How would you say it compares to the other HBO greats like The Sopranos, Six Feet Uner, Carnivale, Deadwood, etc.?
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How would you say it compares to the other HBO greats like The Sopranos, Six Feet Uner, Carnivale, Deadwood, etc.?
Sorry it took a bit oftimeto get to this! I'll stay on the safe side and word my reply very carefully due to the rules here. Firstly, I always always support official studio releases of tv shows on DVDs and will gladly pay money for those releases. In the cases of Newhart, Happy days, Diff'rent strokes and Wonder years, I had to get those
bootlegged. Like yourself, I do not like when studios release half a series on DVD and then abandon it. I understand they have sales expectations and target numbers to meet but it's still incredibly aggravating.
When it comes to The Bob Newhart Show and Newhart, those two are probably the
most aggravating cases because the rights to those two shows are owned by Fox at
the moment, and they've been very unfair to Bob and his fans. You don't release 4
out of the 6 seasons of his 1st show and just the 1st year of his 2nd series and then
abandon them both. They don't seem interested in continuing either series so that's
how I made my decision on Newhart. It's sad. His 2nd series, the one where he owns
the inn is one of my personal favorite shows and I'd gladly support Fox officially if
only they'd continue both series. If they ever decide to continue both series they'll
have my money.
Happy days has 5 seasons of the 11 total officially released. That shows rights
are owned by CBS/paramount ATM and that ones not their fault due to music clearance issues. But I've never seen the last few seasons of that so had to do that
show that way too.
Diff'rent strokes rights are Sony's right now, they are concentrating on their back catalog of movies and probably won't continue releases for that show.
Now for the wonder years..everyone wants it on DVD. Rights are owned by fox as well. Fox keeps saying they want to do official releases and are trying to slug through
the enormous amount of music clearances. I read a while ago to clear all the music for the series could run upwards of 12 Million bucks!! I see it's finally on Netflix, but
they did major music cuts and editing. I want to experience it with all the music intact.
This is the one show if you're gonna bring it out on DVD, it needs to be complete and
uncut with all the music intact. The music is part of that shows experience and if you
edit or cut out the music you're taking away a huge chunk of that shows experience,
so, I had to go bootleg for that one. All or nothing with that show.
FYI the quality of the Newhart set I have is phenomenal IMO. Video/audio quality is easily 7 or 8 out of 10!
Mods, I gladly support and pay for official releases, and encourage everyone to do the same but in those 4 shows cases I had to take a long hard look in each case and
had to decide what to do, and explained in each case why I decided how I did. I assure you, when/if Fox, paramount and Sony continue releases theyve got my
money.
Diff'rent strokes is owned
-Stranger-
Junior Member
Just finished the series finale of The Shield that was simply an amazing finale.
Overall a fantastic show, that really got me thinking.
My top 3 tv shows (in no order)
The Wire
Friday Night Lights
The Shield
I'm currently watching Dexter S6 and Generation Kill.
I'm also awaiting to see the final season of Breaking Bad next year.
Anyone know of any other amazing tv shows to recommend?
Overall a fantastic show, that really got me thinking.
My top 3 tv shows (in no order)
The Wire
Friday Night Lights
The Shield
I'm currently watching Dexter S6 and Generation Kill.
I'm also awaiting to see the final season of Breaking Bad next year.
Anyone know of any other amazing tv shows to recommend?
RatskyWatsky
Hunky Nostradamus
Lactose_Intolerant
Member
Add Rome and Game of Thrones.
-Stranger-
Junior Member
I've seen most of 24, apart from S3 and the final season.
Good show, but doesn't compare to The Wire or The Shield.
-Stranger-
Junior Member
Thanks for the recommendations, i'm going to start with Mad Men.
I've heard about it for awhile, but i wasn't sure if i'd like it.
I've heard about it for awhile, but i wasn't sure if i'd like it.
RatskyWatsky
Hunky Nostradamus
Rome is good. I haven't seen GoT yet, so I can't speak to that.
I share your favorites apart from The Shield, which yet to watch. my third would be Mad Men, but that is a very different kind of show again, closer to the Sopranos.
i'd say Justified is worth checking out, along with Deadwood, it's not as serious as the others but it was a lot of fun and as likeable as FNL.
I'd have to say HBO new shows hasn't grabbed me too much. I watch them and i admire their effort, but there's no 'genius' there, nothing more than what i'd expect from them.
-Stranger-
Junior Member
You should watch The Shield Asap
I never completed The Sopranos i think i got to around S4, maybe i should finish it sometime.
Does Mad Men have alot of crime drama, or is it more of a comedy?
I've heard Justified has Walter Goggins (shane from The Shield) so i might check that out.
RatskyWatsky
Hunky Nostradamus
brianjones
Member
mad men isn't a comedy but it's got a lot of humor.. same with sopranos
You should watch The Shield Asap
I never completed The Sopranos i think i got to around S4, maybe i should finish it sometime.
Does Mad Men have alot of crime drama, or is it more of a comedy?
I've heard Justified has Walter Goggins (shane from The Shield) so i might check that out.
Mad Men is closer to Sopranos in that it is very much character study, not in the crime aspect. It reminds me of Jonathan Franzen novels actually, in that it's a very well done soap.
sixteen-bit
Member
The Walking Dead. I suppose you could call it a guilty pleasure, as it's quite bad.
Grinchy
Banned
That's how I feel when I watch True Blood. What an awful show but I can't stop watching it. Every season ends with me wondering why I wasted my time, and then I pick right back up with the next season.
JoJoShabadoo
Member
So I've been watching a few random episodes of Six Feet Under and god damn, the first two seasons of this show are near perfect. There's just so much depth to the show. Everything develops so organically, I love how season 2 feels like an (improved) extension of the first season. There are so many touching scenes, and humorous ones as well.
I woudn't add Rome to be honest. Simply because of the sacrilege HBO and BBC committed with it.
Only 2 seasons, the second being such a mess of stuff squeezed into it. I consider it a disrespect to the person I'm recommending it to, because he will watch what is arguably a perfect first season, so then he can watch what could've been one of the greatest shows ever, crumble in front of his eyes.
/rant
I think the first season should be watched anyway
Also, LUCK premiers soon, the same day Boardwalk Empire ends. Looks amazing. HBO is getting to its TOP form beautifully.
RatskyWatsky
Hunky Nostradamus
I think the differentiating factor between the two shows is that True Blood knows exactly what kind of show it is and relishes in the fact. TWD takes itself far too seriously.
brucewaynegretzky
Member
Really fun, enjoyable police procedural. Characters are really awesome. Charlie Epps is my hero.
Cornballer
Member
Terriers is up on Netflix. Go watch it if you haven't already - one of my favorite shows in recent memory. It's looking doubtful that there will ever be dvd's for this show, so check it out now while you have a chance. Here's Sepinwall's post on the show coming to Netflix.
Also, keep in mind that the episodes on Netflix are out of order for some reason, so check the wiki and make sure you watch them in the correct sequence.Sepinwall said:
afternoon delight
Member
After Thanksgiving, my stepfather let me borrow the entire series DVDs of Six Feet Under. I'm an admitted HBO addict, and always wanted to watch the show, but never got around to it. After finishing the first season, I'm officially hooked. On Amazon, the review actually likens it to Twin Peaks, another favorite, and to be honest, that's one of the closest in tone and warmth for such subject matter. The absurd moments of surrealism are surprising and so well done, and the family/character dynamics are wonderful. But as well written a character as Nate is, Ruth and David steal the show. Especially Michael C. Hall as David. He owns the screen.
Really happy I started watching it.
Really happy I started watching it.
Ventilaator
Banned
Watched as much Burn Notice as there exists in the world. That show deserves more attention.
There's a huge Doctor Who crowd on Neogaf, so I'll just say that Burn Notice is basically Doctor Who without the sci-fi where they also replaced the sonic screwdriver with actual creativity and good writing.
Now I'm at a crossroad. Burn Notice was so consistently incredible that I could always watch that whenever I wanted to watch anything, but now I have The Shield, 24, Deadwood, The Sopranos, and Community on my list of things that I haven't seen, want to see, and have access to.
There's a huge Doctor Who crowd on Neogaf, so I'll just say that Burn Notice is basically Doctor Who without the sci-fi where they also replaced the sonic screwdriver with actual creativity and good writing.
Now I'm at a crossroad. Burn Notice was so consistently incredible that I could always watch that whenever I wanted to watch anything, but now I have The Shield, 24, Deadwood, The Sopranos, and Community on my list of things that I haven't seen, want to see, and have access to.
RepairmanJack
Member
Just got done with the first season of Friday Night Lights. I'm really liking it. The Taylers make this show fun to watch even moreso than the kids. They have amazing chemestry and some absolutely great scenes together. The only thing I am disliking about the show so far is the constant back and forth with Riggins character. He can never be one way for more than a couple episodes and then they have him flopping back to something else. Also I am glad they decided to have more Landry later in the season, the scenes with him and Matt were always great.
Probably going to wait a couple days to jump into the second season, but I could use a heads up. Does the show go downhill or does it stay pretty consistant? I know it had problems with ratings and risk of cancellation so I was worried if it went downhill at all.
Probably going to wait a couple days to jump into the second season, but I could use a heads up. Does the show go downhill or does it stay pretty consistant? I know it had problems with ratings and risk of cancellation so I was worried if it went downhill at all.
Ventilaator
Banned
Three episodes left in season 5.
Just started Game of Thrones. I like what I see so far. The Walking Dead is a guilty pleasure of mine and can be quite good in spots. I've also watched some of American Horror Story. That show is such a train wreck, but there's something about it that keeps me watching, kind of like True Blood. Just awful, but I can't look away.
Glad to see the appreciation for Six Feet Under. One of my favorite series ever. It lost some of it's ummph for a couple of seasons but it was a fantastic show and had perhaps my favorite ending ever.
Glad to see the appreciation for Six Feet Under. One of my favorite series ever. It lost some of it's ummph for a couple of seasons but it was a fantastic show and had perhaps my favorite ending ever.
Spotless Mind
Member
Season 2 is a pretty sharp drop in quality. It's still watchable and the Taylors are as amazing as ever, just be warned that it has some problematic subplots and it gets a bit soapy. Thankfully, the show rebounds with the amazing third season and remains consistently great until the series finale.
My favourite show ever. I miss it so. ;_;
It's essentially just as "good" as the last two episodes from the first season. I personally didn't see any markedly improvements, but maybe that's just me. Too many issues with the pacing, the acting and the characterisation (or lack thereof).
-Stranger-
Junior Member
Currently watching:
Homeland
Justified
Mad Men
Watching the first seasons of these shows, really enjoying them so far.
Homeland
Justified
Mad Men
Watching the first seasons of these shows, really enjoying them so far.
RatskyWatsky
Hunky Nostradamus
Is anyone doing a TV Show of the year thread? I think it would be really interesting, and I remember seeing talk of it a while back.
Like the GAFies?
Brian Fellows
Pete Carroll Owns Me
RatskyWatsky
Hunky Nostradamus
Precisely!
It would be quite the undertaking to do correctly.
Cornballer
Member
Someone compiled an all-time GAF TV ranking list a few years ago, but I lost track of the thread. It was a ton of work, so good luck to anyone that wants to tackle something similar.
RatskyWatsky
Hunky Nostradamus
I don't think it would be a TON of work. Unless you also do actors, actresses, etc. The most difficult thing, I'd imagine, would be tallying the votes.
I think I suggested doing a Show of the Year like they do GotY on the Gaming side back in August to maybe have Network seasons be whole. Though one now would be cool too. Like everyone makes a top five and then we reverse score and see which shows comes out on top. I could probably help out with the tallying (and anything else I suppose) if you guys decide to do it. I wonder how many people would vote.
dave is ok
aztek is ok
The Walking Dead, The Killing and Dexter would rank above Game of Thrones, Mad Men, Breaking Bad and Boardwalk Empire. It would be horrible.
I think you'd have to.
You'd have Outstanding Drama, Outstanding Comedy, Outstanding Leading Actor in a Drama, Outstanding Leading Actress in a Drama, Outstanding Leading Actor in a Comedy, Outstanding Leading Actress in a Comedy, Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama, Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy, Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama, Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy
Aye!
Cornballer
Member
I don't mean to discourage you or anyone else from pursuing this. It's just that in my experience, these sorts of things (particularly ones that involve voting) tend to be a lot more work than anticipated.
Haha... it might just piss us off. This is true. There should be a rule that having The Killing on your list automatically disqualifies it.
RatskyWatsky
Hunky Nostradamus
That would be a big undertaking. Would anyone really want that anyway?
If it was just a TV show of the year thread, I could probably do it. Just throw everything together: Dramas, comedies, miniseries, etc. into one big list. And then, if there's a demand, make a more comprehensive one next year?
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