The Best TV Show Ever

For someone who watches no television 'live' (as it were) whatsoever, excepting F1, obviously, I'm something of a closet fan of dramatic fiction as delivered within the varying constraints of commercial television. Obviously I accept that, beyond the BBC, PBS and whatever Australia and Canada's public service broadcasters are, the sole purpose of a TV show is to generate advertising revenue for the network but I believe that that major constraint can often bring out the best in a team of writers, and the directors, actors and editors that transfer the writers' vision to the screen.

I was a big fan of HBO's Rome when that was on, although in retrospect it is more tame than it seemed at the time and there was often more emphasis on humour than drama.

I did watch SyFy's BSG, too, as I think Westy may have done, but became disenchanted as it degenerated into afternoon soap opera. Scandalously, it was allowed to continue to its final fifth season (or four if you count the last two years as one season) while far superior science fiction-based dramas were cancelled after one (Firefly) or two (The Sarah Connor Chronicles).

Reaching back to more artsy British TV drama, Alan Bleasdale's G.B.H. has long held a place in my heart for exceptional performances in a tragedy on a Shakespearian scale. Rome led us back to I, Claudius, which I'd probably dabbled with as a youngster but took more seriously as an adult. I found it a tad dry and ineffectual so long after its original airing.

I'll mention Mad Dogs in passing but, although I really enjoyed it, that's more to do with being a fan of Majorca than anything. I've yet to dabble with The Sopranos, The Shield or The Wire, and I'll probably steer well clear of Game of Thrones (I read the first chapter of the cretin's first book and was appalled, plus he's meant to be an horrific misogynist).

Mad Men will probably be next for us but the flavour of the month is a show that has just started its fifth and final season and is widely regarded among the top four shows so far produced on TV, and by some as the best show ever - and it's the primary reason for this thread (in the hope of enticing fellow fans into a discussion on its merits... secondary reasons are to draw attention to other quality shows).

[video=youtube;erZqsV5UJpM]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=erZqsV5UJpM[/video]​

Anyone else a fan of Breaking Bad, or of any other TV drama?

 

Josh Weldon was obviously a big Blakes 7 fan, and nicked loads, even the design of the ship bears a striking resemlence to The Liberator. Rome S1 & S2 were excellent, only really saw S1 of BSG (in one night) far better than the original IMO. Programs that were cancelled far too early IMO were Tales of the Golden Monkey which I loved as a kid, it was a bit like 'raiders of the lost Ark'. More recently, Stargate Universe, which was easily the best of the franchise, but because it was 'yeah, woooo, U.S.A. U.S.A. Lets blow **** up, kill the freaks and get back for bacon and eggs' it got canned far too early. (as you may notice, I'm more of a sci fi fan.
If you havn't ever seen it The Wire is excellent, I only started watching it midway through S3, but got hooked immediately.

 

I dont really watch too much TV other than F1 and possibly Family Guy. Ussually im doing something else / working / Xbox or watching a film.

 

I guess the Recommend-a-Movie thread needs to be ported over somehow...

Back on off-topic... did anyone catch that Hit & Miss show? I like Chloë Sevigny and that looked suitably screwed up.

I enjoyed the reimagined The Prisoner, too. As well as changing plot points to make it more relevant in a post-cold war world, it was a lot more menacing and hopeless than the original, which I never really got on with.

 

My favourite tv shows ever are probably (in no particular order):

• Mad Men (Best Drama Series I have ever seen)
• The Sopranos
• American Dad/Family Guy
• Futurama/The Simpsons
• Community
• House
• Breaking Bad
• How I Met Your Mother
• Arrested Development
• Old British comedies like Blackadder, Fawlty Towers, etc
• Freaks and Geeks
• Dexter

There are probably others I am missing.

 

Actually, who here ever watched 'garth marenghi's darkplace'?

 

My favourite tv shows, in no real order;

Magnum PI
TopGear
Arrested Development
NCIS
Miami Vice
Blackadder
Have I Got News For You.

 

A-Team.

 

I don't think I mentioned Boss in the O.P. It's well worth a watch - only eight episodes to catch up on before Season 2 begins in August (I think).

If the point of Breaking Bad is to push the audience to find out when they stop rooting for the main character, there is no such objective in Boss. As reprehensible as Walter White has become over four seasons, there is worse on display in Boss, with nary a single redeemable quality in any character. Echoing Michael Murray's inability to distinguish the difference between acting to consolidate his own power and acting to improve the lives of his constituents, Kelsey Grammer's vicious bastard Mayor Tom Kane is despicable from the start and has already committed greater atrocities than Walt seems capable of, including his use of Lily of the Valley.

 

No one has mentioned The Big Bang Theory funniest thing I've seen in years.

also no Star Trek, Space 1999, Captan Scarlet (original) and not sure if it was ever on British TV but Nowhere Man was great

 

We did a run of sitcoms over the past year (the excellent Curb Your Enthusiasm, the brilliantly offensive Eastbound & Down, 30 Rock, Psychoville, Modern Family, Bored to Death and the wonderful Veep). Didn't get round to The Big Bang Theory before the hankering after modern drama kicked in but we'll get onto it over the winter, along with How I Met Your Mother, Freaks and Geeks (Seth Rogen fan) and Arrested Development. Comedy's another matter, though.

I've never heard of Nowhere Man. Do you mean this? Looks interesting, especially from Wikipedia's genre classification.

 

Never heard of it. Looks intriguing. It's not utterly crap is it? I loved The IT Crowd and obviously Nathan Barley was an all-time classic but is Darkplace, in fact, a seminal work, in the sense of him not being very good yet?

Has anyone watched Submarine?

I've got Community waiting there, too, as mentioned by Masanari, and of which Ayoade directed an episode.

What are people's thoughts on Chevy Chase? Is he the obnoxious purveyor of cliché I perceive him to be or does he have comedic merit? I've never really seen him in anything I like, apart from 'You Can Call Me Al'.

 

Its crap but crap on purpose. Its a spoof on a low budget early 80s drama. The bad acting and rubbish props /SFX are hilarious.

 

yeah, It was on TV when I was living in Portugal (gotta love Portuguese TV, no dubbing), caught a few episodes and wanted more, but left for Ibiza about a month after and never saw it again.

 

My favourites in no order:
Family Guy
Masterchef Australia (only because I know one of the contestants on it)
TopGear (U.K.)
NCIS (original)
Big Bang Theory
How I Met Your Mother
Futurama
MASH
Burn Notice

 

I sometimes watch New Girl and 2 broke girls but only for the reasons I find them hot...

 

Shows I watch are:

- Big Bang Theory
- Blackadder
- Dexter
- Game of Thrones
- Family Guy
- American Dad
- Futurama
- Red Dwarf
- Scrubs

A fair mixture there. Always mean to watch Mad Men. Seen a lot of good things said about it.

 

Not sure I like the look of 2 Broke Girls but my g/f watches New Girl. I'm not a massive Zooey fan so I didn't really pay attention.

I got hold of Darkplace. We'll have a gander over the weekend.

Anyone else fancy explaining why they like particular shows?

 

Crap i forgot to put Batman: the animated series on my list.

 

How could I forget The Dukes of hazzard with Roscoe P Coultrane, kud yud yud yud

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-f3CFzahrRs