posted
I am starting a new tv show and I need your help.
I need a new show that isn't just good - I need one that is great. I started Mentalist, and while I enjoyed it - I stopped watching after 13 episodes. It's like House for me. Good, but not worth keeping up with.
My favorite shows of all time are the West Wing, Avatar, Survivor, and Gilmore Girls.
Back in the day, I enjoyed Buffy and Firefly, Charmed, the early seasons of Smallvile - oh, and Everwood. Good show that Everwood.
This summer I'm watching Merlin and Kings.
Any help and other suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks!
Posts: 1604 | Registered: Mar 2003
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Well, I'm a big fan of Life. The first season more than the second. It was funny without being so over the top as Chuck, and not nearly as dark as Torchwood. I don't know about Trueblood.
Posts: 354 | Registered: Jan 2006
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The only one of those I've seen is Chuck. And I did only catch that towards the end of Season 2, but it was a really fun show and I'm looking forward to it coming back. It's filled with a lot of pop-culture references and, yes, over-the-top humor (and the sequences involving the Buy More store team [at least that in the episodes I saw] sometimes fell flat], but the three main characters (which inlude Adam Baldwin Firefly) are always great together. So I would definitely consider Chuck a good choice. And, since I don't see any mention of Burn Notice on your list, I would definitely recommend that one as an option. I've watched all of the first and second season, and it's a really terrific show (the middle of season 2 dragged a bit for me, but it came back with a vengeance towards the end and the Season 2 finale is one of my all-time favorite episodes of television ever).
Based upon your post, I would wager that out of the shows you mentioned, Chuck is the one for you.
I like all of the shows you mentioned very much.
Life, for you, may be too formulaic. Like House or The Mentalist, it belongs to a new subset of shows which seem to be about extremely eccentric main characters who are possessed of some special genius -- and it follows a pretty clear formula. There is a really cool forward-moving storyline involving a conspiracy that'll keep you guessing with a lot of cliff-hangers, etc. But then again, both House and The Mentalist play with similar sets of tools, and you didn't stick with them....
True Blood is spectacularly ridiculous, with a tongue so far in its cheek they've mostly forgotten its there. It moves forward with terrific momentum. Every episode ends on a cliff-hanger. If you describe the plot to someone out loud, it sounds utterly goofy. Yet when you watch it, you get swept up in its seriousness. It is a strange and wonderful show.
Chuck is very akin to Buffy and Angel, I think. There is danger and peril there -- but it's mostly fun, and very funny. The humor is all on the surface, and drives things forward quite nicely. There are occasionally lame episodes, but even they will have a few smiles.
#
Have you considered The Wire?
Posts: 2267 | Registered: May 2005
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I really like True Blood and agree with everything TL said about it. I've just recently started on Torchwood which is the answer to Doctor Who fans who wanted something a bit darker with a lot more innuendo but the same basic "feel" otherwise.
Have you watched Dexter? That was another good one.
Posts: 3275 | Registered: May 2007
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In my opinion -- and I don't mean to go off-topic here (there are other threads on the subject) -- The Wire is the best television show ever made by such a large margin, I have a hard time imagining anything that could ever match it. It isn't just the best television show ever, it's great literature of the highest possible order.*
[*except for the fact that it's a television show, and not literature.... details, details]
I'm one of those people who talks about this show in such absolute terms I turn other people off it. Such are the dangers of fandom, I guess.
But my God. I just still can't believe that something of that scope and depth and intelligence was ever on any kind of television.
Posts: 2267 | Registered: May 2005
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Blayne Bradley
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TORCHWOOD IS AWESOME GO WATCH IT NOW IF YOU LIKE DOCTOR WHO! NOW NOW NOW!
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I am also a fan if GG, Avatar, Buffy, and Firefly.
But from you list, I have only seen True Blood. I will say that living in Louisiana and working in a bookstore contributes to why I like the show.
I tried Chuck when it first started but got bored with it quickly.
As for other suggestions, I'd offer Dexter and Six Feet Under. I used to like Weeds but this new season is doing nothing for me.
Posts: 1733 | Registered: Apr 2005
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I agree with TL on The Wire on almost every point. The creators have talked about it being a visual novel and I think that is an apt description. There isn't always much resolution of anything in an individual episode - they save that for the season finales.
On initial watch, I thought season 5 was a little weak. I just finished watching it for a second time and my opinion of it improved quite a bit. The series is intense and graphic (violence, sex, and language). It's also extremely intelligent and well written, directed, and acted.
Posts: 1336 | Registered: Mar 2002
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Dexter suffers from House syndrome (e.g., the personality of the lead works for exactly X number of episodes, but does not evolve and you end up not having to watch any new episodes because you are guaranteed to have essentially seen it before)
True Blood is good in spite of itself. With the data you've provided it's prolly a good match.
Avatar was the dumbest show in the history of the universe. I can't believe anyone would watch that tripe.
Wire's fantastic.
Torchwood is cool.
Kidding about avatar, I was as hooked on it as you can get without ending up writing fanfiction.
Posts: 15421 | Registered: Aug 2005
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That sounds cool actually. It's odd - almost NONE of my friends share my appreciation of tv as literature.
I'll watch Grey's Anatomy and Lost with the rest of em, but they throw stuff at me to keep my marveling at emotional depth, or my literary analysis to myself.
Survivor, which I thought would be cheesy reality tv, turned out to be an amazing view of the best and worst of humanity. I made myself write a short essay on every episode of the all-star season so that I could squeeze out every last modicum of enjoyment from it. Seriously, that's how insane I am.
So seems I am getting excited about The Wire and Chuck. Maybe I'll check out True Blood too.
What's up with Torchwood. I've never even heard of Dr. Who before and after a look on wiki, looks like I'm getting into an entire world. Should I try Torchwood? Or should I try Dr. Who first? If the latter, where should I start?
Posts: 1604 | Registered: Mar 2003
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You don't need to see Doctor Who before Torchwood, but most people I know prefer Doctor Who. Definitely start with the new series (starting in 2005, I believe), not the old stuff. I recommend the episode "Blink" as a great introduction to the series. Otherwise, just watch them in chronological order. The episodes generally stand alone, though there are some long story arcs and reference to previous episodes that may be confusing if you just watch them randomly.
Posts: 3275 | Registered: May 2007
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I love Doctor Who, but didn't really get into Torchwood. At any rate, I'd second MattP's recommendations -- start with the new Doctor Who series (the first episode is "Rose") and give it a few episodes to grow on you. If after watching "Rose," you're not sure you'll like it, skip to "The Empty Child/The Doctor Dances," "Dalek," or "Father's Day."
Posts: 3546 | Registered: Jul 2002
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Are you looking for something to watch as it airs or something to marathon through that already has sizable content?
At this point we're probably being more annoying than helpful with our random suggestions, but I would be remiss in my duties if I did not recommend Terminator. Even though it got cancelled before it's time, I think Season 2 is some of the best television I've seen. (Season 1 isn't mind blowing but is still pretty decent, and is necessary to get the emotional impact of season 2).
I will second Dexter as another great choice though (the first few episodes are extremely violent to really reinforce the reality of what he does, but after that it tapers of somewhat)
Posts: 4136 | Registered: Aug 2008
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I'm watching "Heroes" for the first time (and just going to bed at 3:45 a.m.). My now-16-year-old and I watched Torchwood together last month and she asked if we could watch another series on DVD together like we did when her sister was at camp. (She's at my dad's for a visit now.)
So I borrowed "Heroes" and I'm enjoying it. Amanda? Not so much. I like the intertwining of the story line - people are connected who don't know they are connected. I'll finish watching even if Amanda doesn't - I want to see what happens next. (Just not at 3:45 a.m.)
Posts: 2034 | Registered: Apr 2004
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I highly recommend Dexter. Season 1 was pretty durn good, but Season 2 was some of the best TV I ever saw.
Stop watching Heroes after season 1, as others have said.
I'd watch Dr Who before watching Torchwood. I think there's too much background you'd miss otherwise. (Even though Jack is a different person around the Doctor than he is around Gwen, Owen and Tosh)
I'm seriously diggin' True Blood and not just because of naked Ana Pacquin. I'd recommend that one too.
Posts: 7085 | Registered: Apr 2001
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I thought Life began very well, but after the first few episodes they pretty much forgot about all the little quirks and film techniques that made the pilot so interesting. After that it was a run of the mill cop show. A good one, but I promise there will be another cop show just as good to take its place (if such a show doesn't exist already).
Posts: 4136 | Registered: Aug 2008
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