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Main Area and Open Discussion => Living Room => Topic started by: urlwolf on June 05, 2009, 12:27 PM
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What do you watch? I used to watch Lost to unwind, need successor.
But everything else seems super crappy (fringe, by Adams as well, is not as good as Lost).
Any suggestions?
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I love Dexter (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0773262/)! Highly recommended!
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Any of the Joss Whedon shows are good if you like that sort of thing. In order I'd recommend Firefly, Angel, then Buffy.
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House MD! Or if you are animation-oriented, south park - family guy - simpsons - king of the hill.
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Breaking Bad (http://www.amctv.com/originals/breakingbad/about/) is simply awesome, Bryan Cranston is incredible all the way trought every episode.
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The Inspector Morse and Hercule Poirot series that originally ran (in the US) on PBS as part of the Mystery! program.
Also that classic sci-fi sleeper Space: Above and Beyond. One of the better and more intelligent riffs on the theme of "special forces in space." Exploits of the 58th Mobile Marine Attachment (Wild Cards) assigned to SCVN Saratoga. Very good character and plot development throughout. Now even more poignant in the wake of recent history. If you liked Haldeman's book The Forever War, you'll probably like this.
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I would have suggested if you were a sci-fi buff to watch Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, but it got canceled. :(
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I would have suggested if you were a sci-fi buff to watch Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, but it got canceled. :(
-Innuendo
What is it with Summer Glau? Any series she's on seems to get canned.
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Maybe she should start playing different roles...in all the series she played in (that I know (Firefly, Sarah Connor Chronicles) she is a psychosomatic personality.
i think she is so good in that she chases even the "money men" away ;)
However, I love her work...Firefly FTW!
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I like Asian sitcoms w/eng. subs. Usually there's a super gorgeous evil chick who is trying the steal the boyfriend and job/scholarship/whatever of the girl next door goody two shoes babe(too nice to resort to the same underhanded tactics as the nasty babe.) Only trouble is, they must do a lot of food product placement because everyone is eating all the time. I have to do one snack after another while watching these things! :drinksmiley:
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Maybe she just lacks the right people...
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House MD! Or if you are animation-oriented, south park - family guy - simpsons - king of the hill.
-Josh
House is priceless! We got our Dish just in time to start from Season1 - he's our daily late evening 'fix'! ;D
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we normally catch House MD, Heroes and My Name is Earl but Lost is the reason i finally opted for the cable. :up:
during the beginning of the 2nd season, i remember chatting with someone from DC about the Dharma Initiative but i can't recall who exactly was it, so if you're reading this please let me know. ;)
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Two shows just starting up again in the US - "Weeds" and "Burn Notice"
Having said that I don't live in the US so I tend to not watch live TV anymore - there is hardly anything worth watching theses days on UK TV.
My all time favourites in recent years (on DVD) are The West Wing and Boston Legal.
Been watching Grey's Anatomy on DVD recently (missed it thus far on TV - and most doens't seem to get shown in the UK). Really enjoyed it - especially the early series which are very funny.
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Boston Legal was great, too. I felt they switched cast members too often, though.
I seem to think that we're all just shooting in the dark so far. It'd help immensely if the OP would let us know what they were looking for & refine their criteria for what they think is a good TV show.
Heck, just coming back and posting something in the thread would be nice. The OP hasn't posted again in this topic since they started it.
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i remember when i was a kid watching old shows on a rerun, titles such as The Land of the Giants, The Man from UNCLE, The Lone Ranger and many others. i wonder why there are no remakes of them.
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I used to watch Lost to unwind, need successor.
-urlwolf
Nothing wrong with what's been mentioned (except for Wraith808 who was so right but completely wrong - it's Buffy, then Angel, then Firefly ;))
But you've all missed the obvious one...
Alias!
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Breaking Bad (http://www.amctv.com/originals/breakingbad/about/) is simply awesome, Bryan Cranston is incredible all the way trought every episode.
-gexecuter
I second that, this show is great.
I don't know if you're exclusively asking for recent show but here : "Six feet under" is the best show ever made, "Oz" is really awesome if you don't mind gruesome events every now and then... You should also have a look at "Spaced", a TV show from England with Simon Pegg and Nick Frost ("Shaun of the Dead"). I'm a big fan of "The office" too (UK and US).
More recent stuff : "30 rock" is nice, "The IT crowd" too...
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Hmmmmm slipped my mind but on Comedy Central the best show has to be Reno 911 .. at least afa live action goes. I'm not sure if it will hold up since many of the cast have moved on. So far this season it still seems pretty funny though.
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First 3 seasons or so of Sopranos was great. The story line kind of arced in a lame direction around then I think. Christopher was supposed to become the conduit for Tony, while Tony kept in the shadows. For some reason they decided to have Tony beat and shoot everyone personally and made Christopher a drug addict. Jumped the shark.
True Blood seems to have some humor. Only thing I can't figure is why the top honcho vampire who is this gigantic dude, takes crap from the little skinny guy who is Anna Paquin's boyfriend.
For all time, Twilight Zone had some great shows. I just saw them all way too many times.
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Miles, we loved The Sopranos over here and with no disrespect to your opinion we thought that phase of the series was very well-done. Here was a mob boss who had been expanding his crews areas of influence and operation coming to realize that he was becoming too big of a threat for the authorities to ignore. He wisely decides that he needs to drop into the shadows and put a few layers of plausible deniability between him and the crimes.
He also wisely surmised that he was getting older and he needed to start grooming a replacement to head the crime family. What better choice than Christopher who is blood and he's been mentoring all along? Now here the writers could have taken the easy way out by making Christopher out to be a stunning pupil and protege by taking over the family like gangbusters and taking their crime sprees to new heights.
Instead, we thought it was a much better story point to go the way they did. Christopher was always a screw-up. It should have been no surprise to everyone that when given bigger opportunities Christopher was going to screw up in even bigger ways.
We thought it was always a wonderful plotline that Tony had great things planned for Christopher, but Christopher just wasn't cut out for the life. He lacked the skillset to become a great mafioso & thereby Tony had to resort to following behind Christopher cleaning up his messes because he had a great love for Christopher living in denial that the boy wasn't cut out for that kind of life till the very end when Tony finally realized that Christopher was endangering their entire mafia operation and very hard choices had to be made.
Sometimes the people you choose to follow in your footsteps don't have the motivations or abilities that you think they have or should have and the Tony/Christopher story arc showcased that point perfectly, in our IMHO.
But yeah, if you thought Christopher was going to shine when given his time in the son becoming the new Al Capone or something then yeah...you were sorely disappointed. However, if you go back and look at the early Christopher episodes it's easy to see he was in way over head and wasn't taking things anywhere near seriously enough.
Oh, one last unrelated thing...Rod Serling was magnificent. There's never been anyone remotely like him anywhere.
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Family Guy, That 70s Show (reruns... :(), South Park, American Dad!
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Hmmmmmmmmm see, to me I think the reason they changed the plot line in Sopranos was people liked to see Tony do the dirty work. I guess cable/HBO doesn't have ratings exactly like network TV does, but they still get feedback. I don't think Tony sitting in a dark room smoking a cigar making phone calls would get the adrenalin goin' the same as him pistol whipping some guy who didn't pay the vig. ;)
Just my $.02 :)
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Miles, laughs...that could very well be, but I had always thought the series was going to be the rise and fall of Tony Soprano. What made that show so good, I guess, is there are so many ways to interpret what happened over the run of the show.
And where's that OP? He must be off enjoying all the shows we have suggested thus far. :)
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Miles, laughs...that could very well be, but I had always thought the series was going to be the rise and fall of Tony Soprano. What made that show so good, I guess, is there are so many ways to interpret what happened over the run of the show.
-Innuendo
Yeah, I was kind of surprised when Tony started talking about staying in the background. I thought, wow, this is really different. But I guess that type of psychological drama would be difficult to maintain over time. For all I know the show may have ended early just because there wasn't enough eye candy. I mean those babes at Badda Bing just didn't do anything for me!! And no wonder those guys were so violent!! Look at the women they had to live with!! Geez!! I think I'd break out the Thompson submachine gun myself!! :)
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Miles, I know what you mean...I think I only saw one Bada Bing girl in the entire series run that I found really attractive. As for the show ending, the official reason was that they wanted to go out on top before they started to run out of ideas and the show became lame and sad. The unofficial reason, and the one I believe to carry more weight, is that HBO was tired of paying Gandolfini over one million dollars per episode.
I hope he stashed his money away because I am willing to bet him doing that Tony Awards gig didn't pay too many bills. ;)
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Oh, another recommendation....if one likes quirky characters with quirky plots with some smart writing I'll recommend Sci-Fi Channel's Eureka. It'll be entering its third season this coming July and it's a great show to sit down and be entertained while one unwinds.
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Miles, I know what you mean...I think I only saw one Bada Bing girl in the entire series run that I found really attractive.
-Innuendo
Yeah, it's pretty bad when you're hoping Meadow takes a shower. ;)
As for the show ending, the official reason was that they wanted to go out on top before they started to run out of ideas and the show became lame and sad.
As it was I think they rehashed some old plot pieces and stuck 'em together. Seems to me they redid the bit about people having their "goodie bags" ripped off near the end of the series that was originally done when Christopher was selling his movie script. Plus that same episode had some other stuff that tasted like used coffee grounds. Can't remember exactly but there were 3 or 4 elements that were pure rehash.
I hope he stashed his money away because I am willing to bet him doing that Tony Awards gig didn't pay too many bills. ;)
I can't believe they sold it to A & E with the audio euphemism insertions. I mean, the only way I could watch that would be if Joel Hodgeson and a couple of robots made sarcastic comments while the show was playing on a screen in the background. ;)
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Plus, let's not forget one of the freakiest TV shows of all time, LEXX. Talk about weird! It's bad enough to have a contract put out on you but for some reason I don't want to be killed by a dead assassin.
OTOH, if you have to be President of the USA, Bunny is hotter than most first ladies I've seen. ;)
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Plus, let's not forget one of the freakiest TV shows of all time, LEXX. Talk about weird! It's bad enough to have a contract put out on you but for some reason I don't want to be killed by a dead assassin.
-MilesAhead
Truly weird series. Especially the first season with the original cast.
(I also thought Eva Habermann did a better portrayal of the character Zev than Xenia Seeberg did. But maybe that's just me. ;D)
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Lexx is awesome...I never got to watch the show when it originally aired & I was for darn sure not going to pay the going prices for what the DVDs are going for these days, but I was fortunate enough to get the DVDs by other means...
But that show was razor-sharp. Beyond all the surrealism there was some smart writing with clever plot devices that have not been seen before or since. However, I don't think this show, as good as it is, fits the spirit of the thread. It wasn't a sit & unwind type of affair. It demanded your full attention & if you didn't give your full attention you ended up missing lots of clever bits & pieces.
Eva Habermann was better. Unfortunately, contractual obligations cut her participation in the series short. She's stated in interviews that she would have loved to play the part through the entire series run. Alas, it wasn't meant to be.
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Truly weird series. Especially the first season with the original cast.
(I also thought Eva Habermann did a better portrayal of the character Zev than Xenia Seeberg did. But maybe that's just me. ;D)
I thought Xenia Seeberg looked really lame until she landed on planet Fire. After Prince took the guk off her she emerged with a hot hairdo and outfit that made all the difference. Both babes were good though.
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But that show was razor-sharp. Beyond all the surrealism there was some smart writing with clever plot devices that have not been seen before or since.
-Innuendo
Yeah, every time I have the misfortune to deal with hospitals, health insurance, yadda yadda, I think of the sequence where Zev blows up the moon behind the hospital satellite and all of a sudden they offer health care pro bono! Wish I had me one of them big bugs sometimes. :)
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But that show was razor-sharp. Beyond all the surrealism there was some smart writing with clever plot devices that have not been seen before or since.
-Innuendo
Yeah, every time I have the misfortune to deal with hospitals, health insurance, yadda yadda, I think of the sequence where Zev blows up the moon behind the hospital satellite and all of a sudden they offer health care pro bono! Wish I had me one of them big bugs sometimes. :)
-MilesAhead
Or if not a bug, at least Zev. Based on her design spec and function, I'm sure she could take your mind off everything except one thing. ;)
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40hz I wouldn't want to be havin' no heart condition with that babe around! ;)
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If someone is a sci-fi fan and wants a far-reaching epic storyline and is willing to make a time investment look no farther than Babylon 5. With a non-static world where if something happens in one episode it is true in all subsequent episodes and story arcs that reach across seasons it's a very well-written space opera with a widely varied cast of characters with plenty of intrigue & cloak and dagger mystery.
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Hmmmmm, how about the category of "Host(s) who ridicule the movies in order to get you to watch schlock flix?" I can think of MST3K, Elvira Mistress of the Dark, The Cool Ghoul, Pheep(guy in a costume.. he's supposed to be an alien but he looks like a lightbulb with a megaphone in his mouth.) That's all I get off the top of my head. Anyone have any other nominees? :)
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If someone is a sci-fi fan and wants a far-reaching epic storyline and is willing to make a time investment look no farther than Babylon 5. With a non-static world where if something happens in one episode it is true in all subsequent episodes and story arcs that reach across seasons it's a very well-written space opera with a widely varied cast of characters with plenty of intrigue & cloak and dagger mystery.
-Innuendo
+1 +1 +1 :-*
Ehtyar.
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Lie To Me
House
Criminal Minds
CSI Vegas
Medium
Supernatural
The Mentalist
The Unit
Weeds
If you like comedy, Testees.
My favourite quote, "apparently you're not supposed to stick a carrot in your eurethra". :o
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If someone is a sci-fi fan and wants a far-reaching epic storyline and is willing to make a time investment look no farther than Babylon 5. With a non-static world where if something happens in one episode it is true in all subsequent episodes and story arcs that reach across seasons it's a very well-written space opera with a widely varied cast of characters with plenty of intrigue & cloak and dagger mystery.
-Innuendo
I'm as big a sci-fi fan as any, but I just couldn't get into it for some reason. I even like Straczynski's (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J._Michael_Straczynski) other work, especially Rising Stars (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rising_Stars) (I wish Heroes hadn't taken off an let us down- Rising Stars was better and well plotted), Supreme Power (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supreme_Power) and surprisingly Midnight Nation (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Midnight_Nation).
I gave B5 an honest try, and probably will again at some point. But the first time struck out with me.
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Wraith, that's a fair enough assessment for some people. Babylon 5 was a space opera on a massive scale. There was lots of groundwork for later plotpoints in early episodes that would leave you wondering, "What's that got to do with the price of tea in China?" and then 3 or 5 or 10 episodes down the line it'd be, "Ohhh! That's what *that* meant!!".
It probably wouldn't fare too well in today's climate of ADD-oriented, instant-gratification TV viewing.
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+1 on Weeds. Especially the first and most of the second season. It went a little over the top after that and (to me) it felt like the screenwriters lost control of the plot. I stopped watching it after that. I don't know if they got it back later in the series.
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Wraith, that's a fair enough assessment for some people. Babylon 5 was a space opera on a massive scale. There was lots of groundwork for later plotpoints in early episodes that would leave you wondering, "What's that got to do with the price of tea in China?" and then 3 or 5 or 10 episodes down the line it'd be, "Ohhh! That's what *that* meant!!".
It probably wouldn't fare too well in today's climate of ADD-oriented, instant-gratification TV viewing.
-Innuendo
But the funny thing is, I like shows like that! :( I love all of the Whedon stuff where he pulls from older episodes and especially unfinished business (Niska was a piece of work!). I don't like episodic stuff; I prefer long ranging arcs where things have meaning, which is the reason that DS9 was my fave Star Trek. In books, I devour epic series like A Song of Ice and Fire. B5 just didn't catch me for some reason...
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I don't know if this pricing is available nationwide, but I noticed WalMart where I live has the first 4 seasons of 24 on sale for $20 each.
If you're a fan of 24, maybe now is the time to stock up? :)
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A very different show was Nowhere Man. Unforunately or fortunately, depending on your point of view, it was only one season. I got the entire show on a DVD set from Deep Discount DVD for $30. I wish they used maybe one more DVD to get a little better bitrate. But you could watch it. The plot was unique. Not the usual boiler plate.
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Everybody here forgot about 'V'? (Aliens who take over the world)
It was well done for the times this show aired.
off topic:
@40Hz
no signal? init 0?
You lost your muse?
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A very different show was Nowhere Man. Unforunately or fortunately, depending on your point of view, it was only one season. I got the entire show on a DVD set from Deep Discount DVD for $30. I wish they used maybe one more DVD to get a little better bitrate. But you could watch it. The plot was unique. Not the usual boiler plate.
-MilesAhead
Not boiler plate, but not exactly original either (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Prisoner).
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Everybody here forgot about 'V'? (Aliens who take over the world)
It was well done for the times this show aired.-Shades
What are the odds you'd post that on the same day a friend of mine just emailed me this:
http://abc.go.com/fallpreview/index?pn=v&partner=rm&cid=rm+google+v+v
That's right. They are going to re-imagine the classic sci-fi TV series (their words) and it's going to be aired sometime in the future. ABC says it's part of the fall lineup, but IMDB says don't expect it till 2010. The clip on the above link looks good, though.
Since they are using the word 're-imagine' I'm thinking they are looking to cash in like the Sci-Fi Channel did when they 're-imagined' the old 70s TV series Battlestar Galactica.
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Well, it's not exactly the prisoner. In Prisoner, the guy is stuck in The Village(tm) while in Nowhere Man, there's no "escape." Everywhere he goes is same crap different day. They were both interesting. Although Prisoner sort of dallied around before getting to the point of who is #1. :)
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Not exactly, but close enough- the creator even admitted that it was large parts the Prisoner. Especially in the beginning when they actually have him locked up before he escaped...
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Everyone has influences. Miles was influenced by Harry "Sweets" Edison, but I'd hardly say that made him not original. Like the man said, "sometimes it takes a long time to sound like yourself." :)
Anyway, bet a lot more people saw Prisoner than Nowhere Man. Not likely to be shown in reruns in the U.S.
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off topic:
@40Hz
no signal? init 0?
You lost your muse?
-Shades
Oh. Sorry. I just updated my avatar to use a small animated gif that amused me, and forgot that feature has been disabled in the forums. (Kinda dumb of me. Especially since I put my tuppence in when it was previously discussed.)
Re: My Muse :-*:
Nope! Didn't lose her. She's sitting right across from me, jamming along on guitar with an Alvin Lee CD as I'm typing this. ;)
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Hmm...House, NCIS, and Kings (NBC), which is wonderfully strange, hard to follow, and wasn't picked up for a second season. :mad: :'(
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+1 for Kings. So crushed it wasn't signed up for a second season.
Ehtyar.
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Hello all,
we usually get tv shows later in Germany, so one of my favorites is LIFE (already cancelled), NCIS (alltime favorite), Torchwood from GB. I love Medium, as they show a household and life with children as it is and not as sterile and clean as everywhere else. Still not enough stuff in the hallway.
Criminal Minds is great, so is Bones and Mentalist is nice to see.
CI5 - The Professionals was a great show from the 70ies, so I very much enjoy (british) Life on Mars. Brings back memories.
Best ever - and regularly re-seen: Buffy, Firefly, Angel. Joss can't do anything wrong except choosing the wrong networks.
If you wonder: I have three children. Any show with more than 45 minutes would be interrupted way to often to enjoy it. So it's tv shows for me.
Thomas from Berlin, Germany
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Hello all,
we usually get tv shows later in Germany, so one of my favorites is LIFE (already cancelled), NCIS (alltime favorite), Torchwood from GB. I love Medium, as they show a household and life with children as it is and not as sterile and clean as everywhere else. Still not enough stuff in the hallway.
Criminal Minds is great, so is Bones and Mentalist is nice to see.
CI5 - The Professionals was a great show from the 70ies, so I very much enjoy (british) Life on Mars. Brings back memories.
Best ever - and regularly re-seen: Buffy, Firefly, Angel. Joss can't do anything wrong except choosing the wrong networks.
If you wonder: I have three children. Any show with more than 45 minutes would be interrupted way to often to enjoy it. So it's tv shows for me.
Thomas from Berlin, Germany
-TomD101
NBC, exhibiting its' recent tendency for random brain farts, failed to make a deal to renew Medium for next season. CBS cheerfully snatched the show up, so viewers will be watching on a different network this Fall.
The Mentalist is charming, full of likable folks, even if the writing is a little formulaic, IMHO. Another interesting show is Lie To Me.
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I'm in the middle of a Dexter marathon right now. Haven't watched Dexter before but it is definitely watchable.
Other shows I have made an effort to see is Numb3rs and Boston Legal. A few years ago I saw some seasons of the White House and Sopranos.
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I love Torchwood and BBC America is starting a 5 night miniseries of it on July 20th. Don't know if you need to watch previous episodes to be up for the miniseries.
I also love MI-5 from GB (Spooks). Great spy drama.
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if you don't mind crude humour, there is Kröd Mändoon and the Flaming Sword of Fire (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1299897/) with Sean Maguire in the titular role. :D
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I'm in the middle of a Dexter marathon right now. Haven't watched Dexter before but it is definitely watchable.-Bonuskort
Dexter is fabulous & every time you think it's gotten just about as weird as it can & can't get any more complicated for Dexter....it does. :D
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QI
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The Wire - Hoping Season 5 will be as good as the earlier ones
Mad Men - Hoping that there will be a season 2. A show where there's not one likeable character.
Have you been to your public library lately? You might be surprised. That's where I get all my DVDs.
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Community (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1439629/) - Only 10 episodes so far but it is F.U.N.N.Y!! It reminds me of 3rd Rock From the Sun in that it's a sitcom and it knows it; even during the "serious" moments it's hilarious. However, I imagine it's most amusing to those who have attended community college or a really crappy University.
Ehtyar.
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It's out of production but I enjoyed Arli$$ while it ran. The self-proclaimed avarice of the lead character combined with the athlete cameos gave it verisimilitude.
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The Wire - Hoping Season 5 will be as good as the earlier ones
Mad Men - Hoping that there will be a season 2. A show where there's not one likeable character.
Have you been to your public library lately? You might be surprised. That's where I get all my DVDs.
-Clive
Mad Men is in Season 3 now (currently showing in the US).
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Since this topic got resurrected....I'm usually not one for lawyer shows, but The Good Wife is an excellent drama. That's the only new show this season we've stuck with.
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This is a good opportunity for me to plug my thread on hidden netflix marathon-session shows to watch online: https://www.donationcoder.com/forum/index.php?topic=20559.0
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'The IT crowd (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0487831)' was not mentioned in this thread.
It is absolutely brilliant British humor. Here in PY that kind of humor does not go very well normally, but everybody I know over here laughed...hard, loud and sometimes even with tears in their eyes. :)
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It takes a special kind of person to 'get' British humor. I really enjoy it, but 90% of people who live outside of England do not get the humor at all.
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That's because 90% of people outside the UK don't have a sense of humour ;)
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That's because 90% of people outside the UK don't have a sense of humour ;)-Carol Haynes
Yes...yes...that must be it. ;)
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That's because 90% of people outside the UK don't have a sense of humour ;)
-Carol Haynes
The 10% who do watch PBS. That's where they recycle all the BritComs in the U.S. I was hoping to get more interesting programming when we got BBC America in the line-up. There was an interval when the new Dr. Who came out when they presented a whole line-up of Sci Fi programs. Now that seems to be chucked for "reality" stuff about why women get big boob jobs, talk shows, news and other stuff that doesn't generate a laugh. Saturday night features back to back episodes of Robin Hood. No wonder nobody is laughing.
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Unfortunately UK TV has become a joke in itself. The BBC & ITV were once the envy of the world for drama etc. now both are completely hooked on pointless reality TV, dumbed down drama and boring comedy.
I have to say that as a UK citizen (oops sorry 'subject' - no such things as citizens in the UK unless you are taking citizenship lessons in school, so much for democracy) I now watch far more American programmes than UK programmes simply because they are more intelligently written and have better production values. OK you need to weed out the good stuff from the dross but there are some cracking US shows and very little on UK TV that I want to watch.
There is the occasional recent UK gem:
Criminal Justice (two recent mini series both good)
Documentaries - Life, History of Scotland, Last Chance to See
Music - BBC Proms (though I wish the TV presenters were knowledgeable rather than 'personalities' who show their ignorance most of the time)
Favourites US TV in recent months:
Sopranos (I missed it when it was on TV and bought DVDs)
Deadwood (ditto)
West Wing (ditto - actually anything by Aaron Sorkin I think his writing is brilliant)
Boston Legal (as well as almost anything I can get by David E Kelley The Practice, Ally McBeal - his humour hits the right spot and I like his politics)
Weeds (didn't like it to start with but it grew on me)
Grey's Anatomy (yes I know it is girly but it makes me laugh)
House (well its Hugh Laurie and I can watch him in anything)
Monk & Psych (yes they are both light entertainment but done with a bit of style)
Burn Notice (found this by accident and have watched online)
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We also have too many of the reality show variety. I can only tolerate the ones with hot chicks in bikinis. Since there's no plot at least there's something to look at. There were a couple of Hollywood writers strikes a few years back. I think part of the impetus for the reality craze is that lack of "script" means no unionized script writers. Guess they plow all the money into locales, skimpy bathing suits, and halter tops.
(http://www.clicksmilies.com/s1106/grinser/grinning-smiley-024.gif)
At least with the skimpy bathing suit shows I usually don't have to listen to people trying to sing. Everybody who can belt out a ballad in the shower seems to think that's really vocalizing. It's so sickening to listen to that drivel on "talent" shows. The "singer" chicks that make music videos here should just quit the lip syncing and just do a strip show!! Cleavage shake seems to be the main prerequisite for being "on key" in those things.
(http://www.mysmiley.net/imgs/smile/animated/anim_26.gif) (http://www.mysmiley.net/free-fighting-smileys.php)
Lately I've caught a couple of episodes of Free Radio on Comedy Central. The basic plot is a Howard Stern type radio personality bails to go on Satellite Radio(tm) leaving the radio station in the lurch. Out of desperation they put his quasi-retarded intern on the air to do the show as a stop gap. The ratings go way up and yadda yadda. So far it's still bizarre enough to be amusing.
(http://www.mysmiley.net/imgs/smile/party/party0007.gif) (http://www.mysmiley.net)
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That's because 90% of people outside the UK don't have a sense of humour ;)
-Carol Haynes
;D
Unless they're originally from UK! ;) I love The IT Crowd...
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Mum and I find Australian Series and Movies excellent! Real people...
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Mum and I find Australian Series and Movies excellent! Real people...-CleverCat
How can you keep all the characters straight when they all talk & look like Crocodile Dundee?
And that's just the women! :: ducking and running ::
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Mum and I find Australian Series and Movies excellent! Real people...-CleverCat
How can you keep all the characters straight when they all talk & look like Crocodile Dundee?
And that's just the women! :: ducking and running ::
-Innuendo
;D ;D
Some of them don't, some look more like the crocodile ;)
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Ouch...good thing most Aussie women have the good sense not to hang around here :P
Ehtyar.
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Ouch...good thing most Aussie women have the good sense not to hang around here :P-Ehtyar
Well, to be fair...the most famous of all Aussie women, Elle MacPherson & Nicole Kidman, looking nothing like Paul Hogan or crocodiles. :)
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Mum and I find Australian Series and Movies excellent! Real people...-CleverCat
How can you keep all the characters straight when they all talk & look like Crocodile Dundee?
And that's just the women! :: ducking and running ::
-Innuendo
Being in South Africa for many years helps decipher the accent! Plus we lived down under for 4 years! ;D
If u want a real challenge, watch Taggart (UK series based in Glasgow Scotland) - now there's an accent! ;)
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If u want a real challenge, watch Taggart (UK series based in Glasgow Scotland) - now there's an accent!
On some of the BBCA shows here they have English subs for the characters with heavy dialects.
(http://www.freesmileys.org/smileys/smiley-chores025.gif) (http://www.freesmileys.org/smileys.php)
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On some of the BBCA shows here they have English subs for the characters with heavy dialects.
i love it ;D -- are there any other languages where you have to subtitle in the same language they are speaking because the accents are so thick?
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Low German needs subtitles too for the others. But you rarely get to hear it these days, it's a dying language...
I have seen German subs for heavy swiss (Schwyzerdüütsch) accents too.
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First off, Firefly is always first, no exceptions. :)
As for non-canceled shows:
NCIS - Another nod for this one as it's already been mentioned.
Lie To Me - This one is turning out to be great.
White Collar - I have been enjoying this one as well.
Burn Notice - This one is just plain awesome!
I like the IT Crowd too, but it's a whole different genre/show from Lost or the above.
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Back then I liked Profit (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0115323/).
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+1 for FireFly! In fact, it's been a while since I watched that show, and now I have it in High Definition. Woo!
- Oshyan
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+1 for FireFly! In fact, it's been a while since I watched that show, and now I have it in High Definition. Woo!-JavaJones
That show got screwed over so badly by the network that I didn't even know it existed until well after it was cancelled and SciFi (now SyFy) was showing it. That was a very well-written show that didn't get a fair chance to succeed.
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... now SyFy ...
-Innuendo
Oh grief no ... it sounds like some sort of STD !
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We finally gave up & turned the subtitles on for "The Wire" - all that,mostly unintelligible, Baltimore argot meant that my partner was constantly asking me "what did they say?". Still one of our fave shows tho'.
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... now SyFy ...
-Innuendo
Oh grief no ... it sounds like some sort of STD !
-Carol Haynes
To me it sounds more like somebody's trying to register a trade name and 'sci-fi' is already in the public domain. ;D
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To me it sounds more like somebody's trying to register a trade name and 'sci-fi' is already in the public domain. ;D-40hz
That and they no longer show really good sci-fi. They've gone to 'sci-fi lite'...ergo, SyFy. ;)
(Though Battlestar Galactica is one of the best TV shows you will *ever* watch...even if you hated the original version or even if you hate science fiction.)
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That and they no longer show really good sci-fi.
-Innuendo
When they show sci-fi at all. :P
Last night SyFy channel was running an hour of "pro" wrestling on my DirectTV box.
Looking at the program schedule, it appears that ECW Smash-Ups is going to be a regular feature every Tuesday @ 10:00pm going forward. Oh well...at least it was a hour's respite from the rest of the day, which consisted of 11 hours worth of:Scare Tactics Repackaged; Scare Tactics Repackaged S1; Scare Tactics Season 3.5; and Scare Tactics Season 3.
(Though Battlestar Galactica is one of the best TV shows you will *ever* watch...even if you hated the original version or even if you hate science fiction.)
-Innuendo
It wasn't bad even if I never became much of a fan. But IMHO anything would have been an improvement over the original series.
But for military-themed space opera, I'd still have to give the nod to Space: Above and Beyond. Clips are up on YouTube if anybody's interested.
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Though Battlestar Galactica is one of the best TV shows you will *ever* watch
-Innuendo
2nd that
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Looking at the program schedule, it appears that ECW Smash-Ups is going to be a regular feature every Tuesday @ 10:00pm going forward.-40hz
Going forward? Where ya been? ECW has been in that time slot for the last two years. Sad, but true. :(
But for military-themed space opera, I'd still have to give the nod to Space: Above and Beyond.
That show was ahead of its time. It'd do a lot better today than it did at the time. That was another show Fox sabotaged by screwing around with its time slot.
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Looking at the program schedule, it appears that ECW Smash-Ups is going to be a regular feature every Tuesday @ 10:00pm going forward.-40hz
Going forward? Where ya been? ECW has been in that time slot for the last two years.
-Innuendo
Mostly not watching SyFy - for obvious reasons. ;D
If my GF wasn't a semi-fan of Warehouse 13, I doubt we'd be watching it at all.
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Note: FWIW, WH13 is a "one-trick pony" show concept if there ever was one. But the cast is attractive and likable. And the interaction and dialog is witty, so it's enjoyable even if it's not very original or challenging. (I also must admit a certain ...um...liking for Joanne Kelly...for obvious reasons. :mrgreen: )
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Note: FWIW, WH13 is a "one-trick pony" show concept if there ever was one. But the cast is attractive and likable. And the interaction and dialog is witty, so it's enjoyable even if it's not very original or challenging.-40hz
It *is* a one-trick pony. Everything about the show screams 'hokey' and 'lame'. However, once you sit down and start watching it the cast really makes the show work. And I have to give them kudos on their season finale. The last few minutes of that episode were just...."Whoa...".
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Hmmmmmm, speaking of "one trick pony" shows... after the success of All In The Family and other spin-offs, Norman Lear tried gender reversal in All That Glitters. In this show the women are the bosses and men are secretaries who are admired for their "pecs" and get their asses pinched by the arrogant women bosses. It took me 1/2 hour to find it on google. I couldn't remember the name. The show was one joke. It was funny for the first episode.
(http://www.freesmileys.org/smileys/smiley-sport002.gif) (http://www.freesmileys.org/smileys.php)
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I enjoy Mythbusters, because they often do things I've always wanted to do myself.
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^ Blow things up in creative ways in the name of 'Science'?
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I love Mythbusters. The actual science may be a bit iffy or incomplete at times, but they "get 'er done" and generally do a reasonable job of testing a hypothesis. It's infrequent that I sit there thinking "If only they had tried this!". Plus, hey, blowing stuff up is awesome.
- Oshyan
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The Killing, a Danish series, very well done.
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I recently discovered two shows on the History channel: Pawn Stars and American Pickers. Both series deal with interesting historical artifacts.
And now for a completely tongue-in-cheek response to this thread's question: Warren The Ape. ;D OMG the stuff they show on TV nowadays!
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after the success of All In The Family...
-MilesAhead
I've caught a few episodes of "All in the Family" recently, and I'm amazed both at how funny the show is and what they do on the show.
People think today's TV shows are edgy because of the violence/gore or sexual situations they portray. I don't think any of that stuff is nearly as edgy as "All in the Family", and I don't think anyone would have the guts to make "All in the Family" today. I was kid when it was first televised, and back then it was just another show to me. Today, I can't believe they were able to make and air that show back then.
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It's enough for me to blow things up :)
edit:
oh wow there were a few posts in between...
This is about
^ Blow things up in creative ways in the name of 'Science'?