# If I like upbeat fantasy TV shows Early Edition, Being Erica, Eli Stone, and Highway to Heaven...? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 3, 2018, 6:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-i-like-upbeat-fantasy-tv-shows-early-edition-being-erica-eli-stone-and-highway-to-heaven/808089 "2018-02-03T06:17:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Aquadementia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aquadementia/32/555_2.png) [@Aquadementia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aquadementia)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2018, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-i-like-upbeat-fantasy-tv-shows-early-edition-being-erica-eli-stone-and-highway-to-heaven/808089/61 "2018-02-09T01:07:41Z")
_Scrubs_ has a rather _Wonder Years_ like narration summing up the lessons learned at the end. It is much more irreverent and funny with some decidedly antagonistic and angry main characters. The main character often has an uplifting spin on things but he can be a jerk sometimes too. ---
**Author:** ![thorvitz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eb8c5e/32.png) [@thorvitz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorvitz)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2018, 5:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-i-like-upbeat-fantasy-tv-shows-early-edition-being-erica-eli-stone-and-highway-to-heaven/808089/62 "2018-02-09T05:44:57Z")
> [@Aquadementia](#): > > _Scrubs_ has a rather _Wonder Years_ like narration summing up the lessons learned at the end. It is much more irreverent and funny with some decidedly antagonistic and angry main characters. The main character often has an uplifting spin on things but he can be a jerk sometimes too. You had me at narration, which if poetic and summarizing, is a big lift.I’ll try the first few episodes on Netflix. ---
**Author:** ![thorvitz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eb8c5e/32.png) [@thorvitz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorvitz)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2018, 5:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-i-like-upbeat-fantasy-tv-shows-early-edition-being-erica-eli-stone-and-highway-to-heaven/808089/63 "2018-02-09T05:47:43Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > I suspect that, like “Pushing Daisies” (also by Bryan Fuller), the subject matter and tone might be too dark and macabre for the OP. Yes, well said, tried Wonderfalls, Dead like me, Joan of Arcadia, Pushing Daisies. They each have a very similar style, and clearly creative…but the black humor and sarcasm isn’t the right tone for me. ---
**Author:** ![Omega\_Glory](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/7c8e57/32.png) [@Omega\_Glory](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omega_Glory)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2018, 5:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-i-like-upbeat-fantasy-tv-shows-early-edition-being-erica-eli-stone-and-highway-to-heaven/808089/64 "2018-02-09T05:54:16Z")
> [@thorvitz](#): > > Raising hope i have been considering trying. It ticked off Canadian, some overlap of writers from Being Erica. Despite a nice fantasy element, it looks like it’s mainly doctor soap opera- which means cheating, blood, and depressing deaths and diseases. > > Any think worth a try? > > [Raising Hope (TV Series 2010–2014) - IMDb](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1615919/) You mean Saving Hope, and no that’s not for you. ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2018, 6:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-i-like-upbeat-fantasy-tv-shows-early-edition-being-erica-eli-stone-and-highway-to-heaven/808089/65 "2018-02-09T06:39:48Z")
> [@thorvitz](#): > > I can give up sci fi/fantasy for something good. Love Boat, for example If you liked _Love Boat_, you might also like the 1980s TV series _Hotel_ (sometimes styled as _Arthur Hailey’s Hotel_, since it is based on the Arthur Hailey novel of the same name). Like _Love Boat_, it features a solid cast of regulars, who face their own trials and tribulations as the series progresses. And it also features numerous guest stars as hotel guests, who take part in each episode’s storylines–typically, each episode contained a comedic storyline, a romantic storyline, and a dramatic storyline. Unlike _Love Boat_, however, it wasn’t always easy to tell which was which from the get-go. Admittedly, it is a little grittier than _Love Boat_, but everything still ends happily. I don’t know if it is streaming anywhere, but I was able to pick up the entire series on DVD from Amazon. I’m watching it now, and quite enjoying it. ---
**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:** [February 9, 2018, 8:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-i-like-upbeat-fantasy-tv-shows-early-edition-being-erica-eli-stone-and-highway-to-heaven/808089/66 "2018-02-09T08:38:57Z")
I enjoy _Murdoch Mysteries_, with its excellent blend of drama and comedy, with a bit of fourth-wall nudging thrown in on occasion. It may be about murders but it’s just so sweet and delightful. In its eleventh season and undoubtedly a twelfth will be commissioned soon. ---
**Author:** ![kiz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/7feea3/32.png) [@kiz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kiz)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2018, 12:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-i-like-upbeat-fantasy-tv-shows-early-edition-being-erica-eli-stone-and-highway-to-heaven/808089/67 "2018-02-09T12:09:20Z")
> [@GuanoLad](#): > > I enjoy _Murdoch Mysteries_, with its excellent blend of drama and comedy, with a bit of fourth-wall nudging thrown in on occasion. It may be about murders but it’s just so sweet and delightful. In its eleventh season and undoubtedly a twelfth will be commissioned soon. I was going to suggest this. We have an Acorn subscription through Amazon solely just because of Murdoch. One of the main characters is a coroner and occasionally there’s a scene where she’s doing an autopsy, but otherwise it’s just as GuanoLad describes. ---
**Author:** ![thorvitz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eb8c5e/32.png) [@thorvitz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorvitz)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2018, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-i-like-upbeat-fantasy-tv-shows-early-edition-being-erica-eli-stone-and-highway-to-heaven/808089/68 "2018-02-09T20:00:33Z")
I was JUST writing in to say I meant Saving Hope! Yes, that was my conclusion; despite the magical theme, I don’t want depressing deaths and bloody surgery scenes. > [@Omega\_Glory](#): > > You mean Saving Hope, and no that’s not for you. ---
**Author:** ![thorvitz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eb8c5e/32.png) [@thorvitz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorvitz)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2018, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-i-like-upbeat-fantasy-tv-shows-early-edition-being-erica-eli-stone-and-highway-to-heaven/808089/69 "2018-02-09T20:01:48Z")
> [@Spoons](#): > > If you liked _Love Boat_, you might also like the 1980s TV series _Hotel_ (sometimes styled as _Arthur Hailey’s Hotel_, since it is based on the Arthur Hailey novel of the same name). > > Like _Love Boat_, it features a solid cast of regulars, who face their own trials and tribulations as the series progresses. And it also features numerous guest stars as hotel guests, who take part in each episode’s storylines–typically, each episode contained a comedic storyline, a romantic storyline, and a dramatic storyline. Unlike _Love Boat_, however, it wasn’t always easy to tell which was which from the get-go. Admittedly, it is a little grittier than _Love Boat_, but everything still ends happily. > > I don’t know if it is streaming anywhere, but I was able to pick up the entire series on DVD from Amazon. I’m watching it now, and quite enjoying it. I’m going to get this now. I’d heard of it (sort of remember it being on the air) but had read that it was - as you write - darker, with infidelity, blackmailing, etc. as storylines. If the endings are happy, and it’s more in the vein of Fantasy Island, I could try. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2018, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-i-like-upbeat-fantasy-tv-shows-early-edition-being-erica-eli-stone-and-highway-to-heaven/808089/70 "2018-02-10T23:36:17Z")
“The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles” - each episode begins and ends with 90-something Indiana providing narration. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-i-like-upbeat-fantasy-tv-shows-early-edition-being-erica-eli-stone-and-highway-to-heaven/808089.md?page=3)