I was inspired by the topic about Netflix vs. Cable to ask you Hatrackers to share some of your favorite TV series, both past and present, to help me decide what to add to my Netflix queue. I especially love scifi/fantasy, but fear I may have just about run out of those. Here are some of the things I have watched and love:
Babylon 5 Roswell Lost The 4400 The Dead Zone Monk Psych Farscape Carnivale Doctor Who Red Dwarf
I wasn't as fond of but have watched:
Battlestar Galactica The X-Files (they were good but not something I just wanted to watch from start to finish) Stargate (ditto)
Anyway...I'm sure I've missed a bunch but that'll do.
Posted by Tara (Member # 10030) on :
Ahhh! Firefly!
Posted by Miro (Member # 1178) on :
Angel (the first half, hated the second half) Battlestar Galactica (new version) Dark Angel (first season, mostly) Dead Like Me Due South (hilarious) Firefly Freaks and Geeks House Joan of Arcadia MacGyver My So-Called Life NCIS Northern Exposure The Pretender Sandbaggers Sports Night Stargate SG1 Stargate Atlantis (took a while, but it grew on me) The West Wing Wonderfalls
Posted by Javert (Member # 3076) on :
House, M.D. ROME (HBO series) Family Guy Futurama Penn & Teller: Bull$%*# Mythbusters Dirty Jobs
Posted by breyerchic04 (Member # 6423) on :
Buffy the Vampire Slayer Gilmore Girls Veronica Mars
Posted by Elmer's Glue (Member # 9313) on :
Malcolm in the Middle Becker
Posted by the_Somalian (Member # 6688) on :
The Wire Posted by theCrowsWife (Member # 8302) on :
Most of my recommendations are cancelled Fox shows from the 90s. Keep in mind that I haven't seen any of these since I was in high school, so they may not be as good as I remember.
I remember the first season or so of Ally McBeal being very good, although the show did get pretty ludicrous in later seasons. Likewise with Boston Public, although I caught quite a bit fewer episodes of that one.
--Mel
Posted by Luet13 (Member # 9274) on :
Futurama Six Feet Under Absolutely Fabulous Samurai Jack Strangers With Candy My So-Called Life The Muppet Show Coupling (UK) Seasons 1-3, Season 4 isn't too great. Twin Peaks The Office
Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
You didn't like Stargate or BSG? Jeepers.
I'd echo a lot of what has been suggested (The West Wing, Firefly, Buffy, NCIS) thus far, and add:
Star Trek DS9 And if you missed the first season, Heroes
Don't get me wrong, TOS and TNG are good, maybe even VOY depending on your tastes. But DS9 is gold.
Some comedies I'd suggest:
8 Simple Rules Friends & Frasier if you like the 90's sitcom stars. M*A*S*H for a taste of something older, but it's a specific kind of humor, not for everyone. How I Met Your Mother Scrubs The Office
Posted by Dead_Horse (Member # 3027) on :
The Millionaire Our Miss Brooks Perry Mason
Posted by enjeeo (Member # 2336) on :
Stargate SG-1 (Recently got the cutest keyring replica of the Stargate, I love it.)
Medium (Apart from the spooky side of this show, I love the family interaction and the realism of the main characters. I like the fact that she is sometimes wrong, and doesn't have all the answers. Part of me would like to meet the real Alison that the series is based on and part of me is...unsettled by the idea.)
Wiseguy (old series with Ken Wahl playing Vinnie Terranova, a deep undercover cop. I was SOOO in love with that character (not the actor, the character) when I was 14. Was also the first place I ever saw Kevin Spacey play a psycho criminal type.)
My name is Earl (I love the premise and his positive attitude to life and doing good stuff. And it's just funny!)
I always liked Friends and unlike some other shows (eg Seinfeld) I still find it funny even when watching episodes for the third or fourth time.
Posted by porcelain girl (Member # 1080) on :
Arrested Development... off beat sitcom, very clever.
Boomtown... awesome Los Angeles based cop drama, starring Donnie Wahlberg and other highly talented actors.
Friday Night Lights... I don't care a scratch for american football, but this is supremely well written, acted, and directed.
Home Movies... my favorite adult swim show. Terrible animation, fantastic voice work.
Veronica Mars... already mentioned,high school drama meets detective/noir
I have to chime in my votes for Medium, Freaks and Geeks, the Muppet Show, Firefly, Extras, and the British Office.
Posted by Eaquae Legit (Member # 3063) on :
quote:Originally posted by theCrowsWife: Most of my recommendations are cancelled Fox shows from the 90s. Keep in mind that I haven't seen any of these since I was in high school, so they may not be as good as I remember.
OH. MY. GOD. I love you FOREVER. I've always wanted to watch that show again.
Posted by JonHecht (Member # 9712) on :
Dead Like Me Heroes Scrubs Everything else I would have said has been said.
Posted by Snail (Member # 9958) on :
The Best of the Best - Shows That Everybody Should Watch
Green Wing - a British hospital sitcom that involves riding camels inside a hospital, stealing livers from patients and laughing at the Swiss. It's actually not merely a sitcom as it rather plays with the traditional sitcom format and tries to renew it, sort of like the movie Moulin Rouge! did with the traditional musical format. This is a show others love and others hate but I'm definitely in the love camp.
Neon Genesis Evangelion - again a show others love and others hate, but it definitely had a huger impact on me than any other show ever, anime or otherwise.
Twin Peaks - hmm... I seem to be addicted mainly on shows that divide opinions. With Twin Peaks I know it gets progressively worse as it proceeds along (the end of the second season is just plain bad apart from the very final episode) but nothing can beat the quirky atmosphere of the show's best moments.
SpongeBob SquarePants - just because.
Other Shows I Like
Buffy the Vampire Slayer (though I'm only midway through Season 4 at the moment) The Sopranos Jeeves & Wooster Cowboy Bebop Fruits Basket Fawlty Towers The Simpsons Babylon5
Posted by Eduardo St. Elmo (Member # 9566) on :
The Persuaders Space: Above and Beyond The Visitor
Posted by enjeeo (Member # 2336) on :
JonHecht
Dead Like Me was fun. I was disappointed when it was cancelled, especially after they spent so long developing the Daisy O'Dare character. She was inches from a major epiphany/life (death?) change and then it was gone. Arrrrgh!
I like that they are releasing some of the older shows on DVD. I would really like to see James at 15 again. That show was different to anything else around at the time and I really liked it, but I can hardly remember the details now.
Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
Oh I didn't even think to include anime in my suggestion:
Trigun and Full Metal Alchemist are excellent, very excellent.
I have a soft spot for Gundam Wing, but I know it's hit or miss for some people, it depends on your tastes. Same with Big O, which has one of my favorite soundtracks for anything ever.
Yu Yu Hakusho is alright, but probably not a good place to start if you are new to anime.
Posted by theCrowsWife (Member # 8302) on :
quote:Originally posted by Eaquae Legit:
quote:Originally posted by theCrowsWife: Most of my recommendations are cancelled Fox shows from the 90s. Keep in mind that I haven't seen any of these since I was in high school, so they may not be as good as I remember.
OH. MY. GOD. I love you FOREVER. I've always wanted to watch that show again.
Yay! Someone else who remembers that show. I refused to watch Ally McBeal at first because it took over Roar's time slot. I hope it's really as good as I remember it to be.
--Mel
Posted by Lanfear (Member # 7776) on :
Arrested Development is the best comedy ever written. Past or Present. I will argue that point at any time, with anyone. You must start at the beginning, and go through all three seasons. It's extremely intelligent and tightly written.
Veronica Mars is a great show as well. The mysteries keep you guessing and Veronica's character is just fun. Sassy and fun.
Rurouni Kenshin is the only anime I can recommend. A Great drama about a samurai who wants to never kill again.
Posted by Eaquae Legit (Member # 3063) on :
quote:Originally posted by theCrowsWife: Yay! Someone else who remembers that show. I refused to watch Ally McBeal at first because it took over Roar's time slot. I hope it's really as good as I remember it to be.
--Mel
I was so bitter. And even though my sister and I paid close attention over the next couple years, we never saw the episodes IMDB says they aired in 2000. We loved "Roar" so much, and we never knew anyone else who cared about it. Or had even heard about it.
I am SO going to be buying this to add to my collection of awesome shows I loved when I was younger (and still do).
[ September 13, 2007, 01:03 PM: Message edited by: Eaquae Legit ]
Posted by the_Somalian (Member # 6688) on :
I hear that "Life on Mars" is good, but I wouldn't know first hand because the DVD has not been released in the US yet.
Posted by jaysedai6 (Member # 8856) on :
John Doe Hill St. Blues St. Elsewhere Monty Python FlyingCircus
Mission Impossible Red Dwarf Dark Shadows
Posted by Miro (Member # 1178) on :
One I forgot earlier - Slings and Arrows. Hilarious Canadian series about a troupe of Shakespearean actors.
Posted by Dan_raven (Member # 3383) on :
I agree with many of the above but there is:
Red Greene--(Home Improvement gone terribly, terribly wrong).
The Avengers--(Ms. Peel, you are needed---rrrrr)
let me ad, shame that only one mention of "The Muppets"
Posted by porcelain girl (Member # 1080) on :
quote:Originally posted by Dan_raven:
let me ad, shame that only one mention of "The Muppets" [/QB]
TWO! I seconded the first mention, DAN.
Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
I would have said Muppets Tonight, which I loved when it was one, but for some sick, sad reason it hasn't been released on DVD yet. I mean, where else can you find this? Posted by theCrowsWife (Member # 8302) on :
I'll second Red Green. When I was in college, PBS would play Red Green followed by Red Dwarf on Saturday nights. Those were good times.
--Mel
Posted by grammargoddess (Member # 10828) on :
Star Trek (all the series but the first, I'm not into Captain Kirk:manslut for the federation) Sliders (I know it's cheesy and I didn't watch it forever, but I found some of them interesting) CSI Psych House Scrubs FullMetal Alchemist (yay I'm not the only one!) Futurama (funnier than the simpsons) Law&Order
Posted by landybraine (Member # 10807) on :
quote:Originally posted by grammargoddess: Captain Kirk:manslut for the federation)
I also second Sliders...but with Wade, not Maggie. Grrr..I did not like her.
Posted by kanelock (Member # 10982) on :
Picket Fences Twilight Zone Beverly Hillbillies Addams Family One Step Beyond(not extremly well known, but still great)
Posted by ClaudiaTherese (Member # 923) on :
quote:Originally posted by jaysedai6: Red Dwarf Dark Shadows
I had figured that these would be missed, along with
quote:Originally posted by kanelock: Twilight Zone
I'll add to the queue:
The Prisoner Mystery Science Theater 3000 Quantum Leap Remington Steele Tripping the Rift Outer Limits Lexx The Tick Space Ghost The Maxx Aeon Flux
Given the spread of recommendations, these should probably also be on the list for you to consider:
Gene Rodenberry's Andromeda Gene Rodenberry's Earth: The Final Conflict Highlander Charmed Mutant X The Adventures of Brisco County, Jr. Get Smart Hercules: The Legendary Journeys Xena: Warrior Princess Relic Hunter The Inner Sanctum Tales from the Crypt Tales from the Darkside Lost in Space The Ray Bradbury Theater Beastmaster Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's the Lost World
I'll summarize the titles to date alphabetically. Dave and I are looking to join NetFlix, so this is great.
---
Edited to add plugs for the following:
Corner Gas Flambards The Paper Chase Masterpiece Theater
---
And then:
China Beach thirtysomething Moonlighting
---
Also:
Good Eats (Alton Brown, the food channel) Nigella (Nigella, Nigella Bites, Nigella Feasts, the food channel) Julia Child & Company (also foodie stuff) No Reservations (food & travel)
---
Plus:
Michael Palin: Around the World in 80 Days (and many other travelogues) Shaft The Mary Tyler Moore Show Taxi
--
I have some recommendations for adults only, but out of deference to the Cards, I will refrain from posting them here.
[ September 16, 2007, 04:04 AM: Message edited by: ClaudiaTherese ]
Posted by ClaudiaTherese (Member # 923) on :
Omitting repitions and initial "the"s, I have:
quote:413 Hope Street 4400, The 8 Simple Rules Absolutely Fabulous Addams Family, The Adventures of Brisco County, Jr., The Aeon Flux Ally McBeal Andromeda (Gene Rodenberry's ) Angel Arrested Development Avengers, The Babylon 5 Battlestar Galactica (new version, old version) Beastmaster Becker Beverly Hillbillies, The Big O Boomtown Boston Public Buffy the Vampire Slayer Carnivale Charmed China Beach Cook's Tour, A Corner Gas Coupling (UK) Cowboy Bebop CSI (many versions) Dark Angel Dark Shadows Dead Like Me Dead Zone, The Dexter Dirty Jobs Doctor Who Due South Earth 2 Earth: The Final Conflict (Gene Rodenberry's) Extras, The Family Guy Farscape Fawlty Towers Firefly Flambards, The Frasier Freaks and Geeks Friday Night Lights Friends Fruits Basket Full Metal Alchemist Futurama Get Smart Gilmore Girls Good Eats Green Wing Gundam Wing Hercules: The Legendary Journeys Heroes Highlander Hill St. Blues Home Movies (adult swim) House, M.D. How I Met Your Mother I Spy (with Bill Cosby) Inner Sanctum, The It Takes a Thief (with Robert Wagner) James at 15 Jeeves & Wooster Joan of Arcadia John Doe Julia Child & Company Law & Order (various subseries) Lexx Life on Mars Lost Lost in Space Lost World (Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's), The M*A*S*H MacGyver Malcolm in the Middle Mary Tyler Moore Show, The Masterpiece Theater Maxx, The Medium Michael Palin: Around the World in 80 Days (and many other travelogues) Millionaire, The Mission Impossible Mister Rogers Monk Monty Python's Flying Circus Moonlighting Mr. Terrific Muppet Show, The Mutant X My Name is Earl My So-Called Life Mystery Science Theater 3000 Mythbusters NCIS Neon Genesis Evangelion Nigella Nigella Bites Nigella Feasts No Reservations Northern Exposure October Road Office, The (British, American) One Step Beyond Our Miss Brooks Outer Limits Paper Chase, The Penn & Teller: Bull$%*# Perry Mason Persuaders, The Picket Fences Pretender, The Prisoner, The Project Runway Psych Quantum Leap Ray Bradbury Theater, The Red Dwarf Red Green Show, The Relic Hunter, The Remington Steele Roar Robot Chicken Rome (HBO series) Roswell Rurouni Kenshin Samurai Jack Sandbaggers Scrubs Seinfeld Sesame Street Shaft Simpsons Six Feet Under Slings and Arrows Space Ghost Space: Above and Beyond SpongeBob SquarePants Sports Night St. Elsewhere Star Trek (DS9, TOS, TNG) Stargate (Atlantis, SG-1) Strangers With Candy Tales from the Crypt Tales from the Darkside Taxi thirtysomething Tick, The Trigun Tripping the Rift Twilight Zone, The Twin Peaks Veronica Mars Visitor West Wing Wire Wiseguy Wonderfalls X-Files Xena: Warrior Princess Yu Yu Hakusho
I tried to include everything mentioned, even if not recommended specifically, in the interest of having a broad list of things that come to people's minds in a thread like this at Hatrack. I also am adding some subdivisions (e.g., for the Stargate and Law & Order sets of series). Let me know if I misspelled or missed something, and I'll correct or add. However, I'm not going to delete from the list anything mentioned previously, as tastes do differ. It is a list of mentions, and that only.
I will edit, sort, and tidy up on Sunday.
---
Edited to add: On second thought, I am not going to post my categorization here, as that's simply begging for disagreement and a long, drawn-out discussion that I have no interest in starting. It would just make me exasperated and cranky.
But if anyone else wants to do it, feel free. [/LIST]
[ September 17, 2007, 09:45 AM: Message edited by: ClaudiaTherese ]
Posted by kanelock (Member # 10982) on :
forgot about Mister Rogers and Sesame Street. also Robot Chicken
Posted by ClaudiaTherese (Member # 923) on :
(added)
---
Edited to add: and from left-field, my favorite (only?) reality tv watch: Project Runway.
The first season had some astonishing skill and craftwork.
[ September 16, 2007, 02:31 PM: Message edited by: ClaudiaTherese ]
Posted by Christine (Member # 8594) on :
Thanks to everyone for their recommendations and to CT for organizing it into a neat, alphabetical list!
A lot of good stuff...I got the first Dark Angel this weekend and was hooked so that's my next series. All the Xenas are available on the instant viewing features. I seem to recall seeing a few episodes of that...some of them were decent and some of them scared me. Sometimes, it was the same episode. Posted by ClaudiaTherese (Member # 923) on :
I almost lived in the complex Dark Angel was filmed in for the pilot.
---
I'm adding A Cook's Tour to go with No Reservations.
Posted by theCrowsWife (Member # 8302) on :
This is a current tv show, and the first season DVDs won't be out until October, but I really liked October Road. There were a few plotlines that made me roll my eyes, but overall I loved the characters and the story. It probably helps that the characters are pretty much exactly my age. From what I've read, it will start its second season as a mid-season replacement for whatever gets cancelled first.
--Mel
Posted by Eaquae Legit (Member # 3063) on :
I'll add my voice to both Red Green and Slings and Arrows. I have so much love for both shows, and I was heartbroken when Red Green ended.
Posted by The Flying Dracula Hair (Member # 10155) on :
I have to add Dexter.
Posted by Damien.m (Member # 8462) on :
Anyone watch Earth 2? It was a sci fi from the mid 90s. An advance colony ship sets out to a new planet but crash lands. The survivors try to get across the continent to set up the colony for the ships behind them. Then something about weird ground-dwelling aliens and some weird illness. It was cancelled after one season but was still a good watch.
Posted by Nathan2006 (Member # 9387) on :
Everybody Loves Raymond is the show I miss the most.
I really liked it.
Also, Firefly and Wonderfalls.
Posted by Jon Boy (Member # 4284) on :
Newsradio.
Posted by Lisa (Member # 8384) on :
quote:Originally posted by landybraine:
quote:Originally posted by grammargoddess: Captain Kirk:manslut for the federation)
I also second Sliders...but with Wade, not Maggie. Grrr..I did not like her.
Wade <swoon>...
Posted by Lisa (Member # 8384) on :
quote:Originally posted by landybraine: [QUOTE]Originally posted by grammargoddess: Captain Kirk:manslut for the federation)
I also second Sliders...but with Wade, not Maggie. Grrr..I did not like her.
Wade <swoon>... [/QUOTE']
I enjoyed Sliders as well but unfortunately, the show ended before coming to a conclusion. (Granted, I never saw the entire last season...the one where they lose Quinn and try to claim he's inside some other guy's body. It was really lame.)
Posted by mr_porteiro_head (Member # 4644) on :
quote:Originally posted by Jon Boy: Newsradio.
That was a good show, wasn't it?
Posted by kanelock (Member # 10982) on :
cheers nightcourt all in the family the jeffersons sanford and son barney miller the addams family(may have already been said, but still great)
Posted by Evie3217 (Member # 5426) on :
I can only add my agreement with many of these:
Arrested Development Extras (new one!) Firefly Freaks and Geeks Heroes How I Met Your Mother (honestly one of the funniest shows on right now) Lost Muppets Tonight Mythbusters The Office (both) The Riches (That's a new one too!) Storyteller/Storyteller Greek Myths (this was an old miniseries of old fairy tales by Jim Henson and co.) Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip (another new one!) Veronica Mars West Wing
Also, some old Nickelodeon shows: Allen Strange Are You Afraid of the Dark Hey Dude Mystery Files of Shelby Woo Pete & Pete Salute Your Shorts Secret World of Alex Mack
Out of all the Nick ones, I would suggest Pete & Pete or Alex Mack. Definitely the best.
Posted by Chris_Johnston (Member # 10582) on :
My list got kinda bloated as I was perusing www.epguides.com, and was reminded of all the lesser-known but still great (to me, anyway) shows I enjoyed when I was younger. I cross-referenced the Master List as I mas making mine, so there'd be no repeats...
Airwolf Alien Nation American Gothic Arresting Behavior Baa Baa Black Sheep Boston Common Broken Badges Buffalo Bill C-16 Call to Glory The Cape Chicago Hope Columbo The Crow: Stairway to Heaven Cupid Dark Skies Dharma & Greg Dear John Dexter's Laboratory Doctor, Doctor The Dresden Files Emergency! The Equalizer The Exile EZ Streets The Fantastic Journey Felicity The Flash Forever Knight Fortune Hunter From the Earth to the Moon (mini-series) F/X: The Series Get a Life Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex G vs E The Greatest American Hero Hardcastle and McCormick Harsh Realm The Hat Squad High Incident Homicide: Life on the Street Human Target In Living Color Invasion: Earth (mini-series) It's Garry Shandling's Show JAG The John Larroquette Show Kolchak: The Night Stalker Kung Fu The Larry Sanders Show The Lone Gunmen Lonesome Dove (mini-series) Mad About You The Magician The Magnificent Seven Magnum, p.i. Mann & Machine M.A.N.T.I.S. Max Headroom Matrix Max Monroe: Loose Cannon Miami Vice Midnight Caller Millennium My Favorite Martian My Life and Times NewsRadio Night Court Now and Again NUMB3RS Odyssey 5 Party of Five The Phoenix Planet of the Apes Police Squad! The Practice Profit Project U.F.O. Raven (Jeffrey Meek) Reno 911! Rescue 77 RoboCop: The Series The Rockford Files Roughnecks: Starship Trooper Chroncles 7 Days seaQuest DSV Search The Sentinel The Shield Simon & Simon The Six Million Dollar Man (pre-Bigfoot) The Slap Maxwell Story Sliders (1st season) Soldier of Fortune, Inc. Space: 1999 (1st season) Spenser: For Hire The State Stingray (Nick Mancuso) Strange Luck TekWar Threshold Torchwood Total Recall 2070 Tour of Duty True Blue The Tracy Ullman Show UFO Under Cover V, V: The Final Battle (mini-series) Vengeance Unlimited V.I.P. Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea War of the Worlds (2nd season) The Wild Wild West Wings Zoe, Duncan, Jack and Jane
Posted by Lanfear (Member # 7776) on :
I think just giving lists of tv shows you enjoy without an explanation is the equivalent of going on Netflix and just looking at the top rentals. Why do you like these shows?
Posted by Rakeesh (Member # 2001) on :
*grumble* If Dexter keeps up in this vein, I'm going to have to take it off my personal list. I can feel it coming off the rails...
Posted by ClaudiaTherese (Member # 923) on :
quote:Originally posted by Lisa: I'm honestly shocked that no one has mentioned ... Remingon Steele
*points upward about a dozen posts
(also on the alphabetized list)
This thread reminded me of Remington Steele, and I have it on our Canadian version of NetFlix. Sure, someof the plots were thin, and yeah, the acting was stilted early on, but the banter! the witty repartee! It was Moonlighting before Moonlighting.
Posted by Christine (Member # 8594) on :
So, for those of you who recommended "Dark Angel," you meant the first season, right? Because I watched the first season and enjoyed it quite a bit. But 6 episodes into the second season and I want to rip my hair out. I think I just watched the worst episode of any show...ever!
****Spoilers*** I mean, this virus thing keeping Logan and Max apart is some of the most unbelievable piece of scifi crap ever invented. I think they forgot how to write romance, which is amazing because in the first season I was praising them for successfully creating tension between a strong woman and a man in a wheelchair! Then there's these mutants running all over the place. In the last episode I watched, a Halloween episode, the acting was some of the worst I've seen. There was this gypsy woman that had me racing to the kitchen for a snack halfway through her obnoxious monologue. Then there's the guy whose head came off...sorry, don't buy it. And the WORST thing, she wakes up and it's all a dream! AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!! ******end spoiler
Does it get any better or should I just stop now while I can still maintain some fond memories of season 1?
![[Big Grin]](biggrin.gif)
I refused to watch Ally McBeal at first because it took over Roar's time slot. I hope it's really as good as I remember it to be.![[The Wave]](graemlins/thewave.gif)
I seconded the first mention, DAN.
![[ROFL]](graemlins/rofl.gif)
![[Smile]](smile.gif)