I’ve recently joined Zip.ca (Canadian Netflix), and have discovered the joys of TV shows on DVD - no commercials Yay! I’m looking for some more to add to my rental queue. To give you an idea of what I like, here’s some programmes from my queue.
Comedies - Simpsons, Futurama, Yes Minister, Are You Being Served, Father Ted, Frasier, Ellen, Seinfeld, Red Dwarf, Blackadder, Kids in the Hall, Only Fools and Horses, Keeping Up Appearances, Jeeves and Wooster - Why, yes I do like British comedies!
Dramas - Cold Feet, Sopranos, Carnivale, Freaks and Geeks
Suspense/Mysteries - Monk, Columbo, Hetty Wainthropp Investigates, Cracker, Prime Suspect
Informational - Mythbusters, Penn & Teller’s Bullshit
Basically, I tend to like quirky and humorous programs and well-done mysteries best. So, please recommend programs that you think I might like.
For quirky and humorous, I would suggest Wonderfalls. It was a short-lived show on Fox about a year ago that was quickly canceled after only four episodes aired.
I recently bought it on DVD, and the set contains all 13 episodes that were filmed. It’s funny and quirky and touching.
It’s about a 24-year-old girl named Jaye who works at a tourist trap-ish gift shop at Niagara Falls. After nearly choking on her lunch and being hit on the head with a quarter that a tourist was throwing in the fountain (it’s funny, believe me), inanimate objects suddenly start talking to her - but no one else can hear them. First, it’s a little misshappen wax lion trinket at her store, then it’s a brass monkey bookend at her mother’s therapist’s office. They tell her to do things to help people, but they’re rather cryptic and unclear. It’s up to Jaye to figure out exactly what to do.
It all works out in the end, of course.
Buffy and Firefly, I’m working on Angel and I sometimes watch (the rental place near me has the first season, so I’m slowly working through it) American Dreams.
I third Firefly. Just finished watching the last episode last night and I feel it’s one of the most smartly written shows in a long time. Figures it was cancelled.
All four seasons of Mr. Show with Bob & David. One of my favorite skit shows.
And a related DVD - Tenacious D with Jack Black and Kyle Gass. I wouldn’t watch the whole thing but the original six shorts that aired on HBO are some of my favorite watching pleasures. I can’t say enough good about them, especially “Angel in Disguise”. And if you’ve seen Jack Black in other things and didn’t like him, please don’t let that stop you, this is great stuff. If you try just one thing on my list, this is it.
Another show from HBO - Curb Your Enthusiasm with Larry David. It gets better and better with each season. They’re up to season three on DVD.
It doesn’t get much quirkier than The Tick. Another show lived show from Fox (see Firefly and Get a Life). Don’t like it as much as the cartoon but those aren’t available on DVD as of yet. Still a great show - “A secret message, from my teeth!”
And the great Get a Life from Chris Elliott. Didn’t care for him much on David Letterman but he really shines on this show. Some people love it, some hate it but it’s worth a look. There are a couple of DVDs out, not all the episodes are available but I’ll take anything I can get.
I’m in the middle of watching I, Claudius and find it thoroughly entertaining. It might be up your alley.
Gilmore Girls would definitely qualify as quirky. I would also recommend anything that Jennifer Saunders has a hand in, ie Absolutely Fabulous and French and Saunders. I can also highly recommend Father Ted. That one had me laughing alot. Also The Vicar of Dibley is alot of fun too.
Go the Red Dwarf and Jeeves!! I like you tastes. I would also suggest coupling (later ones are better than early ones but you kinda need to see the background to understand it properly) and The Mrs Bradley Mysteries (I think this is finaly out on DVD).
My default suggestion on any of these threads: Sportsnight - Aaron Sorkin’s two-season comedy before embarking on West Wing (which itself should certainly be on any self-respecting Netflix/Zip list) The writing is sharp and witty in both. Sportsnight has some of the best actors that have just skimmed under the radar all of their careers (right now three are making careers as regular TV characters: Felicity Huffman on Desperate Housewives, Peter Krause on Six Feet Under, and Josh Molina graduated from Sportsnight to West Wing. Sabrina Lloyd was on Sliders (another suggestion if sci-fi works for you) before Sportsnight, Josh Charles is probably best known as one of the kids in Dead Poets Society, and of course the Sportsnight boss is played by the illustrious Robert Guillaume, perhaps best known as Benson.)
Since you listed Simpsons and Futurama, I’d recommend Family Guy, as well as God, the Devil, and Bob and perhaps the live-action Greg the Bunny.
(I seem to have a penchant for shows that can’t last more than a season or two)
Those are my top choices, as well as the gritty cop drama The Shield (starting its fourth season tonight at 10, hooray!)
A friend of mine is going to make me watch Freaks and Geeks, Firefly, Buffy, and Angel on DVD to convert me into a fan–she loves all those, but I never got around to watching any of them. I also look forward to watching Sports Night and Scrubs (season 1, coming soon) so I can see what I missed. There were a few years (mostly in the late '90s and early '00s) where I didn’t watch any TV except for Simpsons, South Park, and wrestling, so I apparently missed some quality programming.
1: Spaced Incomparably brilliant.
2: Black Books which is merely hilarious.
3: I’ll get back to you.
Have you seen Johnathan Creek? If Adrian Monk had no phobias, was a magician instead of an ex-detective, lived in a windmill. . . OK so it’s not that similar to Monk, but it is quirky tales of a odd chap and his female side-kick solving peculiar/impossible crimes and has the same sort of tone.
My g/f is a fan of British mysteries, so I can offer you some suggestions there. Midsomer Murders is a well-done “cozy” series, set in the fictitious (and blood-soaked) Midsomer County. The show maintains a light touch even as bodies pile up and it’s pretty good fun. Along the same lines, The Mrs. Bradley Mysteries with Diana Rigg take place in the '20s and feature Rigg as a liberated widow flapper/amateur slueth who frequently breaks the fourth wall and directly addresses the viewer; to be frank, it’s a little too precious for me, but that’s the beauty of Netflix—it doesn’t cost you anything to find out for yourself. Rather more meaty is The Inspector Lynley Mysteries, an “odd couple” mystery series (he’s a noble, she’s working class) that features some fine character work along with the whodunnit. And if you’ve never seen them, you simply must check out Granada’s Sherlock Holmes series with Jeremy Brett playing the title role. (I’d suggest starting with The Return of Sherlock Holmes.)
I like you tastes. I would also suggest coupling (later ones are better than early ones but you kinda need to see the background to understand it properly) and The Mrs Bradley Mysteries (I think this is finaly out on DVD).