Recommend some good TV for my Buffy/Angel withdrawals

Cafe Society
1

I bought the DVD sets for Buffy and Angel awhile back, and for the last couple of months I’ve been spending several hours a night blissing out on commercial-free TV goodness.

The problem is, I’m finished, and the cravings aren’t going away. Every night around 8-ish, I think to myself: man, some Buffy/Angel would be really nice right now. Then I remember the cold, hard truth: There is no more Buffy/Angel. Ever.

So I’m hoping you can recommend some other good TV shows, preferably available on DVD so I can devour them at my own ravenous pace. I discovered some of my favorite shows on this board, and I have the feeling that a lot of Dopers share my sensibility when it comes to art and entertainment. Plus Dopers are smart folks, and while most of you probably aren’t as picky as I am, I’m pretty sure the majority of you won’t put up with the paint-by-numbers pablum that passes for 90% of TV.

As far as genres go, I’m open to anything, as long as it’s well-written, although I’m a little sick of cop/doctor/lawyer dramas. And I’ve never cared for reality shows, so that’s probably out.

Very few shows have managed to keep my interest for more than a few episodes. Off the top of my head, the ones that stand out are Buffy/Angel/Firefly, the Sopranos, Deadwood, Futurama, the Simpsons (the first couple of seasons anyway), Northern Exposure, South Park, and MST3K. I was a moderate Star Trek TNG fan when I was a kid, but even then I though it was hokey, and I found the spinoffs unwatchable.

Here are some shows I should like but couldn’t get into: West Wing, ER, Six Feet Under (admittedly I didn’t give it much of a chance), Family Guy, King of the Hill, and X-Files.

A friend of mine whose judgement I trust recommends HBO’s Carnivale, but I’m told it has a David Lynch feel to it, and surrealism gets on my nerves.

Thanks. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

2

For rapid-fire, crackling dialogue, check out Sports Night. It’s from the creator of The West Wing, Aaron Sorkin, and it’s smart, subtle humor. Even though you said you didn’t like West Wing, give it a try.

For a compelling mystery with likeable characters, check out Veronica Mars. It may look insufferable from the commercials you’ve seen on TV – mostly pretty, mostly rich teens getting into trouble – but the first season is a tightly-crafted mystery that works as both a weekly, episodic series and an ongoing saga, much like the best seasons of Buffy and Angel did. I loved this from the opening moments, and you probably will too.

For action, check out 24. Kiefer Sutherland plays TV’s biggest badass, Jack Bauer, an antiterrorism expert who gets caught up in the worst day of his life, over and over again. The story unfolds in real time, with some ridiculous twists and turns and goofy melodrama, but you’ll cheer for Jack as he struggles to outwit both the bad guys and his own largely incompetent co-workers and family members. (This is currently on its 5th season on Fox, and the first two seasons are the best.)

For drama, check out The Shield. It’s a cop show, yes, but it’s unlike any cop show you’ve ever seen. Incredibly gritty, brutal, intense, and DARK, it features a great ensemble cast of flawed characters – nobody is truly good or truly evil, just varying shades of gray. Just watch the pilot, and if you’re not hooked by the end of that, it might not be for you. But everyone I’ve ever shown it to gets hooked after seeing the pilot. (This is currently on its 5th season on FX, and the first two seasons are the best.)

For the funniest sitcoms of all time, check out Arrested Development, Scrubs, and The Office (either the BBC or NBC versions) – all have DVD releases as well.

3

All of Lou’s that I’ve seen, I’ll second. A couple more:

Lost is superb: the story does a lot of the same stuff that makes you love Buffy (ensemble casting, weird season-long mysteries, moral ambiguities, great writing, great acting, hot actors). It doesn’t have the same comic snap to it usually (the history teacher’s an exception), but the mood it establishes is fantastic.

And if you liked Northern Exposure and Angel, you owe it to yourself to watch Wonderfalls. It’s short, like 14 episodes or something, but really enjoyable and funny.

Daniel

4

Give SFU another chance. I’ve been getting the DVDs out from the library, and IMO it’s the best drama of the decade so far.

Other recent TV I’ve seen: We got the third season of Monk out from the library, and that was cute. I used to watch this show fairly often when I had cable but hadn’t seen a lot of what was on this set. It’s an easy show to get into, not too much back story, and pretty well written for TV.

Also new-to-me on DVD: Wonderfalls. Sometimes it goes a little overboard with the quirk factor, but it’s a fun little comedy-drama show. And the first (and only) season ties up nicely, so you’re not left with a huge gaping plot thread that never gets resolved. They must have known it was getting cancelled.

I know you said you don’t like medical shows, but House is appointment TV for me. He’s one of the most interesting TV characters ever, and while the show is admittedly a bit formulaic, I really like it. It’s on Fox at nine on Tuesdays.

If you’ve never seen Arrested Development, they’re showing the final four episodes tomorrow (Friday 2/10) at eight on Fox. I don’t know how well you can jump into this show, though; I’d recommend watching the season sets in order since there are a lot of jokes that are callbacks to earlier episodes.

Caveat: I couldn’t get into Angel and am only lukewarm-to-positive on Buffy. YMMV.

5

June, for what it’s worth (I posted right after your OP), Buffy and Angel are my two favorite shows of all time, followed closely by all the ones I mentioned, plus Firefly, Simpsons, and South Park.

6

Freaks and Geeks. It isn’t anything like Buffy, except that I love it with about the same intensity.

If you liked Sopranos, have you tried The Wire? The acting is amazing. It took me a couple of episodes to get hooked, but it was worth it. You would want to see the shows in order. (It involves cops and criminals, but it’s really about the characters–nothing like Law and Order.)

7

I agree with the vast majority of suggestions here and mine is The Adventures of Brisco County, Jr. There’s so many quotes, characters, in-jokes, etc., that I can’t do justice to the series in this small space.

8

That would be awesome – I loved it too – but it is not available on DVD, and I don’t know how anyone could watch it now unless they taped all the episodes when it premiered in the early '90s.

9

that was such a COOL show! and yes it is available!

10

I’m afraid I don’t trust that. I’m a huge Bruce Campbell fan, and I never heard about any official release date, which surely would have jazzed up all the Campbell nerds on the Internet. That set isn’t carried by Amazon.com, Deep Discount DVD, or even on eBay, which makes me think it’s some kind of unauthorized (and very expensive) illegal bootleg. I would never knowingly buy bootleg DVDs, and I’d advise anyone else to proceed with extreme caution.

11

According to Bruce Campbell’s own web site , it will be coming out on dvd soon.

12

It’s not even a remotely similar show but I’m getting over my Whedon withdrawl courtesy of Boston Legal. I think it has that good mix of drama, comedy and snappy dialog that Buffy/Angel/Firefly did so well. It also has a superb cast, which helps. Unfortunately, due to some odd David E. Kelly-ism about syndication, it’s not out on DVD yet and may not ever be (although I’d be happy to be wrong about this).

13

Definitely Wonderfalls. It’s not like Buffy at all, but it does share a certain tone, and Tim Minear (Whedon’s Firefly co-creator) was one of the show runners. (Although he didn’t create it.) Plus, it has Jewel Staite (Kaylee) in the last few episodes.

The Wire is the best show on television; there can be no argument on this point. However, it’s really tough to get into – you have to watch at least the first three or four episodes to get into the rhythm of the show, which is very different than anything you’ve ever seen before.

The current Battlestar Galactica is really good, and most of it’s already on DVD. It started with a Miniseries, but the American release of S1 has the miniseries on the discs (watch it first). They’re nearing the end of S2 now, but the first half of S2 is already out on DVD in the “Season 2.0” release.

–Cliffy

14

Also with the snark and quirk is Dead Like Me, from the same production team. It has two seasons available on DVD.

I’m also very much on board with Freaks and Geeks ( teen dramedy at its absolute best ) and Battlestar Galactica ( most compelling television currently running, at least until Deadwood returns ).

Monk is enjoyable, though I personally don’t usually find them compelling enough to ever view a second time.

I liked Carnivale a fair bit and they do at least reach a resolution ( if not quite an absolute final one ) over the two seasons it was aired. I’m not sure surreal is exactly the right word for it, though I’m not sure what is. It’s chock full of disturbing visions, mysticism and weird goings on, but they are all rooted in the plot.

  • Tamerlane
15

Plus, it has William Shatner (and his toupee) :smiley:

16

Seconded by me – and perhaps more importantly, by Joss Whedon, who says it’s one of the best shows ever. He even acts in one of the season 2 episodes. It’s similar to Buffy in its complexity and setting and reworking of a familiar genre (noir, not horro), but not a Buffy clone despite the wafer-thin blonde protagonist.

Also, I third the recommendation for The Wire. Cliffy is right; it’s the best show on TV. Start at the beginning, watch three or four episodes at once, and carry on through. Simply awesome.

17

And VM also has Alyson Hannigan AND Charisma Carpenter!

18

Many thanks for all the great recommendations. Veronica Mars sounds especially interesting.

The same guy who recommended Carnivale also suggested I try HBO’s Oz. Does anybody have feedback on this show?

I’ve been meaning to check out Battlestar Galactica for awhile now. Does it come anywhere close to the pure genius of Firefly?

Thanks again.

19

Oz is intense. It’s gritty, violent, depressing, and brutal. Everyone on the show is an asshole or a monster, and it’s really hard to “like” any of them. But you probably will anyway, if you can look through all the darkness. The ensemble cast, consisting mostly of talented “Hey, it’s that guy!”-style actors, is terrific. But if prison beatings, rapes, and murders are not for you, I’d tread carefully.

20

Just popping back in to third Veronica Mars, which is fun.

Well, she does like Deadwood :p. Though granted that does have its lightening moments of grace and humour.

  • Tamerlane