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With the advent of DVD sets, buying and watching full seasons of TV shows has become easy and common, especially with services like Netflix and the iTunes Store providing even easier access (and commercial-free to boot). What are some of your favorite complete seasons of TV, and why?
I'll start:
1) Firefly. The obvious choice, but a justified one. Nearly perfect from start to finish- wonderful writing that, in usual Joss Whedon style, expertly balanced humor and character drama, beautiful effects (and no sound in space!), a complex and interesting universe, and a cast with more interpersonal chemistry than any five other casts combined.
2) The Office (US), Season 2. Careens from hilarious to poignant to occasionally surreal with wild abandon, somehow without ever missing a beat. Probably the single most consistently good season of TV I've ever seen- even Firefly had "Heart of Gold," but the second season of "The Office" has no episodes that even approach mediocrity. Also features one of the best ensemble casts around, who manage to make even the most minor of background characters feel like real, three-dimensional human beings. Special bonus points for Jim being the first "heartthrob" character in ages who I actually *want* to see get the girl.
3) Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Season 3. This is when "Buffy" really brought it all together: the angst and personal drama introduced in the second season for the first time mixes perfectly with the series' trademark ironic wit. Also one of the most consistently good seasons out there- whereas the other seasons of BtVS had occasional episodes that are downright painful to watch, season 3 is gold all the way through. And the Mayor is the single greatest "Big Bad" in any of the Buffyverse shows.
4) Battlestar Galactica, Season 1. BSG's inaugural season was also its best- dark, chaotic, character-driven, unafraid to confront the most serious issues of our time, and leavened with occasional (but highly effective) gallows humor. Whereas episodes in later seasons sometimes fell into cliche, or came off a bit too heavy-handed in their morality, season 1 dealt with complex issues with subtlety and intelligence.
5) Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Season 6. Despite the presence of the execrable "Profit and Lace," this season of Star Trek's smartest and darkest series was both its smartest and darkest. From the tough moral dilemmas of "In the Pale Moonlight" and "Rocks and Shoals" to confronting race relations in "Far Beyond the Stars," this season epitomized what made DS9 great, and cemented Ron Moore as one of our generation's greatest television writers.
Edit: Whoops, wrote "Season 5" for DS9 instead of "Season 6." Fixed.
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Ah crap, I can't believe I forgot VMars. I definitely agree- season 1 of Veronica Mars should actually be number three in my list, tied with Buffy. Posts: 1321 | Registered: Sep 1999
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I liked the first season of Heroes a lot, even if it did start to get a bit weaker towards the end.
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Season 4 of Highlander. From the beautiful Scottish scenery in Homeland to a mentally disabled immortal, it was a great season.
Posts: 3134 | Registered: Mar 2005
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I'm going to second your vote for DS9:5. Great stuff, and the thread that they continued from "Far Beyond the Stars" is great!
Posts: 1099 | Registered: Apr 2005
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I think the best television shows have all been made on HBO, personally. I was going to go ahead and list Carnivale, Sapranos, and Six Feet Under, but I think you all get the idea .
Posts: 5656 | Registered: Oct 1999
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The West Wing, Season 2. Aaron Sorkin at the top of his game, featuring some of the greatest episodes of dramatic television ever produced ("In the Shadow of Two Gunmen," "Noel," "Two Cathedrals"). The serial story arc that consists of the last six episodes of the season is absolutely brilliant.
Posts: 1321 | Registered: Sep 1999
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Before anyone gets some other obvious ones:
**Freaks and Geeks
**Blackadder the Third
**Twin Peaks, season 1
**Fawlty Towers (yes, there were two seasons, but any show that only ever made 12 episodes gets to count as one in my opinion.)
**South Park, season 5 (Season 6 is a close second. But TV satire just doesn't come any better than this. Osama Bin Laden taken down Looney Tunes style. Muhammad, Moses and Joseph Smith teaming up to take down David Blaine. The introduction of Towlie the stoned towel. Here Comes the Neighborhood had one of the best lines in the show's history. And just when I thought TV had lost the power to surprise me, Scott Tenorman Must Die had a twist ending that was not only horrifying and hilarious, but so unexpected it would make M. Night Shyamalan and David Fincher jealous. A true apex of a season.)
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Because of the Narn/Centauri War and the final nuking of Narn itself. It was that season when we realized we weren't in Star Trek land anymore. And dude, the battle between the Narn Main Fleet and the four Shadow ships was AWESOME.
Posts: 4953 | Registered: Jan 2004
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Not that I'm in love with Ricky Gervais or anything, but
The Office (BBC) - all twelve episodes and the x-mas special. Hillarious, and ever so awkward (and the inspiration for the terrific US Office)
Extras - all twelve episodes. Less awkward than the office, and twice as funny with all its guest stars (my favorites: Patrick Stewart ("I've seen it all") and Ian.. err Gandolf (his explanation of acting))
And why not throw in a few other british shows.. man american tv sucks!
The Ali-G Show (12 episodes)
Life on Mars - amazing show (Bowie inspired title) about a modern police officer who goes into a coma and awakes in the 1970's.
Posts: 441 | Registered: Jun 2005
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quote: Life on Mars - amazing show (Bowie inspired title) about a modern police officer who goes into a coma and awakes in the 1970's. [/QB]
I am watching them now, very fun show. I am half way through the first season. Supposedly ABC has ordered a pilot for an American version.
Posts: 3134 | Registered: Mar 2005
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quote: Life on Mars - amazing show (Bowie inspired title) about a modern police officer who goes into a coma and awakes in the 1970's.
I am watching them now, very fun show. I am half way through the first season. Supposedly ABC has ordered a pilot for an American version. [/QB]
Really? Well they are already making a spinoff in the UK called Ashes to Ashes (another bowie song) where a female character goes comatose and wakes up in the 80's with the same cast 10 years later.
Posts: 441 | Registered: Jun 2005
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quote: Life on Mars - amazing show (Bowie inspired title) about a modern police officer who goes into a coma and awakes in the 1970's.
I am watching them now, very fun show. I am half way through the first season. Supposedly ABC has ordered a pilot for an American version.
Really? Well they are already making a spinoff in the UK called Ashes to Ashes (another bowie song) where a female character goes comatose and wakes up in the 80's with the same cast 10 years later. [/QB]
That is awesome! The same cops? That sounds fun.
Posts: 3134 | Registered: Mar 2005
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"Scott Tenorman Must Die had a twist ending that was not only horrifying and hilarious, but so unexpected it would make M. Night Shyamalan and David Fincher jealous. A true apex of a season.)"
South Park really has mastered unexpected endings. The ending to the episode that parodied the Terry Schiavo case made my mouth drop and then tears came out of my eyes because I was laughing so hard.
Posts: 2054 | Registered: Nov 2005
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quote:Originally posted by Angiomorphism: And why not throw in a few other british shows.. man american tv sucks!
British TV is great, but American TV is extremely good right now as well (so long as you can sort through the mishmash of reality shows and teen soap opera dreck). I would actually say that the past ten years have been a veritable golden age of television on both sides of the pond. Furthmore, with the democratization of media due to online distribution and DVD technology, I don't think that golden age is going to end anytime soon.
Speaking of British TV, series 1 of "Monty Python's Flying Circus" remains one of the all-time greats. The Monty Python boys are often called the "Beatles of comedy," and rightfully so.
Posts: 1321 | Registered: Sep 1999
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And 24 Season Three. It wraped up the loose ends from the first three seasons in a spectacular fashion and still managed to leave the door open for more. Though Ill never forgive the writers for turning the best show on tv in to one of the worst in seasons 4-5-6.
Posts: 243 | Registered: Aug 2005
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I love Wonderfalls. But like Firefly and Freaks and Geeks it didn't make it a full broadcast season. So, yeah, praise the network execs for DVDs [or don't -- I've heard their worshippers tend to either go insane or suddenly disappear].
But I'd be more interested in what people think the best season of a series that went 2 or more is and why.
We've already done threads mourning the cancelled.
Posts: 3423 | Registered: Aug 2001
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I'd say Blackadder the Third and Blackadder goes Forth are tied for the most awesome season of British comedy EVER.
I love ST:TNG season 5. It's one of the most fun seasons of stellar episodes, and I remember watching them all for the first time, some of them back to back. That's the season I've gone back to the most when I rewatch the show.
House, Season 1. This was before the writers of this show decided that everyone should be angsty, all. the. time. There was funny, clues into their past lives, and great medical mysteries. Oh yeah, and Hugh Laurie at his very best.
24, Season 1 and 5. I love these seasons because of the character focus. Yeah, in all of them, there are moments of definite disbelief suspension, but these two seasons were just so fun to watch because of the classic suspense and huge dilemmas that faced our favorite characters.
The last two seasons of DS9 (don't know the numbers) The addition of Michael Dorn to the cast greatly increased the funny, which is important to me. The story arc of the Dominion War is also some of the best Scifi TV ever done, IMO. I haven't gotten into Dead Like Me, or Arrested Development, but they're on my Netflix queue, as is Wonderfalls.
Posts: 6415 | Registered: Jul 2000
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It's hard to describe how great Homicide: Life on the Street is without leaving spoilers all over the place, but in short:
1. The big bad is one of the best in TV history -- Luther Mahoney.
2. One of the main characters is coming back to work from some medical issues which leads to some fascinating relationship dynamics with his boss, partner and the other detectives.
3. One of the detectives becomes increasingly unhinged.
It all comes together in an explosive three final episodes of the season in which there are both satisfying conclusions and the types of cliffhangers that you expect at the end of a season.
Posts: 3423 | Registered: Aug 2001
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quote:I'd say Blackadder the Third and Blackadder goes Forth are tied for the most awesome season of British comedy EVER.
Huh. Season 4 just doesn't do much for me.
quote:The story arc of the Dominion War is also some of the best Scifi TV ever done, IMO.
In that case, you might want to check out Babylon 5. In fact, you ought to borrow it from me, if we ever manage to see each other out here.
Posts: 16551 | Registered: Feb 2003
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Why am I so prejudiced against Babylon 5? I never watched it (on purpose) and I can't understand why I have negative feelings about it whenever anyone mentions it. Am I that loyal to Star Trek that an imposter offends my senses? Is that guy's hair just too big for me to take the show seriously? I really have no idea.
I'll have to check it out, though. Too many people have told me that it's good. Posts: 6415 | Registered: Jul 2000
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Yeah Ive been wondering about Babylon 5 myself. My local vidoe store has them all to buy but I just dont know. I think it is the ott make up that Ive seen on the covers that is making me wince. Should I invest? And does it have a satisfying conclusion?
Posts: 243 | Registered: Aug 2005
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I stayed away from B5 for a few years out of Star Trek loyalty - big mistake. I love both DS9 and B5 pretty much in equal measure. You pay your dues with the first season but after that it really gets going.
Posts: 5422 | Registered: Dec 2001
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I'll toss in my mad props to a Canadian show. Slings and Arrows, season 1 is brilliant. Season 2 slumps a little, and I've yet to see season 3. Each season is only 6 episodes long, so it's not a huge time commitment. Some of (if not the) best acting on television.
Posts: 3243 | Registered: Apr 2002
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It might go too far to call it "good", but Family Guy season 3 was some of the funniest stuff I've ever seen on TV.
Posts: 2907 | Registered: Nov 2005
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quote:Originally posted by Narnia: Am I that loyal to Star Trek that an imposter offends my senses?
I think thoughts like this are part of why I don't like Star Trek that much. I mean, TNG and DS9 are definately at least somewhat enjoyable, and I have plenty of other reasons for not being a huge fan. But when people consider any sci-fi that is not star trek "imposters" it's just frustrating.
note: this isn't meant to be a personal attack Narnia, as I've heard similar comments from many other Trek fans, and even thought them myself when Bab5 first came out.
once you get past the initial leap that much of scifi and most/all really good scifi does not revolve around the universe of the Federation, you will be much happier. Similar to when you manage to admit that not all fantasy has to be a spawn of LOtR.
Haitus Season 1 -- Great character developement, plot superb, graphics unforgettable.
Six Feet Under season 1 (the Series finale was, hands down, the best finale to a Series ever-- I even cried).
Battlestar Galactica Season 3
Carnival Season 2 (shame it was canceled)
House Season 3 (no annoying dude with a bunch of money holding the place hostage, no overly repetitious scenes with an ex-wife, lots of good one liners).
Posts: 9754 | Registered: Jul 2002
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quote:Originally posted by Bob the Lawyer: I'll toss in my mad props to a Canadian show. Slings and Arrows, season 1 is brilliant. Season 2 slumps a little, and I've yet to see season 3. Each season is only 6 episodes long, so it's not a huge time commitment. Some of (if not the) best acting on television.
I thought for sure I'd be the only one to mention that. BtL is right. Everyone should watch this show. Season One has some of the best Shakespeare I've seen, and I'm sad that we only get bits and pieces and not the whole thing. I'd pay to have that cast do the whole of Hamlet.
Posts: 2849 | Registered: Feb 2002
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Heh, try not to list *every* season of a given show, guys. If you love a show in its entirety (as I do for all the shows I mentioned, aside from The West Wing), pick one season that stood out in particular and tell us why you think that was the best. Posts: 1321 | Registered: Sep 1999
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I'm going to nominate season 8 of South Park. along with the more recent season 9. Both were incredible. Plus, I love "Something Wall-Mart This Way Comes."
Posts: 6026 | Registered: Dec 2004
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quote:Originally posted by Telperion the Silver: Babylon 5 Season 2-3
Why did you pick 2-3 instead of 3-4, Telp?
I would pick the end of Season 2 and Seasons 3 and 4, but the beginning of Season 2 still contained way too many totally crappy Season 1-style episodes.
quote:Originally posted by Luet13: Absolutely Fabulous (BBC) All Seasons
All seasons? Seasons 1-3 are great and season 4 did have some good bits, but season 5 is horribly bad.
Anyway, my picks:
Twin Peaks Season 1 and the beginning of Season 2. (Or in other words the pilot and the first 16 episodes.) Up until the murder of Laura Palmer was resolved Twin Peaks was the best television ever made.
Green Wing Season 1. Am I truly the only person on this board to have seen Green Wing? Seriously, it's the best British comedy ever. The second season never managed to grasp the greatness of the first one, though it was still good. The first season, however, is the funniest nine hours of television ever made.
Six Feet Under Season 1. Only seen the first three seasons of this show, and seasons 2 and 3 only reached the heights of the first one momentarily. So much so that I'm not sure if I want to finish the series.
Posts: 247 | Registered: Dec 2006
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Snail, if you stop Six Feet Under you will regret missing the best ending to a series ever created.
Posts: 9754 | Registered: Jul 2002
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I just can't get through the first season of B5. I've heard it really picks up with season 2, but from what I have seen of season 1 just isn't doing it for me.
Posts: 3134 | Registered: Mar 2005
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My So Called Life really only had one season? For some reason I thought it had more than that.
My favorite seasons: Firefly
West Wing Season 2
Veronica Mars Season 1
Grey's Anatomy Season 1 - This season is what made me love the show. The first half of the second season lives up to the first season, but it kind of fell from there.
Desperate Housewives Season 1 - The best one because it didn't seem like they were trying to make stuff happen the way the past two seasons have been.
Posts: 2867 | Registered: May 2005
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