahead with The Wire, Arrested Development, South Park, Angel, Futurama and The Shield to name a couple of my top favorites, along with the ones mention above of course.
A few have mentioned Dr. Who I saw a 2007 episode of Dr. Who titled "Blink" and it was damn awesome , genuinely spooky, scary and entertaining.
"The Drew Carey Show" was an event on Wednesday evenings in my household growing up, even if I was too young to understand some of the themes. I've been catching up on some episodes lately and it is so genius. Relateable characters and character growth, but at times, they absolutely were not afraid to branch out into the bizarre and random. I mean, how can you not like this: or this:
At the end of day Lost will be the greatest show on television probably ever. It will be required viewing for my unborn children as to stimulate thoughts about darkness and light, energy, love and friendship. The best thing about Lost (aside from it being Lost) is that attacks things that we face and must balance everyday of our lives (ie. desire versus faith), and does so with a graceful beauty. 24 is the only other network show that I really loved, and now just watch it because of habit and I feel sorry for the show. But let's be real to a lesser extent Day 1, but Day 2-4 were captivating, heart pounding, suspenseful works of art. No it's just bitter Jack Bauer (the best kind of Jack Bauer in my opinion) and some really, REALLY bad acting. Others shows that I've watched on DVD were The Wire and Entourage, both very good in my opinion. Wire season 1 and 2 were just good 3-5 were just amazingly good. And the opposite true for Entourage, started out very strong, super easy to watch and kind of smoked out lately. The only other shows I would have like to have seen more of are Oz and Sleeper Cell. I catch them at random times on the HD101 channel, but it's very incoherent to watch them that way.
When offline most the TV I watch these days is mainly documentary. Last favorite series was 6 Feet Under. I've got all but one season on DVD and can watch all repeatedly. This show has everything--love, sex, death, humor and drama. The last episode actually moves me to tears every time I see it. The Sopranos runs a close 2nd, but I think SFU has more of a dark, left-field quality to it that I enjoyed more.
Pee-Wee's Playhouse. Mainly because the first episode premiered the day after I was born, so I can't imagine a world without it. It's also a show I can watch now as an adult and still enjoy. Say what you will about Paul Reuban's personal life, the show was great.
Most of my all-time favorites are old-school British sitcoms; 1. The Ali G Show, HBO version- Way, WAY better than any of the 3 films, especially Bruno, who was the single funniest element of the show. The second season is, to this day, the absolute funniest, best season of any television show I have ever seen. 2. Keeping Up Appearances- A near-perfect comedy series. Every single character is hilarious, awesome, and brilliantly acted, but the undisputed star is Patricia Routledge as "Hyacinth Bucket". She plays a middle-class, 60 year-old tyrannical housewife who constantly attempts to move up the social ladder, and no matter the situation, carries herself as the queen, much to the despair of her long-suffering husband, their neighbors, and anyone else unfortunate enough to come in contact with them. 3. Black Adder- Most people know Rowan Atkinson for the hilarious "Mr. Bean" series, but this one is even better. Going through different parts of history, from 12th century Britain all the way to WW1, Atkinson plays a bunch of sleazy, power-hungry, criminal, men in the government who all have the last name "Black Adder". His machinations and hilarious dialogue between him and his (idiot) minions is pure genius. 4. The Office, BBC Version- The Steve Carrell version is okay, but it can't hold a candle to the original headed by Ricky Gervais (in my opinion the greatest stand-up comedian ever). Animated comedy shows I thought hit "great" caliber at some point; 1. Beavis and Butthead 2. The Simpsons 3. Futurama 4. The Goode Family- I would take the single season of this over any season from the shows I named above. Most of the serious television shows range from borderline good to absolutely terrible in my opinion, but there is one exception. A series so awesome, so incredible, it beats almost any movie ever made; I, Claudius- Similar to HBO's "Rome", only way better acted, written, more violent, crazy, intelligent, and exciting. All you need to know is that Patrick Stewart has a role as Elias Sejanus...and compared to the rest of the cast, he is completely average. Sian Phillips as Livia is one of the five greatest acting performances I have ever seen. It has a LOT of deliciously insane, bloody scenes, too.
Yep, with the finale behind us that was the most satisfying possible end for the series ever, this is now cemented. Early myth-arc shows like The Prisoner and The Fugitive were embryonic versions of LOST, but they still had a fairly episodic nature. The X-Files was like an adolescent LOST: a better myth-arc but plenty of standalone Monster-of-the-Week episodes because they were too afraid of losing casual fans. Also, the X-Files myth-arc just went batshit when Mulder left the show. LOST did what no series has ever done and no series probably ever will again: tell a single story over a six-year period, treating fans as if they were intelligent and watching. Huge production values. Huge ensemble cast. Characters that you actually cared about, that evolved, and that didn't fit into pre-defined stereotypes. Making major changes to the show in nearly every episode - new characters, characters dying, new plotlines, new mysteries, and old mysteries resolved. Was it perfect? Of course not. Did it get about as close as you can get while trying to tell a story over SIX GODDAMN YEARS? You bet your ass it did. I know that ABC (and others) have tried to copy the LOST formula and get it to work, failing each time. I'm not sure quite why - it seems like a simple (if expensive) formula. I think a lot of it has to do with the setting - the whole "mysterious tropical island" thing provides a sense of isolation, dread, and wonder at the same time. You can't really have a smoke monster and a mysterious hatch in your show if the series is set in Cleveland. But anyway, yay for Darlton and JJ Abrams (now clearly the heir-apparent to Spielberg) for making something so wonderful and managing not to fuck it up all the way through the very end.
I don't really watch much television, and if I do, I usually look for a movie rather than a show. I don't like the commitment it takes to follow a t.v. series. There's a lot of entertainment value but no real long term reward. I know that setting aside an hour a week isn't that much, but after following a show for a few seasons, those hours can really add up. I can't help but think, couldn't I have spent those hours in a more useful way? It seems ridiculous to me when I see people week after week going crazy about the new upcoming episode of whatever sitcom or drama. It gets to the point where they are using the shows to fill in the empty spaces in their lives. Plus, since I read The Last Psychiatrist, I'm pretty sure that every form of media is turning me into a full-blown narcissist. That being said, I've definitely become addicted to a few shows that if I see are on t.v. I won't hesitate to put on, and that I watch into the wee hours of the night when they are in season and I download them. Here are a few of them. Dexter - Maybe my favorite show of all time. The genius in the show is how easy it is to relate to Dexter even though he's psychotic. It's because of the split personality bewteen normal/family Dexter and the Dark Passenger. Normal Dexter is the one we almost always hear narrating and speaking, and the Dark Passenger never really comes to the surface, but rather he is lurking behind the scenes, unseen. It's more like a separate entity that is stuck inside his head and that forces Dexter to do things. Even when Dexter is killing someone I feel like it's regular Dexter pushed to an extreme by the Passenger, but not the actual Passenger itself. It's easy to relate to Dexter because his regular side is, at least trying to be, a perfectly normal family man that is easily understood, and you can say to yourself that if you also had the Dark Passenger hovering over you, you would probably try to deal with it in the same way.* Plus, we all have our own Dark Passenger that we have to deal with, so we can relate to Dexter's struggle. Arrested Development - I'm not going to analyze this one as much, but I'll give my reasons for liking it. There were strong, consistent characters that had good chemistry, and plus, this show was ridiculously funny. The jokes were always clever and never cheesy, and as someone else already mentioned, the absence of a laughing reel meant that I didn't feel like I was being told when and when not to laugh. Seinfeld - "A show about nothing." A great premise from the beginning, and the problem about the commitment that I mentioned earlier doesn't (didn't) exist here because there's no story arc. Memorable characters, great moments, and a very quotable show. Sometimes I don't even find the show funny, but I don't mean that in a bad way, because whether I'm laughing or not is irrelevant-- I'm always entertained when watching Seinfeld. Also, I have a lot of respect for Jerry Seinfeld because as soon as he knew he couldn't maintain the quality of the show he canceled it despite getting at the time the biggest offer for a t.v. series ever. It takes a lot of character to make a decision like that. Hell, for all I know he still holds the record.