The Official Good Television Thread

[TechnicalBarbarity]

i wouldn't expect you to like SIX FEET UNDER but idk.

Why?

I'm currently paying for HBO now, so i wanna catch some of the good ones that i might have missed.

Justified is okay. Haven't seen the last two seasons though.

 

[TechnicalBarbarity]

Have you watched The Shield? It isn't HBO, but you'll definitely dig it if you liked The Wire. What it lacks in thoughtfulness compared to The Wire it makes up for in sheer brutality.

Yea, i've seen an episode here and there when i was channel surfing back in the days. Didn't think much of it either but than again i never gave it a proper chance.

 

[Internally Deformed]

Well it's definitely better than Justified. I watched about two episodes of that and couldn't work out if it was an incredibly deadpan comedy or just terrible.

 

[TechnicalBarbarity]

Justified definitely gets better as it progresses. S1 was pretty weak. Very simplistic show ... nothing about it stands out, that's for sure.

 

[Internally Deformed]

Yh, there are so many cop shows on TV, and they all have some small unique twist to distinguish them. In Justified's case it was "so there's this cop from one backwater redneck state, right, and the premise is this cop now has to go be a cop in another backwater redneck state."

That's how it seems to a British person watching it anyway.

 

[TechnicalBarbarity]

lol, i can tell you watched the first episode. But it's more about him going back to his hometown and what not.

I need to put this HBO GO subscription to use. What are some good ones that are not too popular?

 

[Satanstoenail]

Big Love was pretty great but I dunno if you'd like it.

 

[Dak]

My understanding of British folks is that those in London consider the rest of the world to be living in some backwater state.

 

[Internally Deformed]

My understanding of British folks is that those in London consider the rest of the world to be living in some backwater state.

Not sure if you remember me saying I live in London or not.

 

[Phylactery]

It's more like half of the rest of the World thinks London is the only place in England. Whenever you say "I'm from England" they always say "Oh, London right?"

 

[Dak]

That's because we're all from some backwater state.

 

[no country for old wainds]

i adore JUSTIFIED because it's essentially a character-driven comic book saga with a rich history/mythology driving it, plus most of those characters happen to be awesome. that kinda thing is just catnip for me. and yeah, the first season is more light-hearted and episodic and not really representative (though still fun), second season is where it comes into its own. i think it pretty clearly stands out from the usual TV detective dross, although obviously it isn't a stunning work of art like DEADWOOD or w/e.

Why?

it's pretty gay. it does have its great moments though, and more natural conversation than basically anything else that had been shown on TV up to that point.

ok, i'll make an effort:

CARNIVALE is widely regarded as a quality show, got cancelled early though.

BORED TO DEATH is supposed to be good. if you dislike zach galifianakis and jason schwartzman you should probably avoid.

ROME is well above average for what it is, JOHN ADAMS supposedly is too.

if you want more stuff like THE WIRE (or by THE WIRE people) there's TREME, THE CORNER, SHOW ME A HERO, GENERATION KILL etc.

i personally really enjoy IN TREATMENT starring gabriel byrne (and a lot of strong performances, including breakout roles from the currently hyped likes of mia wasikowska, alison pill, dale dehaan etc) but it's pretty gimmicky (every ep is a therapy session) and you might hate it. it starts with by far its best season though.

JOHN FROM CINCINNATI is reputedly an oddball classic from the creator of DEADWOOD. LUCK is also a show by the DEADWOOD creator which, predictably, got cancelled before it was completed.

EXTRAS is the best thing ricky gervais ever did, worth a look even if you aren't a fan 'cause the way it shits on some of the guest stars is priceless.

some other stuff that's got a good reception: ENLIGHTENED, EASTBOUND & DOWN, VEEP, SILICON VALLEY. i haven't seen any of these though.

oh and there's OZ if you're not aware of that. i'm not a big fan from what i've seen (too many overtly thematic eps: the Faith episode, the Racism episode, etc, all very on-the-nose) but it's generally regarded as one of the precursors to what HBO dramas would eventually become.

 

[no country for old wainds]

this list seems pretty helpful. has DEADWOOD in first so you have some common ground. lol at IN TREATMENT in last

 

[CiG]

I thought nobody could live in London for years now.

 

[TechnicalBarbarity]

Awesome! thanks for that list man.

I watched Rome when it originally aired(the good ole days when they aired Deadwood and Rome back to back <3) and own the series on BR. I don't think there's been a time where i mentioned my favorite shows without namedropping Rome. I even remember when a few guys here where like Spartacus>Rome.

I've never seen Oz, and have no interest in it after hearing a few of my buddies talking about it.

Out of your list, John From Cincinnati and In Treatment look to be the most interesting.

I'm on the first episode of SFU right now. I think Michael C. Hall has a loit to do with me wanted to check this show out. I'm a huge Dexter fan .... especially S4 with the Trinity Killer(John Litgow), one of the best seasons of any series by far imo.

 

[Satanstoenail]

John From Cincinnati was unwatchable art wank.

TB: You should check out Generation Kill if you haven't.

 

[TechnicalBarbarity]

Yeah that one looks to be right up my alley. Will do.

 

[no country for old wainds]

I'm on the first episode of SFU right now. I think Michael C. Hall has a loit to do with me wanted to check this show out. I'm a huge Dexter fan .... especially S4 with the Trinity Killer(John Litgow), one of the best seasons of any series by far imo.

the acting is generally excellent and it has some high peaks. also kinda lost me for stretches though.

let me know what you think of IN TREATMENT if you watch it!

 

[TechnicalBarbarity]

Yeah man, for sure. Now i'm not sure if i should just drop SFU for now and check out either that one of Generation Kill

edit: check out the MMA thread, i think you'll enjoy a few of the clips i just posted.

 

[Dak]

Deadwood and Rome being cancelled severely damaged my faith in HBO to maintain good shows. And of course this GoT garbage is kept.