What TV shows are a cut above the rest, and why?

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xdarkyrex

Vault Senior Citizen
Im not much for TV, I don't even own one, but lately some startlingly good shows have come to my attention.
Skins, Dexter, Lost, Arrested Development, Metalocalypse, Death Note (with subtitles, the dubbing is terrible), and Scrubs (the writing isn't that great, I can't figure out why I like this show so much).

I watched the first season of both Heroes and Jericho, but the writing just wasn't there, although the premises were good. Heroes is too anti-climactic, and Jericho felt too character driven (Lost pulls off the mass character drama so much better).

I'm considering checking out Deadwood, since everyone tells me to, and perhaps Six Feet Under, because I love the guy who plays the lead in Dexter.

What shows do you guys like/watch?
 
Firefly

But... wait!... I forget, that it was cancled after one season...
 
Thanks go to Fox. Are there any good shows they haven't bungled? We have them to thank for the decline and fall of Arrested Development, too.

But yes, as much flak as I know I may catch for saying so, Firefly is probably one of the better character-based romps ever done for prime-time, and definitely the best entry ever produced in the action/comedy/drama ensemble sci-fi western genre.

While we're talking about (recent) TV that you've got to watch on DVD, HBO's Rome was pretty good, too. It can be soapy at times, but the writing is solid, and the production values are incredible for a television show-- pretty good, in fact, when held up to a lot of movies, too.
 
I'm anxiously waiting for Lost to resume. I like the mystery. Reminds me of good old Twin Peaks sometimes. They do occasionally make bad episodes, but it's definitely a cut above the rest.
 
well right now i'm enjoying Mad Men

Mad Men like all is quite soapy but it stands apart due to pacing and the time period it takes place in.

I've enjoyed Dexter also and am thinking on taking up the Tudors.
Planet Earth is also amazing and Weeds is ok.

Older shows worthy of watching would be in my view: HBO's ROME is a must :) in my book , Deadwood, Firefly, Six Feet Under, Arrested Development, Jericho in my view is ok mostly because of the setting
 
fedaykin said:
I'm anxiously waiting for Lost to resume. I like the mystery. Reminds me of good old Twin Peaks sometimes. They do occasionally make bad episodes, but it's definitely a cut above the rest.
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Most of the bad episodes in season 2 and 3 are thanks to the network. The writers had a roadmap they wanted to follow, but the higher-ups demanded that they dump enough filler in to milk a few extra seasons out of the series once they realized they had a runaway hit on their hands. Luckily, after the ratings dipped, the series architects got the go-ahead to return faithfully to their pre-planned arc.
 
I agree with fedaykin and just going back and buying all the Twin Peaks DVD's and drop massive amounts of LSD, but since this is off topic and juvenile, Dexter is the best on the list.
 
Lost is fantastic, the setting is great, the characters are believable and very multifaceted, and the story is building up to something epic while keeping enough going on so that I dont lose interest like I did with Heroes. I was really really skeptical at first about it, I am really really picky... but I was very pleasantly surprised. I will probably check out Rome, and I have also been considering the Tudors. I am probably going to pass up Weeds, and I didn't really enjoy Firefly (I don't like the style of characters, it felt too much like a cliche sci-fi crew). Oh, and Life is one of the most terrible shows I have ever seen, I can't beleive you suggested that. I saw a few episodes of House M.D., and I love his character, but the rest of the show smacked of cliche and boring to me. And Planet Earth and Mythbusters don;t count, I meant shows with stories ;) (Although, those are two of my favorite shows)

Anything else worth mentioning?
Any under-the-radar foreign shows or what-not?
Animated series I might have missed out on? (aside from the obvious, I do watch Southpark) :D

Oh, and I never saw Twin Peaks... but I really didn't enjoy the X-Files... are they similar?
 
I really enjoy "Life" as well. Slightly quirky and an interesting premise. I like "House" because I secretly long to be that mean all the time.

I loved "Firefly". Very snappy writing.

Every episode of "The Tudors" felt the same to me, and I do not like "Lost" at all, even though my wife is a big fan, and I've had to sit through all three seasons.

I've recently started watching "Smallville", now that they've cut out most of the 'hold me' drama and replaced it with classic DC comics characters whaling on each other, and Super Girl is hot.

All told, before the writer's strike, I used to watch about 8 hours of TV a week, most of it during prime time. Now that everything is iin repeats, I seldom watch TV at all.
 
The greatest show of all time is Mystery Science Theater 3000

That said, Scrubs is endearing but really not very good. Endearing, though.

I'm always quite a bit behind since I'm European, but some shows I kinda dig...

House MD is a stupid show, as any medical show is, but anything with Hugh Laurie in it usually gets my stamp of approval.

Lost isn't that good either, but gripping and compelling.

An absolutely fantastic series that ran for only two seasons was HBO's Carnivale. Gripping, amazingly well directed, good setting and storyline. An absolute must-see, in my opinion, though many people might've disagreed seeing its vapid ratings.

Again moving to the slightly less recently for two more shows that got killed too early, Garth Marengi's Darkplace is a fantastic parody of a bad 80's show, a brilliantly badly edited and horribly acted series that ran for only half a season in 2004. You can watch the first episode online

A series I'm really fond of that ran for only 22 episodes is Now and Again, a really fun, original show with Dennis Haysbert and John Goodman. Great humour in a story that follows a man who gets hit by a train and then finds his brains implanted into a perfectly engineered body.
 
I completely forgot about Carnivale, I saw the first two episodes and was floored. I will finish that series, asap.

Garth Marengis Darkplace... I started to watch that once... Maybe I missed the point, because I hated it and couldn't pay attention (To be fair, I was multitasking). Also, MSTK3K was cute, in a cult classic sort of way, but it was never a show I felt compelled to watch very often. Fun, but never gripping, sort of the same allure as Monty Pythons Flying Circus, imho.

Hmm, I'll google Now and Again, I've never heard of it. Love John Goodman though.
 
Pfft. I don't require a TV. Not when I can watch Firefly over and over again... FOX, Shee-niou ching-wah TSAO duh liou mahng.
 
Big Bang Theory: greatness
Chuck: great
Heros: good
Journeyman: greatness incarnate. no its not like quantum leap. if you think this, you are just trying to blow it off.
Pushing Daisies: greatness
House MD: love to hate the charecter
Scrubs: greatness incarnate. end. of. story.
Men in Trees: good. no idea why i like it. i hate charecter story soaps.
Life: good
 
Kharn said:
House MD is a stupid show, as any medical show is
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Could you please elaborate on this? Do you have [a friend with] a medical degree and are annoyed at the mistakes?

My biggest beef with it is that they sacked the old "Dr. Watson" team
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Futurama barely ever makes me laugh.

And yes, Jackass not only glorifies stupidity and fuckups, it makes you want to be creative with your failures. Truly a delightful show.
 
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