Good TV Shows

[Mac]

I just finished watching season two of Sons of Anarchy and I love it. It's entertaining, has action and drama and the story line flows fairly well.

 

[Jack Brickman]

I just finished watching season two of Sons of Anarchy and I love it. It's entertaining, has action and drama and the story line flows fairly well.

Season two was the best season. Be prepared for some letdown in season three (aside from the finale, which was spectacular). Seasons four and five are better, but not as good as two.

 

[Triumph36]

louie is awesome but went the mad men route and is on hiatus seemingly forever

house of lies is mostly bad but has its moments

girls is awesome

person of interest is the best network tv show to premiere in the past ~2 years. it manages to intertwine season/series long arcs with MOTW-based episodes. some suspension of disbelief is obv necessary but it is still so, so good.

 

[FiveThous]

girls is awesome! thanks for reminding I have to start watching that again!

 

[Scholar]

Doctor Who is my all time favorite TV show. It's currently in hiatus until April, but 6 seasons are on netflix and Amazon Prime and I believe they are showing reruns each week on BBC america. Follow the episode guide to make sure you don't miss the specials.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Doctor_Who_serials#Series_1_.282005.29

I mentioned it in the thread I started, but there is some brilliant writing for this series (which has won 127 awards and 229 nominations). Here are some highlight episodes that don't have to be watched in the flow of the series (each of these were nominated or won the Hugo award for best short form science fiction), so watching this list would be a good introduction to the series without committing to watching all 6 seasons.

The Empty Child/The Doctor Dances - won

The Girl in the Fireplace - won
Blink - won
Planet of the Dead
The Waters of Mars - won

Vincent and the Doctor
A Christmas Carol
The Girl Who Waited

The breaks in the list are when there's a new doctor - the series debuted 50 years ago and every so often the doctor "regenerates" and a new actor takes over.

I hope you got to see the newest Christmas special. I think the new companion is going to be really special from what I can see. I love her character. Can't wait to see how the rest of the season unfolds.

 

[Dr. Gymbo]

I also will give a nod to Person of Interest. The story arcs are done very nicely. The characters are all solid. The current twist from last week is awesome. Not to mention the ongoing Elias, Root, and mysterious government guys that know Finch angles. I could see how the whole "saving people every week" thing could get boring. But the recent FBI investigation and the sub-plots involving Fusco and Carter are also nicely crafted.

As much as I like Person of Interest, I don't think anything tops The Walking Dead for me right now. There's a whole thread for that show on this board already. This season absolutely is amazing and I cannot wait for the new episodes to start back up again next month.

I'm looking forward to The Following though. It looks really interesting and as someone who likes crime/thriller shows, I'll check it out.

There are other "standard" shows that I also like such as NCIS and Criminal Minds.

 

[DDJ7777]

Did anyone watch the pilot for "Banshee" on Cinemax? Seems promising.

 

[Jack Brickman]

Did anyone watch the pilot for "Banshee" on Cinemax? Seems promising.

Gonna have to check that out. I saw them filming that in downtown Charlotte last year. There were Pennsylvania sheriff cars everywhere. It was weird.

 

[theSTEREO.]

The League has never really been about football. Fantasy football is simply the basis the show is built around. Even in earlier seasons, they barely even mentioned it outside of the first episode (draft) and last episode (Shiva Bowl). In between you'd get the occasional trade and frequent guest stars, but for the most part The League is about fantasy football as much as Always Sunny is about running a bar.

I also thought that this season had the perfect amount of Rafi. He's been far too prevalent in previous seasons. This year I think they finally realized he works best in small doses (which is true) and significantly cut back his screen time. I was never a Rafi fan before, but I loved his character this season, from him playing Ruxin at swim classes ("Remember what I taught you. Swim, swim, then stab!") to playing Ruxin's ballsy guard to screaming "Gattaca" during paintball ("I don't think he's ever seen that movie."), he was pretty great this year.



Based on the previews for his show, it looks fucking awful and I'd be surprised if it lasts more than one season. However, he is pretty funny on The League.

I'm shocked. I'd watch a show that was all Rafi. Mantzoukas is hilarious.

 

[theSTEREO.]

Of shows that are still on the air, here's my recommended list to catch up on:

DRAMAS

Breaking Bad (maybe favorite show ever)
Mad Men (unbelieveable acting)
Walking Dead (season 2 is a little dull, but awesome)
Game of Thrones (maybe other favorite show ever. Don't need to be a fantasy geek whatsoever to love it)
Boardwalk Empire (gets better every season)
Homeland (same people that did 24, only more interesting. Also boobs)
Downton Abbey (do yourself a favor and watch this with your chick. You might actually like it yourself)
Southland (Way underrated cop show on TNT)

COMEDY

Parks and Rec (might end up one of the best comedies ever once its off the air)
Curb Your Ethusiasm (all the comedy of Seinfeld plus 100x the awkwardness of Michael Scott)
The League (kind of about football. Mostly about dick jokes)
Always Sunny in Philadelphia (you can stop watching after season 5)
Modern Family (I keep waiting for it to not be funny. It's still funny)
New Girl (I thought I would hate this. Still waiting for an episode where I don't laugh out loud a bunch of times. Way better than expecte)
Girls (also expected to hate this. Couldn't stop watching. Unique voice for a comedy.)

That's pretty much my whole DVR that I actually watch. Plus Daily Show and Colbert.

Also, for stuff that's done running that you shouldn't miss:

Arrested Development (Best comedy of all time. New season in may after 8 year hiatus)
The Wire (because, you know, The Wire)
Deadwood (just watched this. Way way better than I thought it would be. Some of the most unique dialogue ive ever heard)

 

[Jack Brickman]

As far as Always Sunny goes, I felt like it had a huge rebound season this year. The past couple of years were mediocre, but this season it was great. I also loved how they started acknowledging previous episodes, like when the gang tried to solve the trash crisis and called back to one of their best episodes (the gas crisis).

[video=youtube;h00BsIpwC6Q]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h00BsIpwC6Q[/video]

There were quite a few great episodes this year. Charlie and Dee Find Love, Charlie Rules the World, The Gang Recycles Their Trash, The Gang Dines Out, and Reynolds vs. Reynolds: The Cereal Defense being my favorites.

 

[DDJ7777]

Of shows that are still on the air, here's my recommended list to catch up on:

DRAMAS

Breaking Bad (maybe favorite show ever)

The Wire (because, you know, The Wire)

<iframe width="853" height="480" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/zIom3LSbB0I?rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

 

[FiveThous]

Of shows that are still on the air, here's my recommended list to catch up on:

DRAMAS

Breaking Bad (maybe favorite show ever)
Mad Men (unbelieveable acting)
Walking Dead (season 2 is a little dull, but awesome)
Game of Thrones (maybe other favorite show ever. Don't need to be a fantasy geek whatsoever to love it)
Boardwalk Empire (gets better every season)
Homeland (same people that did 24, only more interesting. Also boobs)
Downton Abbey (do yourself a favor and watch this with your chick. You might actually like it yourself)
Southland (Way underrated cop show on TNT)

COMEDY

Parks and Rec (might end up one of the best comedies ever once its off the air)
Curb Your Ethusiasm (all the comedy of Seinfeld plus 100x the awkwardness of Michael Scott)
The League (kind of about football. Mostly about dick jokes)
Always Sunny in Philadelphia (you can stop watching after season 5)
Modern Family (I keep waiting for it to not be funny. It's still funny)
New Girl (I thought I would hate this. Still waiting for an episode where I don't laugh out loud a bunch of times. Way better than expecte)
Girls (also expected to hate this. Couldn't stop watching. Unique voice for a comedy.)

That's pretty much my whole DVR that I actually watch. Plus Daily Show and Colbert.

Also, for stuff that's done running that you shouldn't miss:

Arrested Development (Best comedy of all time. New season in may after 8 year hiatus)
The Wire (because, you know, The Wire)
Deadwood (just watched this. Way way better than I thought it would be. Some of the most unique dialogue ive ever heard)

We could have ended the thread after this.

 

[Jack Brickman]

It's not The Wire's fault it was so good.

If we're expanding our lists to shows that aren't on the air anymore along with those that are, I'd have to go with...

DRAMAS:
The Wire - Cliche, but it's the smartest show ever made.
The Shield - Fantastic character-driven drama.
Battlestar Galactica (the newer one) - Brilliant sci-fi drama.
Firefly - Great blend of drama and comedy with amazing characters.
Breaking Bad - Some slow moments, but overall a fantastic show.
Justified - A western set in modern day rural Kentucky with awesome dialogue.
Oz - One of the originators of modern serialized television.
Deadwood - Great dialogue and awesome production values...can be slow.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer - Awesome blend of comedy and drama. First season can be tough to get through nowadays.
Game of Thrones - Like Lord of the Rings meets The Sopranos.
Boardwalk Empire - Kind of like Deadwood. Can be slow but fantastic production values and some great high points.
Rescue Me (first two seasons) - The second season was one of the best seasons of television I've ever watched.

COMEDY:
Arrested Development - I challenge anyone to find a smarter, funnier show.
It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia - First few seasons are brilliant. Rebounded well this year.
Archer - One of the better cartoons of recent years.
Modern Family - Never expected this show to be good but it's consistently one of the funniest shows on television.
Reaper (hilarious show cancelled too soon) - I was in love with this show and devastated when it got canceled. Absolutely hilarious.
The League - Occasionally pointlessly vulgar, but delivers on the laughs.
Curb Your Enthusiasm - When it hits its stride, it's one of the better comedies on television.
Veep - Really enjoyed the first season. No idea if it's coming back.
Girls - Not as funny as the others on this list, but it's unique.


I can't really think of too many other comedies from recent years that I really loved. I can't stand shows with laugh tracks any more, so that cancels out most of the network shows.

 

[Tlyons]

<iframe width="853" height="480" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/zIom3LSbB0I?rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Always got a laugh out of this one too...


[video=youtube;K7QMFz7AV_c]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K7QMFz7AV_c&feature=youtube_gdata_player[/video]