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Save my marriage: rec. shows we'll both enjoy?


Alicia64
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So, I heard Game of Thrones was good. He looked at a few shows and told me he thought it would be too violent for my taste.

 

Same w/ Breaking Bad.

 

A friend loved Orange is the New Black. Dh replied, "I don't want to watch a show about a women's prison."

 

I like Downton Abbey: no way will Dh sit through that.

 

We both enjoy Dr. Who for the kids' sake, but we're waiting for the new season at the moment.

 

I'm willing to swing more into his direction and watch Sci Fi or Mission Impossible type movies. I've heard that Edge of Tomorrow is good, but Dh keeps saying I'll find it violent.

 

Long ago we both enjoyed Ground Hog Day, Edward Scissorhands, Forest Gump, Big. Basically we like Tom Hanks, Harrison Ford.

 

We actually watched the Sopranos long ago before we had our boys. I didn't like the violence (I had to leave the room a few times), but enjoyed the relationships between the people.

 

I really enjoyed Maleficent. He sort of liked it. (He complains about movies that are too "girl power" and make boys and men look like dolts. We have boys.)

 

Left alone I'll watch HGTV or cooking shows -- which is a no-go for him.

 

Any movie or TV show suggestions? After the boys go to bed we really just get irritated w/ each other because we can't agree on anything. I'm far more willing to swing in his direction so I'm not at all asking for "chick-flicks."

 

TIA!!

 

Alley

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Shows dh and I watch together that I enjoy:

Firefly

Agent Carter

Agents of Shield

The Blacklist

 

I couldn't watch breaking bad it was too violent for me. Nor did I enjoy orange is the new black.

 

Tried to watch Supernatural, Walking Dead,and Dr. Who but I didn't enjoy them.

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We don't have cable or satellite, so much of what we watch is on streaming services. 

 

-White Collar

 

-Murdoch Mysteries

 

-Eureka - sci-fi but fun light sci-fi

 

-Inspector Lewis, Endeavor (these are spinoffs of Inspector Morse, but neither dh nor I liked Morse)

 

-Midsomer Murders

 

Currently showing on broadcast (non-cable) networks:

 

-NCIS, NCIS LA or NCIS New Orleans

 

-The Blacklist (maybe too violent based on your comments)

 

-Agent Carter

 

-Castle 

 

-Grimm (again possibly too violent for your tastes, but you could try it)

 

 

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Some of our favorites in the last few years:

 

Foyle's War

The Mentalist

The Hour (BBC)

The Newsroom (lots of the f word but otherwise clean)

 

I guess they all include a little violence, given they're shows about detectives or news stations.  In most of them, it is not explicit.  There are some creepy episodes in the Mentalist.

 

 

 

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We don't have cable or satellite, so much of what we watch is on streaming services. 

 

-White Collar

 

-Murdoch Mysteries

 

-Eureka - sci-fi but fun light sci-fi

 

-Inspector Lewis, Endeavor (these are spinoffs of Inspector Morse, but neither dh nor I liked Morse)

 

-Midsomer Murders

 

Currently showing on broadcast (non-cable) networks:

 

-NCIS, NCIS LA or NCIS New Orleans

 

-The Blacklist (maybe too violent based on your comments)

 

-Agent Carter

 

-Castle 

 

-Grimm (again possibly too violent for your tastes, but you could try it)

 

this is almost my list, too!  i'd omit grimm and the blacklist, and haven't seen white collar.  

the murdoch mysteries was unexpectedly fabulous!

i'd add:

warehouse 13 and

blue bloods

little mosque on the prairie

and a bit more violent as the seasons progress: covert affairs and person of interest

and any of the star treks.... esp.  next generation, but really any of them.

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Sherlock, the BBC version. Elementary, the American one, is ok too.

 

We loved How I Met Your Mother (until the last couple of seasons).

 

DH often gets hooked on The Good Wife with me.

 

24

 

Nashville is pretty interesting and DH can get stuck watching that one too.

 

We stream everything, no cable, I was binge watching Manhattan Love Story and DH was supposed to be doing something else and couldn't stop watching.

 

I haven't seen it but I keep hearing great things about House of Cards.

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Thank you for question, OP!  I've added several of the recommended to our instant watch list.

 

I will warn for both Sherlock (BBC version) and Firefly, they are both really short series.  Both are great, but if you binge watch them, they will be easily gone in a week.  Might want to treat them like a real show and pick a day a week to watch one of each.

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Shows that we have both enjoyed:

Lost - sci fi and relationship stuff - something for everyone

The Shield - NYPD style cop show

The Wire - underrated detective show with likeable characters and some humor

 

If you don't mind lots of sex:

Mad Men

 

We also watched The Sopranos, Breaking Bad, and Sons of Anarchy.  Breaking Bad is the most dark show I have ever watched.  It was worse than The Sopranos!  Sons is full of sex and violence.  I have a crush on Jax.  That is all.  :)

 

ETA:  True Detective (but very graphic crime scenes) and Boardwalk Empire are also shows we have watched.  Boardwalk is interesting with good characters, but there is a lot of violence and more full frontal female nudity than I ever imagined possible.  I've never seen so many bOOks in my life.

 

 

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I think these have all already been mentioned, but hubby and I both enjoy Warehouse 13, Eureka, Psych, Leverage, House, and Sherlock.  Hubby likes Supernatural, but it can be pretty gross and disturbing.  I like Bones, but hubby doesn't really care for it.  White Collar was pretty good, and Justified was decent as well.  Of all of the sci-fi type shows, Warehouse 13 is probably my favorite.  And I'm generally not into sci-fi, that's much more hubby's thing than mine :)  We've pretty much run out of episodes of all of these (we just have Netflix and Amazon prime), so we just started watching the Twilight Zone (not the movie, the old tv shows). 

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My advice is that anyone tells you to not watch TV but do something interactive probably has not ever had a Scrabble argument.

 

I have no suggestions. We are trying to find a cooperative board game.

 

Ha!  My husband and I have this issue.  We rarely argue, but we've gotten rather intense over a board game more than once, to the point we don't enjoy playing competitively against one another sometimes LOL.  We are fine with anyone else, fine if we are helping our kids, fine if we are playing with the kids, but one on one in a direct matchup?  It doesn't go well :lol:

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My advice is that anyone tells you to not watch TV but do something interactive probably has not ever had a Scrabble argument.

 

I have no suggestions. We are trying to find a cooperative board game.

 

For the games to play idea....Apples to Apples is the only game my family can handle without a major upset. 

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Of the top of my head, some shows that both my husband and I have enjoyed over the last 10 years or so:

 

- Psych

- Chuck

- Firefly

- Grimm

- Suits

- Leverage (and its British cousin Hustle)

- Sherlock

- Dollhouse

- Mr. Selfridge

 

Some shows he watches that I don't love but don't run me out of the room:

 

- White Collar

- Burn Notice

- House

- Warehouse 13

 

Currently, we're re-watching Star Trek: Voyager together.

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I think you'd be ok with Edge of Tomorrow. It's not as bad as Sopranos.

Just off the top of my head, here's what we've recently either binge watched or we rotate through these tv shows

Arrow
Castle

White Collar
Person of Interest
Sherlock
Elementary

Agents of Shield

Agent Carter
Orphan Black
Supernatural
Burn Notice
 

I have feminist men so I'm not really sure about the strong women thing. Edge of Tomorrow has a very strong female protagonist.

Agent Carter is very female centered. Not gross at all - the violence is very gore free....

Orphan Black has more explicit violence & also female centered.


For a lighter film Knight & Day with Tom Cruise & Cameron Diaz.  I really think this is an under-rated hidden gem of a comedy adventure realm & there's no huge gore in it.

Also Guardians of the Galaxy & how about  Captain America, Avengers, & the Captain America: Winter Soldier films.

 

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So, I heard Game of Thrones was good. He looked at a few shows and told me he thought it would be too violent for my taste.

 

Same w/ Breaking Bad.

 

A friend loved Orange is the New Black. Dh replied, "I don't want to watch a show about a women's prison."

 

I like Downton Abbey: no way will Dh sit through that.

 

We both enjoy Dr. Who for the kids' sake, but we're waiting for the new season at the moment.

 

I'm willing to swing more into his direction and watch Sci Fi or Mission Impossible type movies. I've heard that Edge of Tomorrow is good, but Dh keeps saying I'll find it violent.

 

Long ago we both enjoyed Ground Hog Day, Edward Scissorhands, Forest Gump, Big. Basically we like Tom Hanks, Harrison Ford.

 

We actually watched the Sopranos long ago before we had our boys. I didn't like the violence (I had to leave the room a few times), but enjoyed the relationships between the people.

 

I really enjoyed Maleficent. He sort of liked it. (He complains about movies that are too "girl power" and make boys and men look like dolts. We have boys.)

 

Left alone I'll watch HGTV or cooking shows -- which is a no-go for him.

 

Any movie or TV show suggestions? After the boys go to bed we really just get irritated w/ each other because we can't agree on anything. I'm far more willing to swing in his direction so I'm not at all asking for "chick-flicks."

 

TIA!!

 

Alley

 

If you want something Game of Thrones-ish but less violent (mildly) and a bit more female-friendly maybe try Outlander? My DH shockingly has really enjoyed it, there's enough manliness going on with the fights and political/historical stuff for him but there's a strong female lead too. The men are very strong-minded, not wussy, Diana Gabaldon does not like stupid people so she basically doesn't write any in, lol! There are sex scenes but I assume if you're okay theoretically with Game of Thrones the Outlander ones, which are mostly either married sex or a few cases of bad rapes (and they're treated as bad, no rapist is given an 'out' as being justified), wouldn't be offensive to you.  

 

Something with a similar pace to Downton Abbey but more masculine is the Father Brown series on PBS. We've watched that a little bit. My DH tolerates Downton Abbey but definitely doesn't get into it and mostly job hunts with it on in the background while I watch it. 

 

Grimm might be good, definitely more suspenseful than Once Upon a Time.

 

What about humorous shows? Black-ish is hilarious! I love that show, cracks me up every time. The dad does get a bit of that doofus-dad syndrome sometimes but not as bad as Everybody Loves Raymond. And what about a show that has some humor and drama like Parenthood? I know it just ended but I bet netflix or somewhere else has it to stream. 

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Ha!  My husband and I have this issue.  We rarely argue, but we've gotten rather intense over a board game more than once, to the point we don't enjoy playing competitively against one another sometimes LOL.  We are fine with anyone else, fine if we are helping our kids, fine if we are playing with the kids, but one on one in a direct matchup?  It doesn't go well :lol:

 

Add us to this list as well.  We are so evenly-matched at everything except games of trivia (where our areas of expertise do not overlap at all), and so competitive, that we just don't play.  It's not fun.

 

As for TV shows, I will second and third White Collar and Foyle's War.  Both are on Netflix.  I adore Foyle's War, and as I have mentioned before, it is my answer to everything these days.  Stubborn grass stains?  Foyle's War.  No ideas for dinner?  Foyle's War.  The only potential downside to FW is that each episode is 1.5 hours long.  If you can't devote that much time to watch it closely (I can't cook dinner or anything else when it is, as I need to pay attention), don't bother.  It needs to be savored.  We rarely have that much time to devote to TV, which is why we have been able to stretch the entire run of FW over about six months while watching almost nothing else.  Both FW and White Collar are almost 100% family friendly.  FW has some graphic violence once in a while, but it was wartime England--violence was hardly gratuitous.

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So, I heard Game of Thrones was good. He looked at a few shows and told me he thought it would be too violent for my taste.

 

Same w/ Breaking Bad.

 

A friend loved Orange is the New Black. Dh replied, "I don't want to watch a show about a women's prison."

 

I like Downton Abbey: no way will Dh sit through that.

 

We both enjoy Dr. Who for the kids' sake, but we're waiting for the new season at the moment.

 

I'm willing to swing more into his direction and watch Sci Fi or Mission Impossible type movies. I've heard that Edge of Tomorrow is good, but Dh keeps saying I'll find it violent.

 

Long ago we both enjoyed Ground Hog Day, Edward Scissorhands, Forest Gump, Big. Basically we like Tom Hanks, Harrison Ford.

 

We actually watched the Sopranos long ago before we had our boys. I didn't like the violence (I had to leave the room a few times), but enjoyed the relationships between the people.

 

I really enjoyed Maleficent. He sort of liked it. (He complains about movies that are too "girl power" and make boys and men look like dolts. We have boys.)

 

Left alone I'll watch HGTV or cooking shows -- which is a no-go for him.

 

Any movie or TV show suggestions? After the boys go to bed we really just get irritated w/ each other because we can't agree on anything. I'm far more willing to swing in his direction so I'm not at all asking for "chick-flicks."

 

TIA!!

 

Alley

Do you enjoy war movies?  I've watched everything in that genre, I believe.  Maybe your husband would enjoy those.  I LOVED "Band of Brothers", the series.  It's a few years old.  Sons of Liberty was pretty darn interesting (3 parts, History channel). 

 

 Or spy movies.  "The Americans" is a good tv show, but a little violent and sexual for my tastes.    12 Monkeys is a new series that is about time travel. 

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Things dh and I watch together that might fit your categories...

 

The Americans

Orphan Black

Brooklyn Nine Nine

 

I think you need a couple of solid comedies together and a couple of solid scifi type shows. For other comedies, we both enjoyed Community and Raising Hope.

 

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Dh and I like/liked:

Eureka!

Psych

Agents of Shield

Agent Carter

The Librarian (3 older movies and a new season. But The hauted house one was intense.}

Sherlock {who doesn't love Benidict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman?}

Burn Notice

The Flash {seriously cheesy but cute}

Lois and Clark {oldie but goodie}

 

Edge of Tomorrow is good but LOTS of shooting of aliens.

 

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I don't like violent shows either but my husband does. Here are some shows off the top of my head.

 

Firefly - best show ever

 

Firday Night Lights - We both really liked it although it started dragging toward the end

 

Sherlock - we liked it okay but didn't love it

 

Entourage - I can't explain why I liked this show. It's a guy show with a lot of female nudity but I liked it anyway.

 

Newsroom - The show started stronger than it ended.

 

Broadchurch - I watched it while my husband was out of town. I don't know if it would have been too slow for him. I don't like murder mysteries but I did enjoy this show.

 

Boardwalk Empire - My husband liked it but I did not. I gave up after a few episodes because it was too violent for my taste.

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