# Recommend a tv series to watch over the summer **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 2, 2010, 12:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-tv-series-to-watch-over-the-summer/545293 "2010-07-02T12:15:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2010, 12:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-tv-series-to-watch-over-the-summer/545293/1 "2010-07-02T12:15:05Z")
Lately my husband and I use lazy summer nights to catch up on good tv series that we don’t have time to watch during the school year. In the past we’ve watched Battlestar Galactica, Firefly and rewatched The West Wing. We’ve watched Lost in real time, so that’s out. So- any suggestions for shows On Demand or DVD? sci fi, drama, comedy, it’s all good. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2010, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-tv-series-to-watch-over-the-summer/545293/2 "2010-07-02T14:37:07Z")
How about the latest incarnation of the _Dr Who_ series? ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2010, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-tv-series-to-watch-over-the-summer/545293/3 "2010-07-02T14:40:07Z")
Burn Notice. ---
**Author:** ![Casey1505](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dc4da7/32.png) [@Casey1505](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Casey1505)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2010, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-tv-series-to-watch-over-the-summer/545293/4 "2010-07-02T14:41:43Z")
[Life.](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0874936/) ---
**Author:** ![Smeghead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2010, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-tv-series-to-watch-over-the-summer/545293/5 "2010-07-02T15:12:06Z")
I’m in the middle of catching up on Chuck. It’s not a must-see show, but it’s good fun. ---
**Author:** ![jali](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ecae2f/32.png) [@jali](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jali)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2010, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-tv-series-to-watch-over-the-summer/545293/6 "2010-07-02T15:14:42Z")
The Big Bang Theory ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2010, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-tv-series-to-watch-over-the-summer/545293/7 "2010-07-02T15:21:46Z")
Well, as a summer series, I’m quite enjoying “Lie to Me.” I’m a huge fan of “Supernatural,” too, and it’s not just for the eye-candy. 🙂 For sitcoms, we found two new ones from last year to be much better than we expected - “Modern Family” and “Cougar Town.” ---
**Author:** ![SevenOfTeemingMillions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/76d3ee/32.png) [@SevenOfTeemingMillions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SevenOfTeemingMillions)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2010, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-tv-series-to-watch-over-the-summer/545293/8 "2010-07-02T15:39:15Z")
I second **Cat Whisperer** on Supernatural. Aside from the horror/supernatural theme which I love, the show has great humor. And most episodes feature great classic rock songs. Eureka is also a wonderful sci-fi show with wonderful humor. ---
**Author:** ![Staale\_Nordlie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Staale\_Nordlie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Staale_Nordlie)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2010, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-tv-series-to-watch-over-the-summer/545293/9 "2010-07-02T15:40:02Z")
The Middleman > **[The Middleman (TV Series 2008) ⭐ 8.1 | Comedy, Drama, Sci-Fi](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1122770/)** > > 43m | TV-14 [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/ErwMV4kXXfc/maxresdefault.jpg "The Middleman: The Complete Series - DVD Trailer") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ErwMV4kXXfc) Better off Ted > **[Better Off Ted (TV Series 2009–2010) ⭐ 8.2 | Comedy, Sci-Fi](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1235547/)** > > 30m | TV-PG [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/cg0eS6cv6bg/hqdefault.jpg "better off ted promo2") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cg0eS6cv6bg) ---
**Author:** ![salinqmind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3ec8ea/32.png) [@salinqmind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2010, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-tv-series-to-watch-over-the-summer/545293/10 "2010-07-02T16:00:12Z")
My fallback answer to these things is always HBO’s “Carnivale”. It is remarkable if you like eerie. Though it was cut off in it’s prime, you can always ignore the last 5 minutes (where it should have been continued) to get closure. ---
**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2010, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-tv-series-to-watch-over-the-summer/545293/11 "2010-07-02T16:04:12Z")
These sound great! I think Carnivale sounds particularly good. ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2010, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-tv-series-to-watch-over-the-summer/545293/12 "2010-07-02T16:13:07Z")
I’ll weigh in with my usual recommendation: [Breaking Bad](http://www.amctv.com/originals/breakingbad/about/). Three seasons have been shown (two available on DVD so far); season four doesn’t premiere until July 2011. Extremely well-written, well-acted, and gripping. You will thank me one day. mmm ETA: From the link: > [@](#): > > Breaking Bad follows protagonist Walter White (Bryan Cranston), a chemistry teacher who lives in New Mexico with his wife (Anna Gunn) and teenage son (RJ Mitte) who has cerebral palsy. White is diagnosed with Stage III cancer and given a prognosis of two years left to live. With a new sense of fearlessness based on his medical prognosis, and a desire to secure his family’s financial security, White chooses to enter a dangerous world of drugs and crime and ascends to power in this world. The series explores how a fatal diagnosis such as White’s releases a typical man from the daily concerns and constraints of normal society and follows his transformation from mild family man to a kingpin of the drug trade. ---
**Author:** ![AuntiePam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2010, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-tv-series-to-watch-over-the-summer/545293/13 "2010-07-02T16:53:32Z")
**The Wire** – aka “The Best Drama on TV Ever”. If you don’t have time for five seasons, I’ll second **Breaking Bad** and **Carnivale** and add **Mad Men** and **The Shield**. I suppose you’ve watched **Buffy** and **Angel**? ---
**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2010, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-tv-series-to-watch-over-the-summer/545293/14 "2010-07-02T16:54:42Z")
Mad Men is on our regular must watch list. Breaking Bad looks good! ---
**Author:** ![Max\_Torque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Max\_Torque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_Torque)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2010, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-tv-series-to-watch-over-the-summer/545293/15 "2010-07-02T18:14:48Z")
**Dexter**. Great series about a serial killer, who works with the Miami metro police as a blood spatter expert. Series 1-3 are on DVD now, the fourth coming in August, and the fifth series starts on Showtime in late September. ---
**Author:** ![palindromemordnilap](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/db5fbb/32.png) [@palindromemordnilap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/palindromemordnilap)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2010, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-tv-series-to-watch-over-the-summer/545293/16 "2010-07-02T18:16:32Z")
My favorite recednt series: **Rome.** Conceived as just two seasons, 20 episodes in all, great from a historical perspective as well as fantastic characters, story and sets. Nomination for recent comedy series: **Flight of the Conchords**. You won’t mistake it for any other show you’ve seen. Breaking Bad and The Shield are really good dramas too. My favorite sci-fi series (after ST:TNG) is Farscape. Lower budget than most but the plot will suck you in and never let you go. Best current comedies on TV are 30 Rock and Big Bang Theory. ---
**Author:** ![tr0psn4j](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/958977/32.png) [@tr0psn4j](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tr0psn4j)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2010, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-tv-series-to-watch-over-the-summer/545293/17 "2010-07-02T18:44:30Z")
> [@Staale\_Nordlie](#): > > The Middleman > [The Middleman (TV Series 2008) - IMDb](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1122770/) > [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ErwMV4kXXfc](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ErwMV4kXXfc) I’d like to second The Middleman. It was such a fun little show. ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2010, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-tv-series-to-watch-over-the-summer/545293/18 "2010-07-02T18:49:52Z")
I’m ready to start Season 4 of HBO’s _The Wire_ as soon as my wife gets caught up on Season 1. (She started late and we’ve seen Seasons 2 and 3 already, but she wanted to go back and be in on the origin of stuff.) Our past few summers have been spent doing what you’re doing and because we didn’t have Showtime at the time, we caught up on _Weeds_ and \* Dexter\* and then signed up for the network to keep up with things. Before that we did similarly with _Grey’s Anatomy_ which for the first few seasons was good TV. It’s gone to pot nowadays, so you may not want to do the whole thing. The biggest surprises and most fun have been the AMC shows _Mad Men_ and _Breaking Bad_ which we had missed because AMC had gone to heavily commercial interrupted movies and had driven us away. It took folks here saying to catch those shows before we finally broke down and got the Netflix catch-up discs. We’re keeping up after those summer sessions and can’t wait for the new seasons. If and when _Justified_ gets out on DVD it’s a must. Another FX series to be sure you see is _Sons of Anarchy_ which resumes in September. But by far the best FX show is the now-defunct _The Shield_. Other HBO shows I can endorse are _Rome_ and _Carnivale_. ---
**Author:** ![prettydorky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f04885/32.png) [@prettydorky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/prettydorky)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2010, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-tv-series-to-watch-over-the-summer/545293/19 "2010-07-02T18:59:25Z")
I checked, but I didn’t see anyone suggest Dexter. I suggest it! ---
**Author:** ![tr0psn4j](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/958977/32.png) [@tr0psn4j](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tr0psn4j)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2010, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-tv-series-to-watch-over-the-summer/545293/20 "2010-07-02T19:01:11Z")
> [@prettydorky](#): > > I checked, but I didn’t see anyone suggest Dexter. I suggest it! [Check](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=12643193&postcount=15)[again](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=569345). 🙂 [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-tv-series-to-watch-over-the-summer/545293.md?page=2)