Best cable TV series.

[Armistead]

Well, looks like another back surgery for me and the ones I get lay me up, so wondering about any TV series you guys liked. I've only watched a few,

BOB
Deadwood

Any of the others worth watching?

[Sailor Steve]

Dexter.

[Feuer Frei!]

Current or past?

If you can get your mits on North and South, the 1985 tv mini series, then you will not regret it.
A true master piece.

There were 3 books, with about 6 episodes each.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0088583/

[Fish In The Water]

Sorry to hear about your back, here's hoping for a speedy recovery...

Battlestar Galactica (v2.0)

Well worth the journey! :sunny:

[Gargamel]

Dexter is great.
And I'm halfway through the 3rd season of weeds as we speak. Really funny and enjoyable series. Both are available on Netflix.

If you haven't seen it yet, Watching Heroes on disc is good. I was kinda meh when it first came out, but being able to see it w/o commercials is great.

[Armistead]

Current or past?

If you can get your mits on North and South, the 1985 tv mini series, then you will not regret it.
A true master piece.

There were 3 books, with about 6 episodes each.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0088583/

Yep, that one is good, watched in on TV when it came out, being a civil war reenactor, I love all those. I have it somewhere, need to find it and pull it out.

There' another series about that time on the civil war, but I forget the name.

[gimpy117]

Im an archer fan. yeah i know...im in the demographic

[Jimbuna]

I'm not sure what you get on cable over in your country (probably everything LOL) but Spartacus - Gods Of The Arena is pretty cool and if you get the Atlantic Channel, Game Of Thrones looks promising:

http://skyatlantic.sky.com/

[Gerald]

I'm not sure what you get on cable over in your country (probably everything LOL) but Spartacus - Gods Of The Arena is pretty cool and if you get the Atlantic Channel, Game Of Thrones looks promising:

http://skyatlantic.sky.com/ I'm being stalked again a tells ya...bleedin well stalked!! Tell whoever it is, so I'm issuing an international arrest order :hmmm:

[frau kaleun]

Mad Men (AMC)
It looks like the new season won't be starting until next spring :wah:, but previous seasons are out on DVD. You have to start at the beginning anyway otherwise none of the long story arcs would make sense.

Homicide: Life On The Street (NBC)
An oldie but very goodie, for my money still the best cop show ever. Not as great at the end as for the rest of its run, especially after Andre Braugher left - but still awesome overall.

The Big Bang Theory (CBS)
Current season running right now, previous seasons on DVD. Sitcom about two über-nerds and their friends. Not much of a description but I've laughed as hard at this show as at anything I've ever seen, and Jim Parsons just won a well-deserved Emmy for playing Dr. Sheldon Cooper, who really... must be seen to be believed.

[Dowly]

Generation Kill

[Bakkels]

Sorry to hear about your back. Hope you get well soon.

Deadwood was very good. I highly recommend it. However, it got cancelled quite abruptly, so there's no real ending. That's a bit of a drawback. However it features one of the best bad-guys I have ever seen.

Another (imo even better) one: The Wire. You probably heard about it and it's every bit as good as everybody says. I was just amazed after having seen that series.
It's a crime series, about Baltimore, and each season focuses on a different aspect of the city, and it truly is one of the best shows I have seen the last years. It starts a little slow but really draws you in.

[Armistead]

Sorry to hear about your back. Hope you get well soon.

Deadwood was very good. I highly recommend it. However, it got cancelled quite abruptly, so there's no real ending. That's a bit of a drawback. However it features one of the best bad-guys I have ever seen.

Another (imo even better) one: The Wire. You probably heard about it and it's every bit as good as everybody says. I was just amazed after having seen that series.
It's a crime series, about Baltimore, and each season focuses on a different aspect of the city, and it truly is one of the best shows I have seen the last years. It starts a little slow but really draws you in.

Best of Al Swearengen
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DJFOf5RBQ-8


Wild Bill and Bullock shoot murderer. David Carradine was a great Wild Bill.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3RX-l3ruTOE&feature=related


Yea, it supposed to go one more season or finish up with a long movie. It did go for 3 seasons, so not really a quick end. They stated they dropped it because they would never be able to edit it enough to make it watchable on TV, but it was by far some of the best acting and script I've ever seen. In fact Ian was so good acting, I could easily say it was the best I have ever seen.

[MaddogK]

I'm not sure what you get on cable over in your country (probably everything LOL) but Spartacus - Gods Of The Arena is pretty cool and if you get the Atlantic Channel, Game Of Thrones looks promising:

http://skyatlantic.sky.com/

I'll second that. Game Of Thrones has alot of potential, as does the Borgais. Wish I could say the same for Camelot.

"I am Sparticus !"

[mookiemookie]

I really enjoyed Game of Thrones first episode last night. Looks to be a lot of intrigue...and boobs! :woot:

A lot of people thought it to be slow, but I really like Boardwalk Empire.

[AVGWarhawk]

Get all the HBO mini series! :yeah:

[Feuer Frei!]

OZ, if you're into the 'heavy' stuff. :up:

[Onkel Neal]

Another vote for Dexter. And Breaking Bad, that show is superb, you will like the level of suspense it generates.

[Oberon]

I'm not sure what you get on cable over in your country (probably everything LOL) but Spartacus - Gods Of The Arena is pretty cool and if you get the Atlantic Channel, Game Of Thrones looks promising:

http://skyatlantic.sky.com/

I'm glad it's not just me who has found this a good romp (pardon the pun ;) ), I've only seen one episode whilst on a late shift at work but thought it looked good. :yep:

[Takeda Shingen]

Sorry to hear about your back, man. Hope you recover soon.

Also voting for Dexter.

[Armistead]

My wife says a Showtime series called "The Tudors" is good". Usually when my wife says it's good, I don't like it, but she assures me it has enough violence and sex that I would watch it..:D

[Bakkels]

The Tudors is pretty good. I misread your original post btw, seems like you're already a fan of Mr. Swearengen :up:

Of course one can not start talking about legendary tv shows without mentioning the Sopranos, but I figured you'd come up with that one yourself.

[Dowly]

Oh forgot, Rome was pretty good IMHO. :yep:

[MaddogK]

I really enjoyed Game of Thrones first episode last night. Looks to be a lot of intrigue...and boobs! :woot:

A lot of people thought it to be slow, but I really like Boardwalk Empire.

No wonder I found 'game of Thrones' intriguing, it's right my alley but somehow missed the book release:
A Game of Thrones is the first of seven planned novels in A Song of Ice and Fire (http://awoiaf.westeros.org/index.php/A_Song_of_Ice_and_Fire), an epic fantasy (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/epic_fantasy) series by American author George R. R. Martin (http://awoiaf.westeros.org/index.php/George_R._R._Martin). It was first published on 6 August (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/6_August) 1996 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1996). The novel was nominated for the 1998 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1998) Nebula Award (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nebula_Award) and the 1997 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1997) World Fantasy Award (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Fantasy_Award), and won the 1997 Locus Award (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Locus_Award). The novella Blood of the Dragon, comprising the Daenerys Targaryen chapters from the novel, won the 1997 Hugo Award (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hugo_Award) for Best Novella. -wikipedia

[Oberon]

Oh forgot, Rome was pretty good IMHO. :yep:

:yep: I've only seen clips but I fully agree, it looks a masterpiece.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oQEdME1NtBg

[Sailor Steve]

David Carradine was a great Wild Bill.
Keith, not David.

[Jimbuna]

http://cultur-ed.edforum.net/wp-content/uploads/2008/12/small_110114.jpg

[Fish In The Water]

Oh forgot, Rome was pretty good IMHO. :yep:

Very good, enjoyed it immensely! :rock:

[nikimcbee]

Sorry to hear about your back:dead:. Good luck with that. Go get season one of the A-team for a good laugh.

[JSLTIGER]

Shocked no one has mentioned them yet but:

Band of Brothers
The Pacific
From the Earth to the Moon

[Sailor Steve]

Shocked no one has mentioned them yet but:

Band of Brothers
The Pacific
From the Earth to the Moon
I was thinking in terms of ongoing series. Miniseries are to me more like maxi-movies.

If we go down that road I'll bring up favorite classics like Six Wives of Henry VII, Elizabeth R and I, Claudius.

[Fish In The Water]

If we go down that road I'll bring up favorite classics like... I, Claudius.

Major Props! :yeah:

[Armistead]

Sorry to hear about your back:dead:. Good luck with that. Go get season one of the A-team for a good laugh.

I watched that when it was was on TV as a teen...I couldn't stand it again.

[Penguin]

I come late for the thread, but I also want to wish you the best for your surgery and a quick recovery! :salute:

The best TV series ever made:
Northern Exposure - as the German cartoonist Tom said in an interview: "the only intelligent american tv series" :DL -
He said that when it was still running, so he didn't know that US series made such an improvment over the past 15 years.

The second best:
The Wire - I can't preach enough to the heathens who haven't seen it yet. Bakkels gave a good describtion of it.

Also great shows, some of the already mentioned:

For drama/dramedy:
Breaking Bad
Weeds
Jericho
Sons of Anarchy
Mad Men
The Walking Dead
Eureka
Prison Break (first 2 seasons)


For pure laughter - as this speeds up recovery:
Curb Your Enthuisiasm
Flight of the Conchords
Extras (with Ricky Gervais)

It seems that most of the time only cable shows have the endurance to take the time to narrate something and to break with the rules of conventional storytelling.

[mookiemookie]

For pure raunchy comedy, you can't beat It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia

[Pisces]

The Big Bang Theory (CBS)
Current season running right now, previous seasons on DVD. Sitcom about two über-nerds and their friends. Not much of a description but I've laughed as hard at this show as at anything I've ever seen, and Jim Parsons just won a well-deserved Emmy for playing Dr. Sheldon Cooper, who really... must be seen to be believed.Amen! An ode to nerd-ship. :yeah:

Since I am a Trekkie I like all the series since and including The Next Generation. I'm too young to really appreciate the Original Series. Spoiled by modern special effects, yeah I know.

Battlestar Galactica, the original series. It took a while to appreciate the latest series. But towards the final end this got more yummy and yummy every episode.

I like the Rome and Spartacus series as well. I wonder if the Roman society was really as gore as is portrayed in Spartacus. But it is just a subset of the civilization what you see there.

[EDIT]Oh how could I forget! AIRWOLF!!!! :rock:

[CaptainMattJ.]

I love alot of the HBO miniseries like Band of Brothers, The Pacific ect.

THe ultimate Mini series of all time was of course Das Boot, which in the 5 1/2 hour extended version was originally played as episodes.

i actually dont watch many series like Weeds. ive seen them, and they are good, but i watch the Military Channel, History, movie channels, science ect.

[Platapus]

Up Stairs Down Stairs. Seen that so many times. Very fond memories as a kid watching that.

[Dowly]

I really enjoyed Game of Thrones first episode last night. Looks to be a lot of intrigue...and boobs! :woot:

A lot of people thought it to be slow, but I really like Boardwalk Empire.

Finished the 1st season yesterday, loved it. Gonna be a long wait for season 2. :wah:

[danasan]

Cracker - a British series. To me - the best ever made... (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cracker_%28UK_TV_series%29)

[Jimbuna]

Cracker - a British series. To me - the best ever made... (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cracker_%28UK_TV_series%29)


Would tend to agree with you in principal there :yep:

Possibly the best episode: To Be A Somebody

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Cracker-Be-Somebody-DVD/dp/B000H8RWGK/ref=pd_cp_d_h__0

Starring Robert Carlyle as Albie Kinsella

http://sharetv.org/images/guide/166054.jpg

http://sharetv.org/shows/cracker_uk/episodes/166054

In 15 parts

http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=to+be+a+somebody+cracker&aq=0&oq=to+be+a+somebody

[Osmium Steele]

Check out Burn Notice on USA. Been following it since day 1.

Ditto on Rome, but Spartacus is a lame knockoff, imho. Just another excuse to put boobs on the screen in a toga.

Which is the only disappointing thing about Game of Thrones. (No, not togas) Most of the nudity serves no storyline purpose. But since the author is happy with it, I guess I can't complain too much. The only modern epic fantasy series I can stomach. It realized the Wheel of Time series' potential.

Loving True Blood, but the ladies in my family tell me it has strayed VERY far from the novels.

Big Bang Theory is network TV, but is the funniest thing to hit the tube since Fawlty Towers. I soooooooo know those guys.

If you are going to the store, pick up the entire Firefly collection. You'll not be disappointed.

Time to see if I can find The Goodies on DVD.

[Dowly]

IMHO, GoT handled the nudity well. There weren't any scenes that were there
just to show boobs (that I can recall), there was always something else too.

I would probably be more bothered if there weren't any, given the setting and
the nude's (mostly) being whores, it would feel sillier for them to cover themselves. :hmmm:

Just adds that little bit of "realism". :yep:

Except for nude Hordor, that was bloody pointless. :doh:

[Osmium Steele]

Except for nude Hordor, that was bloody pointless. :doh:

That was scary. Thought it was gonna leap out of the TV and smack me on the forehead. Was certainly long enough.

[mookiemookie]

I think the nudity in GoT did indeed tell a storytelling purpose, for the most part. Sure there were some things that we could have done without (Hodor's wang, for example. But that was in the book, so chalk it up to being accurate) but so many of the scenes that caused people to get all up in arms did serve a purpose. The famous scene with Littlefinger and the two whores in Episode 8 tells a lot about Littlefinger's character - everything in his life is based on lies and illusion, including his business. I thought it was a great scene.

[Dowly]

That was scary. Thought it was gonna leap out of the TV and smack me on the forehead. Was certainly long enough.

:haha:

[Anthony W.]

Loony Toons for sure. THAT was worth waking up early for on Saturday morning...

[Betonov]

I agree wit Anthony, Looney Tunes, plus Scooby Doo, Tom&Jerry, Animaniacs, Tiny Tunes...

Then its: Rome, Firefly, Game of thrones, House md, Firefly, Dexter, Deadwood, Firefly, Firefly, Only fools and horses, Allo allo... :DL

And about excellent cartoons, A je to... a Slovak cartoon about two idiots. They don't speak so no translation neccesary
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_skp_qOq9Qo

[Sailor Steve]

Hey Betonov! I have a show you might like. Ever hear of Firefly?

[Anthony W.]

I agree wit Anthony, Looney Tunes, plus Scooby Doo, Tom&Jerry, Animaniacs, Tiny Tunes...

Then its: Rome, Firefly, Game of thrones, House md, Firefly, Dexter, Deadwood, Firefly, Firefly, Only fools and horses, Allo allo... :DL

And about excellent cartoons, A je to... a Slovak cartoon about two idiots. They don't speak so no translation neccesary
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_skp_qOq9Qo

Tom and Jerry - Porky Pig - Bugs Bunny - Daffy Duck - Elmer Fudd - those were characters worth keeping.

They still have them, but the modern ones are not nearly as good. They're so tame now.

Oh, don't forget Wiley Coyote and The Roadrunner!