I Need a New TV Series

[DavidW]

Heroes.
Best series that's been on for as long as I can think of.

I actually think that Heroes is highly problematic, after season 1 it immediately went downhill.  I can't believe that it hasn't simply been canceled.

There was one show that I thought went way downhill, but they actually managed to pull themselves together and get back on track... and that's Lost.

[Cato]

We became hooked some years ago on 24: the earlier seasons are the best, although the later ones have their moments.

Also: The Closer with Kyra Sedgwick as a Georgian transplanted to LaLaLand: she is an obsessive detective who gets her perp.

Never to be forgotten: Green Acres!

[Dana]

M*A*S*H!

[Bogey]

M*A*S*H!

Definitely, but usually save those to watch with the wife.  That and the Andy Griffith Show (Don Knotts episodes only) are in my top 2.

[Bulldog]

There was one show that I thought went way downhill, but they actually managed to pull themselves together and get back on track... and that's Lost.

I started watching Lost on the computer/Netflix a couple of weeks ago.  Got through Season 4, so now waiting for 5 to be available.  I can't say it's an excellent series, but I sure got hooked on it.

[greg]

I actually think that Heroes is highly problematic, after season 1 it immediately went downhill.  I can't believe that it hasn't simply been canceled.

There was one show that I thought went way downhill, but they actually managed to pull themselves together and get back on track... and that's Lost.

Maybe if you analyze it a lot, sure. But I'm not the type to overanalyze shows- even if I see a bunch of plotholes (hey, my all-time favorite show has nothing but plotholes), if the story is good enough I don't care.

As for Gilmore Girls, witty dialogue, yes... more like brain-bursting dialogue. It just seems like too much of a show aimed at teenage girls.

[Dana]

As for Gilmore Girls, witty dialogue, yes... more like brain-bursting dialogue. It just seems like too much of a show aimed at teenage girls.

Aye, I think you might be onto something there Greg.

[greg]

Aye, I think you might be onto something there Greg.

The creator (i think it was the creator, if I remember right) said something like, "We wanted to make a show that would catch someone's attention if they're flipping through the channels and not spending much time watching what's on. By using so much dialogue, it'll capture their attention."
I'm assuming the complex, witty lines are intended for teenage girls with ADD, then?...

But really, sometimes I do like hearing witty, complex lines- but the only way I can think of is in a narration of a protagonist who is a normal guy, but very smart. And they might go on and on.

I'm sure if you sat down and studied the script to Gilmore Girls, you could find some gems. 

[Hollywood]

I also have to agree with the others about DEADWOOD that it's a MFCS damn good series (if you have seen this series then you will know what the initials MFCS stand for). I love this series especially Ian McShane's performance as Al Swearengen. My brother worked on this TV series (as a leadman in the art department) and I thank him for sending me the dvd set of the first season (since DEADWOOD was not shown here in Austria). I got hooked and then just had to buy seasons 2 and 3 on dvd as soon as they became available here in Vienna.



P.S.   Hey Bogey, I love your current avatar with Bela Lugosi as Dracula. That is my all time favorite famous Universal monster film from the 1930s. I love Lugosi as Dracula and as you can see my signature on my profile is my favorite line from that same film...There are far worse things awaiting man than death...

[Franco]

The Inspector Morse series.

[ChamberNut]

Bill, try Six Feet Under, if you haven't already.  My favorite of all time.

[DavidW]

Maybe if you analyze it a lot, sure. But I'm not the type to overanalyze shows- even if I see a bunch of plotholes (hey, my all-time favorite show has nothing but plotholes), if the story is good enough I don't care.

I'm not the type to overanalyze shows either.   Going downhill is not an "analysis" it's an opinion.  The story is not good, that's the point.

[drogulus]

     What makes Mad Men great is not just the clothes and set design, which is authentic. It's a matter of attitudes and mores, which seem to belong to another country, even another civilization. New York in the early '60s was the imperial center of finance, journalism, what we now call the media, and the intellectual and artistic capital. Since I lived through this time I can tell you that they get it right. For example, most of the men were veterans, many of combat in Europe, the Pacific or Korea. They came home not knowing if they would be able to find work, and instead they found themselves in an economic paradise. The reason that some people think the country was sleepwalking through the '50s was that most people didn't want to wake up and find that it was all a dream, and they'd have to give up their car and house in Darien and move back to a little apartment in the city or their parents farm in Indiana. The series captures this very well.

[DavidW]

I've now added season 1 of Mad Men to my queue Ernie.

[DavidW]

I can't say it's an excellent series, but I sure got hooked on it.

Fair assessment, it had promise to be a better show than it turned out to be.  Plot twists are a fun cheap gimmick, but when used too much destroy the integrity of the plot and character arcs.  And it seems like every episode has to have a twist.  It gets to the point that a true twist would be simply to not have a twist!   And some of it smacks of revisionist history, like Jacob being there at pivotal moments of the characters lives.  And the symbolism and names in the show are just cute jokes and not really deep.  Ah well it's still fun enough to watch!

[Brian]

    What makes Mad Men great is not just the clothes and set design, which is authentic. It's a matter of attitudes and mores, which seem to belong to another country, even another civilization. New York in the early '60s was the imperial center of finance, journalism, what we now call the media, and the intellectual and artistic capital. Since I lived through this time I can tell you that they get it right. For example, most of the men were veterans, many of combat in Europe, the Pacific or Korea. They came home not knowing if they would be able to find work, and instead they found themselves in an economic paradise. The reason that some people think the country was sleepwalking through the '50s was that most people didn't want to wake up and find that it was all a dream, and they'd have to give up their car and house in Darien and move back to a little apartment in the city or their parents farm in Indiana. The series captures this very well.

I've only seen parts of one episode of Mad Men, but even that limited exposure was enough to convince me that it is one of the most visually arresting, purely aesthetically beautiful shows I have ever seen.

[Harpo]

    What makes Mad Men great is not just the clothes and set design, which is authentic. It's a matter of attitudes and mores, which seem to belong to another country, even another civilization. New York in the early '60s was the imperial center of finance, journalism, what we now call the media, and the intellectual and artistic capital. Since I lived through this time I can tell you that they get it right. For example, most of the men were veterans, many of combat in Europe, the Pacific or Korea. They came home not knowing if they would be able to find work, and instead they found themselves in an economic paradise. The reason that some people think the country was sleepwalking through the '50s was that most people didn't want to wake up and find that it was all a dream, and they'd have to give up their car and house in Darien and move back to a little apartment in the city or their parents farm in Indiana. The series captures this very well.

Your analysis is excellent. I was a teenager in the 60s and remember the looks, mores and speech. The show is still in the "Camelot" era, which you know will be "shattered", so to speak.  Speaking of shattering, I still find the image of the falling man in the opening credits rather eerie, given 9/11.

[knight66]

I have just finished the second series of 'Mad Men'.....superb. Everything is both right and intelligent about it, no easy stock solutions to the dilemmas the characters face. The final shot of season two is like a Rockwell painting come to life, even down to the alienation and loneliness in some of his work.

I hope there is a season three as, there is so much juice left in the plotlines.

Sopranos, The Shield and The Wire, also Damages are must watch series and a short one in terms of it being a one-off series, The BBC adaptation of Bleak House; about the best thing I have ever seen. Gillian Anderson is hauntingly beautiful and provided a completely perfect English accent.

As to the Tudors, risible muck. I have seen the odd 10 minutes here and there. I did wonder how they would age the eye candy Henry, well Anne of Cleaves has come and gone and matey-boy still looks fit for a boy band. They aren't ageing him.

It is about as accurate as 'Carry on Henry', though Sid James made a more convincing king.

Mike

[Bogey]

The BBC adaptation of Bleak House; about the best thing I have ever seen. Gillian Anderson is hauntingly beautiful and provided a completely perfect English accent.

Great mini-series, Mike.  We own that one!

[DavidW]

Great mini-series, Mike.  We own that one!

Yup (on being great, I don't own it though I saw it on pbs)!