Favorite TV shows

[Davey]

We haven't really done this before, have we? No matter, what's your favorite comedy and drama shows?

The other night, after watching about the third? installment of the new Fox show on Thursday called Wonderfalls, I would have to say that's my favorite show right now. Definitely worth checking out. Very clever and funny. Talking inanimate objects in the form of animals telling the adorable lead twenty-something, underacheiving, souvenir shop worker what to do. And a totally dysfunctional, but utterly enjoyable family life. She even lives in an Airstream trailer in juxtapostion to her rich family, including her lesbian lawyer sister who is just discovering her sexuality. Fun stuff :)

And for the serious side, Jay and I recently talked about the FX drama Shield, which remains my favorite hour on TV. Yeah, I used to have HBO and enjoyed watching the Sopranos, but still always liked the feel of Shield better. The Sopranos just seems too far away from my own life, I guess. I know it's probably real, but there's part of me that wants to believe that murderous world doesn't exist. Naivete, I know.

Anyway, that's my two choices. Also really enjoy Alias and the new Touching Evil. And those motorcycle/hot rod shows like Orange County Chopper/Monster Garage/Rides.

Anybody else wanna come clean?

http://www.fox.com/schedule/2003/images/popups/wonderfalls.jpg

[Chip_B]

There are only two shows that I make it a point to see: CSI (the original--not to be confused with The David Caruso Hour) and Alias. CSI has what I think is the best ensemble acting in any drama on TV. The plotlines are nearly always compelling and any show that can make hard science a 'star' has something going for it. Alias is just the opposite: pure escapist entertainment that doesn't remotely resemble reality. I thoroughly enjoy it. Other shows that I like and catch occasionally:

Kingdom Hospital (I think that's what it's called) - because it's dark and I like dark.

Extreme Makeover Home Edition - I know it's essentially an hour-long Sears commercial, but the things these folks did for a really decent woman in Watts was quite moving.

Shows I miss: X-Files (though the last season was dreck), The Others (brilliant show that never got a fair shot), and John Doe (great premise, but slipped into mediocrity. Should've been better, but it sucks that the show never gave its fans resolution).

I keep meaning to catch The Shield, but haven't gotten around to it yet. The USA show that I really liked last year was The Dead Zone, but that disappeared too.

-Chip

[ForeverAutumn]

I haven't seen Wonderfalls, but my brother (no, not that one) keeps telling me to watch it.

My all-time favourite show for the last many years has been ER. It's had its ups and downs over the years, but I've stayed faithful and continue to enjoy it.

For more recent shows, I've become hooked on Kingdom Hospital. It's a 15 hour mini-series about a haunted hospital. With Stephen King as executive producer you can imagine how strange a show it must be. It's a little off the wall and definately not for everyone. The opening show included a hit and run accident that King claimed was filmed to look as close to his real life accident as he could make it. Creepy. It's the most creative and innovative television programming that I've seen in a long time. I would love to see this become a regular series. You can view the Hospital's web site here... http://kingdomhospitalofmaine.com/ Be sure to surf the site a little. :D

And my confession is.....I'm a reality TV addict. I've never missed a Survivor episode. I love The Amazing Race and Big Brother. I used to watch The Mole, before they made it suck by using celebrities. It used to be a good show with real people. And I've been watching the Apprentice. I try to stay away from the matchmaking shows like The Bachelor or Tempation Island (or as we used to call it Whore Island). But I did get sucked into watching Average Joe.

Oh yeah. We also watch The Daily Show every night instead of the real news. :)

[MindGoneHaywire]

Comedy? I had stopped watching sitcoms around 1980 or thereabouts. I did watch Married With Children for a couple of seasons in the late 80s, which I thought was great. Then nothing until South Park, which I also couldn't really take after a couple of seasons, though much of the first two were pure gold. Recently a friend turned me onto a show I missed, The Family Guy. Very, very funny stuff. Outstanding. Sitcoms on TV now? Haven't seen one I can sit through. I'll try to give this a try. But I'm someone who thinks that most sitcoms, from MASH to Cheers to Seinfeld, are utterly unwatchable. I'd watch a reality television show before you'd ever catch me watching something like Friends. However, I try to catch an Odd Couple or All In The Family rerun from time to time, or a Three Stooges short on AMC. And I have some amusing Amos & Andy episodes on tape. I'd sure rather watch that minstrel show than the relatively unfunny Honeymooners. I find the Kingfish to be much funnier than Ralph Kramden.

Drama, the Shield's the sh*t. Possibly the best television show I've ever seen...but then again I haven't seen a lot. Way better than the Sopranos, though I must admit I only rented the first season of that. Way overrated. Much better show is Six Feet Under...very enjoyable & entertaining. With characters you actually kinda care about. I think it's better than American Beauty...unlike most programs, there are no characters & no segments that make me wish I could get back to the other character in the other segment more quickly than the writer wants the audience to. That's rare.

Saw a program on Bravo, a British police drama, can't remember the name. If you like Guy Ritchie movies like Lock, Stock & Snatch, you'll never see anything that's more of a transparent rip-off. That's not necessarily a knock on the flow of the show itself, except to say that it's not very original.

There will be a new season of Nip/Tuck in a couple of months. Yay! I also watch professional wrestling, the O'Reilly Factor, sports, Star Trek reruns, and NY1, our local cable news channel, which unlike the network flagship stations broadcasts news that relates to what happens in NYC--not the suburbs. It's a great thing.

[dld]

All of mine are on HBO with the exception of:

Significant Others, on Bravo. Its fall down, kick yo mama, funny. Season finale is Tuesday.

The Simpsons. These days I prefer reruns as quality seems to have fallen off in recent years.

HBO's offerings-

1) Sopranos. The best TV ever, and as good as most movies. Last nights was no exception

2) Curb Yer Enthusiasm, My favorite comedy by a longshot

3) Deadwood. If you get fed to the pigs, you had a really bad previous evening at the Gem Saloon.

Honorable mention to Sex and The City

Another non HBO honorable, Maximun Elimination Competition on Spike. It gets old, fast, but if you haven't seen it, imagine a fractured flicker, only the overdubbing is for a Japanese Outdoors game show and has absolutely nothing to do with the action on screen.

[Jim Clark]

I watch too much television. With Buffy gone I figured to be able to ween myself from the boob toob.

The Shield-yep, great show
NYPD Blue-still like it and of course that creates something of a quandry for Tuesday nights.
Angel-of course
CSI-Las Vegas
Star Gate

Comedies:
Simpsons
King Of The Hill is OK
Malcom In The Middle
Arrested Development
I liked Benie Mac too but I don't think I'll follow it to Monday since I have baseball practice that night. Wowzers, that is a whole lot of TV shows.

Clearly you can find me in front of the TV on Sunday night.

jc

[Ex Lion Tamer]

Curb Your Enthusiasm is my favorite sit-com since All in the Family. The only show that can get belly-laughs out of me on occasion.

I'm a sucker for all the Law & Orders, especially Criminal Intent, the one with Vincent D'Onofrio. I thought that the Practice this year was excellent, James Spader was a breath of fresh air, hope he's back next season. If pressed I'd have to pick Six Feet Under as my favorite dramatic series, with Soprano's not far behind. Never seen The Shield. What day is it on?

Mark

[Swish]

The Sopranos - I wish we didn't have to wait so long between "seasons".

Six Feet Under - ditto

Curb Your Enthusiasm - Larry David just kills me, even if he is a left-winger.

Those are all HBO shows, so not everyone can see them, but as for network TV:

American Dreams - while this may not be your cup of tea, I remember watching American Bandstand when I was a kid, and this show brings back a lot of memories. It's produced by Dick Clark and the show centers around American Bandstand and the issues facing our country back then, namely the war in Vietnam.

That 70s Show - Goofy? You betcher arse, but it still cracks me up.

Swish

[Ex Lion Tamer]

[American Dreams - while this may not be your cup of tea, I remember watching American Bandstand when I was a kid, and this show brings back a lot of memories. It's produced by Dick Clark and the show centers around American Bandstand and the issues facing our country back then, namely the war in Vietnam.


I should do a sub-thread...shows my wife makes me watch (that I secretly like): American Dreams would be one of them. Fairly entertaining show that has the bonus of good music as the backdrop.

Another one of those my wife loves and I secretly like is Gilmore Girls; clever if not too realistic dialogue and some interesting musical references, if not the actual music.

[Troy]

Nighttime dramas, sitcoms, cop shows and those horrible reality shows? No way. Most of the shows you guys have listed I have never seen. Just absolutely no interest. The ones I have seen are nothing new for me. TV shows are a tired old formula.

And I can't tolerate commercials much anymore. Most TV shows feel like they are filler between the commercials, like it's the commercials that are most important.

I used to watch the Simpsons with regularity, but have fallen off of it in recent years. Mainly I just got bored with it.

I tend to watch some sports (because I like the unpredictability), but not that much anymore either.

We watch a whole lot of movies. We tend to rent 3-5 movies a week (This weekend- Slaughterhouse 5, Intolerable Cruelty, Nat Lamp's Mr. Wong) and watch a lot of TCM and FMC.

Our weekly TV time in general is WAY below the national average. It isn't unusual for us to not even turn the TV on for several days at a time.

[audiobill]

the sopranos still does it for me. after seinfeld retired, there has really been a void in the "sitcom" sit'n.

last season, the sopranos had it's poorest showing but.........wow, this year, it's teaming up to be the best season, yet, esp. after last night's events.

the apprentice has turned out to be a surprise for me, since i was quite scornful of it without having watched it; one episode later & i was hooked.

question: is the sitcom officially dead??

[JSE]

Sopranos - Still very good.

Dead Wood - My favorite new show.

Kingdom Hospital - I'm hooked. Missed the first episode but I have cought up now. It's different and that's why I like it. Dark, moody, funny. etc.

Scrubs - Stupid, but funny.

SouthPark! - Brutally honest and funny.

The Apprentice - Hate to admit it, but it's good.

JSE

[ForeverAutumn]

question: is the sitcom officially dead??

If it's not dead yet, it's slowly and painfully fading away. I used to love to watch sit coms. Cheers; Taxi; Mash; Frasier (in the early years); Seinfeld and the likes used to be the staple of my TV viewing time. Now the only one that I really still enjoy is That 70's Show. Malcolm in the Middle can get me on occasion with it's off-the-wall, disfunctional humour. I used to enjoy King of Queens. Kevin James has exceptional timing and is just hilarious, but the story lines suck and the rest of the cast is annoying.

To me, the new genre of sit-coms is the comedy-drama. Shows like Six Feet Under, Trailer Park Boys, Sex and the City (to an extent). These shows are more entertaining, and well written than any of the sit-coms currently on the tube. The characters are interesting. The shows, while having a serious side, can also make me laugh on a regular basis. Not by their delivery of tired old jokes and pranks, but just by seeing the humour or irony in a situation.

Example: Six Feet Under. The family patriarch is talking to his wife on his cell phone, while driving. She's giving him **** because he hasn't quit smoking and smoking is going to kill him. He gets off the phone, leans down to the car lighter to light a cigarette and, because he's not watching the road, gets nailed by a bus and dies. Irony. C'mon, that's funny!

[-Jar-]

I like what I've seen of WONDERFALLS, except I always forget when it's on.

We like THE PRACTICE.. James Spader has been awesome this season. he kind of makes the other actors look like hacks... but it's going away, though I did hear there is a spin off.. we'll see.

We liked BOSTON PUBLIC.. but it's gone. I was a pretty big ALLY MCBEAL fan too. Fox seems to have a way of destroying its best shows, except for the SIMPSONS..

Of course I love the SIMPSONS, but, for some reason I'm never at the tv anymore at 8pm on Sunday.. but be something to do with little kids and bed time stories ;) At least when I see re-runs they're "new to me" hehehe.

SEINFELD was the best..... I always watch the re-runs.

I like "24" but I missed a large portion of this season due to taking a Karate class.. but now that class is over and I hear "24" is back on regularly..

I love LAW & ORDER. Happily, it's on almost every night. Though there have been a lot of re-runs recently.

ER is ok.. I'm kind of hot/cold on that. Same with CSI. I like that the stoner dude (Rory Cochrane) from the movie DAZED AND CONFUSED has found an outlet for his talent on CSI MIAMI. He was also pretty enjoyable in LOVE & A .45.

I try not to get hooked on too many tv shows...

-jar

[Stone]

I'm not a big TV watcher (very short attention span) except for sports occasionally, and I haven't had much time for it lately, but I have watched a little bit in the past few weeks. I watched ER recently and thought it was (still) boring as hell.

I have to concur about The Practice. I had quit watching it, then was forced to watch it one night a few weeks ago, and it was really good thanks to James Spader. Shatner was/is great on there too and at times downright hilarious.

At times I think Arrested Development is damn funny, and at other times I find it boring.

For a while I was getting into Monster Garage, but got bored with it and sick of Jesse so I quit watching. I still watch American Chopper when I can, but I'm not upset if I miss it.

Also, last year, the World Poker Tournament had me seriously hooked. Those guys are amazing.

[Dave_G]

I "watch" TV very infrequently.

However, it's on a lot, but mostly in the background.

I do watch some golf, cycling, weather (love those girls in those tight ass blouses), and other sports stuff.

When I was a kid I loved TV - Gilligans Island, Scooby Doo, etc.

I hate all those prime time shows and like Troy, 99% of that stuff ya'll list I have never seen.

But one channel I like and even watch is TVLand, where they show Andy Griffith, Leave it to Beaver, the Munsters, etc., man, that stuff is excellent, esp. for me The Beaver.

You know, they used to actually have to use their brains to write scripts.

Movies? Rarely do I watch a movie. I like them, but time is limited. Hell, I have > 50 dvd's and probably have 10 I've never even watched. 40 of 'em are concert dvd's.

I also have 2 kids so Nintendo is on a lot, so are cartoons and Nickelodeon.

Peace -

Dave

[jack70]

NEVER watched any of the "reality" shows... I just don't get it (???). I also don't watch any (so called) comedies. They're all junk.. all lame... and all the same IMO. Life is too short. Seinfeld was the last comedy of any quality IMO.

However... you COULD call American Chopper (on Discovery) a "reality show" of sorts, although it's more an edited mix of art & and mechanics thrown together within a hot family dynamics (love/hate) in a small business situation. As someone who loves building sh_t... (both art and mechanical things), I enjoy this a lot. It also echos the real (yelling & swearing) father-son interaction most of us grew up with... LOL. Also nice that they're replayed A LOT, at different days and times. so you needn't tune in to a certain time. (they build motorcycles).

I still watch "24", even though it's often a parody of itself (the show needs a few re-writes methinks... LOL). There's a British site that actually parodies this... hilarious.

I watch C-SPAN a lot, especially BOOK-TV (on weekends)... and occasionally O'Reilly, Hardball and Dennis Miller. Try to scan The History ch & TLC too. Same with Wall St Week and This Old House. And certain Sports stuff (local hoops and OLN's Euro-cycling coverage, which is now in full bloom... Paris-Roubaix next week!). BTW, Both my UConn hoops teams are going for the National Championships today & tomorrow.


My all-time favorite show for the last many years has been ER. It's had its ups and downs over the years, but I've stayed faithful and continue to enjoy it.
I've stayed with ER since it's start as well... almost jumped the shark once or twice, but considering the number of episodes they've done, they've managed to get the train back on track a few times and not become that stale, something that almost ALWAYS happens after 4-5 years. Even though they DO go a bit over-the-top (on occasion) to come up with something "new." I think the new cast members over the past 1-2 years are as good and interesting as any they've EVER had. Noah Wylie's the only original left, and it's not just the money that keeps him hanging in there... he recognizes the writing is as good as most films he'd get... so despite the brutal filming schedules they have (6-14 hr days are normal), he's smart enough to know he's lucky to get such great work for an actor, even if it does "type-cast" him a bit. I also think this season's premier (set in Africa) was a better "pure" drama than 95% of the movies coming out of Hollywood these days.... as moving and well done an hour as anything I've seen all year anywhere... period.

I've watched The Shield all last season, and agree it's as good as anything out there. I do have occasional minor quibbles about the plots (the "24" effect... ie, having the characters do things real characters would NEVER do... takes away a bit of the "reality" factor that the show get's it's enormous energy from. I'm talking about some of the intricacies of the plotlines, not the dramatic stuff itself. (they sometimes do things that don't make "logical" tactical sense). But who cares?

A show I'm surprised I'm still watching is Alias. This is like watching 3 James Bond films compressed in an hour. Mostly a campy, over-the-top, super-glitzy, crazy action show... I keep watching though. Probably because it's often very funny, and always fun to look at (sexy). It's really mindless fun... what pure entertainment is; and much better in this regard than say "24" is (at least most of the time). The plots here are so convulted, and intentially screwy, as to defy any logic... all the more fun....LOL.


American Dreams - while this may not be your cup of tea, I remember watching American Bandstand when I was a kid, and this show brings back a lot of memories. It's produced by Dick Clark and the show centers around American Bandstand and the issues facing our country back then, namely the war in Vietnam.
I actually think the music here is OK, but nothing more. What makes this (sorta corny) show so excellent IMO, is some of the REAL things it get right. The "Catholic family thing" (interactions) is right-on. The family fighting/bickering is also right-on... quite a step up from the old "father-knows-best" days. I love it when everybody is talking at the table at once. The actors are also not only cute and attractive... they're all really good!... tough, since most of the cast is kids. I also love the way they integrate the social issues into the plot.... sometimes it's "forced" and corny, but it's also done in an intelligent and respectful way... they cover all sorts of topical issues (racism, war, sex, Malcolm-X) without getting too maudlin or stupid. They often miss some of the "realities" of history accurately, at least I see errors that I think some younger writers miss (but I'm being picky here). It's generally well conceived and played out. But they always manage to hit a true heavy and emotional moral note at the end, without being saccharine, even after they've been throwing sugar around during the whole hour. Refreshing, in an era of Super-Pop-Trash-Sewer-TV.

PS- I like to spend 5 minutes each week looking through the newspaper TV-guide section (NYTimes). It lists all the shows in a 24-7 format, so you can quickly see ALL the weeks upcoming movies on TBS, AMC, USA, FX, BRV, TNT, etc. I mark any classics with my Versa-tip marker, and set the VCR... then watch em at my leisure.

[tentoze]

I'm not a big TV watcher (very short attention span) except for sports occasionally, and I haven't had much time for it lately, but I have watched a little bit in the past few weeks. I watched ER recently and thought it was (still) boring as hell.

I have to concur about The Practice. I had quit watching it, then was forced to watch it one night a few weeks ago, and it was really good thanks to James Spader. Shatner was/is great on there too and at times downright hilarious.

At times I think Arrested Development is damn funny, and at other times I find it boring.

For a while I was getting into Monster Garage, but got bored with it and sick of Jesse so I quit watching. I still watch American Chopper when I can, but I'm not upset if I miss it.

Also, last year, the World Poker Tournament had me seriously hooked. Those guys are amazing.
The Poker Tour is about the only tv show I make a point of catching. And I agree about Monster Garage- Jesse James is a douche bag.

[DarrenH]

I'm a hockey nut. I've watched nearly every Red Wings game. Never liked those 10:30 start times when they're playing on the west coast tho. Makes for a short sleep. Should be a very good playoff. I look forward to all the matchups this year. Toronto-Ottawa, Vancouver-Calgary, Philly-New Joysey, Dallas-Colorado and of course the Red Wings-Nashville. Ah, new blood.

I do watch a lot of sports but I don't like baseball. Can't stand watching baseball. Throwing some paint on the wall and watching it dry would be more fun.

I love Seinfeld and have probably seen every episode at least 5 times. It's on for an hour and a half 5 nights a week. If I'm home, that's what I'll be watching.

Evening local news. 6-6:30. Never miss that.

I really got into Amercian Chopper. I still think it's a pretty good show but it's starting to become redundant. It has lost some of it's appeal with me.

I love the Antiques Roadshow. It's on PBS every Monday at 8:00.

I like This Old House and New Yankee Workshop. I've watched these two shows for years. Those guys amaze me with their skill and craftmanship.

I watch a lot of movies also. I love Sci Fi. My favorite genre. But I also like a good drama, especially court room drama. Those movies are very interesting to me.

Darren

[skewiff]

got cancelled today, according to USA Today.

I work nights so I kind of watch no primetime tv, after 8:30.

I like Tech TV, Food network, Keen Eddie is great,but cancelled(Bravo Reruns) ***** Eye,Friends, Seinfeld, King of Queens, Fox sport world, ( English premier league), Pardon the Interuption, '70's show, BBC America, VH1 Classic. Do it yourself shows.

Tigers(who just blew out the Blue Jays 7-0) Lions and Red Wings and U of M.

Lots of Movies.

No reality show (cause they ain't real) no Basketball.

Cnn and Fox news.

Tony

[mad rhetorik]

There are a few shows I like. <b>Family Guy</b>, <b>South Park</b> (the new season of that has been <i>really</i> good so far), <b>The Simpsons</b> and <b>This Just In</b> (the only decent show on "Spike" TV) form my staple TV watching these days. I used to dig <b>Futurama</b>, but Fox canceled that a while ago. So was <b>Family Guy</b>, though I hear that a new season is coming to Cartoon Network on late nights. Hope so, TV has been kinda stagnant lately. I watch at most maybe 5-6 hours a week.

Occasionally I'll stay up late and catch some quality anime, like <b>Cowboy Bebop</b> or <b>Trigun</b>. I dig the genre, but they never show the good stuff on primetime.

If I'm really bored I have been known to watch some <b>MASH</b>, <b>Buffy The Vampire Slayer</b> (<i>serious guilty pleasure factor there...</i>; P) or <b>ER</b> reruns. I hate <b>Friends</b>, and I'd rather give myself a root canal than watch the self-proclaimed "Show About Nothing." Have caught a couple episodes of <b>24</b>, thought it was interesting but never got into it. Used to watch <b>CSI</b> and really liked it but stopped watching after the second season.

Not into <b>The Shield</b> or other cop dramas. Just not my thing.

I don't have HBO, so I haven't regularly watched <b>Six Feet Under</b>, <b>Curb Your Enthusiasm</b>, or <b>The Sopranos</b> but I liked what I saw.

[Dusty Chalk]

TV sucks -- Kill Your Television!

[Slosh]

Can't believe no one has mentioned The Wire yet. This may be the best HBO series. The Sopranos got good again this year (so far). Deadwood ain't bad either but the vulgarity seems way out of place to me.

Curb Your Enthusiam has its moments but hasn't been consistently funny enough for me to watch regularly. Six Feet Under's too soap opera-y and as open minded as I like to think myself, I have to admit the whole gay thing turns my stomach (do they have to show them kissing and touching? Blech!) And I just can't (couldn't) relate to Sex and the City. Hell, I don't even know any women who could relate (much) to it!

Except for football, I don't watch any network TV. In fact, if it wasn't for my daughter, I'd likely cancel my satellite service altogether. I'd much rather read a novel (mostly non-fiction) but it seems like I never have time anymore. I used to regularly read a couple hundred pages a night but now I'm lucky to finish before the book's due back. Even so, I know what's important to me and always make time for music :)

NP: SFA - Guerrilla

[dld]

Man, how could I leave off The Wire. What a fanfukkingtastic show!!!!!! I guess since its between seasons I forgot aboat it. Damn, I wonder what kind of crap McNulty is gonna get into next year?

A lost, but not forgotten gem was Boomtown. That show amazed me week in and week out. Just too gutsy I guess for primetime and consistently good ratings. But at least it was there for a year and a half. Someone's uncompromising vision had its day in the sun....

[richmon]

I'm with ya DLD - Spike TV's 'Most extreme elimination challange' is a hoot, combination American Gladiator's, Gong show and SNL. If your sense of humor is offbeat, try this, it's on 9oclock thursdays here. Pay attention to the announcers banter for full effect.
NYPD Blue, Antiques roadshow, Jepordy,Seinfeld/Addams Family/LeaveittoBeaver/Stooges reruns fill out my Boob Tubing. 300 channels and this is all I can stomach.