Recommended TV Series?

Like my previous post "Recommended Reading" I would like to ask for recommendations on your favorite TV series, preferably shows that I can view with netflix, but not required.

Unlike the "Recommended Reading" post however there is no target genre, so if you believe a series is your favorite or just plain "OMG IT'S TEH BESTEST EVA!" please post it.

Format
Show Name
Genre
Comments

My recommendations:

House M.D.
Medical Drama / Comedy
Probably the funniest 'serious' TV series i've ever seen, lots of suspense moments but also lots of moments that make you think.

Heroes
Action SciFi
The show takes several episodes to lay the required groundwork but once it does you're hooked. The series almost always has multiple "events" occuring at one time so theres rarely dull moments.

My wife is LOVING big bang theory, and I hear 30 Rock is brilliant.

Firefly has a huge cult following. It's pretty good storytelling, as it didn't go on long enough to get ruined.

I don't watch much TV since American tv is usually more about selling ad space than telling compelling stories, so probably won't have much to add to this thread.

The one thing we're currently watching is Jin, which is a Japanese series that's won a stack and a half of awards. It's a live action adaptation of a manga series about a modern day surgeon who falls back through time to late 19th century Japan. It is a surprisingly compelling mix of Medical Procedural and Samurai Drama.

fuzzygeek wrote:The one thing we're currently watching is Jin, which is a Japanese series that's won a stack and a half of awards. It's a live action adaptation of a manga series about a modern day surgeon who falls back through time to late 19th century Japan. It is a surprisingly compelling mix of Medical Procedural and Samurai Drama.

Is this in english or subtitles?

Shyrtandros wrote:Is this in english or subtitles?

Subs.

I'm currently watching Dexter and My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic.

I've heard good things about Breaking Bad, but I've never watched it.

Drama
+1 for House

I was following breaking bad, the acting is incredible, the writing is pretty good, but the storyline is losing focus, and I don't have a lot of motivation to follow it too closely. For those interested, it's a drama about a high school chem teacher who contracts cancer and starts cooking meth so he can provide for his family after his death.



Comedy
Colbert Report
Family Guy
American Dad
The Office(american and british versions)

Sci Fi
All of these have been canceled and/or finished

Stargate SG-1


Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles
Amazing show, great acting and writing, plus Summer Glau plays a better terminator than Arnold.

Babylon 5
All time favorite show, WATCH THIS!

Firefly


Fantasy
Game of thrones
Based off of GRR Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire, a very well done adaption.

I don't want to derail my own thread but I must say that I really wished they would turn "Legend of Drizzt Do'Urden" into a TV series.. I've always thought that the books are so awesome theres plenty of everything needed to make an amazing movie series but then realized theres SOO much content you would be better off doing multiple seasons of a tv series.

Comedies
Community
Absurd meme-tastic comedy but a shocking amount of human emotion in it. If you read stuff about the creator you'll understand why.
Parks and Recreation (seasons 1-3 on Netflix)
One of the best casts on any show with greatly amusing characters and situations.
30 Rock (Seasons 1-5 on Netflix)
Alec Baldwin's character is one of the best TV characters ever. Hopefully it stays as insane as it has been.

Burn Notice
Action-Spy-Whatever
Epic season long story arcs mixed in with crime of the week stories featuring a former spy using his tricks to help.

Psych (seasons 1-4 on Netflix)
Crime
It is basically taking every pop-culture reference in my head and making a TV show about a fake psychic cop show out of it.

Farscape (all seasons on Netflix, not sure of the loose end resolving movie)
A great sci-fi story with puppets! When Sci-Fi cancelled the show after promising a 5th season I gave up on the network.

The Walking Dead (season 1 on Netflix)
Zombies!
For a zombie series focusing more on people than zombies they need to add more zombies to the second season after the world building of season 1.

I don't watch much TV since American tv is usually more about selling ad space than telling compelling stories, so probably won't have much to add to this thread.

Guess you haven't watched much American TV in the past decade. I'll go out on a limb and venture that we are in a golden age for scripted TV shows with the increased pressure to create compelling content with all the other sources of entertainment out there.

Flex wrote:Farscape (all seasons on Netflix, not sure of the loose end resolving movie)
A great sci-fi story with puppets! When Sci-Fi cancelled the show after promising a 5th season I gave up on the network.

This ^
Farscape is a great show, much better than many sci fi shows. Takes a few episodes in the first season to get good, but it really is excellent from mid-season 1 onwards (except for the first 3-4 eps of season 4).

Doctor Who?


(I KID, I KID. Also, awesome that 30 rock is on Netflix. Muwahaha, yes .... maybe now I can watch it.)

Eureka
SciFi channel original
Wacky hijinks ensue. It's an amazing show

+ 1 billion for Burn Notice. It's my favorite show.

Warehouse 13
SciFi original
Wacky hijinks ensue, and a surprising amount of compelling drama, too.

Alphas
SciFi original
If you like Heroes, you'll probably enjoy Alphas. It's like a cheesier version of Heroes.

Royal Pains
Medical drama
If you like House, you'll probably enjoy Royal Pains. Concierge doctor with even better diagnostic skills than House, but none of the blind hatred for humanity.

Leverage
Crime drama
Bad guys doing good things in amazing ways. Every episode is a 30 Xanatos Pileup.

Rizzoli & Isles
Police drama
Humor, drama, and a pretty respectable cast (also, holy FUCK I'm in lust with Sasha Alexander). If you like police procedurals at all, you'll definitely enjoy this one.

Suits
Legal drama
Witty banter, and excellent stories. Can't recommend it highly enough.

Castle
Police procedural
It's got Nathan Fillion in the lead role. 'Nuff said.

The Mentalist
Police procedural
Like House, only with the CBI (California Bureau of Investigation)

Franklin & Bash
Legal drama
Hilariously funny, and I hope it's been renewed for a second season!

Iron Man (the anime series)
It's fucking IRON MAN
It's fucking IRON MAN

Top Gear (US)
Auto show
Funny hosts, silly challenges, awesome cars - what's NOT to love?

Curb Your Enthusiasm
HBO Comedy
It's smart, witty humor. Check youtube for "Larry David"

Dexter
Crime drama
Serial killer hunting bad guys. It's a shame that Michael C Hall is being such a dick in contract negotiations for next season. He wants $24 million for next season (and seasons following), but Showtime is digging in their heels at $20 million. Fucker! It's a RECESSION, be happy with your 20 mil. Jesus.

Mythbusters
It's mythbusters!
Jaime want big boom! (i.e.: shit blows up. A lot)

Bones
Police drama (ish)
Forensic anthropology made interesting. Also, David Boreanaz(sp?) and Emily Deschanel.

Death Valley
Comedy
It's like Reno 911, only with zombies, vampires, and werewolves. Hilarious.

+ 1 billion for Big Bang Theory

Prime Suspect
Police procedural
It's just getting started, but it's got a LOT of promise.

Terra Nova
Sci-fi
It's a shame this show probably isn't going to get renewed for a second season, it's been pretty stellar so far.

Criminal Minds
Police procedural
I love it, but it gets pretty formulaic at times and suffers from the "CSI Complex" - where people do jobs that they aren't supposed to do in real life.

NCIS
Police procedural
Gibbs is a genius, Ziva is a badass, McGee is geeky, DiNozzo is an hilarious example of peter pan syndrome. All in all, it's excellent.

Hawaii Five-O
Police procedural
It's a good remake of the original

Charlie's Angels
Dude, if you don't know what Charlie's Angels is, you need to get out more
I really only watch this for the hot chicks. Lots of T&A.

Penn & Teller Tell a Lie
Uhh... P&T?
It's Penn & Teller. They may be assholes off-stage, but their shows are always worth watching.

Person of Interest
Sci-fi police drama (ish)
It's interesting so far. Sort of the same premise as that one Tom Cruise movie, but without the precognitive bullshit. Also, not set in the future.

How to be a Gentleman
Comedy
So far, it's pretty good.

Homeland
Spy drama
Tits & ass, and believable spy drama. I'm liking it so far.

Last Man Standing
Comedy (not premiered yet)
Tim Allen returns to television! *grunt grunt grunt*

White Collar
Crime drama
Matthew Bomer makes an AMAZING con artist, and the guy who plays Peter Burke is amazing as his FBI "handler". Also, Tiffany Amber Thiessen (who I've had a crush on for the last 20+ years).

Covert Affairs
Spy drama
Piper Perabo plays an excellent (and hot) spy. Did I mention that she's hot?

Human Target
Action
GOD I loved the ever-living SHIT out of this show. Sadly, it didn't make it past season 2 . Fuck you, Fox, and your insistence that anything not a reality show is shitty!

There's more, but I can't remember it right off-hand. Take your pick, and holy shit I watch a lot of crime and legal shows!

Some review, even on stuff I wouldn't suggest.

Sons of Anarchy
drama
Motorcycle Clubs territorial wars, weapon dealing, lots of things going boom and a solid plot with a stellar cast. The whole idea is based around an Hamlet spoof where you have the figure of Jax (Hamlet) and Clay (Claudius) trying to push the club in different directions.
First couple of episodes were a bit meh to be honest, Sutter was introducing the club and the characters and wasn't really clear where he wanted to go, since then he's found his way and serie after serie has been impressive.


Breaking Bad
drama
Chemistry teacher founds out he's about to die for a cancer and to provide for his family gets into producing drugs. 4 series out now (season 4 finale was yesterday) with each serie getting more manic than the previous and sees him raising a druglord. Fifth serie confirmed as final serie.
The serie is nothing short of awesome, higly recommeded.


The Big Bang Theory
Comedy
4 nerds are the core of the serie, there's so much to laugh, so much nerdiness that is unbelievable.


Heroes
drama/sci-fi
Interesting alternative view on humans with superpowers, where you don't have the various Superman or Flash but people that are just trying to be normal and get on with their life, but they'll be inevitably caught in events bigger than them.
The first serie is epic, by the end of it you'll get caught in the mantra 'save the cheerleader, save the world', unfortunately after the first serie is all a pile of rubbish, but the first should be definitely watched.

Misfits
drama
Same as the above, but this time the superhuman are british and comes out in a complete different way, is more down to earth, more real, and I've loved it.

Terra Nova
non better defined, 2 episodes out
The pilot seemed interesting, aside from the SFX imported from the some '70s sci-fi serie, shame that the second episode set the mark on 'Beverly Hills Jurassic'. Out for watching another episodes or two before declaring it rubbish.


Too lazy to go on full reviews, but if you're interested also in not so old stuff, check out:
Black Books
Spaced
Reaper
Being Human (UK Version)

Fivelives wrote:Iron Man (the anime series)
It's fucking IRON MAN
It's fucking IRON MAN

Is this the one where he's reconned to be a teenager? My son wanted to watch that, and despite some minor things, I found it surprisingly entertaining. I'm not a comic fan of it, so I have little opinion on Iron Man other than the films, but it was fun.

Thanks for the reviews, that makes me wish I had a tivo and several clones to watch them all. I know my wife and I enjoy Criminal Minds a lot, too.