Must Watch Series

[Buehler445]

All this talk about series, how network TV Sucks, and how hard it is to find quality shows, and some excellent shows that fly under the radar, I need a comprehensive review of all the series I need to see.

For good entertainment, I would be willing to buy DVD sets. But I've recently picked up HBOGO by kiping it from my parents, and recently got Netflix and Amazon Prime.

Here is a listing of shows that I currently own or have seen all the episodes of. If it isn't on the list, just assume I haven't seen it.

Spoiler!

Great Shows – Must See
Game of Thrones
Mad Men
Longmire
Burn Notice
House
Spartacus
House of Cards
Justified
True Detective
Breaking Bad
The Assets
The Wire
Sherlock (BBC)
The Americans
The Walking Dead
Deadwood
Netflix: Daredevil
Jack Taylor
Luther
Bosch

Good shows
Travelers
Ozark
The Leftovers
Conviction
Medici
The Last Kingdom
Firefly
Dollhouse
The Good Wife
Hell on Wheels
Big Bang Theory
Falling Skies
Suits
White Collar
Agents of SHIELD
Arrow
Boss
Rome
Orange is the New Black
Orphan Black
The Knick
Goliath (Amazon)
Iron Fist
Show Me a Hero
Hell on Wheels
Shooter

Mediocre
Robin Hood (BBC)
Vikings
How I met your Mother
Scrubs
Chuck
That 70's Show
Top Gear
Graceland
Hung (HBO)
Gotham
Conviction


Crap
Camelot
Top Shot
Defiance
Legends of Tomorrow

Here is a listing of shows that I'm currently watching

Spoiler!

Great


Good
Boardwalk Empire
Westworld

Mediocre

Crap

Here is a listing of shows on my list to watch (mostly due to this thread)

Spoiler!

The Sopranos
24
Fargo (missed getting it on the DVR )
Band of Brothers
The Pacific
The Comeback
6 Feet Under
John Adams
Battlestar Glactica
Friday Night Lights

I work a ****ton, so it is hard for me catch a series while it is on to get it on the DVR, but I recognize the entertainment value and am willing to go after the Must See shows. Accordingly, I'm not necessarily looking for anything that is still running. I'm up for watching stuff that has run its course.

So what say you, Planet? Which shows should I see?

UPDATED for the shows I've seen recently.

[Buehler445]

Originally Posted by DJ's left nut

Shrinking is pretty good as well.

THIS is what Harrison Ford should be doing now. He damn sure shouldn't be Indiana Jones.

I was really impressed with Shrinking. Has Season 2 come out yet?

[Fishels]

Originally Posted by DJ's left nut

Shrinking is pretty good as well.

THIS is what Harrison Ford should be doing now. He damn sure shouldn't be Indiana Jones.

Sell me on that show. The previews just don’t do it for me

[Buehler445]

Originally Posted by Fishels

Sell me on that show. The previews just don’t do it for me

There is some Forgetting Sarah Marshall humor in there combined with some angry old man Harrison Ford humor in there too. But it tackles some REALLY heavy stuff and does it earnestly without taking itself too seriously. It is a really fine line they're walked and they did it with pretty strong performances.

Honestly it would be really easy to overdo the humor or take itself too seriously and go off the rails.

I'm pretty impressed.

[DJ's left nut]

Originally Posted by Fishels

Sell me on that show. The previews just don’t do it for me

If you think Jason Segal is funny, you'll like it.

If you don't like Segal, you won't like the show.

It isn't so much that he carries it but it definitely has a lot of his humor. Christa Miller (from Scrubs and Drew Carey) is good in it and Jessica Williams friggen slays it. Had no idea who she was but she's fantastic in it.

Like I said, Harrison Ford does curmudgeonly reluctant mentor extremely well.

It was created by Segal, Bill Lawrence (Scrubs) and Brett Goldstein (Roy Kent from Ted Lasso). And you can see influences from all those guys throughout it.

It checks off all the 'representation Bingo' boxes without being heavy-handed about it. And frankly it takes place in Pasadena so it would be weird if there WASN'T a gay friend in there. You really don't notice it at all. And they're willing to actually joke about the black girl being black, the gay guy being gay, etc... without pandering to any of it.

First episode is slow but that's common for a new show. Some of the main plot points can be a bit telegraphed, but nothing too cringe-inducing.

And most critically - it's short. It's a 30 minute show I don't have to dedicate my full attention to. Finding a quality 1/2 hour show that I don't have to know an insane amount of backstory to stay involved in is just hard as hell on these streamers. Even stuff like Slow Horses (which is my favorite of the Apple shows) requires that you really pay attention and those episodes are, IIRC, 45-55 minutes long.

[DJ's left nut]

Originally Posted by Buehler445

I was really impressed with Shrinking. Has Season 2 come out yet?

Yeah. We just watched the first episode of S2 this weekend. Watch the recap - there's more that went on down the stretch than you remember. At least more than I did.

But the first episode hit all its marks. Seems to have come back from the break as good as it ever was.

[Buehler445]

Originally Posted by DJ's left nut

If you think Jason Segal is funny, you'll like it.

If you don't like Segal, you won't like the show.

It isn't so much that he carries it but it definitely has a lot of his humor. Christa Miller (from Scrubs and Drew Carey) is good in it and Jessica Williams friggen slays it. Had no idea who she was but she's fantastic in it.

Like I said, Harrison Ford does curmudgeonly reluctant mentor extremely well.

It was created by Segal, Bill Lawrence (Scrubs) and Brett Goldstein (Roy Kent from Ted Lasso). And you can see influences from all those guys throughout it.

It checks off all the 'representation Bingo' boxes without being heavy-handed about it. And frankly it takes place in Pasadena so it would be weird if there WASN'T a gay friend in there. You really don't notice it at all. And they're willing to actually joke about the black girl being black, the gay guy being gay, etc... without pandering to any of it.

First episode is slow but that's common for a new show. Some of the main plot points can be a bit telegraphed, but nothing too cringe-inducing.

And most critically - it's short. It's a 30 minute show I don't have to dedicate my full attention to. Finding a quality 1/2 hour show that I don't have to know an insane amount of backstory to stay involved in is just hard as hell on these streamers. Even stuff like Slow Horses (which is my favorite of the Apple shows) requires that you really pay attention and those episodes are, IIRC, 45-55 minutes long.

I'd probably disagree that you have to like Segal. I don't HATE Segal, but I thought a fair bit of Forgetting Sarah Marshall was way too far over the top. A lot of that movie was unenjoyable to me.

There is much less sobbing, and no dicks flopping around. He's dealing with his wife dying as a mid 40s guy instead of a dude in his 20s getting broken up with because he outkicked his coverage. That might be part of the difference, but I wouldn't say I'm a Segal fan and I really liked this.

[Buehler445]

Originally Posted by DJ's left nut

Yeah. We just watched the first episode of S2 this weekend. Watch the recap - there's more that went on down the stretch than you remember. At least more than I did.

But the first episode hit all its marks. Seems to have come back from the break as good as it ever was.

I'll give it a look.