Planning a 12-hour road trip in the near future. Have a portable DVD player which me and the girls will share. Mr. Pundit, as always, will be entertaining himself by weaving himself in out and of traffic.
Since no movies are screaming for me to buy them, I’m planning to buy a t.v. series or two. Here are the complete series I already own: Buffy, Angel, Sopranos, Sex & The City
Some ideas I’ve been kicking around: 24, Arrested Development, BBC’s The Office, Felicity, 6 Feet Under. What do you think? Keep in mind that the kids will be in the car so it can’t be too explicit. (I will have headphones.)
I’d also like recommendations for age appropriate series for the kids. I have two girls, aged 11 and 13. We’ll also have my two nieces, ages 9 and 13, with us. Are Dawson’s Creek, Gilmore Girls, Smallville, Everwood and/or Felicity too mature for that age? I’m also kicking around Party of Five.
The Office consists of only 12 episodes and a two part special. Far shorter seasons than the US.
I am off work with a really badly sprained ankle and have to spend hours laying around watching daytime TV. I came across American Dreams which I had never heard of. It is a very good drama and for your purposes features a strong young female character. Here is a review of the first season. The episodes I am watching are obviously later on as Meg is working at a newspaper and concerned about the rights and wrongs of the Vietnam War.
I love Arrested Development and The Office and own both DVD sets. I highly recommend both, but Arrested Development probably has greater “re-watching” value. The episodes are still hilarious after several viewings, and you catch new jokes and references every time. Scrubs is also pretty funny and I think it would go over well for a captive audience of diverse ages.
24 is great, but I don’t think four pre-teen girls will be too taken with it. It has violent moments and the pacing sometimes drags, but when it’s ON, it’s really awesome. That said, I think that once you see it once, the thrill is gone, since the unpredictable nature and ridiculous plot twists are what keeps 24 exciting. As such, I’d rent the DVDs some time but wouldn’t bother purchasing them.
Watsonwil, I don’t let the kids watch Sopranos or Sex & The City. But they are beginning to watch, with discretion, Buffy and Angel. Have never seen 24 or Arrested Development so I’m not sure if those are age appropriate, let alone something a 6th and 8th grader would find enjoyable.
FTR, I’m looking for DVDs we could watch separately, keeping in mind that the kids will be able to see what I’m watching even though they won’t be able to hear. So something like Sopranos is out. I guess Six Feet is out, too, though I’m intrigued by Kansas’ accolades.
Gilmore Girls would probably go over well with the girls, and the first season is its best, so you don’t have to sit through the not-so-great stuff to get to the good seasons, like some series.
I would also recommend Alias depending on how mature the 9-year-old is. It can be violent, but in the first season at least, the heroine never kills anybody, and there’s lots of boppy techno music, cool outfits, cute boys, and action. Again, starting at the beginning won’t be hard either, because it hits the ground running. If you haven’t heard of the series before, it’s sort of a female James Bond. Or, La Femme Nikita the TV show, only good. Just remember, when Jack Bristow is being a scary bad-ass, that actor was previously known for portraying Jesus, the singing clown.
Another one you might want to check out is Gargoyles , the first season of which is now out on DVD. The 13-year-olds might balk because it’s animated, but it was first on when I was older than they, and I watched it religiously.
You might also want to think about Northern Exposure – pretty new to DVD, but the episodes are just as funny and smart as ever.
I wouldn’t exactly invest in Smallville. It’s entertaining enough, but trust me, you will not want to get the complete set for this show.
For you, but probably too intense for the teenagers, I recommend Firefly. Especially if you already own Buffy and Angel.
That’s what I was going to suggest. Funny and not violent or smutty. Six Feet Under and Sex & The City are good, but definitely not for kids.
Another great show is Wonderfalls, which ran on Fox last year. It was cancelled after just four episodes, but 13 episodes were made. It came out on DVD a few months ago, and they knew they were in danger of being cancelled, so they wrapped up the story arc very nicely. Great show - similar to Northern Exposure in that funny, touching and quirky way. It would be great for your kids.
Buy the complete set of LOTR. That ought to keep you glued to the screen for at least 12 hours. And although there might be a few “scary parts” for the kids, they are not all that bad.
I got the BBC set of The Office for Chistmas from my brother and I think it sucks big time. If you want to buy it off me, I will give you one fantastic deal - I only watched about 2 or three episodes and it has remained untouched ever since.
I think the first season of 24 ought to keep you happily strapped into that bucket seat as well…the first episode alone will make you scream WOW.