***Official TV sitcoms and Series recommendation thread***

[Alexos]

got Dexter S1-S4. Good show, great actor.

[JL]

got Dexter S1-S4. Good show, great actor.

I watched seasons 1 thru 3 in the last month. It's my favourite show at the moment.

[bigred]

New season of Dexter is interesting to say the least. Can't wait to see where it goes. I thought S3 was the weakest (still good) but S4 was one of the best things I've seen in television.

[JL]

New season of Dexter is interesting to say the least. Can't wait to see where it goes. I thought S3 was the weakest (still good) but S4 was one of the best things I've seen in television.

I'm just starting S4. Looking forward to it even more now!

[oskar]

I know it will be at least another two months before the next season, but I can't wait. This is the one series that just keeps getting better with every season. If you haven't seen season 15 yet, you should:

YouTube - Top Gear Jeremy Drives a Reliant Robin (full)

[Renton]

Just watched all of Fringe. Kind of a cool show, a lot of qualities, def some flaws. It is basically a combination of lost and 24.

Anyone else have an opinion of it?

[boost]

I know it will be at least another two months before the next season, but I can't wait. This is the one series that just keeps getting better with every season. If you haven't seen season 15 yet, you should:

YouTube - Top Gear Jeremy Drives a Reliant Robin (full)

There is an american version coming out soon. I'm really not sure how I feel about it.

[KoRnholio]

Just watched all of Fringe. Kind of a cool show, a lot of qualities, def some flaws. It is basically a combination of lost and 24.

Anyone else have an opinion of it?

I was into it for a while, but it lost my interest right about halfway through season 2. I guess it's kinda like X-files, which I was never into at all.

[bikes]

i really love fringe. alot. i hate how they cliffhang me every episode. but other than that nothing but love.

[bigred]

i really love fringe. alot. i hate how they cliffhang me every episode. but other than that nothing but love.

I might have to check this out

[Alexos]

Okay I will need a new show soon since I STILL don't have cable in my new condo (WTF!). I already saw : Sopranos, Wire, Breaking Bad, Dexter, 24, Six Feet Under, Boston Legal, Lost, Prison Break, and its more or less in order of preference as well.

What should I watch next? House, Firefly, Weeds, West Wing, Greys Anatomy last 2 seasons? Anything else? Help me out FTR!

[meeloche]

Boardwalk empire ldo

since thats likely impossible i'd recommend house off your list. Haven't watched it lately but I enjoyed the first 3-4 seasons.

[KoRnholio]

Okay I will need a new show soon since I STILL don't have cable in my new condo (WTF!). I already saw : Sopranos, Wire, Breaking Bad, Dexter, 24, Six Feet Under, Boston Legal, Lost, Prison Break, and its more or less in order of preference as well.

What should I watch next? House, Firefly, Weeds, West Wing, Greys Anatomy last 2 seasons? Anything else? Help me out FTR!

I'd recommend Firefly. It's short (one short season and one movie to kind of cap off their premature cancellation). Weeds is good for the first 2 seasons or so as well.

[fulksy]

the walking dead on amc, 3 episodes in. its pretty good.

[Jack Sawyer]

There is an american version coming out soon. I'm really not sure how I feel about it.

I just saw it Top Gear US EP1. It sucks monkeyballs in my opinion.

Its fully scripted, the announcers aren't funny and even the audience somehow sucks. There is no real main man, like Jeremy in the UK version; poorly done horseplay; none of the fun stuff. The effects seem to be done by the same team as the other one though. Lots of other misses, and not a single hit aside from some of the visual effetcs.

I can't wait for Clarkson, Hammond and May to be back.

[Ash256]

The Top Gear road trips always blow my mind.. the deep south, vietnam, the north pole, the salt flats, all of them are just amazing

[boost]

Ya, I've seen all of those but the north pole. Def top quality tv.

[drmcboy]

What should I watch next? House, Firefly, Weeds, West Wing, Greys Anatomy last 2 seasons? Anything else? Help me out FTR!

my order

Greys Anatomy/House
West Wing
Weeds
Firefly

to be fair I could not get past the dialog in firefly so gave up middle of episode 2. Most sci fi people seem to love it. If you want some sci fi I'd go with battlestar.

I think Grey's is a better overall show than House because the cases are more suspenseful, but if you hate stupid people as much as I do it's hard to beat Greg House. Probably my two favorite shows.

Weeds is very uneven, some great stretches and some ehhhh.

[bigspenda73]

first few seasons of House are great TV

[Galapogos]

I think Grey's is a better overall show than House because the cases are more suspenseful, but if you hate stupid people as much as I do it's hard to beat Greg House. Probably my two favorite shows.

Never seen Grey's but I safely assume there's no way they have a character cooler than Greg House.

[lolzzz_321]

got Dexter S1-S4. Good show, great actor.

Gamer (2009) - IMDb

[UG]

Eastbound and Down Season II just ended and was awesome
House is pretty good

watched an episode of Modern Family over at the in-laws tonight, I'll probably start saving that on the DVR

[Halv]

Okay I will need a new show soon since I STILL don't have cable in my new condo (WTF!). I already saw : Sopranos, Wire, Breaking Bad, Dexter, 24, Six Feet Under, Boston Legal, Lost, Prison Break, and its more or less in order of preference as well.

What should I watch next? House, Firefly, Weeds, West Wing, Greys Anatomy last 2 seasons? Anything else? Help me out FTR!

The Shield then Deadwood then Firefly then West wing.

[Jack Sawyer]

Never seen Grey's but I safely assume there's no way they have a character cooler than Greg House.

+1

[boost]

The Shield then Deadwood then Firefly then West wing.

oh wow, I forgot about the shield. I never watched more than a few episodes in a row when it was in reruns on AMC or TNT or whatever, but it was always really good. I might download all the seasons and watch it all the way through.

[Halv]

I'd say go for it, it remains good throughout.

[philly and the phanatics]

too lazy to read through thread, so ill understand if ppl are too lazy to respond....but is Sons of Anarchy or Damages any good (both are on FX)

[philly and the phanatics]

the walking dead on amc, 3 episodes in. its pretty good.

+1

[supa]

I'm str8 hooked on Sons. I may be a little biased for several reasons. You gotta watch it from the first season but this seaon is by far the best.

[boost]

Some friends of mine were into Sons of Anarchy, and while I didn't think it was horrible TV, I thought it just passed as mediocre. The writing seemed decent... its just the setting didn't feel believable at all. Instead of doing a really cool gritty show about a biker gang, its a drama about a biker gang with hearts.

[drmcboy]

the shield is really good, went on probably 2 seasons too long but def worth watching, feel free to give up toward the end if you get tired of it. Although the last ep was pretty cool.

I loved Sons season 1. Season 2 was OK but revolved around a rape scene that you had to re-live over and over so be warned. Have most of season 3 sitting on TiVo, it's been OK and rape free but only watching when we don't have much else. It is sort of like a linear RPG - gang gets into trouble, needs to do favor for random dude X to get cash/info, complications ensue, then eventually you get to the next town. Also they set up 2 huge plots in season 1 that I now feel like they don't know what to do with which has me worried.

Damages was one of my favorite shows season 1, dropped to OK season 2, then almost not watchable season 3, which featured long pointless dream sequences. The problem is the hook from season one was jumping back and forth in time - it worked really well there and now they feel like they are married to it I guess, but the plots of 2 & 3 didn't really do anything useful with it so it felt contrived. I'm hopeful for season 4 but not optimistic.

[Alexos]

thx for the suggestions guys.

Finished Dexter season 4, which was pretty dissappointing except for the finale. I mean it was alright, just that some episodes/scenes were rly mediocre.

[Renton]

idk i think season 4 was one of the better ones. Lithgow is the shit.

[KoRnholio]

I liked season 2 the best, 4 was pretty decent. 5 has been pretty interesting as well.

Dexter's character definitely makes the show. The writers have done well not focusing very much on the weaker sideplots/characters.

[Alexos]

idk i think season 4 was one of the better ones. Lithgow is the shit.

yeah he was fkin good. Idk i thought the season started out rly slow but yea it did get rly good towards the end.

[boost]

Finally got around to starting arrested development. This show is such gold.. so sad that it didn't find an audience.

[oskar]

I hate to say I was right about The Walking Dead. They started by killing off the wrong actors and now it's getting more ridiculous by the minute. But I'll keep watching cos I'm a sucker for zombis.

[bigspenda73]

I read they fired the writers, hopefully they actually take the story/disease/etc... somewhere next season.

[oskar]

*** WALKING DEAD SPOILERS ***

Hopefully.

I can't believe they killed off the hottest girl. The guy from Slither hasn't shown up since his painfully predictable exit. I am afraid to imagine how they will bring him back. What happened to the black guy and his son from the pilot? Why in gods name did they make the army kill the survivers? It didn't make any sense in Resident Evil, and it still doesn't.
You could tell the guy in the Umbrella-esque underground facility wasn't even convinced by his own character... and yet another two good actors gone. What we're left is the wife who's only facial expression is *constipated* and an ex lover turned rapist for no apparent reason.

+ They broke the #1 rule of Zombi movies: you don't try to explain the zombi's.
The writers shouldn't get fired. They should be put against a wall and shot. No trial.

[bigred]

Dexter is goot this season

[bigspenda73]

You don't explain the zombies but you should explain how they came to be. What caused this mutation/disease?

[boost]

***WALKING DEAD SPOILERS***

Hopefully.

I can't believe they killed off the hottest girl. The guy from Slither hasn't shown up since his painfully predictable exit. I am afraid to imagine how they will bring him back. What happened to the black guy and his son from the pilot? Why in gods name did they make the army kill the survivers? It didn't make any sense in Resident Evil, and it still doesn't.
You could tell the guy in the Umbrella-esque underground facility wasn't even convinced by his own character... and yet another two good actors gone. What we're left is the wife who's only facial expression is *constipated* and an ex lover turned rapist for no apparent reason.

+ They broke the #1 rule of Zombi movies: you don't try to explain the zombi's.
The writers shouldn't get fired. They should be put against a wall and shot. No trial.

Ya, this is pretty much exactly how I felt. How the fuck could the kill the hot girl? It would have been awesome if they killed her in like season three when everyone was like "OH SHIT, NO WAY! DIDN'T SEE THAT COMING!" But in the first season its just like, "oh, nice you losers finally got the balls to kill a character... and of course you pick the hot chick... fffffffffffffffffffuuuuuuuuu!"

And you are spot on about actors not buying their own characters. Good thing they killed off the black lady though, I don't even know her name, but she was just pointless. They should have just left them locked in the CDC so they could be killed, then start the new season with a better cast. They could have cast anybody from the Wire as the black guy and the character would have been so much better. Hell, they should have just taken the cast from the wire and made a zombie show with them. McNulty could be the sheriff, Lester could have been the dad with the kid from the first episode, etc.

I wonder if it's even been renewed for a second season. If it has, I bet it doesn't make it past season 3.

***WALKING DEAD SPOILERS***

[BooG690]

I can't believe they killed off the hottest girl. The guy from Slither hasn't shown up since his painfully predictable exit.

Please warn others of any spoilers, please.

Oh wait, too late. THANKS OSKAR.

[Hawk]

It was announced after the second episode that they picked up a 13 episode 2nd season.

The acting may not be great, but it's a fucking zombie show. I didn't expect any award winning performances from the actors on the show to start with.

I can't wait for the new season. It's disappointing this one was so short.

[boost]

It was announced after the second episode that they picked up a 13 episode 2nd season.

The acting may not be great, but it's a fucking zombie show. I didn't expect any award winning performances from the actors on the show to start with.

I can't wait for the new season. It's disappointing this one was so short.

ya, but look at 28 weeks later, the dawn of the dead remake, zombieland... they might not be academy award winning performances, but the acting is not cringe inducing. Diff genre.. but look at lost, a sci-fi/thriller about a magical island.. again might not have the greatest acting ever, but I rarely had trouble buying the characters.

[Hawk]

I see your point, but I generally expect cheesiness with my zombies, and bad acting is often a part of that.

[boost]

I see your point, but I generally expect cheesiness with my zombies, and bad acting is often a part of that.

If they replaced one of Bruce Campbell's hands with a chainsaw and plopped a double barrel in the other hand, then gave him an hour long slot of nothing but gratuitous violence and cheesy one-liners, I'd tune in every week. But this isn't "omfg this is so awesomely bad" b-movie acting, its a show that is trying to be serious and is failing miserably.

[oskar]

Please warn others of any spoilers, please.

Oh wait, too late. THANKS OSKAR.

Doesn't the word spoiler imply that something good is being spoiled? In that I don't think that anything regarding episode 2-6 of the walking dead could be regarded as a spoiler... I've added a warning nevertheless.

[jyms]

Doesn't the word spoiler imply that something good is being spoiled? In that I don't think that anything regarding episode 2-6 of the walking dead could be regarded as a spoiler... I've added a warning nevertheless.

In days gone by I would agree, but most of us now wait and watch whole seasons of shows, sometimes whole series. I've seen nothing of some of the shows mentioned in this thread but plan to watch in the future. For now I am kind of back into a movie kick and have a list of about 40 to watch ATM.

[philly and the phanatics]

not sure if theres a spoiler in there but mebe?

walking dead is really cheesey and the last 2 eps were pretty disappointing to say the least. I hate the main actor the most. Next season should be a lot better. IGN had a list of top 30 bad guys of all time or something and some bad guy that we havent even met is on that list so theres a shit load of story that we do not even know about yet so there is plenty of time for the show to get better.

[boost]

not sure if theres a spoiler in there but mebe?

walking dead is really cheesey and the last 2 eps were pretty disappointing to say the least. I hate the main actor the most. Next season should be a lot better. IGN had a list of top 30 bad guys of all time or something and some bad guy that we havent even met is on that list so theres a shit load of story that we do not even know about yet so there is plenty of time for the show to get better.

**WD SPOILER ALERT**
I think I dislike the older blond sister, the main characters former partner/best frand, the old man, +some others more than I dislike the main character. But really its just the overall lack of direction/ lack of balls that bugs me. Why couldn't the mexican gangsters just be mexican gangsters.. why did the writers have to be pussies with their "look a stereotype... PSYCH!" bullshit? Also why does the little boy always look like he just took a bath and got a haircut? THERE ARE FUCKING ZOMBIES TRYING TO EAT YOU, THERES NO TIME FOR BATHS, HAIRCUTS AND FUCKING BEDTIME STORIES. Peoples reaction to each other and to the events taking place just seem completely unrealistic... {rant continues in this same vein for a long time}... yet its got zombies, so I'll keep watching every week.


**WD SPOILER ALERT**


p.s. I hope they don't make zombie boss villains. Like in I am Legend.. zombies cause an interesting environment in which really cool heroes, antiheroes and villains can be written.. the use of elite boss zombies always just feels like the writers don't get the genre...

[BooG690]

So uhh...Dexter is probably the best show I've ever watched. I just started watching the series about two weeks ago and I just finished the first season. Wow. It's fucking genius. There are barely any words.



******************** DEXTER SEASON ONE SPOILERS ********************
So Deb's boyfriend is the Ice Truck Killer...no wait, it's Dexter's BROTHER! Fucking genius, seriously. TV shows ever bring out any emotion out of me but I truly felt bad for Dexter having to kill Rudy, etc. Again, the show's amazing, bla bla bla.

[DropTheBanana]

^^
That show gets better every season imo

Just started Sons of Anarchy last night. So far it's ridiculously good.

[fulksy]

**WD SPOILER ALERT**
I think I dislike the older blond sister, the main characters former partner/best frand, the old man, +some others more than I dislike the main character. But really its just the overall lack of direction/ lack of balls that bugs me. Why couldn't the mexican gangsters just be mexican gangsters.. why did the writers have to be pussies with their "look a stereotype... PSYCH!" bullshit? Also why does the little boy always look like he just took a bath and got a haircut? THERE ARE FUCKING ZOMBIES TRYING TO EAT YOU, THERES NO TIME FOR BATHS, HAIRCUTS AND FUCKING BEDTIME STORIES. Peoples reaction to each other and to the events taking place just seem completely unrealistic... {rant continues in this same vein for a long time}... yet its got zombies, so I'll keep watching every week.


**WD SPOILER ALERT**


p.s. I hope they don't make zombie boss villains. Like in I am Legend.. zombies cause an interesting environment in which really cool heroes, antiheroes and villains can be written.. the use of elite boss zombies always just feels like the writers don't get the genre...

Pretty much agree with everything here, but i like the concept and just hoping they figure it out for next season

[philly and the phanatics]

yea i agree boost although the old man (dale i think is his name) is the shit lol no hating on him

[oskar]

Someone recommended Raising Hope a while back. I had watched the pilot but then forgot about it cos I don't like babies and it seemed be quite heavy on the baby part - it being in the title and everything.
I am happy to report that it concentrates much more on the other caracters and has very little cutesy sequencies where they try to make the baby a character. It becomes more of a prop, which is fine by me because as I have already mentioned: I don't care for babies.
Plus Cloris Leachman gets quite a lot of screen time and I think she's brilliant.

[wufwugy]

**WD SPOILER ALERT**
I think I dislike the older blond sister, the main characters former partner/best frand, the old man, +some others more than I dislike the main character. But really its just the overall lack of direction/ lack of balls that bugs me. Why couldn't the mexican gangsters just be mexican gangsters.. why did the writers have to be pussies with their "look a stereotype... PSYCH!" bullshit? Also why does the little boy always look like he just took a bath and got a haircut? THERE ARE FUCKING ZOMBIES TRYING TO EAT YOU, THERES NO TIME FOR BATHS, HAIRCUTS AND FUCKING BEDTIME STORIES. Peoples reaction to each other and to the events taking place just seem completely unrealistic... {rant continues in this same vein for a long time}... yet its got zombies, so I'll keep watching every week.


**WD SPOILER ALERT**


p.s. I hope they don't make zombie boss villains. Like in I am Legend.. zombies cause an interesting environment in which really cool heroes, antiheroes and villains can be written.. the use of elite boss zombies always just feels like the writers don't get the genre...

In a way I agree, but not entirely. Some aspects of the direction/creation are very good. Frank Darabont knows what he's doing. The show does have issues, but I think it's much better than it should be given it's on AMC and is about zombies

[boost]

In a way I agree, but not entirely. Some aspects of the direction/creation are very good. Frank Darabont knows what he's doing. The show does have issues, but I think it's much better than it should be given it's on AMC and is about zombies

breaking bad is amazing, and given the subject matter its pretty amazing that it is amazing while being on amc.

[Halv]

I don't get all the praise for Dexter. There are a couple of cool characters, dexter killing people is cool, but the crappy b-stories really drag the show down imo. ANNNNNHELLLLLL!!!!!!

[a500lbgorilla]

I don't get all the praise for Dexter. There are a couple of cool characters, dexter killing people is cool, but the crappy b-stories really drag the show down imo. ANNNNNHELLLLLL!!!!!!

Also, in the most recent season, how many times was he in an impossible, "oh fuck you're fucking fucked" scenario only to have the solution be "No, I'm only down here to tell you to keep doing what you're doing. No reason to find out that you're my brother." or "Oh, yeah, this bloody scene requires no more investigation, obviously someone was just trying to get off."

I may need to re-watch the early seasons to remind myself of why it was great.

[wufwugy]

I don't get all the praise for Dexter. There are a couple of cool characters, dexter killing people is cool, but the crappy b-stories really drag the show down imo. ANNNNNHELLLLLL!!!!!!

I've completely hopped off the Dex wagon. Not sure what got into me, I usually don't let crappy writing slip by. Maybe it was the novelty of the first season, but it has gotten baaaaaaddd on a screenplay level. The characters are simply garbage, the plot holes are becoming rather enormous, and the dialogue is often just stupid.

I mean Lost and Battlestar Galactica are arguably more well written. That's pretty bad.

[boost]

Just started watching firefly on a whim. Not completely sure what to think. I think its a pretty bad show, yet I'm pretty sure I'll watch it all the way through, including the movie. It reminds me of star trek, or law and order. Both are shows that offer relatively no depth, insight, or even big explosions- yet they are easy to just sit down and watch.

[wufwugy]

Just started watching firefly on a whim. It's the 5th greatest non pure comedy ever made

.

[boost]

.

wat? How can you put this show in a list with The Wire? Its like they put a bad western, Star Wars sans jedis, and Xena Warrior Princess in a blender and used the strained liquid to pen their scripts.

[jyms]

I liked it, but pretty much for the reasons you said boost. To be fair, It never really got a chance to be as good as some of the others, but not every show gets better either.

[boost]

The Wire, Breaking Bad, Treme, Band Of Brothers, Firefly


One of these things is not like the other...

[Halv]

That list needs less treme and more sopranos.

[wufwugy]

The Wire, Breaking Bad, Treme, Band Of Brothers, Firefly


One of these things is not like the other...

Wire is #2 all time. Haven't seen Treme yet. BOB doesn't count because it's mini despite the fact that it's the greatest ten hours of screen time ever, Breaking Bad is good, some of it is great, but it's still not top five. There is a remarkable difference between shows like Wire and BB

Firefly rules. Not everything has to be so deeply involved like Carnivale. Firefly has an excellent balance of frivolity, uniqueness, and good writing. Its quality may not be on the level of several other shows, but it has a huge cool/fun factor going for it. They did a superb job mixing western and scifi into its own fantasy world and all that

[wufwugy]

Also, one thing about Firefly is they thought they were going to be cancelled after every episode. They were on the brink continually apparently. So that forced them to spend less time trying to develop an elaborate story and more time trying to make things cool to grab more audience

[philly and the phanatics]

That list needs less treme and more sopranos.

this this this this this this

[boost]

I honestly never watched more than an episode or two of The Sopranos. Given the ones I watched were just random ones, it just never clicked. The list wasn't necessarily my top 5 either, but just something I threw up off the top of my head to juxtapose the inclusion of firefly.

[Penneywize]

So I imagine at least the first two of these have been mentioned several times;

-Boardwalk Empire (not available on DVD as of yet, but you can obv watch it online)
-House (ldfo, thought this show would suck and it turns out that viewers DO get shit right sometimes)
-Lie to Me (first 2 seasons available on DVD; def worth watching. Second season far better than first. I should also mention I hated this show the first time I saw it, but it grows on you rather quickly aside from an annoying character or two. The show works as either a one-off or as a continuous storyline.)

[wufwugy]

Proof that Firefly is top 5

[Alexos]

Just started watching Curb your enthusiasm the other day, and I'm pleasantly surprised. Larry David is just hilarious to watch, and the show is quite addictive and so different.

+1 to more sopranos, that show is still #1 on my list.

[boost]

ha, wuf, she is super hot.. but any chick wearing a cowboy hat gets dropped a point.