What series are you planning on trying out for the first time? (1 Viewer)

[Peter M Fitzgerald]

This thread is somewhat related to my earlier thread, "Classic and/or popular series you've never really watched"... The majority of those I listed there I have little interest in seeing, plus the time factor that would be involved if I was foolish enough to attempt that with so many series. However, there are certainly some that I'd probably really enjoy, that for whatever reason had fallen by the wayside when they were new or heavily re-run, or I was just not yet in the ideal frame-of-mind to appreciate them. For me, the latter has proven to be true with some classic series like The Untouchables, Columbo, Mission Impossible, Mannix, The Rifleman, Car 54 Where Are You? and Hawaii Five-0 (the original version).

I'm also one of those who feels we are in a new 'golden age' of TV drama, and my experiences in trying out Breaking Bad, Justified, Boardwalk Empire, Game of Thrones, Terriers, Longmire, Sons of Anarchy and others in the last couple of years have been rewarding. Most recently, I've been going through The Shield, The Hour and especially The Wire, and all have been excellent, particularly The Wire.

So, not counting anything unwatched that I actually own (a.k.a. "blind buys", which for me would include Gunsmoke, Tate, Combat!, Mike Hammer and It Takes a Thief), here's what I'm just starting to watch, seriously, for the first time, or plan to, via streaming/rental/broadcast/etc:

Classic:

The Dick Van Dyke Show (i'm currently 11 episodes in)
Captain Nice (via evil means that I won't go into here, currently 5 episodes in)
The Andy Griffith Show
The Rockford Files
Magnum P.I.
Perry Mason
Highway Patrol
Sea Hunt
Sanford and Son
The Streets of San Francisco
Upstairs, Downstairs
Blackadder
Crime Story
Wiseguy
Miami Vice
The Big Valley
The Mary Tyler Moore Show
Hill St. Blues
Moonlighting
Wagon Train

There are also a couple more I want to see, that currently seem to be a bit difficult to rent/stream:

The Virginian
Burke's Law

Recent (post-1990):

Ray Donovan
True Detective
Mad Men
The Borgias
The Americans
Sherlock
Magic City
The Unit
Tilt
The Venture Bros
House of Cards
Boss
Psych
Homicide: Life on the Street
The Tick (live-action)
The Office (UK version)
Freaks and Geeks
The League of Gentlemen
The IT Crowd
The X-Files
Seinfeld
Archer
Dark Shadows (1991)

It will take a while, but I plan to eventually give each of these series a decent chance, at the very least.

What's on your first-time "To Watch" list?

 

[jcroy]

The original Dallas.

(After watching the revived Dallas).

 

[Ejanss]

So, not counting anything unwatched that I actually own (a.k.a. "blind buys", which for me would include Gunsmoke, Tate, Combat!, Mike Hammer and It Takes a Thief), here's what I'm just starting to watch, seriously, for the first time, or plan to, via streaming/rental/broadcast/etc:

Classic:
Blackadder

It gets...better after the first season. The then-gawky Rowan Atkinson doing Richard Curtis's snarky Shakespeare-bashing jokes is okay for what it is (most of the jokes ramble puzzlingly), but when they switched to the Fawlty Towers homage they wanted to do in the second and third season, brought in Fry & Laurie, and let Ben Elton handle the anarchy-in-the-UK "Royalty were loonies" gag, the show found its immortal groove.

Moonlighting

It's good back in the Die Hard 1 days, when Bruce Willis was still The World's Hippest Dude with hair, but after the end of the third season, when

Spoiler

Dave & Maddie finally bed down to Motown on the soundtrack,

pull the ripcord and deploy all emergency chutes fast. The series afterwards literally defined Jumping the Shark for a generation.
(Although they make a nice self-conscious "apology" parody of it in the final episode.)

The Tick (live-action)

Forget the live-action. Apart from the pilot episode that comic creator Ben Edlund wrote, Sonnenfeld just didn't get the concept. AT ALL.
Track down the original 90's Saturday-morning cartoon on DVD, and if you watched the live-action version, you'll be glad you did. The sitcom tries to tone it down to "Lovable superhero losers try to understand their best-friend relationships", while the original Fox cartoon took Edlund's gags straight out of the comics--Which targeted very specific comic-geek gags only a select few of geekdom would get, and now, with Marvel and DC movies increasing our knowledge of comic lore, may be a little funnier.
In the live-action version, for ex.,

Spoiler

the two go after the world's oldest supervillain, The Terror, who still turns out to be a terror in his nineties...In the cartoon, The Terror is equally geriatric, but a specific in-joke parody on X-Men's Magneto being the oldest senior WWII-survivor villain in Marvel. Yeah, takes a little geek-experience to get the latter joke.

 

[derosa]

I've got the first two seasons of Eight is Enough ready to go next.
If it holds up to expectations, i'll order the rest of the seasons.

 

[benbess]

Good topic.

I'll probably have a few replies, but for now I'll mention two shows I've just started watching for the first time in the last month or so: Mannix and Gunsmoke. So they are shows I've actually already engaged, but for years I've meant to go back and discover some of these old shows, and now I'm finally doing it. Quite an enjoyable process!++

 

[Gary OS]

Good topic.

I'll probably have a few replies, but for now I'll mention two shows I've just started watching for the first time in the last month or so: Mannix and Gunsmoke. So they are shows I've actually already engaged, but for years I've meant to go back and discover some of these old shows, and now I'm finally doing it. Quite an enjoyable process!++

Wait till you get to The Fugitive.


Gary "that will be a treat for you - guaranteed" O.

 

[TravisR]

I haven't had a chance to watch it yet but I bought Friday Night Lights because of word of mouth and a great sale price.

Recently, I've picked up shows like The Dick Van Dyke Show (Blu-ray) and The Mary Tyler Moore Show where I've probably seen almost or all the episodes so many years ago that they're almost like new.

 

[Vic Pardo]

I have a Fugitive Season One box set that I have yet to crack open. I just ordered the box set of "Coronado 9," a blind buy, so we'll see how that works out.

 

[Keith Cobby]

I have just finished Season 1 of Magic City on blu-ray which I have enjoyed. I have not previously seen Bat Masterson so that will be next.

 

[BobO'Link]

I have several things I've purchased that I've never seen. These are the ones I've purchased because I wanted to see some of the series.

The Untouchables - I was too young for it when it originally aired and I've heard lots about it over the years. I purchased S1V1 to give it a try.
The X-Files - While I've seen the occasional episode I've never sat down and watched from the beginning. I purchased the first 5 seasons to cure this.
Legend of the Seeker - Another I'd read good things about so I picked up S1.
Fringe - My son talked me into giving this one a shot. S1 in the queue.
The Pacific - Solely on the strength of Band of Brothers.
It Takes a Thief - Another of those I never watched in the original run but heard lots about. Purchased the entire series.
The Naked City - Yep... Another I was too young for so I purchased the entire series when it was on sale so I could finally see it.
Robin of Sherwood - I love films about Robin Hood so when I found out there had been a British series I picked it up.
Thriller - Yet *another* I'd never seen during the original run and purchased the entire series to "sample."
Stargate SG1 - I like the original film but never watched the series. I picked up S1 & S2 to sample and see if I like it.

Here are a couple I've been talked into sampling by friends and/or coworkers - they'll be supplying DVDs:
Carnival
Orphan Black

 

[Vic Pardo]

I have several things I've purchased that I've never seen. These are the ones I've purchased because I wanted to see some of the series.

The Untouchables - I was too young for it when it originally aired and I've heard lots about it over the years. I purchased S1V1 to give it a try.
The X-Files - While I've seen the occasional episode I've never sat down and watched from the beginning. I purchased the first 5 seasons to cure this.
Legend of the Seeker - Another I'd read good things about so I picked up S1.
Fringe - My son talked me into giving this one a shot. S1 in the queue.
The Pacific - Solely on the strength of Band of Brothers.
It Takes a Thief - Another of those I never watched in the original run but heard lots about. Purchased the entire series.
The Naked City - Yep... Another I was too young for so I purchased the entire series when it was on sale so I could finally see it.
Robin of Sherwood - I love films about Robin Hood so when I found out there had been a British series I picked it up.
Thriller - Yet *another* I'd never seen during the original run and purchased the entire series to "sample."
Stargate SG1 - I like the original film but never watched the series. I picked up S1 & S2 to sample and see if I like it.

Here are a couple I've been talked into sampling by friends and/or coworkers - they'll be supplying DVDs:
Carnival
Orphan Black

Wow, to watch "The Untouchables," "Naked City" and "Thriller" for the first time at this point in your life! You're old enough to appreciate their historical significance and the unique styles each had, but young enough to watch every damned one of 'em. I would just start with those and keep watching. (Truth to tell, I've never seen an episode of "It Takes a Thief" either.)

 

[Walter Kittel]

I did a marathon viewing of the first season of 24 this past week. This was a nice way to watch such a heavily serialized program without the delays from week to week during the original broadcast. (One of the real advantages of delayed gratification is the ability to watch as much of the program as you desire without external constraints.)

All in all, I enjoyed the first season quite a bit. Dennis Haysbert's performance was one of the real strengths of the first season, for me. Given the genre, one makes some allowances for improbabilities, and some poor decisions by some of the characters (I'm looking at you, Kimberly. ) Probably take a break and start up season two in the near future.

I have a good friend who comes over on the weekends and we have went through a few series together. We finished up the 2000's Battlestar Galactica last year (my second viewing, his first) and we recently concluded all five seasons of Breaking Bad. (My first viewing. Wowsers - what a show!) We are currently in season one of Fringe and Arrow - both second viewings for me and first viewings for him. We may start a third series but it is kind of up in the air right now.

Re: some of the shows Bob mentioned -

Fringe - Caught it during the original broadcast and loved it. I am really enjoying re-visiting it via Blu-ray right now.

X-Files - Caught some seasons during the original broadcasts and then re-visited it on FX. I wouldn't mind watching this again, but it does kind of fumble the ball in later seasons.

Legend of the Seeker - A surprisingly fun genre show that earns a lot of good will on the basis of its cast and their chemistry together. Never missed an episode when it was broadcast. (Sure wish this was available on Blu-Ray.)

- Walter.

 

[TravisR]

I did a marathon viewing of the first season of 24 this past week. This was a nice way to watch such a heavily serialized program without the delays from week to week during the original broadcast. (One of the real advantages of delayed gratification is the ability to watch as much of the program as you desire without external constraints.)

All in all, I enjoyed the first season quite a bit. Dennis Haysbert's performance was one of the real strengths of the first season, for me. Given the genre, one makes some allowances for improbabilities, and some poor decisions by some of the characters (I'm looking at you, Kimberly. ) Probably take a break and start up season two in the near future.

I love 24 but I think that watching it back to back to back allows you to be less bothered by the occasional string of slower episodes or get too caught up in lapses in the logic of a plot because you're just going right on to the next episode rather than waiting a week and thinking too much about some of the crazier scenarios they come up with.

 

[Walter Kittel]

I'll add a few more comments, specifically regarding some of the shows that Peter listed in post one of this thread.

True Detective - So much was written about the first season, I'm not sure what I could add to the mix. Some really solid acting and a dark view of the world made this one of the more involving shows I've seen of late. (Maybe a little too dark and cynical for some folks.)

Magic City - I enjoyed the first season but for some reason didn't get around to season two. (I'm not sure why.) Lots of atmosphere and beautiful environments and women make this pretty easy to watch.

The Unit - Kind of falls apart towards the end, but it was a solid military action show. Dennis Haysbert must have had an arrangement where his character had at least one memorable phrase in each episode. The early seasons are definitely worth checking out.

The Americans - One of the best shows on television. I enjoy the time capsule aspect of this show a great deal and it does the neat trick of making us root for the 'bad guys'. (Of course, from their perspective they are the 'good guys' - which makes the show endlessly involving.)

Boss - Worth watching just for Tom Kane's (Kelsey Grammer) epic melt down near the end of season two. A solid drama that is worth watching just for Grammer. I was disappointed that this only ran for two seasons.



Thinking about all of the various shows in this thread, I have to make a recommendation for one of my all time favorite shows - The Gilmore Girls. Loved the fast paced dialog, the way the narrative was driven with mini-cliffhangers, the characters, the town, the music choices etc. etc. Falls down at the end but the first five seasons are pretty special.

- Walter.

 

[tsodcollector]

Vip
Kirk
The Ed Sullivan Show
Don Kirchner's Rock Concert
Evening At Pops
Gemini Man
My LIving Doll
Alone Together
The Secret Life Of The American Teenager

 

[tsodcollector]

The Tim Conway show,his short lived sitcom from the 70's and two short lives variety series on ABC and the 80's sketch comedy series on CBS that lasted for only two years.

 

[Dave Moritz]

Game Of Thrones

 

[tsodcollector]

The Danny Kaye Show,the variety show on CBS from the 1960's.

 

[timk1041]

The Danny Kaye Show,the variety show on CBS from the 1960's.

On Wednesday nights, if I recall correctly.

 

[timk1041]

This isn't too recent, but I started watching Bachelor Father 2 or 3 months ago. Unfortunately, since it hasn't had an official video release, I had to make do with recordings off RTN. Very enjoyable show and deserves an official release. Could never understand why John Forsythe is the only one whose name is seen in the opening credits. Noreen Corcoran and Sammee Tong are a huge part of this show and should have received billing too instead of just in the closing credits. Interesting also is that the musical theme was different for each season. I also watched Hank and Mr. Novak for the first time, although that was a while back. Liked both of those too.