TV-on-DVD Recommendations (1 Viewer)

[PaulP]

Not sure if this is the right forum, it should be, but here goes.

I don't watch TV. With the lockout in the NHL going on, I haven't touched the remote in over a year now. So I find out about shows mostly online. For example, I never watched Six Feet Under, but just on a whim bought the First Season and went though all 13 episodes in a couple of days. Now I already got through the Second and Third. Actually, finished Season Three today, and I'm sad. Not because of what heppened in the show (well, okay, maybe a little), but because Season Four comes out only in August! And HBO did something weird, they premiered Season Five before Season Four is out on DVD. Not very smart. Which means I'll have to wait again for Season Five to hit DVD.

So I guess what I'm looking for is something similar to Six Feet Under. I already have Dead Like Me, all five Sopranos seasons, all nine X-Files seasons, and all three 24 seasons. I have many other comedy and animation season sets, but for the most part I enjoy drama series, where the actors you watch are real people, going through real emotions and experiences - something HBO's shows do very well.

I was looking at The Wire on Amazon and people claim it's even better than Sopranos, which (and no offence to fans) I find hard to believe. But it does seem like a great show. I guess I'll read some reviews first, but most of my TV shows have been (educated) blind buys, and I haven't been sorry yet.

Any other shows I should be aware of?

 

[TravisR]

Deadwood. It's better than The Sopranos (and it sure ain't easy to be better than that

 

[Wendy_L]

I highly recommend "Nip/Tuck". First season is out on DVD now and season 2 comes out in August.

 

[Dane Marvin]

Sports Night - it's a dramedy. A great one. Stars Peter Krause of Six Feet Under, too.

The West Wing - Politics needn't interest you that much. I hate them and love this show. It's the brilliant writing and cast that do it. Plus, you'll learn a lot about politics inadvertently.

CSI - The original series.


Oh, and I've never heard a bad thing said about Freaks & Geeks, one of the best comedy/dramas series to ever grace the small screen. People of all demographics seem to love it. Excellent show.

 

[Holadem]

Your tastes seem decidedly adult, I think The Shield and Deadwood should be right up your alley.

Still, I think you should give Buffy, then Angel a try as well. They may seem like teenage fare at first, but you will soon find in them a level of maturity seldom seen on TV.

--
H

 

[John Carr]

THE SHIELD. The best cop show ever. Period. Stop. Riviting to say the least, great cast and wonderful story arcs. Several times during the first 3 seasons of this show, I've been blown away by 'events' that have taken place. Original, startling, real... It's the most engrossing drama I've ever watched.

Also, I really enjoy watching Deadwood and Carnivale. Both are great dramas and well worth buying and, since like yourself I too do not 'watch' TV, both were blind buys.

Tru Calling is another 'talk to the dead' show, but very entertaining -- much better than Joan of Arcadia, which I found to be a disappointment. Tru Calling is very heavy, too, and I love the opening. Even my wife, who gets grossed out easily, loves this show.

 

[andrew markworthy]

You might also want to give Without A Trace a try. The ensemble acting is superb and the stories are generally what I'd call an intelligent waste of time (I'd put 24 in the same category).

I'd caution against buying West Wing before you rent to see if you like it. It does tend to divide folks into 'love it or hate it' camps.

 

[Lou Sytsma]

Dead Zone - there are three seasons out on DVD

 

[KevA]

Like PaulP, I don't watch any TV at this point (excepting Family Guy). I watch my shows (for the most part) on DVD and enjoy it that way much better.

I have somewhat similar tastes and I would highly recommend The Wire; the 1st Season is excellent.

I've avoided Season 3 of Six Feet Under (though I enjoyed Seasons 1 and 2) because of a number of bad reviews online; I still don't know what they did to end the season that turned so many fans off. I presume the shows preceding the finale of Season 3 are good, though, so I may have to rent it anyway.

 

[PaulP]

Thanks for all the suggestions!

And, Kev, if you enjoyed the first two seasons of Six Feet Under, I don't see any reason not to like Season Three. Maybe it's because I watched all three of them one after another, but I didn't notice any sudden quality drop. It's very consistently great throughut the three seasons I've seen, and I cannot wait to get Season Four. It's like you're reading a novel; you can't just stop one-third of the way in. Stick with it!

As far as the suggestions, Deadwood seems quite interesting, though I'm not a big western fan. Nip/Tuck is another that's interesting, especially if it's more of a dark comedy type, like Six Feet Under.

 

[Kevin Grey]

Don't let that turn you away. Deadwood is more of a drama whose setting happens to be in the old west instead of a "western" and all that genre entails. You might want to rent it first though because its still not going to be to anyone's taste. I'd say you need to give it at least four episodes though before passing judgement.

 

[Johnny S]

I second that!!! Two great shows if you like a mix of drama, horror, comedy and some romance all in one.I was reluctant before buying Buffy blindly, but I am very happy about that deciscion.

 

[Dan_V]

My wife always loved Buffy, I always dismissed it. I bought season one for her, I started to watch it, now I own all seven seasons(highly reccomended), and have started collecting Angel. I also second the suggestions for CSI and The Shield, CSI is very interesting and The Shield very intense.

 

[Greg Robinson]

Whenever anyone asks me for quality TV recommendations, I fall back on my Big Three:

Firefly - probably my favorite series ever. Film version entitled "Serenity" coming to the big screen this Sept.

Sports Night - Aaron Sorkin dramedy that, at times, features sharper dialogue than his work on West Wing. I also recommend West Wing, but I've only just finished season 4 and it's already starting to lose its way a bit. Still engaging though and better than most.

Northern Exposure - quirky fun with great atmosphere and unique characters. Season 3 comes out this month and is finally affordable.

Lighter fare my wife and I also love:
ALIAS, Buffy, Angel, Family Guy, Simpsons, Scrubs and Smallville (spotty but often lots of fun). And we keep hoping for Ed on DVD, but no luck as yet. Reruns on TBS is all we got. Hope that helps....

 

[Holadem]

Angel belongs to "lighter fare"? Yikes, how dark or heavy is some of the stuff you listed above then? Somehow, I doubt a show called Sports Night comes close to the thematic darkness and dramatic weight of Angel or Buffy, or even Alias.

--
H

 

[Greg Robinson]

i was thinking about that after i posted. i guess i meant "more out there" (vampires, demons, and some of Jennifer Garner's outfits on ALIAS) Sports Night is certainly light and funny but also has some great drama. Scrap my post. Lump them all under the heading, "Great Shows." How's that?

 

[Doug^Ch]

Bad Girls - Is there anyone out there who doesn't appreciate a well done women's prison series? Intense; but brilliant. To watch it is to love it.

 

[Don Giro]

Rescue Me: I watched all 13 episodes the first three days I had the set.

Homicide: One of the best cop shows I never watched during its initial run

The Wire: Great, but it moves a bit slow, as each season concentrates on one central case. It's well worth watching, though, and I imagine it's quite realistic.

Boomtown: Another great ensemble-cast cop show cancelled way before its time (I'm guilty again of not watching it while it was broadcast).

And of course, those mentioned above: Buffy, The Shield, Freaks and Geeks (pause for genuflection), Scrubs, Alias, 24, etc...

 

[Linda Thompson]

If you're up for some quality sci-fi, I'd highly recommend Stargate SG-1 (7 seasons released so far, 8th on the way, 9th broadcast season to start later this year) and Stargate Atlantis (only the pilot has been released so far, but Season One will follow).

Not overly dark or "adult", but great quality, self-consistency, and character development...good stories, well told.

 

[Scott_F_S]

Thanks, H. I had the immediate same reaction when I just read that post. How can you call Buffy/Angel light fare by any stretch of the imagination?

I'll go along with classifying Alias as lighter fare. Great entertainment that but not much in the way of dramatic intensity. More cartoonish, really, than dramatic.

And thanks to the poster for clearing that up!