TV Chat & Recommendations

[M.Steiner]

Don't worry I'm not gonna start one of these threads for everything imaginable lol
Those of you who know me well will know I'm am avid watcher of tv dramas. Usually following a stupid amount of shows on top of my weekly anime.
Nowadays I tend to hold off from starting new shows unless they're from a network like HBO or AMC, where at least from my experience, you can usually expect exceptional quality at least 90% of the time and a much smaller risk of something getting axed.

Anyway, when my viewing schedule starts to calm down each year when my shows start coming to an end I usually go around looking for lists like this to get recommendations for what to try next. Figured it'd be nice to start one here since I'm sure some of you guys will have a title or two on your list which I haven't seen and same likewise. Like I know for a fact that Anny, for example, has only watched (from beginning to end) 2 of the shows in my top 10 and one of those he actually recommended me (BSG). Neither of which are my top 4 which I consider to be essential viewing either.

I'm not a big sci-fi lover as you'll see from my list, not that I don't like sci-fi at all I'm just very picky with it. (Like: The X-Files and Fringe which are more unexplained phenomena/paranormal and BSG won me over as it was very character driven and full of twists like Lost but not "too" spacey.).

Here's my list:

#1 The Sopranos (Probably the most controversial ending to a tv series ever, I thought it was bloody genius. Tony Soprano remains one of the greatest characters on tv and is my #1 fav too)
#2 The Wire (This is some good sheeeiit. Another must watch.)
#3 Six Feet Under (Also a fav of mine when it comes to finales. The finale for SFU couldn't have been more perfect, beautiful.)
#4 Breaking Bad (Walter White (aka Heisenberg) - Up there with Tony Soprano imo. Incredible acting from Bryan Cranston. An amazing show through and through.)
#5 Mad Men (L.A. Noire used the same casting directors as Mad Men and so many of the fantastic actors from the show make appearances in the game, including Cole Phelps himself (Ken Cosgrove in MM). If you liked the acting in that you know what to expect. - Don Draper is also another fav character of mine.)

If you haven't seen these shows then you're seriously missing out on some of the greatest television you're ever likely to see. Give em a chance from ep1 and I pretty much guarantee that you won't be disappointed. If for some crazy reason you are then just turn away cos I don't want to see your face!
A few of the shows below, like "Lost" which I'll use for this example, I'm not claiming to be one of the best written, acted or directed shows ever created but are more a fav on a personal level. The shows above however are both and for me there are very few which meet that kind of quality or manage to come even remotely close. Shows like The Wire don't get a 9.5 on the IMDb for no reason. When people have talked about tv shows on IRC before today these are the ones I *always* list

#6 Lost (Far from perfect when you get down to things but I haven't been as obsessed about any other show as much as I was with Lost when it was airing. Big lover of twists and fan speculation and Lost never let me down with these for half a decade <3)
#7 Twin Peaks (Probably the weirdest show you'll ever see but in a good way!. The inspiration behind Bright Falls in Alan Wake)
#8 The Shield (Quality wise it's not up there with The Wire but it's still a fantastic show.)
#9 The X Files (For the main mythology eps rather than the "monster of the week" filler)
#10 Dexter (Michael C. Hall (also plays a main character in Six Feet Under) plays the awesome Dexter. Blood spatter analyst by day, serial killer by night. Like a tv drama version of Death Note.)
#11 Game of Thrones (Quite hard to believe you're watching a tv series at times. - Tyrion ftw)
#12 Battlestar Galactica (Great twists even though I managed to guess a few of em, slightly disappointing towards the end, would still highly recommend)
#13 Life on Mars (Almost everything on this list is American. Music aside, when it comes to our British drama shows they are usually shite tbh. This one was fantastic.)
#14 Homeland (Think this is the newest show on my list. First season got great ratings so I doubt it'll get cancelled thankfully. S2 will air in September. Really gripping stuff)
#15 Fringe (Nearly gave up on this during the first season but decided to stick it out a bit, love it now. Walter Bishop is another one of my favs, some great twists in this too. ~ Do not go reading up on this one as you will be spoiled)
#16 Damages (I discovered this one after watching "The Shield", since Glenn Close did a guest role in that for one season. She is the main character of Damages and is utterly brilliant.)
#17 The Prisoner (Some great 1960s British sci-fi/spy drama here. Have recommended this to a couple of people before today, reminds me of classic Doctor Who)
#18 Spooks (Early seasons were stronger than the later ones I thought, the Lucas focused season aside (S9 iirc?) which was one, if not the best. Could also be quite predictable at times but still great on the whole)
#19 House (Not a show I'd consider for my top 5 or 10 personally and the format of the show could be extremely repetitive but for characters Hugh Laurie as House is right up there with the best.)
#20 Veronica Mars (Started to run out of steam towards the end but I hope we get a movie one day. Worth the watch just for Kristen Bell)


Comedy-Drama & Sitcoms below
I was going to add shows like Curb your Enthusiasm to my list above but then when I started thinking about all the other comedy drama/sitcoms I wanted to add on there too it was starting to get stupid so I'm putting them here instead lol.
[spoiler]#1 Fawlty Towers
#2 I'm Alan Partridge
#3 The Office (Original)
#4 Phoenix Nights
#5 The League of Gentlemen
#6 Curb your Enthusiasm
#7 Californication
#8 Peep Show
#9 Louie
#10 Blackadder

Could add plenty more but will leave it at that.[/spoiler]


Anyone got any specific recommendations that you'd say are up there with the likes of The Sopranos, The Wire or the others in my top 5? - Obviously you'd need to have seen those to say ofc heh.
Feel free to list a top 5,10,20, whatever you're happy with. Looking forward to seeing what the rest of you guys list and hopefully discover some hidden gems in the process!

[Ozone]

I've never been a big TV fan but, saying that, when I get into a show I'm like a crack addict on heroin lookin for booze.

So, over the past few years, in no particular order:
Battlestar Galactica (till the end)
Dexter (till season 4)
Breaking Bad (Currently watching, this fraggin rocks, entering into season 4 now)
The Walking Dead (Currently watching, lovin it as much as BB, and have read the graphic novels, so looking forward to next season)

On the burner:
Game of Thrones (just bought season 1 on DVD)***
Sons of Anarchy (lined up in Netflix)

There ya go.

***Note on Game of Thrones...
I was quite surprised when I saw that Game of Thrones was written by George Martin, then I thought it must be another George Martin than I was thinking of. Why? Because I read some of his Wild Card series a few years back, only because I found them at a dollar store and I had no reading material at home. I found his writing simple, often pandering, asinine at times, and quite average, though it did flow quite nicely. But, seems it is the same guy. I'm guessing he's improved quite a bit over the past few years. May buy the first GoT novel just to check it out.

[M.Steiner]

Lets see..

• Dexter - Ahh season 4. This was by far one of the best seasons of Dexter for John Lithgow's portrayal of the Trinity Killer. Not sure if you've seen until the start or end of S4 so I won't spoil anything for ya but my god.
• Breaking Bad - Great to see someone else watching this besides myself and BD!. Season 4 was incredibly good but this final season we're on atm is just getting f'kin crazy. Enjoy the ride!
• The Walking Dead - This one didn't make my list but I do watch and enjoy it. I did feel that one particular storyline dragged on a little too long though but at the same time I suppose the ending reveal of that arc was made more effective because of it. Wouldn't say it's in the same league as a show like Breaking Bad personally but the end of season 2 was pretty darn fantastic. ~ Would highly recommend TWD adventure game series from Telltale if you haven't played that btw. One of the best things I've played this year.
• Game of Thrones - Another fantastic show. It's not surprising really considering my top 3; The Sopranos, The Wire & Six Feet Under are all HBO shows too. I haven't read any of the books myself (and the only George Martin I knew of before I started watching the show was the British record producer/engineer/composer who worked with The Beatles) but the show has been absolutely brilliant. I think having not read any of the books worked to my (and my brothers) advantage tbh, at least for first time viewing of season 1. Neither of us knew what to expect so certain events were much more surprising.
• Sons of Anarchy - This is something I've been meaning to watch as the creator of it also worked on The Shield.

Anyone else got any lists/recommendations to share? We can't be the only two people

[Rock-n-Roll]

One thing I can say about Game of Thrones that I can;t say about most shows based on novels is that it is extremely true and accurate to the book. Maybe a bit more gratuitous nudity, but other than that, spot on.

[Anubis]

Not really a big 'drama' fan myself - I've always been more Sci Fi inclined. So this list is more 'top tv shows' than 'top tv drama shows'. Forgive me?

1) Stargate SG1 - Probably my favourite show of all time (Seasons 1-8. Both 9 and 10 were basically a different show, and should not be counted as part of SG1 imo). Not only is my username taken from there, but I loved it so much that I ran an RP for it for 4-5 years. Not felt anywhere near inclined to do anything of the sort for any other show. If you haven't watched this, you're a living crime against humanity.

2) Spooks - Such a great show, and probably the only decent British show that's been made in years. It wasn't all that strong for the first few seasons imo, but when Tom got phased out and they changed the format to "an arc a season" it became a really fantastic show. It was at its best in its last 4-5 seasons, though the second to last season which focused on the Lucas North character was the best they made. Utterly superb.

3) Firefly - Whedon's best work. A great universe filled with great characters, and truly compelling TV. So sad that it was axed so quickly, but at least Serenity was a worthy sequel.

4) Star Trek Voyager - Probably the best Star Trek series to watch (though sadly one of the most underappreciated), I really enjoyed the majority of Voyager. They had some really interesting characters and developed them well (unlike TNG who didn't develop their characters at all, or DS9 who focused so much time on developing them that it put you to sleep), whilst balancing that with a loose overarching plot and good stories. You could kind of feel towards the end of Season 7 that they didn't care so much about the show though, as Enterprise had already been green lit by then - some of the decisions made in that period weren't the best. Happily the post-series novels put this right for the most part.

5) Stargate Atlantis - The only Stargate spinoff that is true to SG1's roots. Whilst Atlantis never really got to the heights that its parent show attained, it had a good go and it got better every year. In its last season it was an incredibly good show, with multi season arcs that they'd set up and had running over several years. In fact, Atlantis was probably the best show in this list when it comes to plot arcs. It really handled them well, and at the end you never really knew when what you were watching would be revisited down the line. Sadly, as with Voyager, it got axed when its sequel (Stargate Universe) got green lit. Universe was an absolutely terrible show too, which quickly got axed itself. Sad that Atlantis was decommissioned by MGM so that they could make such a Lost/BSG inspired failure.

6) Battlestar Galactica - Seasons 1 and 2 only. After that they went on a crusade to ruin the characters (Baltar in particular) and change what the show was. It wasn't necessarily a bad show by the end, but it was significantly worse a show than it was during the first two seasons when Baltar particularly was in his prime. In fact, now that I think about it, Baltar was really the main reason this show was awesome.

7) Farscape - Probably the most 'Sci Fi' show of all time. What a wierd and wonderful universe this show created. It had probably one of the best Sci Fi bad guys of all time in Scorpius, and was a really enjoyable show all round. Peacekeeper Wars was also a great conclusion to the show after its cancellation, but really it's another show like Firefly - it's a crime this was ever axed.

8) Andromeda - Seasons 1 and 2 only. After that the show was taken over by a new production and writing team who ruined it. Still, those first two seasons were very strong and it WAS a good and enjoyable show whilst they lasted.

[Chimera]

Currently I've been watching Mad Men and Grimm. I've come to like both so I expect they'll be cancelled shortly.

[M.Steiner]

Currently I've been watching Mad Men and Grimm. I've come to like both so I expect they'll be cancelled shortly.

Not seen Grimm so can't comment on that but season 6 of Mad Men is already guaranteed at least and there will probably only be 7 seasons in total according to Weiner. It has already won 4 Emmys for outstanding drama series on top of a ton of other awards plus Mad Men, Breaking Bad & The Walking Dead are AMC's biggest shows. There's no way they'd axe it before Weiner has told his story
Can quote me on that if I turn out to be wrong but I'd be astonished and disgusted if they did. Enjoy it though, it's a fantastic show

/me goes to see what Grimm is about

[Ozone]

OK, dilema...

I just finished watching Season 4 of Breaking Bad, and was on the edge of my seat for the last 4 episodes, literally. This may be one of the best written and acted shows I've ever seen (to this point). As a refresher for any who have watched, season 4 ends at the old folks home with Gus straightening his tie to gasps from the nurses.

Now, I had access up to this point on Netflix, if I want to continue I have to follow on terrestrial, and I have access to Season 5.
But, and its a big but (insert snicker)... The end of Season 4 was perfect. It was closure on the previous 47 excellent episodes.

I've seen some adverts for further seasons where Mr. White appears to be on his road to kingpin territory, which seems to present the end of season 4 as the closing of 'Part 1: The Cook', possibly followed by further seasons revealing, 'Part 2: The Rise'.

Now, I love shows with closure, regardless of the closure itself (See Battlestar Galactica and Sopranos). I hate shows that take excellent entertainment and drive it into becoming more complex and shoddily written as time passes, in an attempt to flog a dead horse for every advertising cent its worth (see X-Files).

So, for those in the know. Is this relationship with Jesse and Walter worth continuing? Or must I tell the TV, 'Its not you, its me, I've been hurt before and can't commit. Its better that we end this while its good, before i detest you.'

[M.Steiner]

I just finished watching Season 4 of Breaking Bad, and was on the edge of my seat for the last 4 episodes, literally. This may be one of the best written and acted shows I've ever seen (to this point).

. Too right my friend, too right. It's a goddamn travesty that it isn't shown in the UK and that it's not very well known over here because of it. I really hope that once the show has concluded that Sky Atlantic will pick it up and add it to their already awesome lineup along with The Wire/Sopranos/Mad Men/Game of Thrones etc. So many Brits missing out on such an unmissable show.

Anyway. Season 5 is the final season if you didn't already know that. This is actually airing similar to how the final season of The Sopranos did. Meaning the season has been split into two parts, Part 1 (8 episodes) to air this year and Part 2 will be aired next year. The last episode of Part 1, which was pretty much a midseason finale and an awesome one at that, aired just this Sunday so you've just got 8 more episodes to watch and you're all caught up and ready to watch the final 8 as they air next year!
I obviously can't vouch for part 2 of season 5 yet but BD & I have been absolutely loving part 1. I find that BB has been one of those rare shows which hasn't continually dipped in quality as it went on. Infact take that one scene with Walt in the crawl space from season 4, for me that was not only one of the best moments of that season but of the entire show as well. It's not often I find myself thinking that in other shows which are as close to their end as this tbh.
So yep, definitely continue to watch. I don't want to spoil anything at all for ya but you won't be disappointed by the next 8

[Lee]

i'll back you up on sky atlantic, easily the most watched channel on my sky box (other than the footy)

the only tv series i own on physical media is west wing, which is probably why i'm enjoying the newsroom at the moment. The last program i watched 'properly' was walking dead (FX on sky started the coming soon ad campaign). i have enjoyed it and will watch the new season, i watch it as a realistic survival series and get brain ache when they runaway from abandoned military (weapons and supplies) etc. I hope it doesnt turn in to a character analysis like so many shows, starts with an interesting premise and just kinda 'stops' - i understand there has to be development or you lose interest but its the reason to watch medical drama number 6 instead of number 2.

game of thrones has to be well worth anyones time, if you look up the additional characters for S3 i am sure you will be expecting more of the same. (not the most famous names but easily recognisable faces)

loved the impact of BSG, sad it couldnt maintain the high level throughout. perhaps i just became accustomed to it... as it went on it just seemed to lose some 'energy', i cant really quantify it.

when it comes to sitting about watching the old telly box i have to say its nearly always comedy.. caught most of Sons of Anarchy, didnt really drag me in.. does have some moments. dont think i empathise enough to do drama, can get involved with the comedy angle much more...

just looked up breaking bad - looks like a serious 'weeds'. never heard of it before this thread. seems to have some very good reviews, though no mary louise parker..... if it ever does pick up over here (blighty) then i will probably give it a look based on the feedback

edit: i think bbc's re-imagined sherlock should also be included, that gets watched when its on!
also, early dexter... theres only so long you can do the serial killer angle, obviously. theres been quite a few very watchable arc's across the 5/6? series, lost it recently though.

[M.Steiner]

when it comes to sitting about watching the old telly box i have to say its nearly always comedy.. caught most of Sons of Anarchy, didnt really drag me in.. does have some moments. dont think i empathise enough to do drama, can get involved with the comedy angle much more...

If you like your comedy give Curb a try if you haven't already mate. Sky Atlantic had this as their launch lineup which was actually when I started watching it, they'll no doubt be running repeats of that at some point in the future if they aren't already. Worth catching if/when they do!. <3 Larry David.

NSFW:

Not sure whether Sky Atlantic will pick Breaking Bad up as well, they did get the rights to air Mad Men so maybe they'll look a little further and grab BB too since both are from AMC. I do hope so as I say. If not though I'd see if you can get hold of it another way. Brilliant telly.

As for Dexter. There's 2 more seasons left now which are season 7 and 8. S7 starts in just a couple of weeks now and it should be very interesting viewing methinks. [Massive S6 spoiler below]

Show

Pretty much the moment we all knew would come, finally arrived with the season 6 finale. The dynamic has completely changed from this point on now.

I've literally just started watching Sherlock as well so hopefully I will continue to enjoy that. Only watched the first episode so far!

[Ozone]

Here's 4 minutes of pure epicness from Breaking Bad:

[M.Steiner]

ahahahah

[Anubis]

Doesn't appear to be on anyone's list, but has anyone watched The West Wing?

I picked it up a couple of weeks ago now and am enjoying it quite a bit, but considering the popularity and profile of it I'm surprised it's not made any of the lists here. Just curious for anyone who's watched it

[M.Steiner]

The West Wing didn't seem like my kinda show tbh. I've seen adverts and promos for it over the years but the idea of it never really interested me enough to pick it up and I'm not a huge lover of politics to begin with. Plus as you know I'm usually watching a ton of other stuff at any given time as it is so I try to pick things carefully and which I can see myself enjoying lol.
I may give it a go at some point given how popular it was and how highly some people speak of it, but I do know others speak less so too. Popularity isn't always a good sign for tv either I've found, some of the most popular tv shows (take "24" as an example as this was extremely popular for many, many years) are actually pretty crap for the most part when you start to examine them and compare them to what else is out there. Whether it's the writing, poor scripts or acting or just in general. (Though in 24's defense the very early seasons were actually pretty great imo. Just not so much as it went on. But even in the beginning it had *nothing* on The Wire). As mainstream tv popularity goes they can be a bit like your Call of Duty's in gaming heh. Not always though.

Others here have seen West Wing though, yep:

22:05 @Cyph • You ever watch West Wing?
22:05 @BlackDove • Yeah, I caught about a third of the west wing as it aired randomly on TV.
22:06 @BlackDove • It never genuinely interested me because it's really Sorkin's bullshit soap box.
22:06 @Cyph • lol
22:07 @Cyph • Well it is set in a democrat's white house
22:07 @Cyph • whihc makes me rage
22:07 @BlackDove • It's done okay, but the whole thematic is braindead. Everyone's contributing to make America so great and blah blah blah blah drama blah.
22:07 @Cyph • but it's still a very well done series
22:07 @BlackDove • Yeah, I'll agree. West Wing's actors are all good, etc. I just mind the democrat themes and the pushing of this.... reality that doesn't, and never has existed.
22:08 @BlackDove • Besides.
22:08 @BlackDove • I've seen.....
22:08 @BlackDove • That film.
22:08 @BlackDove • Where Douglas and Benning....
22:08 @BlackDove • Michael J Fox is in it too.
22:08 @BlackDove • And the chief of staff is the guy in West Wing.
22:08 @BlackDove • I think that was Sorkin's as well.
22:08 @BlackDove • That film is essentially west wing, so I didn't give a <censored>.

etc.
It's good to see that you're enjoying some western tv drama though. As I've said to you before in the past, there's a lot of shite out there just like there is for anything but there are some true gems out there too, you just have to know where to look and be selective. Wait till you see just how good they can be, western tv will become much more appealing to you then I am sure

You may have seen a few of us (BD, Kahn, myself) talking about "The Newsroom" some months ago too. That's Sorkin's latest show, Sky Atlantic were airing it too though it concluded last month unless they're running repeats. It's good but there are tons of other shows I'd recommend over it.

Speaking of repeats actually. Since I commented the other day about it being a shame that you stopped watching the Sopranos and hadn't gone back to it, Sky Atlantic have only just finished airing the entire series from when I first gave you it and I started my rewatch of it too (it was that long ago heh). However, I just noticed ysterday that they've started running the series from the beginning again and are literally just 1 or 2 eps into season 1 if you're interested. It's up to you but there aren't many shows of that calibre and its rare excellence from shows like that, The Wire, Breaking Bad, Mad Men, Six Feet Under etc that keep me watching tv cos sometimes, and not always that often, something truely special comes along like that. Don't get me wrong, I still get enjoyment out of other shows...but when you put them up against the likes of those there's just no comparison as they're in a completely different league.

(oh and those repeats I mentioned are Wed at 9. Just 1 episode a week. Forgot to say)

Though the same example can be put to anime really. Not all of it is good but when you happen to come across something so incredibly well done, a lot of what you've seen before it, which you thought was pretty great at the time, just doesn't always seem that great anymore (but still good). It raises the bar of what you expect from others and becomes your new benchmark in a way. If that makes sense heh. You'll hopefully see what I mean with western drama shows one day but this is how I find it at least. You haven't seen the best of the best yet and in a way I'm a little jealous of ya, being able to experience some of those for the very first time and all

If I give the West Wing a try btw I will make sure to let ya know what I think mate. Also if you're going to be picking Homeland up which you mentioned on IRC a day or two ago, will be fun to have someone else watching that each week. It's a great show (if you haven't seen any or all of season 1 yet avoid spoilers!)

(apologies for the lengthy post btw. Seem to have a habit of it atm heh)

[Anubis]

Decidedly less of a positive response than I was expecting heh. Will be interesting to see how I feel when I finish the show I think, in comparison to those views. Only a few episodes in right now after all.

Also, I know, I know! I'll get back to The Sopranos eventually! Probably

[M.Steiner]

I'll have to see how I find it when I eventually come to giving it a try!. As far as political dramas go (or shows which feature things of that nature) I haven't watched many really, I'd say The Wire is probably the furthest I've gone in that direction as it's not something that generally interests me enough to watch an entire series. Whilst politics aren't the main focus of The Wire (it also focuses on the police department, the drug business, school system etc), they do play a part and in one particular season more so when Carcetti is running for mayor, also deals with stuff like corruption too.
That being said it would be unfair of me not to watch it and see what I think at some point, afterall I never thought I'd like BSG either and shrugged that off for ages until you recommended it hehe. I'll see how many shows I've still got on the go once a couple of my current ones come to an end again then maybe check this out. Can't hurt

Just out of curiosity, was it catching the West Wing on tv or something that piqued your interest into exploring some more western/US tv drama's mate? Or another show you caught or something?. Just know from our many chats over the years that it has never really appealed to you, seems like a bit of a (good) U-turn when you were on about possibly picking Homeland up as well lol. Be interesting to know if it was one show in particular which changed your mind and made you realise what you'd been missing?. Or just thought you'd give something new a go?. Great feeling when you find a new show you end up loving, wish I could go back and watch some of my list for the first time again haha.

[Anubis]

Just out of curiosity, was it catching the West Wing on tv or something that piqued your interest into exploring some more western/US tv drama's mate? Or another show you caught or something?. Just know from our many chats over the years that it has never really appealed to you, seems like a bit of a (good) U-turn when you were on about possibly picking Homeland up as well lol. Be interesting to know if it was one show in particular which changed your mind and made you realise what you'd been missing?. Or just thought you'd give something new a go?. Great feeling when you find a new show you end up loving, wish I could go back and watch some of my list for the first time again haha.

Actually, it's neither

I've deliberately been trying to take an hour or two a day away from the PC lately to make time for other things, and as part of that process I've picked SG1 up once again for a rewatch since it's been a few years since I last saw it. I mentioned this at work, as well as how the last 'new' show I'd watched was Lost, and a friend happened to mention that he had just started doing the same thing with The West Wing. I had heard of it before but didn't really know anything about it, so he explained and it really struck a chord with me as sounding like something I'd like (being very politically minded as you know). So I picked up the pilot and tried it, and it's sprung from there really.

So actually, it's the best show that's ever been made (SG1) that's got me into both it and Homeland in a roundabout way

Also, I wouldn't go so far as to say I recommend it just yet - I don't think I've watched enough to do that! I am enjoying it, but it's still very much a "final judgement reserved" for now, so make of that what you will

[Anubis]

Can I bump this and put Hunted in here? One of the best shows I've watched in years.

Criminal that it's not gotten a second season. Stupid people can't appreciate intelligent shows that make you think... Hope it manages to continue on in some form!

[M.Steiner]

The Beeb are just silly really, they don't know when they're onto a good thing tbh. I suppose it's not a big surprise when there are shows like Breaking Bad which have been running for just short of 5 years now in the US, one of the greatest tv drama shows there is, and yet no UK tv network has realised what they're missing and bothered to get the rights to show it over here. Crazy ~ Hopefully it's only a matter of time before Sky Atlantic see the light cos if there's any channel that goes on to show it I'd put my bets on Atlantic, they usually see sense when it comes to quality tv. Most of which comes from HBO & AMC.

Cinemax and the creators still want to move forward with Hunted in some form though from the link you gave me earlier, and I've just seen it quoted on a few other sites just now too so things still look at least a little promising.
I dunno how far up my list Hunted would go, and it wouldn't come anywhere near the top 5 that's for sure, but it has grown on me every week and has been some really good tv. Have really been looking forward to Thursday nights so it will be a shame to see it go with next weeks finale. Sure it hasn't been perfect and it did have some room to grow but they could have really pulled it out of the bag with a second season I think. Hopefully they'll still get a chance to do that but without the BBC behind it too, which could work out as a positive as they won't be as restricted then. Fingers crossed

I will have to edit my list at some point too as there are 1 or 2 shows I forgot to include when I wrote it, plus another which may get included somewhere once I've watched some more but not sure yet. Will bump if/when I do!

[Anubis]

Also adding House I think. Utterly addicted to that show right now, and I only picked it up because I recognised the name on Sky Atlantic and had an hour to kill till SG1 too...

Boxset is already ordered for Christmas.

[M.Steiner]

It was a good show but not one I'd stick in my all time top 10 or anything, still, great to see you are enjoying it too!. It was part of my tv schedule for many years.
They kinda ran out of ideas towards the end and as much as I loved watching Hugh Laurie as House, had they kept it going much longer it would probably have done more harm than good for the show. They made the right decision ending it on a good note when they did. Good/appropriate ending too, although not one of the best I've seen.

If you're ordering yourself some boxsets for Christmas mate do yourself a favour and get this one too. Amazon are selling it quite cheap atm as it usually costs 50-60 quid.
Side note: If you're anxious about spending money on a boxset for a show you've never seen an episode of before, don't be. I blind bought it myself after seeing its 9.5 rating on IMDB and reading many reviews. It's one of the greatest television series you'll see. Period.
Trust me

[M.Steiner]

This seems like the appropriate place to ask, but has anyone been watching Blood & Chrome by any chance? The BSG prequel?
I completely forgot about it until just a sec ago when I came across a link relating to it. I'd still like to give it a try like I planned to and judge for myself but just curious to know if any of you have been watching and how've you been finding it? Hopefully better than the shite that was Caprica?
Can watch it here if anyone else is interested. Eps are short too with it being an online series so I may check it out this weekend, will see

[Isileth]

I have the first one in my bookmarks to get round to watching at some point but havent so far, must admit I didnt know about it till it was launched and still dont know anything about it even now. I will get round to watching it at some point.

[M.Steiner]

Well I watched all of BSG B&C last night as the final episode came out yesterday. For the format it was in it was actually pretty good I thought. Not as great as the main series was for me (later seasons/ending aside), not a show I'd add to my list above either but worth a watch and certainly better than I remember Caprica being. I very rarely drop games, tv shows or anime generally as I like to finish everything I start but Caprica was one of the few shows I did drop heh.
Story is pretty straightforward really but considering the short length of each episode (all 9 come to just over 1hr 30mins) it wasn't like I was expecting something particularly deep or anything, kinda felt like a light version of BSG in a way. It'd be nice if these webisodes lead to a full-fledged sequel with proper 45min episodes but I'm not sure what the likelihood of that happening is since I've only just remembered these and so haven't seen how well they've gone down with everyone else.

Bit weird seeing Luke Pasqualino playing Adama at first as the only other show I knew him from was Skins a few years ago. Wasn't as bad as I was expecting though. Only other complaints would be that they went overkill with the lens flare effect for some scenes enough for it to annoy me and they overused "frak" a bit too much too imo. Mebbe they thought by having people say it so much the show would have that familiar BSG feel but it wasn't needed.
CGI pieces were very good for what they were too I thought, but didn't always "fit" if that makes sense. Some looked like they'd come out of a video game or something instead.

Worth a watch for you BSG fans anyhow. Lengthier episodes would have helped but with it being a web series ya can't really ask for much more really. Would recommend watching them all in one go rather than spaced out but since they only amount to the length of a single movie it's not like they'll take you long to get through heh