# Hit TV Shows you didn't watch "live" but caught up with on DVD or Netflix **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 27, 2011, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hit-tv-shows-you-didnt-watch-live-but-caught-up-with-on-dvd-or-netflix/587035 "2011-06-27T16:33:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![RachelChristine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/7ab992/32.png) [@RachelChristine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RachelChristine)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2011, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hit-tv-shows-you-didnt-watch-live-but-caught-up-with-on-dvd-or-netflix/587035/21 "2011-06-27T20:28:44Z")
I’m ready to start the last season of **Buffy** and **Angel** , which I finally sat down to watch a few months ago. My husband started watching **Castle** not too long ago while away on a trip, so we caught up this winter. **Bones** we have watched off and on for several years, but always on streaming or hulu, and still aren’t totally caught up. **Heroes** , until we just couldn’t take it anymore, was always a buy the season and watch it all at once. **30 Rock** , **The X-Files** , and plenty more too! ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2011, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hit-tv-shows-you-didnt-watch-live-but-caught-up-with-on-dvd-or-netflix/587035/22 "2011-06-27T20:58:52Z")
Archer Breaking Bad Chuck Dead Like Me Dexter Eastbound and Down Firefly Flight of the Conchords Freaks and Geeks Justified Mad Men Modern Family Pushing Daisies True Blood Veronica Mars Wonderfalls **On the queue:** The Wire Deadwood Six Feet Under ---
**Author:** ![Push\_You\_Down](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/push_you_down/32/9095_2.png) [@Push\_You\_Down](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Push_You_Down)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2011, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hit-tv-shows-you-didnt-watch-live-but-caught-up-with-on-dvd-or-netflix/587035/23 "2011-06-27T21:46:20Z")
> [@Jophiel](#): > > My wife watched something like five or six seasons of How I Met Your Mother within a week’s time using the cable “on demand” service. Whatever season this last one was, it’s the first she saw “live”. My wife did the same thing. She is breezing through the episodes right now. She’s going to have withdrawal when she’s run out until the new season. ---
**Author:** ![bmasters1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/b5e925/32.png) [@bmasters1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bmasters1)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2011, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hit-tv-shows-you-didnt-watch-live-but-caught-up-with-on-dvd-or-netflix/587035/24 "2011-06-27T22:17:09Z")
Does this thread include series that are long-past and considered classics? Hopefully it does, as I never really got into the original “Hawaii Five-O” before I started getting the DVD releases four years ago. Since then, I have esteemed it one of my most favorites. ---
**Author:** ![River\_Hippie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/river_hippie/32/26_2.png) [@River\_Hippie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/River_Hippie)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2011, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hit-tv-shows-you-didnt-watch-live-but-caught-up-with-on-dvd-or-netflix/587035/25 "2011-06-27T22:32:26Z")
All of the big ones. I don’t have cable and I enjoy watching a good series at my pace, one episode a night or maybe an all night marathon. ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2011, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hit-tv-shows-you-didnt-watch-live-but-caught-up-with-on-dvd-or-netflix/587035/26 "2011-06-27T22:33:29Z")
> [@bmasters1](#): > > Does this thread include series that are long-past and considered classics? Hopefully it does, as I never really got into the original “Hawaii Five-O” before I started getting the DVD releases four years ago. Since then, I have esteemed it one of my most favorites. Indeed it does include those oldies. “Hit TV Shows” that you missed the first go-round but managed to get caught up on by way of other media. (I left off the On Demand option on the title and OP but others have corrected for that oversight.) The main issue is being able to use the “catch up” tools we have today instead of hoping for reruns that somebody else controls. But even those ways of getting “caught up” are worth noting, if you want. Make it easy on yourself. Maybe a mention of a show will trigger someone else’s memory. ---
**Author:** ![stegon66](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee59a6/32.png) [@stegon66](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stegon66)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2011, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hit-tv-shows-you-didnt-watch-live-but-caught-up-with-on-dvd-or-netflix/587035/27 "2011-06-27T22:40:01Z")
Hadn’t watched much tv in a long time but decided to start watching The Big Bang Theory, Doctor Who, Fringe and The Sarah Connor Chronicles on DVD. Well, I guess the latter wasn’t much of a hit. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![bmasters1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/b5e925/32.png) [@bmasters1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bmasters1)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2011, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hit-tv-shows-you-didnt-watch-live-but-caught-up-with-on-dvd-or-netflix/587035/28 "2011-06-27T23:42:45Z")
> [@Zeldar](#): > > Indeed it does include those oldies. “Hit TV Shows” that you missed the first go-round but managed to get caught up on by way of other media. (I left off the On Demand option on the title and OP but others have corrected for that oversight.) > > The main issue is being able to use the “catch up” tools we have today instead of hoping for reruns that somebody else controls. But even those ways of getting “caught up” are worth noting, if you want. Make it easy on yourself. Maybe a mention of a show will trigger someone else’s memory. Thanks for the confirmation! With that in mind, there are quite a few others that I missed when I was younger, one of them being “Hardcastle and McCormick,” the 1983-86 ABC action/adventure series starring Brian Keith and Daniel Hugh-Kelly. I didn’t see it then when it was on ABC, but by way of the DVD releases from VEI of Toronto, I got to enjoy all of what I missed, and I now have all three seasons of it. It is, at least to me, as highly esteemed as “Five-O” is. ---
**Author:** ![CanvasShoes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/74df32/32.png) [@CanvasShoes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CanvasShoes)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2011, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hit-tv-shows-you-didnt-watch-live-but-caught-up-with-on-dvd-or-netflix/587035/29 "2011-06-27T23:56:16Z")
Lost. I didn’t start watching it until it had been on air for three years. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2011, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hit-tv-shows-you-didnt-watch-live-but-caught-up-with-on-dvd-or-netflix/587035/30 "2011-06-28T00:08:56Z")
_Fringe_. When it first came out, I went with other shows of a similar vein. They were cancelled. As _Fringe_ seems to have gained intrigue as it went along, I decided to retry it, and was glad I did, especially all in one go. Took me two months to watch them all. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2011, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hit-tv-shows-you-didnt-watch-live-but-caught-up-with-on-dvd-or-netflix/587035/31 "2011-06-28T00:14:42Z")
X-Files Six Feet Under (but only the first 1.5 seasons because it turns out that I grew to hate **all** of the characters) Ideal (since they’re up to series 7 now, I assume it’s a hit) Dead Like Me ---
**Author:** ![KennerTheGreat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/a8b319/32.png) [@KennerTheGreat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KennerTheGreat)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2011, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hit-tv-shows-you-didnt-watch-live-but-caught-up-with-on-dvd-or-netflix/587035/32 "2011-06-28T00:44:41Z")
I caught up with Doctor Who, but not on DVD or Netflix. Series 1-4 aired four nights a week on Space (rough Canadian equivalent of Syfy), with a re-airing the following morning. The first episode I caught was “Turn Left,” and then after the two-part series 4 Finale "The Stolen Earth / “Journey’s End,” it cycled back to “Rose.” ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2011, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hit-tv-shows-you-didnt-watch-live-but-caught-up-with-on-dvd-or-netflix/587035/33 "2011-06-28T00:52:13Z")
> [@elfkin477](#): > > X-Files I made a sincere effort to get into the _X-Files_ thing by way of DVD, but somewhere along the way, from a combination of a really bad cold and some really funky episodes, I just threw in the towel and haven’t resumed the process since then. I think _Fringe_ has picked up the spirit of the show well enough for me not to regret not being an authority on the older show. ---
**Author:** ![boytyperanma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4491bb/32.png) [@boytyperanma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/boytyperanma)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2011, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hit-tv-shows-you-didnt-watch-live-but-caught-up-with-on-dvd-or-netflix/587035/34 "2011-06-28T00:58:03Z")
I record a huge amount of shows but with some of them I don’t watch until a second or third season comes out. So they’ll be eating up drive space for a year or two before I commit to watching them or just deleting it. I’m getting better recently, having more free time and I’ve been watching more current television.(only a week or two behind) A few I just caught up with recently were The Wire, and West Wing. After getting used to these stupid 9-12 episode seasons catching up on West Wing was daunting, 22 episode seasons makes for a hell of a lot of catching up to do. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2011, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hit-tv-shows-you-didnt-watch-live-but-caught-up-with-on-dvd-or-netflix/587035/35 "2011-06-28T01:14:30Z")
I attempted _Farscape_. I got 1.5 episodes in, decided it was horrendously awful, and gave up. One day I may try the complete _Stargate_. It seems to have been a generally decent show. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2011, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hit-tv-shows-you-didnt-watch-live-but-caught-up-with-on-dvd-or-netflix/587035/36 "2011-06-28T01:20:42Z")
Babylon 5 ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2011, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hit-tv-shows-you-didnt-watch-live-but-caught-up-with-on-dvd-or-netflix/587035/37 "2011-06-28T01:31:05Z")
Curb Your Enthusiasm Life on Mars (BBC) ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2011, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hit-tv-shows-you-didnt-watch-live-but-caught-up-with-on-dvd-or-netflix/587035/38 "2011-06-28T01:33:21Z")
Psych Making progress with Top Gear and its relatives. ---
**Author:** ![FordTaurusSHO94](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f07891/32.png) [@FordTaurusSHO94](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FordTaurusSHO94)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2011, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hit-tv-shows-you-didnt-watch-live-but-caught-up-with-on-dvd-or-netflix/587035/39 "2011-06-28T02:23:09Z")
Deep Space Nine Battlestar Galactica Curb Your Enthusiasm How I met Your Mother Coming up: Voyager Enterprise ---
**Author:** ![Knorf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/58956e/32.png) [@Knorf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knorf)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2011, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hit-tv-shows-you-didnt-watch-live-but-caught-up-with-on-dvd-or-netflix/587035/40 "2011-06-28T02:46:48Z")
Buffy the Vampire Slayer Angel Battlestar Galactica Weeds Monk South Park Mad Men Slings and Arrows (not a hit show, but frakking great) Extras The Office Pretty much all the TV we watch is not from broadcast TV. Frankly, I don’t understand why anyone bothers with broadcast TV except for sports. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hit-tv-shows-you-didnt-watch-live-but-caught-up-with-on-dvd-or-netflix/587035.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hit-tv-shows-you-didnt-watch-live-but-caught-up-with-on-dvd-or-netflix/587035.md?page=3)