My wife has gotten into watching Green Acres. Omg the writing is so sharp, just one joke after another. The characters do get repetitive but that is the way with all sitcoms.
The Mary Tyler Moore show is very rewatchable. The writing and characters are so well done. Ted Knight and Betty White are brilliant.
I'm gonna download Green acres rn, thx.
Severance is an all too graphic caricature of life in corporate America and I had a visceral reaction to watching it that made me feel dead it was awful don’t watch it because the show is magnificently well done and immaculately satirical stay away from this terrifyingly good show watch it
Years ago I picked up the book 'Gone Girl.' I got about twenty pages into it and put it down because I couldn't stand the smug, entitled yuppie narrator.
Later, I watched and enjoyed the movie, and read some of the author's other books.
It made me realize what a good writer she is; she made me hate a character so much that I couldn't read the book.
When I played Cyberpunk 2077 for the first time, I chose the “nomad” backstory which defines essentially a character who has been so burned by late stage capitalism that they ran away to live in a small commune in the desert.
While playing through the game, I thought the advertisements littering Night City were incredibly jarring like they were supposed to be from a Borderlands game, or at least one that was way more tongue-in-cheek. The world of Night City was far too depressing to reasonably include those utterly ridiculous ads and it made it hard for me to feel immersed. Then it hit me; that’s exactly how I was supposed to feel, and then it paradoxically made me feel like this game set in a future world with insanely high-tech appliances available to all its citizens was indistinguishable from my own. I literally forgot multiple times that this game was set in an alternate future and not just in some city in California
Succession, perhaps the best script I've ever experienced
Halt and Catch Fire.
Set in the 80s, it’s about a company in Texas trying to build a computer to rival IBM. Er, that’s how it starts. I liked it so much, I bought it.
A lot of my picks are already mentioned so I'll pick an odd one:
Air crash investigator (called Mayday in NA). It's dramatizations of the reports from air crashes, organized like a murder mystery. Surprisingly compelling.
I've never been nervous about flying but this show really underlined how safe flying is, it's actually kinda crazy how thorough the reports are and how often they lead to rule changes. I wish the same institutional dedication to safety was practised in other industries (especially cars).
Episodes that take place in the 80s have you face palming at how stupid the mistakes are, more modern episodes are almost always a combination of many many different small low chance events and minor mistakes from the pilot piling up. I usually skip the terrorist episodes though.
Yes! I binge watched Mayday. Very well done documentary with only a minimum of dramatization, you do get some "Get this into the lab!" type acting and shoop shoop edits but not much. Looking into the events they are good about getting like 90% of the info. They have the actors reading straight from the CVR records. It really does point out how the vast majority of accidents require a lot of star all lining up. It also points out how important thorough maintenance is. You've got things failing in ways you'd never expect if they had only, say, put some grease on a single screw. The really frustrating ones are where the crew ignore their instruments thinking they (the pilot) must be right or the crew sit and watch the pilot fuck up without intervening. The cash in Portland OR where the pilot obsessed over a landing gear light and ignored that they were running out of fuel is a case in point.
The most disturbing ones are where a pilot likely suicided and took all the innocent people with him or someone attacked the crew. Insanely selfish a-holes.
After watching all of the episodes, some repeatedly, I think I could assist a crew in a crisis now.
Severance is the best show of the 2020s IMHO.
Rewatching it now!
What we do in the shadows. The show is based off the Taika Waititi/Jermaine Clement film of the same name. And is also written by Jermaine Clement
It's a comedy/mocumentary about a group of vampires. The characters are really well written and it straddles the line between the banality of everyday life as a vampire, and obviously the weird supernatural aspects of vampires. It recently aired it's final episode so you can binge it now and get through the whole thing.
If you like the office/community/parks and rec/I.T. Crowd type of stuff I think you'll really like it
If you like what you we in the shadows, to might also enjoy "our flag means death".
Created by and stressing Waititi. Based on the true story of the gentleman pirate.
Ooh thank you for reminding me it has finished its run. Watched the first two seasons but kinda dropped off while waiting for S3.
I.T. Crowd type of stuff
Baat! 🦇
You're dead, you're dead, you're dead
You're dead, and out of this world.
Older than you are and worth looking at. [available on Youtube]
The Prisoner. Imagine if Ian Fleming and Franz Kafka got together to do a TV show. A government official resigns and is immediately kidnapped. He wakes up in The Village; a lovely little place with nice views, great food, plenty of fun things to do, and no possible escape.
I, Claudius. A very young Patrick Stewart is the least reason to watch this reenactment of the first five Roman emperors.
Connections. Non-fiction. Wonderfully entertaining and informative. The creator's premise is that scientific progress is almost never straight forward. Coffee houses open in London = coffee houses become popular places to do business = coffee house customers join together to invest in ships to the New World = the new 'companies' begin looking for ways to make their ships safer = they start to invest in making pine tar to protect the ships = add two hundred years and you have insurance companies and the chemical industry
Welcome fellow gen-xer!
I tried rewatching The Prisoner but I can't get past Patrick McGoohan's acting now. He has one setting, a hard squint and rage.
I, Claudius is excellent and seeing John Hurt prancing about as a crazed Caligula is another reason to watch it. Brilliantly done series.
Connections is very interesting, well done, and I remember it fondly from watching it as a teen but I never bought some of his "connections". Like you said, claiming, say, coffee led to the chemical industry. Well they could've just as likely met over ham sandwiches too. lol "These two physicists met while playing tennis, therefore the invention of tennis led to the first atomic bomb..." oy!
Jury Duty, binge watched and loved it, I couldn’t stop laughing.
Silo.
Severance (rewatching cause season 2 is around the corner).
Star Trek Strange New Worlds (also rewatched waiting for next season).
Came here to say Severance. Great show, I just watched it this week.
The ones I've been watching and it's been good are:
- Dark Matter;
- Severance;
- Silo;
- From;
Currently watching From and really enjoying it.
Dark Matter season one, yes. Not a fan of season two myself.
The Expanse. I forgot how good the earlier seasons were, and looking forward to seeing the newer stuff for the first time.
How It's Made. Funny You Should Ask. Whose Line Is It Anyway?.
Columbo
What I didn’t realize about Columbo until watching it last year is that every episode is basically a full movie. There’s no connection between each episode, Columbo himself is the only recurring character. Each episode is an hour 10 to an hour 40 long. Also, it’s by FAR the best production and acting on TV in that era. It’s legitimately like almost 70 individual films.
For sure. I'm only just now finishing the first season, and maybe 3 episodes in it should qualify as some of the best films ever made. The acting, the psycological warfare, the poor schlubby wife-guy underdog vs evil rich parasite undertones pervading everything... there's so much going on, that I'm sure others have scratched the surface of.
I also love how it inverts the mystery drama by showing you exactly what happened, and the suspense is in guessing where they messed up, and gave enough clues to columbo.
Just one more thing….
I just finished Only Murders in the Building. I love it. Its a whodunit with Steve Martin, Martin Short, and Selena Gomez. The whole cast always feels to me like they're always having a lot of fun!
I love Vox Machina. Give it three episodes though, it needs the Briarwood ark to really get going.
Scrubs
Obligatory one piece (spss one pace spss)
thunderbolt fantasy
I just found an archive of complex era desus and mero
. Curb Your Enthusiasm
. Drawn Together
. King Of The Hill
Secret Level.
The OutsiderArcane.
I missed the hype for Arcane season 1, mostly because it didn't really seem up my alley. I figured it'd be boring to me because I wasn't into that specific game, or too juvenile for me, or something.
I was really wrong. Really, really wrong. It stands on its own and season 1 has the strongest storytelling I've seen in anything in a good, long time. You don't need to care about or play League of Legends to watch the show. And it's very much NOT a kid's show even if it starts with kid characters...it touches a lot on crime, poverty, mental illness, etc. It's very honest and truthful and complex and nuanced on these things.
And every aspect of storytelling was strong. EVERY ONE.
What I mean by that is this...in most TV shows, animated or live, you usually have one form of strong(ish) storytelling carrying the entire thing and compensating for other things that are weaker. So a show will have one or two stand-out aspects, and others that are okish to bad, but able to be overlooked because of the other awesome things going on.
Like, you might have a poor script but really good actors who can elevate the poor script with their spoken intonation or physical acting. Or you might have a good script and really good soundtrack but mediocre acting and bland costume/set design. Basically, script, art/costume design, music, and actor ability all play together to deliver a story, and usually you have one or two of those that are strong, and the rest are being carried by the strong parts and ranging from competent-but-not-awesome to mediocre to bad.
Arcane's not like that.
Arcane has top-tier storytelling on the writing level, AND on the art and animation level, and in the choice of songs for the soundtrack. Like, the script itself is fantastic, but then you watch the animation and see they decided not to use common animation shorthand. Instead, they went back to actually LOOK at how humans display emotion and move their bodies and translated THAT into their animation. So you have a strong script AND strong "physical acting". How they frame shots is fantastic too. And if that wasn't enough, all the music is stellar and pertinent to the scenes it's used in. And if THAT wasn't enough, even the design of the characters BEFORE they even move or speak is top-notch. And if THAT isn't enough the voice actors are phenomenal too.
For Season 1, nothing's carrying anything else, everything is strong. And that's EXTREMELY rare in ANY show. So, so, SO rare.
Season 2 is not as good--but that's really just in comparison to how outrageously and unusually good Season 1 was. I'd say in Season 2, the script is not as tight, but all the other things are still as good as Season 1. So the animation/art design/music/etc. carry the script a little in the second season. The script isn't HORRIBLE though...it's mostly the pacing is off and it's missing some appropriate build-up in some parts. I've read they had to cut some scenes, and if that's true it would completely explain the flaws. The second season also suffers a bit in comparison to Season 1...Season 1 did everything right, so anything that's not perfect in Season 2 naturally sticks out. It doesn't make it bad though.
Anyway, yeah. Watch Arcane, if you missed that boat previously.
Apparently, there are many cuts from s2
I would personally say season 2 kinda missed the mark for me. Scale/power creep turned the story from being much more character driven to be this plot with a lot of odd threads IMO. That said season 1 is incredible. Probably the best show I've ever watched.
Shōgun
Easily my favorite show of the last 5 years
The whole show is remarkably well made. Great scenery and costume design.
Man, and it keeps getting better! I don't want to finish Season 1 and have to wait for Season 2 😭
Schitt's Creek is currently on Netflix. One of my favorite, wholesome sitcoms!
It takes a little while to get going but man is it good.
My wife and I weren't sure what to expect. We took one run at it, failed, then a few months later took another run. We are now thinking we need to watch it again. Truly wholesome.
I've been enjoying Skeleton Crew as it releases.
Silo. It’s so fucking good. So are the books.
Halt and catch fire. Expected nothing from it but we are really enjoying it.
This was pretty solid! I started it expecting it to be background noise while I doom scrolled... But I got absolutely hooked
Glad to hear you enjoy it!
- Silo
- Ted Lasso
- A Man on the Inside
Silo is dogshit. The pacing is so unnecessarily dragged out. And season 2 is boring af. No idea why they did what they did. The books had perfect pacing.
Yeah S2 is not so good so far..just watched 2 episodes and they were not that good..too slow. S1 was really good through
Is it just me or has the main character really done nothing all season except several failed attempts at a supply run? My brain keeps tuning out
Silo season 1 was 5% plot, 5% character development, and 90% emoting to dramatic music, so I didn’t bother checking out season 2.
Season one of Silo was great. Season two is a poorly edited mess.
- The good place
- Inside job
- Dogs in space
- Daredevil
- Final space
From
Mr. D (think Michael Scott but a teacher)
Shrinking (low stakes like Ted Lasso)
Taskmaster UK (if you like comedy panel type shows. Although it's not really a panel in the traditional sense)
Shrinking is excellent
Super old show called scrapheap challenge or junkyard wars, which depends on whether it's the british or american version. I loved this show as a kid.
I had completely forgotten about Junkyard Wars!
I’ll take the UK version any day. Robert Llewelyn did a great job as host. Did anyone ever have a successful build using hydraulics?
I started watching Scavengers Reign recently on a suggestion from a friend. I normally don't go for animated shows, but this one is really enjoyable for me. Calm & explorative.
Right now I'm watching silo (apple tv+) and Gilmore girls. They are nice
I'm on my fourth watch of Gilmore girls. Third with my wife. First with my daughter.
Absolutely brilliant TV.
Yeah, I've seen like 10 episodes so far and I love it already. I love her sarcasm and effortless humor
DanDaDan on Netflix is bonkers.
- Deadloch
- Colin From Accounts
- Shrinking
- Silo
- Landman
- Arcane
- Lower Decks
I just watched the pilot episode of "Servant" and it looks promising. M. Night Shyamalan.
Foyle's War. A British drama about a detective in England during World War 2.
Excellent acting, and the period backdrop is very well-written. Gives you a bit of a sense of what it was like to live during that period.
I'm watching the dune show, it's not great.
I'm also watching creature commandos which is pretty good if you don't mind animation.
I recommend “Severance” on AppleTV. Also recommend “Shining Girls”. AppleTV is free this weekend.
Arcane
Second season wasn't the best
! Viktor literally wanted to make an utopia, and he is a villian? !<
Yeah and powder was just trying to free her people. A central theme of the series is good people doing bad things for good reasons. Calling any character a villian feels like missing the point to me.
I don't agree s2 wasn't as good but not for that reason.
Modern Family slaps so hard
Life in Pieces too!! Def ended too early :(
[email protected] has weekly discussions thread on that topic
- Shrinking
- Sopranos
- Severance
- SAS Rogue Heroes
Season 2 of Shrinking has been a very emotional ride, but has a good mix of comedy & drama, while addressing some difficult topics.
Sopranos is a classic. Depends if you like long character development.
Severance is a great dystopian show about people essentially hating to work. Season 2 should be out shortly.
SAS is an expensive BBC production following the formation of the SAS during WWII. Has a Band of Brothers type feel to it, with a British twist. They're all madmen. Cinematography is amazing, and the history, while dramatized, is still impressive. It's based on the book of the same name by Ben McIntyre (non-fiction).
SAS
Cinematography is good, but christ are all the characters flanderised to hell with their nationalities. The trope of "caw blimey guvna!" is disappointingly strong for a BBC production. Also, more WW2 propaganda that Britain is strong and gutsy (such lines were peddled shortly before Brexit...)
I've been doing Doom Patrol lately, switching between it and What we do in the Shadows.
I can recommend them both with the caveat that I'm not very far into either.
I loved doom patrol. I'm sad there's no more.
It was amazing, then got weak after Dalton left. mho
- FROM
- Kevin can f*$*$! Himself
Seconding From. Son of a bitch, the next season is WHEN??!? 2026?
Don't know I just started season 2 maybe I should slow roll it with this new knowledge but it's so good.
Frazer Cain recommended Dr. Stone, an anime series that features the scientific method prominently in a scenario about rebuilding civilization. I haven't watched it though. I don't agree to the Netflix terms of service with stalkerware and exploitation.
Dr Stone
The scientific method for the various inventions are shown quite well. But that's it. The character art is strange, the main characters are all unlikeable/arrogant tyrants, the storyline is barely coherent. It really seems like the hastily put together premise is just there to enable one character to demonstrate his skill.
Plenty of anime's out there where the world revolves around a single person, but they usually make an effort with their other characters. I dont feel that's the case here.
One Hundred Years of Solitude available in Netflix https://m.filmaffinity.com/en/film463641.html
The Traitors has just started in the UK. It's essentially a game of Werewolf with tasks.
The first season of this was good, they used regular people. You cared if they lived or died.
The second season is full of your typical big brother wannabe narcissists. You don't care if they die, you just care which ones die first.
It's watcheable. There's also a weird obsession by the production to play shitty emo covers of popular pop songs in tense moments. Baffling choice, but I guess originality is too hard
I’m loving the psychology and group thinking that goes with this.
Oooo thanks for the heads up. Did you see the last Australian series of this? It was absolutely fucking horrendous and made the second season here look amazing in comparison.
The music is fucking dog shit though xD
Ah I thought it was UK only
Marvelous Miss Maisle is solid from om beginning to end. Not a minute, scene or note is wasted. The writers know how to pack every scene with as much energy and storytelling as possible. Just perfect.
I just finished Monster, an anime from 2004 that is really good
Landman.
I'm usually not crazy about BBT, but in this case, he really carries the show IMHO.
He's also good on Goliath.
No Good Deed is really good, although it moves pretty slow.
Here's a list of some of the good ones I have seen:
If you're into something different, a weird Canadian comedy kind of thing: Shoresy It's different, and I like different.
Landman would be good if it weren't pushing so much fucking propaganda.
My kids love Gravity Falls, which as an adult I still love.
Someone else mentioned Silo, I agree.
My wife loves Great British Bakeoff. It's an easy background show.
I also enjoyed Bad Monkey. It's kind of a B- show, but easy to watch.
Shortesy is a spin off of Letterkenny. Great show, so long as you’re comfortable with some blue comedy.
If you’re into something different, a weird Canadian comedy kind of thing: Shoresy It’s different, and I like different.
New season starts on the 24th!
Person of Interest.
And becoming incredibly relevant.
You can almost tell when the Snowden revelation dropped because the story becomes cartoonish.
Like the writers felt the need to outdo reality. Like you say, perhaps the show will be superseded by reality once more.
I've recently fallen down an Anime rabbit hole after almost a decade of being out of the loop.
The fact I'm re-watching "Bocchi the Rock" is a pretty big recommendation.
I feel like I'm hating on this thread too much.
Invincible Fight Girl is a surprisingly good (cartoon) show.
I've heard good things about Taskmaster
