Worth Watching TV Shows
Profanity
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Hello.
So, you probably know that it's "off-season" for most (all?) of the currently running shows. That's why I want to hear some good shows, that I might not be aware off.
So far my list would be:
LOST
Dexter
X-Files
House
Big Bang Theory
Mad Men
The Office (It's horrible, don't even know why I keep watching it)
Supernatural
Numb3rs
I think that's it, if I'm not forgetting anything.
Enlighten me!
So, you probably know that it's "off-season" for most (all?) of the currently running shows. That's why I want to hear some good shows, that I might not be aware off.
So far my list would be:
LOST
Dexter
X-Files
House
Big Bang Theory
Mad Men
The Office (It's horrible, don't even know why I keep watching it)
Supernatural
Numb3rs
I think that's it, if I'm not forgetting anything.
Enlighten me!
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Comments
Should we post about series even if they're, um, cancelled?
ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT. Seriously. Watch it, it's about the funniest show network TV has ever aired.
Lost
24
30 Rock
Arrested Development
The Office (Seasons 2-midway through 5)
Doctor Who
Mitchell and Webb Look
Primeval
Scrubs
Jackie Chan Adventueres
Better Off Ted
Firefly
Not on Netflix Streaming: Profit. This show, I swear. It was so good.
The Office (UK)
Extras (Stephen Merchant shows DeNiro some boobies)
The Sopranos (if you've got a spare 50hours)
Rome (Just brilliant, shame it ended where it did)
something thats still running? I'm enjoying Bored to Death and Game of Thrones right now. Oh and can't wait for Boardwalk Empire season 2 later this year
30 Rock
Bones
Castle
Doctor Who
Eureka
Fringe
Futurama
Leverage
Psych
Red Dwarf (have to wait until next year to actually watch it but it still counts)
Sherlock
The Big Bang Theory
The Mentalist
The Simpsons
Top Gear
Warehouse 13
White Collar
Selection of cancelled/finished shows that I like (not all, or I'll be here all night):
Lost
All Star Trek series (DS9 especially)
All Stargate series
Battlestar Galactica & Caprica
X-Files
Quantum Leap
Sliders (at least up to season 3, have never seen beyond that)
24
That'll do for now.
Other shows I'd recommend include Babylon 5, if you want some seriously good sci-fi (just skip the fifth series) and the entire DC Animated Universe (Batman, Superman, Static Shock, Justice League and Batman Beyond). That should tide you over for a good 3 months.
But yeah, Sherlock was awesome. Check it out. Three more episodes coming this year too!
Series Two is set for Q1/Q2 2012, sadly. Insert 'MOFFATTT' here.
This is the closest a television show has ever gotten to making me cry.
Moral Orel consists of 43 11-minute episodes, split into three seasons. The first season, and much of the second, consist of very funny, lighthearted jabs at the culture of fundamental Christianity, particularly in the midwest. There are some episodes that get a bit dark, or a bit heartfelt, and they're nice, but the overriding theme is a big parody of Davey and Goliath.
Then the Season Two finale shows up, and hits you like a fucking train.. The two-dimensional characters crafted for the sake of humor gain a third dimension, and damn is that dimension dark, disturbing, deep, and....sweet. Everyone should watch this. It's one of the most beautiful things I've ever seen.
And I hope when you think of me years down the line,
You can't find one good thing to say,
And I hope that if I found the strength to walk out,
You'd stay the hell out of my way!
I am drowning,
There is no sign of land,
You are coming down with me,
Hand in unlovable hand,
And I hope you die,
I hope we both die
Earthworm Jim
Freakazoid
Animaniacs (more of a frekazoid and pinky and the brain fan meself)
Pinky and the Brain
The Adventures of Sam and Max: Freelance Police
Ren and Stimpy
X-men
Batman
The Incredible Hulk
Spiderman
Fantastic Four (is a bit cheesy at times)
Iron Man
Rocko's Modern Life
The Tick
Space Ghost
Cow and Chicken (not to everyones tastes, but some episodes were pretty damn good!)
Dexters lab
Johnny Bravo (I just loved this! XD)
(AND MORE!
Ignore anything post-2000 barring Family Guy/American Dad (some people hate this, but I still like it), Robot Chicken, Samurai Jack, Futurama, and Courage the Cowardly Dog
Ignore anything 80s barring Ulysees 31, Jayce and the Wheeled Warriors, Transformers and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
WARNING: This is only the opinions of a raving lunatic, if you do not agree you are probably sane, so disregard the funny man in the white jacket, and NO! He is not a mummy no matter what he tells you.
Whites (but I heard it's not coming back for a second season)
Peep Show
Doctor Who
Getting On
The Mitchell and Web Look
Talkin' 'bout you're generation (only on in Australia)
An Idiot Abroad (coming back for a second series)
At the Movies with Margaret and David (again only in Australia, it's great now they have included the classic segment)
QI
Deffinetly should not watch
The Big Bang Theory RAGE!
Seconded.
Community
How I Met Your Mother
Arrested Development
30 Rock
Psych
Chuck
Monk
My Name is Earl
Also, I agree on the RAGE! against the Big Bang Theory.
Can't even recall that.
I forgot a few more shows:
The IT Crowd
The Daily Show (forgot it seeing it doesn't air on free to air TV in Australia, and I'm not getting pay TV who do they think I am John D. Rockerfeller)
The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson
edit: Lead Balloon
If you haven't seen it GO WATCH IT NOW!!!! It is the funniest show I think I've ever seen...
If you're interested in BBC at all, netflix has some great BBC shows...
"keeping up appearances"
One of the funniest British comedies ever...
"All Creatures Great and Small"
This show bored me at first because I dropped in 2nd season when I first saw it... Starts from season 1, and watch at least 2-3 episodes, it's about James Harriet the famous English vet... great cast, funny writing, great stories, just a great show all around, especially if you like animals.
Warning: The actors have been known to on occasion actually stick their entire arms up cow butts, as that is sometimes how a country vet would diagnose an animal... be prepared for one of the most disgusting sights you will ever see when this happens
Oh yeah. I had to change my mind greatly on that. British and American humor are still pretty different from each other, but either pure English (Monty Python*) or pure American (Everybody Loves Raymond) shows can NOT offer creative, witty humor in a continous fashion. At both sides of the spectrum, the extreme points fail to impress. When you have real people in front of the camera, acting as characters living in a near-real setting, wacky characterization-less random humor does stick out too much, and when you only give importance to personal life clichés too much, it just gives nothing of an interest -such comedies only rely on the familiarity and warmth of the characters, but it just wears way quickly on me. All in all, both styles have to borrow stuff from each other (the first three seasons of My Name is Earl did it SO well) and furthermore, because of that, it all boils down to the individual user (let it be the director or writer or maybe even actor) rather than the collective sense of humor of an entire nation.
I was dumb and inexperienced in that arguement, but at least good looking enough to feel no form of an embarassment.
*We all have favorite Monty Python sketches and quotes in our heads and the show did good, but to be fair the television show was just full of pure nonsense and weird timing pretending to be "humor", with a very few actually funny sequences thrown here and there.
Those are all good. As far as Sliders goes, I enjoyed the first 2 seasons but it got pretty bad after the professor (John-Rhys Davies) left the show and Kari Wuhrer became a regular. As for Star Trek, I liked them all except Voyager (felt too much like a rehash of TNG with less talented writers / actors). The first 2 seasons of TNG are a little dodgy, but that show gets really good after that so it's worth sticking with.
I also second the Babylon 5 suggestion somebody made. And absolutely don't miss The Adventures of Brisco County Jr. and Firefly (both excellent, excellent shows that were canceled after only 1 season...).
Also, to everyone who likes X-Files, go check out Fringe. One of my favorite current shows and it makes quite a few nods to X-Files (there's a pretty obvious one right in the show's title sequence).
If you enjoy REALLY old sci-fi TV shows, be sure to check out The Twilight Zone (the 60's one) and The Outer Limits (also, the old one). Great classics. And most TZ episodes are short (20-25 minutes in length) so quite easily digestible.
I'll shut up now.
Sliders
Black Books
Heroes season 1
Japanese section:
Kaizoku Sentai Gokaiger
Kamen Rider OOO
Kamen Rider W
Kimegure Orange Road
Ultraseven X
Heh, I avoided mentioning Heroes because I'd get heckled because of it. I didn't want to put Season One because I personally preferred Volume Four the most, but it really is very enjoyable. Company Man is one of the best pieces of television ever, and I've watched it so many times and still always enjoy it.
Wait, what? I enjoyed Season Two, but I think it'll only be good once someone manages to edit out the wonder twins plotline. Volume Three did something stupid, but Volume Four is really enjoyable if you ask me.
Community (One of the best sitcoms ever. I'll fight any man who thinks otherwise)
Parks and Recreation (Most of the time, it's better than The Office (US) in my opinion. Though it only starts getting good after the first season/sixth episode)
Modern Family (Might not be groundbreaking or anything, but it's got great writing and great acting)
30 Rock (Would have been higher on the list, but it kinda lacks character development, so the jokes are pretty much the same. Still, it's got the best quotes and one-liners in TV history)
Episodes (It's hilarious, but it's also depressing for me. British humor always has that effect on me)
The Office (Both versions, in my opinion. There is no law that states that you can only enjoy one of them, though the UK version is canceled, and the US version is turning into a loyalty show, something that you watch simply because it's there, even though it's starting to go bad)
And, some the cancelled shows that I loved are:
Arrested Development
Better Off Ted
Reno 911
Spaced
Gilligan's Island
Sanford and Son
The Beverly Hillbillies
The Addams Family
The Munsters
The Fugitive
Monk
Psych
Scooby Doo Where Are You
The Funky Phantom
Batman (with Adam West)
Batman (with Mark Hamill)
The Maxx (because Dashing says so and that's good enough for me)
Morel Orel (for above reasons)
Fullmetal Alchemist (NOT BROTHERHOOD!)
Firefly
Cowboy Bebop
Darker Than BLACK
Black Lagoon
Now and Then, Here and There
Princess Tutu
Detective Conan
Crayon Shin-Chan
Paranoia Agent
Ghost in the Shell: 2nd Gig
Eureka Seven
Babylon 5
Star Trek (with Kirk)
Futurama
Courage the Cowardly Dog
The Simpsons
The Venture Bros.
12 Oz. Mouse (one of those get it or you don't ones)
Spicy City (look up the Manos Hands episode on Youtube)
Sam and Max: Freelance Police
Thundercats
Sonic SatAM
Taz-Mania
House
Father Ted
The Mighty Boosh
Stargate SG1
The Walking Dead
Breaking Bad
The Sopranos
But mostly Get Smart.
Hey, guys. What are your opinions on laugh tracks?
Twin Peaks - If only for the first season alone (though I actually really enjoyed the second as well)
M*A*S*H
Doctor Who
Monk
Seinfeld
HOW COULD I FORGET M*A*S*H. That one is close to my favorite show ever. Also Frasier and Cheers.
And MST3K
The Pink Panther
Stromberg
Pastewka
Schillerstraße
Wikkie und die starken Männer
Battlestar Galactica
Raumpatrouille Orion
Captain Future
Family Ties
The Muppet Show
The Twilight Zone
Futurama
The Munsters
Kottan ermittelt
Die Maus vom Mars
Mr. Moto
Club 2
Scheibenwischer
Charlie Chan
Irgendwie und Sowieso
Dorfers Donnerstalk
Dr. Psycho
Luzie, der Schrecken der Straße
Twin Peaks
Magnum
Robbi, Tobbi und das Fliewatüüt
Pan Tau
Herr Rossi sucht das Glück
Schmidteinander
Die Harald Schmidt Show
Die Sendung mit der Maus
Wissen macht Ah!
Alpha Centauri
Horrible and it usually gives bad first impressions of the show.
Thanks for all the shows you've listed so far, guys!
And laugh tracks depend on whether they're actually covering something funny or not. If it's on a show that's not funny, then it makes you think the audience was high. If it's on a show that's really funny, it draws you in an makes the jokes that little bit better.
So I guess it depends really. Red Dwarf went from having one, to not, to having one, to not again. I think it was better with, but that's just me.
In my opinion, the thing about laugh tracks is that it points out jokes. Not good jokes, but every joke. Every sitcom makes bad jokes, with or without laugh tracks. There has to be at least one or two jokes in a sitcom that really just didn't have laughs. The trick is to make the ratio of bad jokes small compared to all the good jokes.
When a sitcom tells a good joke, people will laugh at it and remember it, with or without laugh tracks.
However, when a sitcom tells a bad joke, that's when laugh tracks starts to be a disadvantage. In a show without laugh tracks, when a joke falls short, the show will move on and viewers forget about it. However, with laugh tracks, the show will pause while the audience laughs, but not the viewers. Laugh tracks sort of point out the bad jokes as much as the good jokes. This is why I stopped watching The Big Bang Theory after 3 seasons, there was a joke in the episode "The Pants Alternative" that suffered exactly this.
Another thing that I don't like about laugh tracks is the wasted time. I remember hearing that, out of 30 minutes of a laugh track sitcom episode, 10 is dedicated to commercials, while 5 is dedicated to the laugh track pauses at the end of jokes. That time could have been spent on plot development, character development, or, hell, more jokes.
Also, though I'm not sure if every laugh track sitcom is like this, I'm sort of sick of multiple-camera setups in sitcoms. It really limits how much techniques and editing style can be used in a sitcom, making the show feel static and sort of emotionless.
Now, I'm not saying that all laugh track sitcoms are bad, since most of the awesome old sitcoms use laugh tracks, and there are unfunny laugh track-less sitcoms out there. Shows like Seinfeld, Frasier, Friends, etc. were great, but I kinda wish that modern sitcoms wouldn't use it anymore.
Anyway, I've been meaning to check out Red Dwarf. That would mean watching about 9 seasons. Then again, it's a British sitcom, so that's probably about 60 episodes, right?
Oh, and I watch Childrens Hospital on Adult Swim. I know Cartoon Network really shouldn't have live-action shows, but after seeing Childrens Hospital, I was hooked. It's the Police Squad of medical dramas.
And HBO's animated version of The Ricky Gervais Show. I know, it's basically just the podcast, but I've never listened to the podcast, and the animation is pretty cool. Also, I heard that they'll be using new audio in the future instead of using existing podcasts.