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What are your favorite TV shows over the last 15 years?


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Guest Cindie2dds
I have thought about Heros but I heard that the later season weren't as good as the first and I hate to invest myself in something that is going downhill. What do you think?

 

That's a good question. I like shows mostly because I care about the characters and what happens to them. It ebbs and flows, but overall I think it's worth watching. The only thing I don't like about it, is in the first season, it's a little gruesome. It's on network television, so it's not as bad as it could be; but if you are squeamish at all, I wouldn't bother.

 

Please, please, please try Stargate! It is my all time favorite! The first season (SG-1) has a lower budget, but the writing is wonderful; that's what pulled me in. They have a very smart, athletic female lead, which I think is worth watching just for that. It's one of those shows that just kept getting better and better, probably the reason it was on for 10 seasons.

 

Atlantis was a little scarier because of the Wraith, but still amazing. The writing was phenomenal, funny, smart, interesting. My dh is an electrical engineer and so many TV shows he just can't stand. We thoroughly enjoyed them together.

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In no particular order:

 

Buffy

Angel

Firefly

Gilmore Girls

Veronica Mars

Doctor Who

Torchwood

Skins

Life on Mars (UK)

Mad Men

The Office (US)

30 Rock

Slings and Arrows

Battlestar Galactica

Spaced

 

I feel like I'm leaving some things out, but those are my all time favorites from the last 10-15 years. Many of the things others mentioned, like Chuck, Being Human and a few others would make my runners up list. I also love that someone named Avatar: The Last Airbender, cause it's awesome. Oh, and one show no one mentioned that I really enjoy is Being Erica (it's free on Hulu!).

 

In response to some of the questions posted about shows mentioned (yes, I watch WAY too much TV)...

 

Everwood is a family drama. It's sappy, but smart. While it's not quite in the same league as Gilmore Girls, I feel like anyone who really liked Gilmores would probably enjoy it.

 

Torchwood is a spinoff of Doctor Who, but can be viewed as a stand alone affair - only a few references would be missed and I've heard there are many American fans who have never watched Doctor Who. Doctor Who is a show that dates back to the 1960's, but the character of "The Doctor" regenerates and is played by different actors. It went off the air in the 80's for many years and was revived in 2005 with a new look and you don't need to have seen anything before that to get it. Doctor Who is considered a family show - the writers intend that it can be appreciated by adults and kids alike. Torchwood is an adult show that deals with darker themes and mature topics.

 

The universe of Stargate is indeed huge and intimidating. If you like Scifi, it's pretty cheerful, light stuff. I think it's fun though I'm not a huge fan. SG1 is also all free on Hulu, so that's nice. I would compare the look and feel of it in many ways to Star Trek: TNG.

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Faves:

 

Angel

Blood Ties

Moonlight

True Blood

 

I don't watch a lot of current tv shows (with the exception of True Blood) - I tend to find shows a bit later on dvd and end up going "oh! so this is what everyone was babbling about!" :tongue_smilie:

 

Plus - I hate commercials, and I prefer to have control over when/where I watch something, so I don't mind waiting to get the dvds of something. Currently waiting for season one of The Vampire Diaries to come out at the end of the month. (impatiently)

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I have thought about Heros but I heard that the later season weren't as good as the first and I hate to invest myself in something that is going downhill. What do you think?

 

The first season of Heroes is worth it. You can pretend that nothing comes after the first season, but you should definitely see the first season at least.

 

Also, if you're big into serial killers, you might really enjoy Dexter. Just sayin. :)

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To the OP - you're a Joss Whedon fan, I take it? :p

 

My favorites:

 

1) Firefly

2) Battlestar Galactica

3) LOST (only after seeing the finale, though. It was a perfect cherry on top and made the whole series make sense to me)

4) Avatar: The Last Airbender - it's a Family Tradition around here!

5) The Office (BBC version)

6) The Office (US version) - although I've only seen the 1st 3 seasons of this one

 

and

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only because it has two of THE most remembered episodes of any tv series I've ever seen in my life (I usually forget about a tv episode as soon as it's over)....

 

7) ER. The episode where Dr Carter and the medical student were both stabbed - and Dr. Greene's final episode (when Israel Kamakawiwo'ole 's Somewhere Over the Rainbow played at the end.... :crying:)

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1) Friday Night Lights

2) Parenthood

3) The Office

4) Friends

5) Scrubs

6) ER

7) Lipstick Jungle

8) Army Wives

9) Frasier

10) King of Queens

11) Big Love

12) Deadwood

13) Gossip Girl

14) House Hunters Intl

15) American Idol

16) Anthony Bourdain

17) any of the Law and Order shows

18) Sarah Connor Chronicles

19) Parks and Recreation

20) Saturday Night Live

21) Sopranos

22) Northern Exposure

23) Will and Grace

24) Medium

25) Crossing Jordan

 

I would most likely love Glee - from what people have told me - but I've never seen it. Hope to change that soon.

Edited by kimmie38017
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To the OP - you're a Joss Whedon fan, I take it? :p

 

Oh yeah. Big time! In my opinion that man is brilliant. There are so many layers to his work. He manages to take incredibly complex and real issues and and really make you stop and think about them while also making them enjoyable by putting them in fantasical settings. I think the last season of Dollhouse had so many layers that it was a little too deep for me. I really need to go back and watch it again.

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Ok, I noticed several people listed Psych, Big Bang Theory and Burn Notice. I have never heard of these. Please tell me about them. :bigear:

 

Psych is a very funny show about a guy who was trained by his detective dad to notice EVERYTHING. As a result he could solve crimes by watching the news and called in loads of tips. The police got suspicious of him and, in order to explain his extensive knowledge of the local crimes, he claimed to be psychic. He convinced his long-time friend to open a psychic detective agency with him and gets hired by the police to help on difficult cases. It's a lot like Monk, observant person hired by police as consultant, but with a different slant.

 

Big Bang Theory is a sitcom about a few really smart guys and how they relate to their attractive neighbor and react to various situations. Think Friends with a bunch of geeks. It's very funny, but has a lot of off-color jokes that I don't want my kids watching on a regular basis, so I've banned the tv show here.

 

Burn Notice is about a CIA (I think) agent who is sort of black-listed and has to hide from the authorities while trying to clear his name. At the same time, he's pulled into solving mysteries, etc. I've only seen this a couple of times, so someone else could probably give a better description. I didn't find the show very entertaining, personally.

 

 

eta: Sorry, I just realized that 3littlekeets answered you already. Ooops.

Edited by MeganP
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I heard that Alias kind of went off the deep end the last couple season. That's why I haven't watched it. True?

 

Completely.

 

The first two seasons are great. The acting is brilliant. (Victor Garber and Lena Olin especially.) The last three seasons? Meh. I'm not sure the writers watched the show.

 

But I highly recommend the first two seasons. If you don't want to watch the last three after that, PM me and I can tell you how it ends. ;)

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I love Victor Garber in most things. The roles he took for a couple of shows I thought tainted my opinion somewhat, but yes, in Alias he was great.

 

Was any of the last couple of seasons during the writers' strike? I seem to remember something about it.

 

Dawn

 

Completely.

 

The first two seasons are great. The acting is brilliant. (Victor Garber and Lena Olin especially.) The last three seasons? Meh. I'm not sure the writers watched the show.

 

But I highly recommend the first two seasons. If you don't want to watch the last three after that, PM me and I can tell you how it ends. ;)

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Fringe

Alias

Lost (until the end :glare:)

The Office (first couple of years - I think it jumped the shark a long time ago)

Ed

Masterpiece Classic and Mystery productions

early CSI episodes

Law & Order (original series)

JAG

Judging Amy

early Survivor

early Amazing Race

Everybody Loves Raymond

My Name is Earl

House

Doctor Who reboot (BBC)

MI-5 (BBC)

Without a Trace (first couple of years)

Star Trek: Voyager

Project Runway (first few series especially - the Santino season was great)

Top Chef (ditto)

 

ETA: How in the world could I forget these: Firefly and Jericho!!!!!

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I had forgotten about Judging Amy - I enjoyed that show.

A few people mentioned Northern Exposure. I had totally not remembered that one! I enjoyed that up until about the last season. (I'm thinking of the right show, am I not - the one where the medical student has to pay his medical debt by practicing medicine in Alaska for a few years???)

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Tell me about this one. :bigear:

The Mentalist is about a man who used to be a scam artist, pretending to be a psychic, but really, he was "reading" his clients much like the "Lie to Me" people do. His wife and dc were killed by a serial killer. He is now a consultant with the police. Sort of the opposite of "Psych." :-) It's very well written, although it makes Mr. Ellie and me crazy when the writers make up names for the California cities that are crime scenes.:glare:

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