TV Series - Your Favorites & Recommendations

[ibanezmonster]

Fullmetal Alchemist
Hunter x Hunter

Originals of both series?

[milk]

https://www.youtube.com/v/-Bir7rOurbA

[Karl Henning]

I have fond memories of Night Gallery, which was on when I was a kid. However, only two episodes are etched in my memory. One stars Godfrey Cambridge as a comedian who sells his soul to the Devil so he can make people laugh (this episode was directed by none other than Steven Spielberg). The other was about a boy who can see the future, and what he sees...well, I won't spoil it. The first episode was funny/sad and the second was quite chilling.

I've not yet seen that Spielberg-directed one (he also directed the "Eyes" segment of the pilot).  The latter is "The Boy Who Predicted Earthquakes," yes, a chiller.

My vague recollection is that Night Gallery had better production values than Twilight Zone, and was more oriented towards horror than science fiction.

I think the comparison of production values may be roughly a wash, or you may just be right.  And horror rather than sci-fi, generally yes.

[Archaic Torso of Apollo]

I've not yet seen that Spielberg-directed one (he also directed the "Eyes" segment of the pilot). 

Yesterday I managed to find that episode ("Make Me Laugh") on the net (Hulu). I got one detail wrong: it's not the Devil, but a sort of djinn or guru who bestows the miracle of effortless laugh-making on the failing comedian. But otherwise it was as I remember it. I was also reminded how dense and quasi-poetic the dialogue was, something you wouldn't hear today on TV. In short, the literary standard of the script was high.

I also found this informative list of great Night Gallery episodes:

http://www.weirdlittleworlds.com/night-gallery-15-episodes-for-halloween/

I note that the first one listed is an adaptation of Conrad Aiken's great story "Silent Snow, Secret Snow," narrated by no less a personage than Orson Welles. I was pleased to see this, because Aiken is a great but little-known writer. That critical maverick Martin Seymour-Smith considered him one of the top half-dozen short story writers of the 20th century.

[Karl Henning]

"Silent Snow, Secret Snow" is a lovely story from Night Gallery.

[Karl Henning]

I also found this informative list of great Night Gallery episodes:

http://www.weirdlittleworlds.com/night-gallery-15-episodes-for-halloween/

By now, I've seen the majority of these, and many of them are indeed of the best!

[ibanezmonster]

Yes.

I found that interesting, because the remade version of those shows are so highly regarded. FMA: Brotherhood is ranked #1 on MAL and Hunter x Hunter (2011) has taken 4th place. http://myanimelist.net/topanime.php

I couldn't provide an opinion about the comparison between the separate version of those two shows, though. I watched Brotherhood instead of the original and watched the original of Hunter x Hunter because that was back slightly before 2011.

[Karl Henning]

I also found this informative list of great Night Gallery episodes:

http://www.weirdlittleworlds.com/night-gallery-15-episodes-for-halloween/

I note that the first one listed is an adaptation of Conrad Aiken's great story "Silent Snow, Secret Snow," narrated by no less a personage than Orson Welles. I was pleased to see this, because Aiken is a great but little-known writer. That critical maverick Martin Seymour-Smith considered him one of the top half-dozen short story writers of the 20th century.

"The Diary" is deliciously frightful.  I should (and will) go back to it, but "The Sins of the Fathers" left me a bit tepid.  "Whisper" is wonderful.  "Midnight Never Ends" is indeed one of the best, and could have served as a Twilight Zone episode.  "A Question of Fear" is very nearly as viscerally gruesome as "The Caterpillar."  (If that is ambiguous, I think them both excellent, perhaps the very best of the lot.)  Saw "The House" for the first time last night;  exquisitely lyrical.

[Moonfish]

Hmm, I am curious about this one...

[asin] B00HT851LO[/asin]

[Karl Henning]

Well, for whatever posy of reasons, I did not even know there had been an '80s revival of Twilight Zone until, rooting through the special materials in the DVD release of the original series, I found snippets of the '80s re-makes of (or sequels to), e.g., "Dead Man's Shoes" and "It's a Good Life."  Curiosity has gotten the better of me, so last night I watched the story which launched the first season of the revival:  Harlan Ellison's "Shatterday," with a surprisingly touching dual-performance by Bruce Willis.  I think this is going to be fun.

[Ken B]

Well, for whatever posy of reasons, I did not even know there had been an '80s revival of Twilight Zone until, rooting through the special materials in the DVD release of the original series, I found snippets of the '80s re-makes of (or sequels to), e.g., "Dead Man's Shoes" and "It's a Good Life."  Curiosity has gotten the better of me, so last night I watched the story which launched the first season of the revival:  Harlan Ellison's "Shatterday," with a surprisingly touching dual-performance by Bruce Willis.  I think this is going to be fun.

Speaking of Night Gallery .. I bumped into this recent item The Terrifying TV Episode That Made Guillermo Del Toro Pee His Pants

And I remember the 80s revival of the Twilight Zone, Hitchcock Presents and Spielberg's new Amazing Stories show .. I don't remember much about them or the details, but I do remember liking the few episodes I saw way back when.

Two peas in a pod. I knew it was just a matter of time.

[Wakefield]

The Leftovers:



Particularly recommended for people with strong religious concerns. I don't mean religious people, but people interested in "philosophical" and everyday consequences of religious beliefs.

http://www.youtube.com/v/FLT3YUALJno

Script by the novel's author himself and great music by Max Richter.

[SonicMan46]

Well, a LOT of activity here since my previous posts - been paying more attention to streaming films & purchasing BDs!

BUT, started a new TV series, The Borgias w/ Jeremy Irons as the POPE who had a family & a mistress - LOVE this pope of yesteryear - ideally, starts in the year of 1492 - BOY, the discovery of the Americas when Columbus bump into several new continents unknowingly and the Spanish kicked out the Moors from Spain - free streaming on Netflix for me (of course, except for paying for the service - ) - Dave

[Moonfish]

Well, a LOT of activity here since my previous posts - been paying more attention to streaming films & purchasing BDs!

BUT, started a new TV series, The Borgias w/ Jeremy Irons as the POPE who had a family & a mistress - LOVE this pope of yesteryear - ideally, starts in the year of 1492 - BOY, the discovery of the Americas when Columbus bump into several new continents unknowingly and the Spanish kicked out the Moors from Spain - free streaming on Netflix for me (of course, except for paying for the service - ) - Dave

I watched the three seasons of Borgias earlier this year and thought it was very good. Four very strong charismatic lead actors (was not too impressed with the older son) supported by a strong script and sets. Definitely entertaining using plot, violence and sensuality as main engines!    Have fun with that Dave!

[Cosi bel do]

My favorite TV series are :

Drama

- The Sopranos
- Mad Men
- Friday Night Lights
- Breaking Bad
- The Wire

For different reasons I consider these shows as true works of art, as good, rich and insightful as the best contemporary American novels.
Also, ER seasons 1-3 remains among my favourites, and I found Boss season 1 was really good. I liked The West Wing, but felt less compelled about it.
Downton Abbey has its nice moments, but I found some episodes and ideas quite dumb, and most of Season 2 incredibly poor.
I still have to watch House of Cards, and I'll also give The Good Wife a try one of these days.

Comedy

- Frasier
- Seinfeld

These are my two all time favourites.
Then, quite far behind, I like Parks & Rec, the US version of The Office, 30 Rock, Curb your enthusiam, Veep.
It's not a sitcom but Enlightened is still more comedy than drama. It was a great show, and I was really disappointed it was canceled before its third and final season...
I also still consider The Simpsons seasons 1-10 (approximately) as one of the funniest sitcoms. I watched recent shows as HIMYM or TBBT, but in the end you get one or two good episodes against so many boring soapy ones, that they become increasingly frustrating.
I watched the first seasons of Modern Family and found it funny, then grew a little tired of it also. I should try again sometime I guess.

[Archaic Torso of Apollo]

I have yet to see the Good Wife, but if you are interested in shows about corrupt Chicago politics, I would highly recommend Boss, with Kelsey Grammer as the mayor.  It's similar in many ways to House of Cards, but in a Chicago setting--only lasted a season or two, but might make for some good binge viewing if you haven't seen it.

I've now seen most of Boss. It's well done, with good acting, and quite gripping in terms of plot. Also the city locations are used well. However, in some respects it is totally over the top. Chicago politics can be nasty, but it is not quite as brutal and crazy as depicted. And the creators of the show seem to think it's normal for people to have sex in hallways, corridors, buses, offices and so forth. So what started out as good story-telling is starting to lurch into self-parody (I'm halfway thru season 2).

[North Star]

I've now seen most of Boss. It's well done, with good acting, and quite gripping in terms of plot. Also the city locations are used well. However, in some respects it is totally over the top. Chicago politics can be nasty, but it is not quite as brutal and crazy as depicted. And the creators of the show seem to think it's normal for people to have sex in hallways, corridors, buses, offices and so forth. So what started out as good story-telling is starting to lurch into self-parody (I'm halfway thru season 2).

Well the show never seemed to aim for pure realism.

[Bogey]

I have caught a few episodes of Gotham.  Really enjoyed them so I will have to take in the entire first season.

[SonicMan46]

Parts Unknown w/ chef Anthony Bourdain - been streaming this off Netflix and enjoying; an excellent cook, interesting often out of the way places, great commentary and interviews, and rapport w/ the peoples visited - will have to look for other series w/ him!  Dave

[Daverz]

Hmm, I am curious about this one...

[asin] B00HT851LO[/asin]

I watched the first couple of episodes and then lost interest.  I did follow some of the recaps at avclub, and apparently the writing got very bad very fast.

Lately I've been following The Missing, which is a pretty standard thriller, but very well done.