Surprisingly good television series?

[MarxSchmarx]

What are some TV series that you have found, much to your surprise, to actually be quite good?

I was rather impressed with Trailer Park Boys. I saw an episode when it first came out and was like, bah, classist BS but after giving it a bit more of a chance a few years later I've come to like it and appreciate its writing.

So, what are some series that you would recommend in spite of your first impression and why?

[Ele'ill]

Firefly, Strange Luck, Oz, Game of Thrones

[synthesis]

American Dad



[/last vestiges of credibility]

[JustMovement]

I dont watch much tv but I love the wire, although many here would object because of how it portrays the police in a sympathetic light. I think it does a great job of illustrating how capitalism warps and corrupts civil institutions and communities. It touches on everything from poverty in the inner city, to corruption in the police force, politics, schools and unions (it potrays the unions actually in a very sympathetic light, very rare for a us show). Oz is also excellent.

[JustMovement]

ok i just realised ive been writing like im applying for a job. im sorry ive been writing fucking cover letters all day...

[Gorilla]

Farscape. I was all like "science fiction with muppets?" and then I was all like "whoah."

[Nehru]

Grey's anatomy, Desperate housewives, How I met your mother. (almost embarrassed to admit:()

[SacRedMan]

Death Note: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jv5j-ztIlt0

Anime serie with one of the best storylines ever! :thumbup::thumbup1:

[El Chuncho]

'Monty Python's Flying Circus', the original 'Doctor Who' (especially the 80s when it mixed leftist politics in) and 'Fall of Eagles'.

[praxis1966]

The most surprisingly good show in recent memory for me has to be The Walking Dead. Mad Men has been a pretty interesting time capsule, though the last season or so got a little soap opera-ish. I gotta say I really liked Boardwalk Empire even though it's essentially The Sopranos set during Prohibition... But I have a feeling that it'll probably disappear after season two, probably because HBO will find it's just too damned expensive to continue (a la Rome and Carnivale). I hate to admit it, primarily because they're on a Rupert Murdoch owned station, but The League and Rescue Me are pretty damned decent as well.

As for network shows, the only ones I watch anymore are The Big Bang Theory (aka nerdy Friends), Parks & Recreation (aka The Office v. 5.0), and Community (aka college Friends) which is just sorta ok. Can't bear to watch 30 Rock anymore; the writing's gone to shit this season.

[Gorilla]

the original 'Doctor Who' (especially the 80s when it mixed leftist politics in) and 'Fall of Eagles'.

http://tansyrr.com/tansywp/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/tom-baker.jpg

If this guy isn't a Trot, then basically Trots don't exist. "The Horror at Fang Rock" is one of the masterpieces of Marxist social criticism.

[Pirate Utopian]

Adventure Time.
It's a show about a kid named Finn and his friend, a dog named Jake, who go on adventures and save princesses.

It sounds really childish but it's so funny.
eSLv4fxUm-o

[The Man]

I like miniseries more.. Like John Adams, or The Rise of Evil...

The office, Pawn Stars are pretty good too..

[Ele'ill]

Whose Line Is It Anyway- the outtakes are all available on youtube as are the 'Best Of' videos from it- there's like 27 of them each about ten minutes long. When I smoke I'll watch one.

[Anarchrusty]

I liked 30 rock from the sun back then, I am sure it is still in rerun somewhere. Basically, it's a sitcom about an alien family that are stranded on earth and have to see how to adapt to contemporay life in planet earth.
It is foremost funny, but more importantly glimpses ironicly into the strange mechanisms that embarge on our fabricated days here with satyrical impunity.

Oz was another good one, as it showed us the harsh reality of an American prison system hell bent on keeping us divided into little cliques.

[Kassad]

I've been a House addict for years because I'm a huge fan of the Sherlock Holmes novels and there's a lot of parallels. Aside from that, I catch some Adult Swim once in a while when I'm getting ready but bed, but I'm not much of a Tv guy.

[Proukunin]

Dexter is the shit. If you don't know what it is it's about a blood analysis who is in turn a serial killer that kills serial killers. it's funny, gory, serious and everything else. In fact im about to watch it lol.

[NoOneIsIllegal]

Pawn Stars are pretty good too..
The raging anarkist in me (so intense!) dislikes the fact that these guys make a living by simply buying something and then selling it for profit. Talk about lazy petite-bourgeoisie.
But the easily amused American in me still partially likes the show.

[synthesis]

The raging anarkist in me (so intense!) dislikes the fact that these guys make a living by simply buying something and then selling it for profit. Talk about lazy petite-bourgeoisie.
But the easily amused American in me still partially likes the show.

I think pawn shops make most of their money by basically taking people's shit as collateral for a loan then selling it back to them with interest.

[F9]

Dexter is the shit. If you don't know what it is it's about a blood analysis who is in turn a serial killer that kills serial killers. it's funny, gory, serious and everything else. In fact im about to watch it lol.

Nice show, ended some time now...Waitting for 6th season, cause frankly 5 was by far the worst!Dexter won me cause it was the first series to keep its interest for 4 series straight, while most others usually lose their interest in 1-2 seasons, see Prison Break who had the BEST first season ever, but especially last season was fucking stupid...Beside that, i still watch House, its an interesting series out of the normal shit we see, but i also see Chuck, comedy+action= win and they nailed it in this series, i mean its not a great series, nothing like PB etc but its at least watchable instead of the rest crap that we get like 30 rock, big bang, sunny in philadelphia and shits like that i didnt care more than 2 minutes.

[PhoenixAsh]

* How I met your mother (easy feel good don't have to think)

* Criminal minds (easy feel good...o...wait... )

* Dr Who 2005+

* Better off Ted (yes...ultimate reactionary but very, very funny )

* Firefly :-)

* V (both)

* and the one with the body language cop thing: Liar? But I keep missing it.

[Chimurenga.]

Code Geass was a great anime series with an anti-colonial/revolutionary plot.

[praxis1966]

* Better off Ted (yes...ultimate reactionary but very, very funny )

See, I think that show is mildly reactionary from the standpoint that its central character is a middle manager, but that's about it. The entire rest of the thing is satirizing (and sometimes outright mocking) corporate criminals and corporate culture. A whole lot of shit talking about corporations' anti-worker attitudes as well as their disregard for the environment and indeed human life goes on. Ultimately, if anything, I'd characterize its writing and themes as liberal.

As you can tell, I was a fan in its very brief run, lulz...

[x359594]

Some TV series I remember as consistently good were anthology programs (apparently there are no anthology shows being aired today; I'm not a much of a TV watcher.)

The Twilight Zone had very good scripts and directors, same for Alfred Hitchcock Presents and the Alfred Hitchcock Hour (some fine short stories were adapted in this series from writers ranging from Ray Bradbury to Davis Grubb.) Not quite in the same league but still quite good were The Outer Limits and Thriller.

[bcbm]

i just started sons of anarchy its pretty good

[Johnny Kerosene]

I've always liked Law & Order for some reason, despite it being about the pigs and the legal system. Maybe it's because Sam Waterson is awesome.

[synthesis]

See, I listed American Dad because I thought it was actually surprisingly good. Like your average douchebag, I didn't give it a chance ("plagiarissimo di plagiarissmo") until I saw that people were taking it seriously on the AV Club, then I shed my preconceptions and sought to be entertained, and was fulfilled.

The Wire? Not surprisingly good. Best TV show of all time, yes, but not surprisingly good. No one is surprised by how good it is. I'm on my fourth watch-through and I know I'll need another to really be satisfied with my comprehension of it.

[Die Rote Fahne]

Fringe. I believed it was going to be an xfiles ripoff.

I love the show. It has its minor similarities, but its story and mythology is much different.

Amazing show.

[Tablo]

The Office was better than I expected. I actually enjoyed the first few seasons.

[praxis1966]

The Office was better than I expected. I actually enjoyed the first few seasons.

Which one?

[Il Medico]

Law and Order.

[Plagueround]

I've actually gotten really into the new(er) Battlestar Galactica lately. I'm only on season 2 though, we'll see how it turns out.

[Gorilla]

Fringe. I believed it was going to be an xfiles ripoff.

I love the show. It has its minor similarities, but its story and mythology is much different.

Amazing show.

Damn, I got 6 episodes on DVR I gotta watch now.

[Blackscare]

GnYoyCgFKSI


This scene reminds me of Khad, he'll know why. :cool:


Anyway, I love party down, especially Roman's character haha


Only two seasons though.



By the way, for context, this is Party Down catering a porn award show, the closest he ever gets to getting laid, fucking it up for the sake of his craft.

[Snacsnoc]

Last summer, I started watching Mad Men, Oz and Breaking Bad. All great series that I would recommend. Also, The Sopranos is also quite good.

[Magón]

When it first came out, I wasn't all about it because it was animated, and I'm not really into animated shows, but Archer is really funny.

[28350]

Lost is great art.

[Bardo]

Whose Line Is It Anyway- the outtakes are all available on youtube as are the 'Best Of' videos from it- there's like 27 of them each about ten minutes long. When I smoke I'll watch one.

Drew Carey has a new improv show on GSN. It features members of the cast from the US version of Who's Line... and sometimes a few from the UK version.

[Rooster]

I've never been one for contempory American TV shows. I think they're too slick looking which just puts me off for some reason. Although, there have been a few UK tv shows that I found enjoyable. I'll try to remember them..... er..... 15 Storeys with Sean Lock, Garth Marengi's Dark Place, The Might Boosh........ yeah, I've probably written all of them with spelling mistakes.

[praxis1966]

I've never been one for contempory American TV shows. I think they're too slick looking which just puts me off for some reason. Although, there have been a few UK tv shows that I found enjoyable. I'll try to remember them..... er..... 15 Storeys with Sean Lock, Garth Marengi's Dark Place, The Might Boosh........ yeah, I've probably written all of them with spelling mistakes.

Meh That's just 'cause you're only used to seeing the ones that actually make it abroad, like the shit HBO makes and CSI and shit. There's a lot of other stuff that actually looks like it was a Dogme 95 project or something.

[Philosopher Jay]

"Arrested Development" was generally hilarious. I couldn't watch it when it was on air as I missed the first ten episodes and had no clue what was going on when I tried an episode or two. After it had been off the air a few years, I watched each episode in order from the beginning on Hulu and loved it. It was about a dysfunctional capitalist family with tons of incest, gay, Bush-Cheney, and meta-narrative themed jokes.

[Philosopher Jay]

Hi x359594, "The Twilight Zone" had many progressively themed episodes.
Anti anti-communism: "the Monsters are Due on Maple Street" "Number Twelve Looks Just Like You" "Four O'clock,"
Anti-racist: "Eye of the Beholder," "The Big Tall Wish" "I am the Night, Color Me Black"
Anti war: "Two" "A Quality of Mercy" "In Praise of Pip" "Time Enough"
Anti-fascist "The Old Man in the Cave," "He's Alive" "Little People"
Anti-witch hunt: The Last Rites of Jeff Myrtlebank
Climate Change Warning: "The Midnight Sun"

"Maple Street," "Number Twelve" and "Eye of the Beholder" are my favorites.

There were also several reactionary episodes.
Anti-communist: "The Whole Truth" "The Obsolete Man" "the Mirror"
Religious Mystification: "The Howling Man"
Anti Alien: "To Serve Man"
Anti Poor: "The Hitch-hiker"

Although reactionary, the last three were quite scary and well done.

"Alfred Hitchcock," "Outer Limits" and Boris Karloff's "Thriller" were generally great with many progressive and thought provoking episodes each.

[sokpupet]

I love "Burn Notice" on USA network. Love, Love, Love it!

[Philosopher Jay]

Young people might want to invest $20 in a complete 143 episode DVD set of "The Adventures of Robin Hood." It was the first show produced in England that ran in the United States. It was on CBS from 1956-1960.

Many of the shows were written by black-listed American communist writers. Their socialist sympathies are lightly disguised in this series. The title song sings "Robin Hood, Feared by the Bad, Loved by the Good, Robin Hood." Most episodes are surprising, witty, and charming. Some resemble beautiful fairy tales, some are forerunners of the popular suspenseful spy movies and television shows of the 1960's.

Among the directors was Terrence Fisher who directed the the best Hammer horror films like "Brides of Dracula." A producer was Sidney Cole who went on to produce "Secret Agent," the best spy television series of the 1960's with the legendary Patrick McGoohan. Many of the episodes of the amazing "the Avengers" television series were also directed by directors from this series, including director John Chaffey who also made the classic film "Jason and the Argonauts," (1963). Another director was Lindsay Anderson who made the great 1960's pop/anarchist film "If."

Richard Greene doesn't act the part of Robin Hood, he lives it. Watch four or five episodes and you can't imagine anybody else in the role. The supporting cast who play Maid Marion, Little John, Friar Tuck, the wicked sheriff of Nottingham and other assorted merry men are delightful.

If you want to have a happy disposition and be cheerful, I recommend watching two of these 24 minute episodes a day.

[brigadista]

currently on bbc the crimson petal and the white

[x359594]

..."The Twilight Zone" had many progressively themed episodes...There were also several reactionary episodes...

I think it reflects Rod Serling's Cold War liberalism, given that he produced the show and wrote almost all of the episodes.

I snipped your list of outstanding episodes, but I agree that the ones you singled out are exemplary.

Apparently the anthology show is no longer commercially viable these days. It's unfortunate.