Good TV Shows?

[dazedroyalty]

ISherlock is just amazing and I cannot wait for more. If you have never watched it, I can recommend investing in the 7 series of The West Wing on DVD - it is some of the best writing ever heard on TV and I am a huge fan (watched them all the way through at least 10/12 times).

I completely agree that West Wing is the best show to be on television in the last decade. Unfortunately, if you aren't interested in US politics at all, even the amazing writing and stellar acting probably won't grab you. You don't have to love politics, but you have to appreciate the context in which the writing and acting takes place.

[sunrise089]

With Community, you really need to start at episode 1 or else it's easy to not really get it.

I did! I watched like the first ~10 episodes of season 1 (was it a shortened season?)

Parks and Rec is great too - it's grown on me.

QFT.

Raise my hand. Parks & Rec is wonderful, but I've tried Community and it doesn't grab me. The characters aren't likeable or believeable enough, especially Chevy Chase.

Q.F.T. I find each of them screams "hey, let's focus group a diverse set of sitcom characters." The quirky setting and (some) plots can't overcome the extremely cliched main cast.

[Selrahc]

I did! I watched like the first ~10 episodes of season 1 (was it a shortened season?)

I pretty much completely disagree with Scooter's "You need to watch it from the beginning" assessment. What the show does best is high concept, non-traditional sitcom stuff. What it did in the first half season was pretty much standard traditional sitcom stuff...

[waterbat]

Interesting!

I agree on WW being great, but preferred the wire. I got to see the wire all at once though. West wing, I ended up missing a fair number of episodes.

If you haven't seen the wire, do! I also liked the other shows that team did: homicide and treme come to mind. Is treme still active? Only watched season 1 before dumping hbo.

Started to really like P&R this season, but felt same way as others who disliked community, but I based this on half an episode. Maybe I'll give it another try.

Wife likes person of interest ( damn Jim cavezal ) and mentalist ( damn Simon baker ), so I've ended up following those closely. I wish those kind of shows could be less formulaic. I like the characters and setup :shrug:

[sunrise089]

Can I just say that while I think arguably mainstream television has never been worse (crime procedural! singing competition!) we're in the golden age of TV for shows just a bit outside the most popular stuff. I've been a Mystery Science Theater 3000 fan since back when they were making new episodes, but a show like that you had to admit to some obvious flaws to find the enjoyment. I just checked and sadly Mad Men began right after the Sopranos ended, but still since 2005 there have been like a dozen super high quality, cinematic, story-arced shows.

From another blog: "I think a shitload of TV series that would have been considered excellent in the last decade are now considered merely 'good,' because they’re up against stuff like The Wire and Breaking Bad. The Walking Dead is an example of that."

[scooter]

I pretty much completely disagree with Scooter's "You need to watch it from the beginning" assessment. What the show does best is high concept, non-traditional sitcom stuff. What it did in the first half season was pretty much standard traditional sitcom stuff...

I agree with the last two sentences completely. I just find that people who start on the high-concept stuff just don't get it because some of the best moments in the high-concept stuff are subtle jokes built on the characters. Same goes for stuff like "My Dinner with Andre" spoof episode. I thought that one was brilliant. If you don't really understand the characters though you won't make it through the episode. Same with a character like Abed - I can't think of a better sitcom character than him. Just incredibly funny, but tough to enjoy if you pick one of his weirder episodes without understanding him. Basically, I think you have to start with the more "normal" first season before easing your way into the crazier stuff.

Though episodes like Remedial Chaos Theory and Cooperative Calligraphy could probably be enjoyed by anyone at anytime, and they're a bit unusual, so there's exceptions. Anyways, don't mean to hijack the whole thread.

Can I just say that while I think arguably mainstream television has never been worse (crime procedural! singing competition!) we're in the golden age of TV for shows just a bit outside the most popular stuff. I've been a Mystery Science Theater 3000 fan since back when they were making new episodes, but a show like that you had to admit to some obvious flaws to find the enjoyment. I just checked and sadly Mad Men began right after the Sopranos ended, but still since 2005 there have been like a dozen super high quality, cinematic, story-arced shows.

I think the concept of "TV shows as art" has gained a lot of steam in recent years. Studios have recognized that there's a lot of viewers out there who are interested in a really great show first and an entertaining show second. That's not everyone, but they've recognized that segment is big enough to make it a viable market. It's not worked as well on network TV, but many cable shows have been recent examples of this.

[Bobchillingworth]

I don't generally watch much television, and all of my favorite programs are finished for this season / year (Sherlock, 30 Rock, Dr. Who).


Pretty much only entertainment television I watch now is Iron Chef America, which is pretty great. Chopped is okay too, less appealing food & the format is repetitive, but the lower standards of competition and often bizarre ingredients frequently lead to more interesting results.

[Ilios]

Big West Wing fan here. Some of the sharpest lines in TV-drama.

I was really sad that Deadwood was cancelled after three seasons. Al "Force of Nature" Swearengen is probably one of my favorite TV-characters.

Him, and senator Clay:



Sherlock is excellent, that guy playing Moriarty is really scary...

Sunrise had it spot on with his Breaking Bad characterisation: great drama, but hard to watch.

I've been hearing some good things about The Walking Dead, any fans out there?

[antisocialmunky]

How about the Wire, I heard it was really good. Did it finish its run or was it cancelled before the end? It is annoying when you watch a good serieis without a proper end.

[waterbat]

It finished its run. As I mentioned, if you haven't seen it, do so! I tried several times to rewatch it from the beginning - maybe ill do that again tonight.