What TV shows would you recommend for me?

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I feel like there's really not much left on TV these days - I really like shows that have some sort of "serial" aspect to them - i.e. there's an ongoing story that spans across the episodes, not stuff like sitcoms where everything resets after every episode.

Current shows that I like:

Fringe
Boardwalk Empire

Shows I loved that are no more:

Lost
Battlestar Galactica
The Shield
The Wire
The Sopranos
Heroes (well, most of the first season, after that, not so much)

What shows are currently on the air that you couldn't live without that are similar to any of these?

One of the newer shows you might like is Stargate Universe. Its not for everybody but the episodes tie together and its sort of like BSG. Another show I would check out would be Supernatural. You would have to catch up but the show is one I like a lot and is great too.

Another show I would check out would be Burn Notice because it has a narrative arc but each episode is pretty one off though. But its a fun show to watch.

Other than that I don't watch much else besides sports.

Doctor Who (classic and/or new)

Blake's 7 (very like the new version of BSG in terms of moral shading, I have heard)


Doctor Who is very much an obvious one. Despite the budget problems throughout the classic series, it often had good stories. And the nature of the series means that they can go anywhere in time and space. Usually, this means locales in and around London or various rock quarries, but there are some very imaginative alien worlds (Planet of Evil springs to mind).

The same goes for Blake's 7, although Blake's 7 had a more adult orientation than Doctor Who. In what other series would you have the main character framed for child molestation in the very first episode? This is basically a series that inverts the premise of Star Trek. Instead of the Federation being the good-guy protagonists, you have them being the villainous antagonists, and the so-called heroes are a revolutionary, an amoral computer hacker, a cowardly thief and lockpicker, a space pirate, a murderer, a telepathic terrorist, and a ship's computer with an agenda of its own. Brilliant series at its best.

You should defo buy the X-Files on DVD, good story arc throughout the series.

24 is also a good series to get all the DVD boxsets for.

On TV these days, have to agree with Doctor Who!

There is the tv series "V", started last year and will continue in january this year, so far I think it is pretty good http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1307824/

Also Chuck is pretty cool, its a mix of comedy and spy stuff http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0934814/ , its in its 3rd year tho I think so you may want to watch the previous seasons to catch up.

Dexter - A very gripping show about a serial killer who kills other serial killers. Be wanted however, it is certainly not for the faint of heart. I highly recommend it though as all five seasons are absolutely incredible (seasons 2 and 3 are slighty weaker than 1, 4 and 5 but they are still of a very high quality). You can also buy them very cheap on play.co.uk if you're from Europe or play.com if you're from America. Each season is also twelve episodes so the show never drags on (Fringe for example dragged on the "Peter doesn't know he's from the altiverse" for almost all of the second season even though we knew at 120). Each season also is unique (it'd be hard to explain without giving away a brief summary of the season which would ruin the surprise of the season when you view it) but are all of a high quality. The show also has many subplots going on and the show expects you to have the intelligence to follow them (it rarely goes back over what happened in those plots). It really is my favourite show on at the moment (next to Fringe) and it is incredible that after 5 seasons they haven't reused old plots and that they have all been of such a consistently high quality (I've never seen a show that hasn't gotten stale after 5 seasons).

24 - 24 is also another brilliant show that is worth checking out. Unfortunately, Seasons 1, 2 and 5 are significantly better than the rest. Seasons 3, 4 and 8 are also quite good but Seasons 6 and 7 are fairly bad. The show however is very fast paced and the first five seasons are very tense with excellent twists. The problem with the show is that as the series got older, more and more plots were reused and it became quite stale (the last episodes of season 8 however had the same quality of episodes in season 1 and it was an excellent end to the series).

House - It's a medical drama and perhaps it's not what you're looking for but i really recommend watching one or two of the earlier episodes and if you find it interesting going out and buying season 1 cheap. Seasons 1 - 3 have very good medical cases and seasons 4 and 5 have an excellent story. Season 6 has some very good episodes but it isn't as good as the previous 5 and so far Season 7 is struggling.

Mad Men - Haven't watched the whole series myself but I plan on buying it soon. it is set in the 1960's and is about an advertising company. It was written by the head writer of The Sopranos and has received a lot of awards. It's worth checking out but I personally cannot vouch for it.

Prison Break - Seasons 1 and 2 are excellent and it was very thrilling. Seasons 3 and 4 were poor. I recommend checking out one and two but approach three and four with extreme caution.

Desperate Housewives is reportedly good but I've never seen it.

The Walking Dead- Based on the comic book series of the same name, It's a show about a zombie apocalypse that focuses on the struggles of survivors. If you like post-apocalyptic movies, books, games, or shows, watch it. Even if you don't, I'd definitely recommend it because the show is really really good. I got my parents who care nothing about the genre hooked on it.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R1v0uFms68U[/youtube]

Game of Thrones- Based on the Fantasy book A Game of Thrones and by extension the "A Song of Ice and Fire" series(one of the best fantasy series of all time) by George R. R. Martin, Game of Thrones is a show that airs on HBO some time in spring. The book series is well-known for abandoning fantasy tropes like magic and different races almost outright in favor of serious themes and realism. So even if you don't care much for fantasy, it probably would interest you. It's about a war that erupts between the houses of a united nation upon the death of the King told from the point of view of multiple people involved.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J7JYw5kQg_Y&feature=channel[/youtube]

I'd suggest Madmen and Breaking Bad. Though I'd also suggest you rent the past seasons of DVD in order to catch up with what's going on. Another decent show with on going story line is my wife's all time favorite show, Smallville; though be quick, the show is in its last season.

-Bill, otherwise known as Kraichgauer

Thanks everyone for the replies - actually two shows were mentioned that I forgot to mention in my first post - Prison Break (Season 1 excellent, season 2 very good, season 3 good, season 4, don't ask....) and V, which I forgot about because it seems like its been SOOOOOO long since any episodes aired and to be honest so far the show has been decent but not great.

I will try to check out some of the other shows that were recommended. 24, Mad Men, X-Files and Dexter for sure, but hopefully some of the others as time permits.

Bones.

Also, it's not on air anymore but it's still awesome, Twin Peaks.

Twin Peaks was my obsession when it first aired, back in my college years. Come to think of it, about everyone in the liberal arts program was pretty much obsessed with the show, back then. A friend attending a different school who had been studying pharmaceuticals hated Twin Peaks . Shows the difference between a history major guy like me and my friends and associates in liberal arts, and other disciplines.

-Bill, otherwise known as Kraichgauer

I like Big Love. It'll be starting again soon. I liked Boardwalk Empire too. HBO usually puts out a quality show . I've heard good things about Dexter, but haven't seen it (no SHO). I have been watching The Event but, meh. It's not very good, IMO. I just felt sort of invested so I had to watch.

Same with me regarding The Event. I suspect it may not renewed for another season, if the ratings have anything to say about it.

-Bill, otherwise known as Kraichgauer

Batman (1960s)
Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog
Adventure Time
Impact
Animaniacs. I keep having to mention this.

The X-Files, Northern Exposure and Millennium are my three all time favs. Nothing has ever come close to their all-around greatness.

I'm going to recommended
Firefly
Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles
Dexter
Chuck

All are amazing shows that are somewhat similar to the ones you mentioned.