With the sheer number of channels available to most people now you can find some stuff out there that’s a little bit off, a departure from the norm. This can be and often is a good thing. What do you find interesting that you figure your run of the mill Joe would just surf right on by? What, based on your rec, should we give a look see?
Mantracker: I can’t quite put my finger on why I like this, but neither can I change the channel.
Battle of the SuperCars: Some pretty entertaining cars in their own right prove their mettle up against similarly horsepowered beasts. Tanner Foust and Paul Tracy make it entertaining too, squabbling like a couple of kids racing their tricked out Schwinns home from school.
Chasing Classic Cars: Mr. Carini knows a little bit about the real heavy hitters and he runs in some pretty good circles for it too. Pebble Beach me, Wayne.
There was an Australian series called The Games that’s still one of my favorite shows of all time. It was a mock-documentary about the organizing of the Sydney Olympics. The star, John Clarke, is the same guy in the famous The Front Fell Off video. That’s what the series was like, deadpan and brilliant.
I’m still waiting for season two to come out on DVD.
*the smoking gun’s dumbest criminals *stuff cracks me up every time. it’s my current guilty pleasure, not to be outdone by ‘pawn stars.’ chumley is my hero.
Food Party on IFC is really, really weird. But it cracks my ass up. Imagine a version of Pee Wee’s Playhouse done by a bunch of crazy art students in their backyard, except it’s about a cooking show. That’s not quite there, but almost.
We will put on Ancient Wonders type of shows - not strange or offbeat, but geekier than iCarly for my kids. Last night we watched a show about the Roman Empire’s 7 biggest architectural achievements - it was interesting.
Mythbusters is not remotely strange or offbeat, but it is what we watch a lot of, too.
So - not big ratings grabbers, but fun. Oh - and all of those animal shows that involve sharks, croc’s and other animals like that…
I have an unhealthy interest in Killer Squid and more so, Killer Jellyfish, and I compulsively watch these two shows on the Discovery Channel every time they’re re-run. (The jellyfish, especially - that little floating blob of snot will put you in the hospital, on morphine, for a month!)
Sometimes I’ll gape in horror at those medical documentaries - two headed babies, or that woman whose LEGS have grown to grotesque proportions, and no one knows why!:eek:
Squidbillies, a family of poor ignorant hillbilly squid living in Georgia. Bizarre, disturbing and hilarious. The Drinky Crow Show, an alcoholic depressed crow and his horny monkey uncle (I think it’s his uncle - that’s hardly the most disturbing part of this show. The artwork is gorgeous but graphic - it remind me of an R-rated Little Nemo.
I’ll admit to liking both Tom Goes to the Mayor and Tim and Eric Awesome Show: Great Job. “No one” seems to (admit to) liking those. Squidbillies rules as well.
American Pickers. It’s about 2 guys that drive around in a big van looking for rusty junk. They have some good chemistry and the people they meet and places they explore are very unique. They drag everything from German toy cars to jukeboxes, gas pumps, and amusement park rides out of people’s junk piles and buildings.
I think Tom Goes to the Mayor is one of the funniest shows ever. Tom was just the right level of innocent-hearted good-doer and the Mayor was just the right level of complete and utter sociopath. I was really disappointed when they stopped making new episodes, and I never really enjoyed Tim and Eric at the same level, though there were a number of bits that really made me laugh. The episode with Tommy Wiseau (of The Room fame) pretty much justified that show’s existence.
I also like 1000 Ways to Die, but lately it’s getting too gory even for me, and I have a pretty high CSI-and-House-fueled tolerance for TV gore. When the one stoner pulled the other one in half using a forklift and the guy did do-it-yourself liposuction with a shopvac, I started re-thinking my enjoyment of the show.
Another is watching these two guys walk around in a field looking for a rock. Actually Meteorite Men do come up with some reasonably effective tools and strategies but I am more than a little jealous of their carefree, responsibility-free lifestyle. Who knew watching a couple of guys stumble and sweat could be fetching.
