Worth Watching TV Shows

[Falanca]

Originally Posted by Sausy Gibbon

Thankyou Falanca. I'd thought you'd be one to disagree with me seeing since we've argued abou TV comedy in the past.

Can't even recall that.

[Sausy Gibbon]

^An argument over if Brittish and American comedy were better than each other.
I forgot a few more shows:
The IT Crowd
The Daily Show (forgot it seeing it doesn't air on free to air TV in Australia, and I'm not getting pay TV who do they think I am John D. Rockerfeller)
The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson
edit: Lead Balloon

[dumpling321]

better off ted...

If you haven't seen it GO WATCH IT NOW!!!! It is the funniest show I think I've ever seen...

If you're interested in BBC at all, netflix has some great BBC shows...

"keeping up appearances"

One of the funniest British comedies ever...

"All Creatures Great and Small"

This show bored me at first because I dropped in 2nd season when I first saw it... Starts from season 1, and watch at least 2-3 episodes, it's about James Harriet the famous English vet... great cast, funny writing, great stories, just a great show all around, especially if you like animals.

Warning: The actors have been known to on occasion actually stick their entire arms up cow butts, as that is sometimes how a country vet would diagnose an animal... be prepared for one of the most disgusting sights you will ever see when this happens

[Falanca]

Originally Posted by Sausy Gibbon

^An argument over if Brittish and American comedy were better than each other.
I forgot a few more shows:
The IT Crowd
The Daily Show (forgot it seeing it doesn't air on free to air TV in Australia, and I'm not getting pay TV who do they think I am John D. Rockerfeller)
The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson

Oh yeah. I had to change my mind greatly on that. British and American humor are still pretty different from each other, but either pure English (Monty Python*) or pure American (Everybody Loves Raymond) shows can NOT offer creative, witty humor in a continous fashion. At both sides of the spectrum, the extreme points fail to impress. When you have real people in front of the camera, acting as characters living in a near-real setting, wacky characterization-less random humor does stick out too much, and when you only give importance to personal life clichés too much, it just gives nothing of an interest -such comedies only rely on the familiarity and warmth of the characters, but it just wears way quickly on me. All in all, both styles have to borrow stuff from each other (the first three seasons of My Name is Earl did it SO well) and furthermore, because of that, it all boils down to the individual user (let it be the director or writer or maybe even actor) rather than the collective sense of humor of an entire nation.

I was dumb and inexperienced in that arguement, but at least good looking enough to feel no form of an embarassment.

*We all have favorite Monty Python sketches and quotes in our heads and the show did good, but to be fair the television show was just full of pure nonsense and weird timing pretending to be "humor", with a very few actually funny sequences thrown here and there.

[Sausy Gibbon]

^I agree, I like both instances. One of the things that usually draws me back from American comedy is how they have to make most of there characters likable in some way. I like how in alot of Brittish comedy they make they're characters faltable and in an unflattering matter. An example would be Getting On and Scrubs, where the first is a more realistic Brittish hospital while the latter is a polished Hollywood style set. I like how these shows are based in some kind of plausable reality even high concept shows like Red Dwarf. Brittain makes some pretty bad shows as well like Miranda and Teenage Kicks aswell as some mediocre shows that run to long, I'm talking about you My Family.

[PimPamPet]

Originally Posted by corruptbiggins

Selection of cancelled/finished shows that I like (not all, or I'll be here all night):

Lost
All Star Trek series (DS9 especially)
All Stargate series
X-Files
Quantum Leap
Sliders (at least up to season 3, have never seen beyond that)

Those are all good. As far as Sliders goes, I enjoyed the first 2 seasons but it got pretty bad after the professor (John-Rhys Davies) left the show and Kari Wuhrer became a regular. As for Star Trek, I liked them all except Voyager (felt too much like a rehash of TNG with less talented writers / actors). The first 2 seasons of TNG are a little dodgy, but that show gets really good after that so it's worth sticking with.

I also second the Babylon 5 suggestion somebody made. And absolutely don't miss The Adventures of Brisco County Jr. and Firefly (both excellent, excellent shows that were canceled after only 1 season...).

Also, to everyone who likes X-Files, go check out Fringe. One of my favorite current shows and it makes quite a few nods to X-Files (there's a pretty obvious one right in the show's title sequence).

If you enjoy REALLY old sci-fi TV shows, be sure to check out The Twilight Zone (the 60's one) and The Outer Limits (also, the old one). Great classics. And most TZ episodes are short (20-25 minutes in length) so quite easily digestible.

I'll shut up now.

[Remolay]

Babylon 5 (I recommend and I've never finished watching the first season, which I've heard is the worst.)
Sliders
Black Books
Heroes season 1

Japanese section:
Kaizoku Sentai Gokaiger
Kamen Rider OOO
Kamen Rider W
Kimegure Orange Road
Ultraseven X

[Ribs]

Originally Posted by Remolay

Babylon 5 (I recommend and I've never finished watching the first season, which I've heard is the worst.)
Sliders
Black Books
Heroes season 1

Japanese section:
Kaizoku Sentai Gokaiger
Kamen Rider OOO
Kamen Rider W
Kimegure Orange Road
Ultraseven X

Heh, I avoided mentioning Heroes because I'd get heckled because of it. I didn't want to put Season One because I personally preferred Volume Four the most, but it really is very enjoyable. Company Man is one of the best pieces of television ever, and I've watched it so many times and still always enjoy it.

[Falanca]

I enjoyed the second volume of Heroes the most. Volume three was so indescribably goddamn awful, never really checked volume four. I have never wanted to check anyway. Volume two is where Heroes ends for me and I prefer it that way -if you don't count Sylar's reemerging of powers ultimately being a never used cliffhanger by that logic.

[DAISHI]

The Prisoner

[Ribs]

Originally Posted by Falanca

I enjoyed the second volume of Heroes the most. Volume three was so indescribably goddamn awful, never really checked volume four. I have never wanted to check anyway. Volume two is where Heroes ends for me and I prefer it that way -if you don't count Sylar's reemerging of powers ultimately being a never used cliffhanger by that logic.

Wait, what? I enjoyed Season Two, but I think it'll only be good once someone manages to edit out the wonder twins plotline. Volume Three did something stupid, but Volume Four is really enjoyable if you ask me.

[tredlow]

Aside from Doctor Who, I only watch sitcoms. Oh, and Castle. These are all the shows I watch, starting from my number 1 favorite.
Community (One of the best sitcoms ever. I'll fight any man who thinks otherwise)
Parks and Recreation (Most of the time, it's better than The Office (US) in my opinion. Though it only starts getting good after the first season/sixth episode)
Modern Family (Might not be groundbreaking or anything, but it's got great writing and great acting)
30 Rock (Would have been higher on the list, but it kinda lacks character development, so the jokes are pretty much the same. Still, it's got the best quotes and one-liners in TV history)
Episodes (It's hilarious, but it's also depressing for me. British humor always has that effect on me)
The Office (Both versions, in my opinion. There is no law that states that you can only enjoy one of them, though the UK version is canceled, and the US version is turning into a loyalty show, something that you watch simply because it's there, even though it's starting to go bad)

And, some the cancelled shows that I loved are:
Arrested Development
Better Off Ted
Reno 911
Spaced

[Secret Fawful]

Get Smart
Gilligan's Island
Sanford and Son
The Beverly Hillbillies
The Addams Family
The Munsters
The Fugitive
Monk
Psych
Scooby Doo Where Are You
The Funky Phantom
Batman (with Adam West)
Batman (with Mark Hamill)
The Maxx (because Dashing says so and that's good enough for me)
Morel Orel (for above reasons)
Fullmetal Alchemist (NOT BROTHERHOOD!)
Firefly
Cowboy Bebop
Darker Than BLACK
Black Lagoon
Now and Then, Here and There
Princess Tutu
Detective Conan
Crayon Shin-Chan
Paranoia Agent
Ghost in the Shell: 2nd Gig
Eureka Seven
Babylon 5
Star Trek (with Kirk)
Futurama
Courage the Cowardly Dog
The Simpsons
The Venture Bros.
12 Oz. Mouse (one of those get it or you don't ones)
Spicy City (look up the Manos Hands episode on Youtube)
Sam and Max: Freelance Police
Thundercats
Sonic SatAM
Taz-Mania
House
Father Ted
The Mighty Boosh
Stargate SG1
The Walking Dead
Breaking Bad
The Sopranos



But mostly Get Smart.

[tredlow]

Originally Posted by Secret Fawful

Spicy City (look up the Manos Hands episode on Youtube)

Yeah, they shouldn't have canceled that. I thought there were some awesome stories there.

Hey, guys. What are your opinions on laugh tracks?

[allaboardfilms]

Lost
Twin Peaks - If only for the first season alone (though I actually really enjoyed the second as well)
M*A*S*H
Doctor Who
Monk
Seinfeld

[Secret Fawful]

Originally Posted by allaboardfilms

Twin Peaks - If only for the first season alone (though I actually really enjoyed the second as well)
M*A*S*H
Seinfeld

HOW COULD I FORGET M*A*S*H. That one is close to my favorite show ever. Also Frasier and Cheers.

[tredlow]

The Soup: All the guilty pleasure TV can offer you, without the guilt.
And MST3K

[taumel]

Star Trek TOS
The Pink Panther
Stromberg
Pastewka
Schillerstraße
Wikkie und die starken Männer
Battlestar Galactica
Raumpatrouille Orion
Captain Future
Family Ties
The Muppet Show
The Twilight Zone
Futurama
The Munsters
Kottan ermittelt
Die Maus vom Mars
Mr. Moto
Club 2
Scheibenwischer
Charlie Chan
Irgendwie und Sowieso
Dorfers Donnerstalk
Dr. Psycho
Luzie, der Schrecken der Straße
Twin Peaks
Magnum
Robbi, Tobbi und das Fliewatüüt
Pan Tau
Herr Rossi sucht das Glück
Schmidteinander
Die Harald Schmidt Show
Die Sendung mit der Maus
Wissen macht Ah!
Alpha Centauri

[Profanity]

Originally Posted by tredlow

Yeah, they shouldn't have canceled that. I thought there were some awesome stories there.

Hey, guys. What are your opinions on laugh tracks?

Horrible and it usually gives bad first impressions of the show.

Thanks for all the shows you've listed so far, guys!

[Darth Marsden]

Did anyone mention Red Dwarf? 'cause Red Dwarf.

And laugh tracks depend on whether they're actually covering something funny or not. If it's on a show that's not funny, then it makes you think the audience was high. If it's on a show that's really funny, it draws you in an makes the jokes that little bit better.

So I guess it depends really. Red Dwarf went from having one, to not, to having one, to not again. I think it was better with, but that's just me.