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General => Movies and TV => Topic started by: Big Crouton on December 18, 2010, 05:04:58 PM
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In my life, I occasionally run into large chunks of time to kill, and I'm looking for some quality tv series to get me through such times.
Shows I've been a big fan of include Dexter, Lost, and the first couple seasons of Prison Break. Anything along those lines would be great. I'm not particularly interested in comedies. I'm into series with an overarching storyline.
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24?
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Oh yeah, I forgot about 24. I lost interest in the last couple seasons, but that was a great show for a good while. That would've been an excellent suggestion if I hadn't already watched it.
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https://www.dreamtheaterforums.org/boards/index.php?topic=18403.0
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I really got into Prison Break.
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Battlestar Galactica
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The Wire? Oz?
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https://www.dreamtheaterforums.org/boards/index.php?topic=18403.0
I forgot about that list. I think I'll look into the sopranos and the wire. Thanks.
I'm still open to more suggestions.
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Breaking Bad is my favorite outside of Dexter and Lost.
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The Wire
Breaking Bad
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Breaking Bad is my favorite outside of Dexter and Lost.
Agreed. Not sure how I forgot to put that one in my original post.
I already watched (and mostly enjoyed) Battlestar Galactica too.
Oz never struck me as a show I'd want to watch. A brief review might pique my interest though.
In this thread I'm starting to realize what a ridiculous amount of tv I've watched over the years, and yet I'm still looking for more.
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Nip/Tuck
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Battlestar Galactica
THIS SO MUCH!
I consider it undoubtedly the best show overall.
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Really?
I love BSG and all, and it has certain advantages over other TV shows (namely space-ships shooting cannons at each other in SPACE), but I don't see how it's really possible to claim it rivals the other great dramas of the past decade.
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It's just consistently good and has so many incredible highs.
I know you're less keen on the last series or so, but we've had that discussion before. :lol
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I'm too drunk to go into my usual depth, but Life on Mars requires your attention. It's crying out for it.
The UK version, of course. It's intelligent, it's thrilling, it's often funny, it's exciting, and it's SO expertly written and so impeccably acted that you'll forget you're watching a TV show. I think it might be the perfect TV show. It does everything I feel a good TV show should - mystery, comedy, tragedy, excitement, action, drama, emotion, the whole spectrum - and it does every single one of them impeccably.
It's about a policeman from 2006 who's hit by a car, and wakes up in the 1970s. He doesn't know if he's imagining the entire experience, if he's actually travelled through time, or he's a 70s native who's just gone mad. It's got EVERYTHING. I love it. It's the perfect TV show.
If you've got five minutes... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y7i_j6cdKkY
Don't worry, it's just from the pre-titles sequence of the first ever episode. The very beginning, so it won't spoil anything.
Oh. Also. CHILLING soundtrack.
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I'm too drunk to go into my usual depth, but Life on Mars requires your attention. It's crying out for it.
The UK version, of course. It's intelligent, it's thrilling, it's often funny, it's exciting, and it's SO expertly written and so impeccably acted that you'll forget you're watching a TV show. I think it might be the perfect TV show. It does everything I feel a good TV show should - mystery, comedy, tragedy, excitement, action, drama, emotion, the whole spectrum - and it does every single one of them impeccably.
It's about a policeman from 2006 who's hit by a car, and wakes up in the 1970s. He doesn't know if he's imagining the entire experience, if he's actually travelled through time, or he's a 70s native who's just gone mad. It's got EVERYTHING. I love it. It's the perfect TV show.
If you've got five minutes... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y7i_j6cdKkY
Don't worry, it's just from the pre-titles sequence of the first ever episode. The very beginning, so it won't spoil anything.
Oh. Also. CHILLING soundtrack.
This. Oh and when you've watched it watch Ashes to Ashes. Appart from that I enjoy Heroes, House and recently The Walking Dead and The Event (not sure if i like The Event or not yet). I'm lining myself up to start Lost, 24, Prison Break and 'V' all of which look pretty cool.
Matt
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I'm too drunk to go into my usual depth, but Life on Mars requires your attention. It's crying out for it.
The UK version, of course. It's intelligent, it's thrilling, it's often funny, it's exciting, and it's SO expertly written and so impeccably acted that you'll forget you're watching a TV show. I think it might be the perfect TV show. It does everything I feel a good TV show should - mystery, comedy, tragedy, excitement, action, drama, emotion, the whole spectrum - and it does every single one of them impeccably.
It's about a policeman from 2006 who's hit by a car, and wakes up in the 1970s. He doesn't know if he's imagining the entire experience, if he's actually travelled through time, or he's a 70s native who's just gone mad. It's got EVERYTHING. I love it. It's the perfect TV show.
If you've got five minutes... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y7i_j6cdKkY
Don't worry, it's just from the pre-titles sequence of the first ever episode. The very beginning, so it won't spoil anything.
Oh. Also. CHILLING soundtrack.
This. Oh and when you've watched it watch Ashes to Ashes.
Definitely. Ashes to Ashes is essentially the continuation of Life on Mars. There are 16 episodes of Life on Mars and 24 of Ashes to Ashes. The cast changes somewhat, and LoM is a self-contained narrative - a single, sixteen-hour storyline - so they gave it a different name when they continued it, seven years after where LoM left off. But it's just as good as LoM, and I'd say by the time you reach A2A series 3... possibly beginning to eclipse it. Jim Keats in particular is a fantastic character.
But aye. It's essentially got everything. It's as intriguing and clever as the best science fiction, it's as compelling and superbly-acted (and sometimes tragic) as the best drama, it's as witty and action-packed as the best cop show... it's like James Bond meets Inception meets It's a Wonderful Life meets Starsky & Hutch meets Doctor Who. Every bit as mindboggling as a show like Lost, but served with an extra helping of soul and charm.
Speaking of which, Doctor Who is also worth watching.
And! Staying on the theme of BBC dramas. Sherlock is phenomenal. I heard it marketed as "Sherlock Holmes set in the modern day," and thought "that sounds more astonishingly shit than man could possibly fathom." I always considered Sherlock Holmes fairly austere and dull - this sort of dry, worthy, impenetrable text that could only be appreciated by scholars.
I've not investigated Sherlock Holmes books enough to find out if I was right or not (probably not). But I had nothing to worry about. The modernisation wasn't tacky for a second, but the sheer pace and the amount of joy injected into the source material - it's this wonderful mishmash of intelligent, exciting television. There are only three episodes so far, but they're each 90 minutes long, so it's like getting three brilliant films.
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Sons of Anarchy
The Walking Dead
Rescue Me
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Dexter and Prison Break were my two favorite TV series. Except Prison Break steadily declined after/during the 2nd season.
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The West Wing.
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30 Rock
Fringe
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Definitely watch The Wire.
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Fringe
Supernatural
Chuck
House
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I'm not particularly interested in comedies.
How come?
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I'm not particularly interested in comedies.
How come?
I've watched plenty, and I keep up with a handful of current comedies, so I don't really need any more. I'm just looking for shows with interesting storylines.
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The Sopranos.
BEST. SHOW. EVER.
Seriously.
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I'm not particularly interested in comedies.
How come?
I've watched plenty, and I keep up with a handful of current comedies, so I don't really need any more. I'm just looking for shows with interesting storylines.
Which ones do you watch?
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I'm not particularly interested in comedies.
How come?
I've watched plenty, and I keep up with a handful of current comedies, so I don't really need any more. I'm just looking for shows with interesting storylines.
Which ones do you watch?
How I Met Your Mother, It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia, Community, Modern Family, The Office, The Big Bang Theory, and 30 Rock (occasionally). Also, the daily show and sometimes the colbert report. I'm about filled up with comedies.
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Ah fair enough.
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FIREFLY
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House MD.
Desperate Housewives. (seriously)
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2 shows that have already been mentioned that I feel need re-mentioning:
Battlestar Galactica (I'm considering doing the BSG marathon again soon!)
Life on Mars
Another that hasn't been mentioned:
Misfits. Its a UK superhero show where there are some teens doing community service, there is a thunderstorm and they get super powers. Its only in season 2 at the minute, so you can catch it early on!
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The Shield
The Wire
The Sopranos
Lost
24
Dexter
Prison Break (mainly Seasons 1 and 2)
Those are my favourite TV shows, in order. Maybe Dexter could be above 24, but the first 3 seasons of 24 were amazing.
Since you like Prison Break, Dexter and 24, I'd recommend all the others. 24, Lost etc. were my favourite TV shows until I watched The Shield and The Wire.
To be honest, I'd recommend watching The Shield before The Wire or The Sopranos. It's easier to get into, I think.
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Mad Men
Firefly
Freaks and Geeks
Arrested Development (I know you said no comedies, but AD is the best them)
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Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Angel (this is simultaneous with season 4 and onwards of Buffy)
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To be honest, I'd recommend watching The Shield before The Wire or The Sopranos. It's easier to get into, I think.
It's also worse in my opinion. I think it suffers from the "24" syndrome - it starts very good but by the 4th or 5th season it gets too unrealistic. It's like they try to outdo themselves too hard instead of keeping things simple and real.
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Lost
The Walking Dead
Burn Notice
House
Battlestar Galactica
Deadwood
The Sopranos
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Seriously, I think it's a cardinal sin not to have seen Firefly. Other than that:
Battlestar
Doctor Who
Fringe
The Walking Dead
and also possibly:
Mad Men
Dexter
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You guys must've seen a lot more in The Walking Dead than I did.
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I thought The Walking Dead pilot was mind-blowing, but the quality of the rest of the season was drastically lower (although still very enjoyable).
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I also recommend it on the basis that if the show goes deeper into the psychological and emotional content during the excellent events painted out in the books, then it could be one of the greatest shows of next year.
Essentially, I recommend it not only for a good season so far, but also on unlimited future potential.
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It was so good the entire writing staff got canned.
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To be honest, I'd recommend watching The Shield before The Wire or The Sopranos. It's easier to get into, I think.
I dunno, I watched the first two episodes and found it kind of a ridiculous show. It's shot and edited way too fast paced to really follow, the main cop is presented as way too much of one of those hip, unrealistic, do-no-wrong characters that audiences eat up (I'm sure he has flaws but I really hated the way he walks into the police station, cracks a joke and everyone, even probably the intern in the bathroom, laughs at it and cheers), and the antagonist characters seem really flat. I know I'm judging a lot on just two episodes but the whole style of the show seems really immature.
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the main cop is presented as way too much of one of those hip, unrealistic, do-no-wrong characters
Wait what? I thought the main cop in The Shield was a total asshole? I haven't seen much of it but that's just the impression I got.
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He's the asshole people root for. He's a dick to the right people.
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It was so good the entire writing staff got canned.
Yeah, not exactly.
https://www.comicsbeat.com/2010/12/03/kirkman-talks-about-walking-dead-staff-changes/
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Mad men.
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Just for the record, here are the best reviewed shows of the decade:
https://features.metacritic.com/features/2010/best-tv-of-2009-and-the-decade/
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Anything HBO throw money at is almost always brilliant TV.
From what i've seen:
Entertainment - 24 (stay well clear of Season 6) Prison Break (don't go past the first Season) Spartacus: Blood and Sand
Sci Fi - Twin Peaks
Writing - Deadwood, The Sopranos, The Wire, Boardwalk Empire
Anime - Cowbody Bebop, Monster, Ghost In The Shell
Comedy/Smoking Weed - South Park :laugh:
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The first and only season of FlashForward was really good
The first few seasons of Heroes
Sopranos was awesome until the end
Boardwalk Empire was awesome
Jericho was really good until it got cancelled for the second time
I really loved a lot of the shows you mentioned liking so we may have similar taste.
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Just a quick question about watching Mad Men. I'm on the second episode, am I suppose to ever start liking any of these characters? It doesn't seem possible.
It's probably the point of the show though. At least I'd hope.
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Terriers
.....awesome, awesome, awesome show. Hope they bring it back next season. :metal
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He's the asshole people root for. He's a dick to the right people.
I don't know orc. He fucks over everybody in his life for his own gain. That happens for all 7 seasons.
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Terriers
.....awesome, awesome, awesome show. Hope they bring it back next season. :metal
Temp, I believe it was canceled already.
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24
The Shield
The Office (both UK and US versions are great imo)
Battlestar Galactica
Deadwood
The League
It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia
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Just for the record, here are the best reviewed shows of the decade:
https://features.metacritic.com/features/2010/best-tv-of-2009-and-the-decade/
Should mention that that's limited to american TV, by the looks of things...
So, while the US remake of Life on Mars may be in the top ten, https://www.metacritic.com/tv/life-on-mars-uk the UK version completely outperforms it.
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Just a quick question about watching Mad Men. I'm on the second episode, am I suppose to ever start liking any of these characters? It doesn't seem possible.
It's probably the point of the show though. At least I'd hope.
You don't like any of the characters?
:|
Although the pilot is the worst episode of the series.
Just for the record, here are the best reviewed shows of the decade:
https://features.metacritic.com/features/2010/best-tv-of-2009-and-the-decade/
Should mention that that's limited to american TV, by the looks of things...
So, while the US remake of Life on Mars may be in the top ten, https://www.metacritic.com/tv/life-on-mars-uk the UK version completely outperforms it.
What? No it isn't. This is the top 10.
No. 1 Top 10s
1 The Sopranos (HBO) 1999-2007 7 16
2 The Wire (HBO) 2002-08 6 15
3 Arrested Development (Fox) 2003-06 1 14
3 Mad Men (AMC) 2007- 0 14
5 Lost (ABC) 2004- 0 11
5 The Daily Show with Jon Stewart 1999-1 11
7 The Office [UK Version] 2001-03 1 9
8 Deadwood (HBO) 2004-06 0 7
8 The Shield (FX) 2002-08 0 7
10 American Idol (Fox) 2002- 0 6
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Who am I supposed to like? Jon Hamm's acting is good, sure, but his character is detestable. Betty's dumb as bricks, and the rest are worse.
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Just a quick question about watching Mad Men. I'm on the second episode, am I suppose to ever start liking any of these characters? It doesn't seem possible.
It's probably the point of the show though. At least I'd hope.
You don't like any of the characters?
:|
Although the pilot is the worst episode of the series.
Just for the record, here are the best reviewed shows of the decade:
https://features.metacritic.com/features/2010/best-tv-of-2009-and-the-decade/
Should mention that that's limited to american TV, by the looks of things...
So, while the US remake of Life on Mars may be in the top ten, https://www.metacritic.com/tv/life-on-mars-uk the UK version completely outperforms it.
What? No it isn't. This is the top 10.
No. 1 Top 10s
1 The Sopranos (HBO) 1999-2007 7 16
2 The Wire (HBO) 2002-08 6 15
3 Arrested Development (Fox) 2003-06 1 14
3 Mad Men (AMC) 2007- 0 14
5 Lost (ABC) 2004- 0 11
5 The Daily Show with Jon Stewart 1999-1 11
7 The Office [UK Version] 2001-03 1 9
8 Deadwood (HBO) 2004-06 0 7
8 The Shield (FX) 2002-08 0 7
10 American Idol (Fox) 2002- 0 6
Ahhhh. I was looking at the top one, which seems to be based on the actual critical review scores.
Everybody Hates Chris (UPN)
Big Love (HBO)
Brotherhood (Showtime)
The Nine (ABC)
This American Life (Showtime)
Mad Men (AMC)
Pushing Daisies (ABC)
Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles (Fox)
The Middleman (ABC Family)
Life on Mars [US Version] (ABC)
Spectacle: Elvis Costello With… (Sundance)
Nurse Jackie (Showtime)
Modern Family (ABC)
Although I'm still trying to work out how it decided which shows went in and which stayed out, because that's definitely not the cream of the crop in terms of the metacritic scores.
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No, that list was for the best reviewed shows airing each season for the past 5 years.
The Wire has the highest rated individual season; season four has a meta score of 98. Though the scores can be misleading, as typically they're culled from reviews of the first couple episodes of a season. Which is why Battlestar Galactica season 3 has such a high rating.
The system of compiling top 10 lists by noted journalists was good. Probably the most objective indicator of critical acclaim for TV over the past decade.
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Who am I supposed to like? Jon Hamm's acting is good, sure, but his character is detestable. Betty's dumb as bricks, and the rest are worse.
You're supposed to like him as a character, not as a person. In that respect, I think he's easily the best character on the show. The show doesn't really intend for you to sympathize with him.
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Popular ones off the top of my head:
1) The Office
2) Dexter
3) House M.D. :heart :heart :heart
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can't believe I'm the only one who recommended Sons Of Anarchy...no one else here watches it?
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Soo... I just finished Arrested Development and it was amazing! SO GREAT :lol :lol Gob is definitely my favourite character.