I was out of work for a few months in 2004 and the first thing to go when I pared down expenses was satellite service. I found employment and got my finances back in order, I just didn’t ever get hooked back up. Off and on, I’ve thought about getting the service re-instated, but I’ve lost touch with what’s on and obviously haven’t been following any shows.
Is there any show that you just have to watch? That you set aside time for and hate to miss? Please tell me what’s on worth watching. I just need a little convincing.
Thanks
The Office. NBC. It’s the best American sitcom in a long time. Maybe ever.
Battlestar Galactica (SciFi Network) - Military drama set in space. bad cylons, bad! A billion times better than the 80s version, if you’re old enough to remember it.
The Wire (HBO) – police/drug dealer drama set in Baltimore. The cops are a mixed bag between smart and dumb and so are the dealers (some of whom are really smart). Just an all around awesome show.
Lost (ABC) - Plane crashes on tropical island. Character drama with supernatural (maybe) elements ensues.
All three of these are serial dramas, you can’t just jump in anywhere and expect to know what’s going on. They’re all available on DVD though, so you can catch up if you like.
Battlestar Galactica - Sci Fi Channel version
Boston Legal
House
No Reservations - Travel Channel (Tony Bourdain)
King of Queens - Kevin James cracks. me. up!
CSI Las Vegas
Law & Order Criminal Intent
Law & Order (Classic)
The shows we watch, in order of my personal preference:
House
The Office
Law & Order: SVU
American Idol
Criminal Minds
CSI (original)
Law & Order: Criminal Intent
Actually, I’m just going to lump the rest of them together in no particular order. These are all ones that I watch either A) out of habit, or B) because my wife really likes them. All things being equal, I’d take a good book over any of them:
Monk
Psyche
Numb3rs
Cold Case
Without A Trace
I also watch The Simpsons and Jeopardy, but I can’t count them on my list because I watch them in the morning over breakfast/getting ready for work. I can’t count things I watch in syndication (even though new eps of The Simpsons are thrown into the mix). Nor am I counting things I watch with my daughter. Not sure if Wonder Pets is what you’re looking for anyway.
Yeah, House is great also. I’ve been trying to think of ones that don’t have a ton of backstory that leaves you lost just coming in. I love Prison Break, for example, but I’m not sure how enjoyable it would be without having experienced the history. House is one of those rare dramas that you can catch up with in an episode or two.
Well I am a sucker for good Canadian TV so my “must see” are Corner Gas and Little Mosque on the Prairie.
Battlestar Galactica
Scrubs
Rome (only 4 episodes left! <sob>)
Good Eats!
Iron Chef America
BSG has been “must see”, but the show is going downhill lately, and is in danger of becoming “watch it if I remember it’s on” if it doesn’t turnaround soon.
Otherwise, my TV is typically on Football and Baseball in the respective seasons. This time of year sucks. I’ll watch some of the upcoming basketball tournaments, or late night reruns of sitcoms I missed when they were in primetime years ago. History Channel used to be good, but lately every time I turn it on is something like “Modern Marvels” that doesn’t usually interest me. Mostly I’m counting down to the NFL Draft and Opening Day of baseball season…
The same could be said about so many shows, it might make more sense to take the money you would have spent on satellite/cable and spend it on DVDs instead.
And it’s bookended by two other very good sitcoms: My Name Is Earl and 30 Rock.
My Most Favoritest Shows:
Sunday: Battlestar Galactica, The Amazing Race
Monday: Heroes
Tuesday: Dirty Jobs
Wednesday: Lost
Thursday: My Name Is Earl, Survivor
Friday: Monk, Psych
Saturday: ?
Plus I watch a lot of the other competition-reality shows like American Idol, Nashville Star, Project Runway, Hell’s Kitchen, Big Brother, etc.
Since 2004:
Deadwood
The Shield
24 (until this season)
Lost
The only things that are definitively Must-Watch on the networks in their current state, as in, as how good their recent episodes have been, are Boston Legal (Tuesday 10pm), My Name is Earl (Thursday 8pm), and American Dad (Sunday 9:30pm).
Stuff that is worth watching if you have nothing better to do, but that I wouldn’t skip out on a good book or gaming session for, includes:
Monday: 24; How I Met Your Mother is almost worth watching just for Neil Patrick Harris
Tuesday: NCIS
Wednesday: Bones
Friday: Psych
Sunday: Family Guy, Battlestar Galactica
24, NCIS, Bones, and Psych are all don’t-think-TOO much shows with interesting characters, good-enough dialogue, and a generally fun ride. Battlestar is still worth it if you’re invested in the series, but it hasn’t been that great since the beginning of this season. Family Guy isn’t as funny as it was the first time around, but is still almost always worth a few good laughs.
Thanks, everyone. These all sound pretty good and I’ve heard good things about them elsewhere, too.
I think I saw the pilot ep of “The Office” and thought it was good (at the time, I was comparing it to the original, of course. Has it distinguished itself and grown into its own?).
Seen “House” a time or twoand liked it.
“Scrubs” is still currently running?
I do spend at least as much on DVD’s as I would on satellite service, but grow tired of the DVD’s pretty quick.
IMHO, the American version has transcended the English version, which was pretty good in itself.
Ricky Gervais is in a new show on HBO called “Extras” which is pretty hilarious.
Our TV viewing may be out of date with the US, but these are what I do not miss:
Blue Murder (I really love Canadian cop shows)
Two-and-a-half Men
Will & Grace (This is the final season, and damn, they’ve gotten funny again, with hectic political statements)
Everwood
Smallville
Bones
I recommend:
Battlestar Galactica
Heroes
Veronica Mars
My Name Is Earl
The Office
30 Rock
Supernatural (don’t judge me – it’s very silly, but fun)
Psych
The Shield (whenever it’s on again)
Good Eats
Dirty Jobs
Mythbusters
The Daily Show
The Colbert Report
We don’t have HBO, but if we did I know we would watch The Wire and Rome. As it is, I have those in our Netflix queue for the future. In fact, you might skip the satellite service altogether and just get Netflix. You can watch virtually all of these shows that way.
The Simpsons, Criminal Minds, House and Prison Break
The Office
Pardon the Interruption
Mythbusters
The Colbert Report
South Park
The Simpsons
Criminal Minds
Numbers, or, sigh Numb3rs if you insist
How it’s Made
Family Guy
Dexter (on between-seasons hiatus)
Joe
I couldn’t agree more. Some of the more serial-type shows benefit greatly from being watched in three or four large chunks.
Most of my favourite shows are on HBO. Now is the best time to subscribe if you’re going to do it because new seasons of Big Love and The Sopranos are starting in March. And Rome and Deadwood are ending.