Best Tv-series options (1 Viewer)

[Edgler Vess]

Hi

I need your help.

I would like to buy some TV-series but I am from outside US and I have never seen one second only of the following:

- C.S.I
- The Shield
- 24
- Insomniac
- The Prisoner
- Dark Angel
- Son of the beach
- Homicide

Please recomend the best 2 or 3 and rate all ( 1 up to 10 ).
They are all very expensive so I need the best options.

You can include other good tv series ( I have seen Sopranos and Twin Peaks recently ; both very good)

thanks in advance

Edgler

 

[Alex_zhang]

Meh, You posted this on DVDTalk.com's forums too...

Again, I recommend Six Feet Under instead...

 

[Edgler Vess]

You posted this on DVDTalk.com's forums too

I would like to have a different point a view...

 

[PaulP]

The X-Files

 

[TedE]

From your list, I really recommend Homicide. I've been waiting for this one to come out for awhile. Quite honestly some of the best TV I've ever seen (well, at least up until season 7, but even that was better than 90% of anything else out there). I can't speak for any of the others on your list, but everyone I've known who's seen the first season of 24 has really liked it.

 

[Lew Crippen]

Welcome to the forum Edgler. My comments on the series you listed:

·C.S.I. Very well made with a mostly engaging cast. It is a ‘police procedure’ type of series that centers on the crime scene unit, so much so that it becomes pretty easy to think that the CSI members are real detectives. In HD especially this is a very flashy show. Very stylized—almost everything happens in dark rooms where the investigators use flashlights instead of turning on lights. Some of the plots get pretty trite. 7/10.
·The Shield. I’m not a fan but it is well liked by many. Basically centers on a cop who regularly bends (and breaks) the law, justifying his actions as necessary to put away criminals, but he of course he also does so strictly out of self-interest. No score as I’m not a regular viewer.
·24 Possibly the most unbelievable scripts involving some of the dumbest people ever to grace an action show. Supposedly set in real time, each episode last one hour, the series a whole day. Every hour ends in a crises. The world (or the city) must be saved in one day. Everyone is in peril at some point. On the plus side the series has a lot of energy. Everything just pulses with excitement and a ‘what’s around the next corner’ kind of action. If you like mindless action, you will like this—it’s OK if you never stop to think. 4/10
·Insomniac No opinion
·The Prisoner One of the best, low-budget series ever, so long as you are not concerned that you don’t know what is going on. Not much action, it is all in one man trying to figure out why he is in an isolated village, with no contact with the outside world. Enigmatic—pretty much the opposite of 24—all talk and no action. 8/10
·Dark Angel I like this series probably more than it deserved and certainly more than the viewing public, as it did not last too long. Mostly I was hooked by the concept—that some super powers had been bred into humans by adding some animal (cat) genes. That and the lead was quite sexy. Well executed for a while, but the writers started to run out of ideas and fell back on formula. 7/10
·Son of the Beach No opinion
·Homicide One of the best cop shows of all time. A ;picture of this series is in the dictionary next to the word ‘gritty’. All of the cops are well-drawn, real people, with strengths and weaknesses (actually most of them have more weaknesses) who change and grow during the series. Undoubtedly the best writing of any of the shows you list. But this is an uncomfortable show for some, as it is quite believable and it is all pretty downbeat. 9/10


Hope that this helps.

 

[Kyle McKnight]

I highly reccomend "24".

 

[Christopher E]

I would like to buy some TV-series but I am from outside US and I have never seen one second only of the following:

- C.S.I
- The Shield
- 24
- Insomniac
- The Prisoner
- Dark Angel
- Son of the beach
- Homicide

I've only seen 3 of these series but here goes anyways...

The Shield: 9/10 *Highly Recommended*

If you like The Sopranos, and can stand some of its more violent/ mature scenes and themes then you would probably like The Shield as well. The Shield centers around Detective Vick Mackey (played by Michael Chicklis), the leader of an elite strike team charged with keeping order in a fictional district of L.A. Vick and the other members of his strike team don't necessarily "play it by the rules," which often puts them at odds with Captain Aceveda. Their methods are very unorthodox, but they get great results. The writers of The Shield aren't afraid to have real consequences for people's actions, or a story arc that continues throughout the entire season.

The show features a unique, gritty style of filming where every episode feels like a police ride along. This lends a certain credibility to the world that the characters live in.

I was never into cop shows before, but based on the buzz at the HTF, and elsewhere I downloaded the first episode of the second season (New eps aren't aired in Canada, only in the US) and I was hooked! I bought the first season on DVD soon after.


24: 8/10

24 is a series about a Counter Terrorist Agency (CTU) and its head agent Jack Bauer. As the title implies an entire season of this show takes place over a 24 hour period. I believe Ron reviewed this set a little while ago so you should check out his in depth review for more info. From what I remember he really enjoyed it.


Dark Angel 4/10

A purely average sci-fi/drama show set in the burnt out wreckage of Seattle (actually the show is shot across the border, in Vancouver, Canada). The main character is the product of a U.S. military program to create a supersoldier. I watched part of the first season of this show, but never really enjoyed it, so I stopped.

 

[Mehdy]

The prisoner is possbily the best tv series ever made..I cannot tell how much this impacted my when I first saw it on tv...this was the later 60's and I believe it was on during the summer....this show is just as relevant today as it was almost 40 years age..watch one show per day to take it all in...all you need is love.....
A friend of mine told me get the shield...I bought it...best recommendation...not for the light hearted but gritty and REAL...you just can't watch one show...
For fun, the osbournes....no, I am not kidding...cheap and
great fun...it makes you think about your life....No, i dont
like mtv.....but there is something about this show....get the uncensored version...

 

[Douglas*A*R]

Just wanted to point out that the CSI Season One set is not OAR, if that makes a difference to the original poster.

 

[Mike Graham]

- C.S.I
- The Shield
- 24
- Insomniac
- The Prisoner
- Dark Angel
- Son of the beach
- Homicide

I never watch CSI, Insomniac, Dark Angel, or Son Of The Beach, but the other 3 shows I followed very closely.

The Shield:
When I first heard of the show I thought it was complete crap, but when I tuned in for an episode or two, I was completely hooked. This borders close to being an action series, with some shocking moments thrown in nearly every episode to keep the viewer on his/her seat. The writing is very good and consistent throughout, with subplots being handled very well right through to the season finale.
Content : 8/10
A/V quality: 8/10 (good video, good DD 2.0 sound)
Extras: 10/10 (commentary on every ep, deleted scenes, and featurettes)

24:
This heart-pounding series was definitely my favorite of last year; if you're willing to take a few leaps in logic, you'll be able to really enjoy a wonderful action series. Although the second half of the first season wasn't as intense as what came before, the season's finale was still incredibly gripping and moving.
Content : 8/10
A/V : 9/10 (wonderful video, good DD 2.0 sound)
Extras : 4/10 (not very much since the set came out very soon after the season was completed)

Homicide:
Simply put, the best show to come out of American commercial network television. While many thought the cop drama was dead and buried by the early 90s, this and NYPD Blue helped revitalize the possibilites. The acting, writing and direction are fantastic. Shot in the style of a documentary, the show feels very realistic and believable.
Content, A/V, Extras : N/A since the set doesn't street until Tuesday.

Best bet : Homicide

 

[Mark Silver]

The Shield is an absolute must buy. 10/10. It is one of the best series ever written for television. The writers of that show should have won the Emmy.

CSI 9/10 Very good show. Excellent rewatch value as each ep is self contained.

24 - 7/10 I love the show, bit the replay value is limited. Because there are 24 eps the plot gets stretched thin at times and makes you wish they called the show "18".


May I make another suggestion, you should pick up Law & Order Season 1. It ranks 10/10. It seems to fit with your other choices and is much better than every other choice other than THE SHIELD.

Also, I saw on DVDtalk.com someone recommended Sports Nights. I could not agree more, it gets a 8/10 because it fell apart in Season 2 when Sorkin started spliting time with Sports Night and West Wing.

Just my 2 cents

 

[Chad A Wright]

I would highly recommend 24.

Even better than that though, is Sports Night. In my opinion this is one of the greatest TV series ever created. You can't go wrong with it, plus it's only 50 bucks for the entire series.

Mark: The first time I watched Sports Night, I too thought it fell apart completely in the second season. I just went through last week and re-watched them all and I really enjoyed season 2. I guess my expectations were tempered with the first viewing, so the second time it seemed a lot better.

 

[Joseph_mx]

From your list:

- The Shield
- 24

 

[BrianAe]

1) 24 -- 9/10
1) Homicide -- 9/10
3) X Files -- 7/10

Dark Angle -- 3/10
Son of the beach -- 3/10 unless you have a keg of beer on hand

 

[Rob Gardiner]

The Prisoner gets the highest possible recommendation. This show is so good, it's hard to believe it was ever on network TV. Despite the fact it only has 17 episodes, you will find repeat viewings of this show very rewarding.

 

[Rob P S]

Homicide - 10/10
24 - 9/10

I've never watched the others.

 

[JohnAP]

Of the series you specified, I'd say the Prisoner is the best series and the dvds are nicely put together. The Sheild and Homicide are both excellent cop series as well and I would highly reccomend them. My highest reccomendation would be for you to pick up the Buffy or Sopranos sets.

 

[Tom Brennan]

I have to second both the Prisoner and 24 in that order. The Prisoner is so good, it's criminal. And what are you waiting for with 24?

Two groundbreaking shows, you can't possible go wrong.

 

[LewB]

The Prisoner !!!!
I first saw this series in 1968 on CBS (It was a summer replacement for Jackie Gleason). I was 10 at the time and was in awe from the first episode to the last. The series can still be seen occasionally on PBS stations. It's sort of a cat and mouse idea, with the prisoner being the mouse. Lots to think about.
There is a Usenet newsgroup for The Prisoner, as well as several web pages Like this .
Pretty good for a 35 year old TV show (let's see, I was 10 when I first saw it, and the show is 35 years old, that would make me, doooohhhh !)
I bought 5 2disk sets to make the collection. You can buy a complete set now for something like $125 U.S.
Be careful about set 2, they had audio problems with one of the disks, 2nd one I think. A&E re-issued it and replaced the defective ones but I could not see any way to tell the good from the bad based on the package.