Critically acclaimed shows of the last 20 years that you haven't watched

It was a show about nothing.. literally. They even had seasons devoted to him and George producing a show about nothing.

Kramer barging in, Eileen being awkward, Newmannnn > .. all staples of the show. If you didn't get it, that's fine. The humor was in how relative it was to real life.

Lemmiwinks_sl said:

Dexter
Dr Who
Lost
The Sopranos
Heroes
Deadwood
Rome
Any Star Trek
Breaking Bad
The Wire
Mad Men
Spartacus
Friends
Boardwalk Empire

I dont watch much TV...I dont know where to get started.

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Start with The Sopranos, go from there.

I'd scrap Heroes entirely. The first season started out really good, but finished as a huge disappointment. Don't waste your time on that nonsense when you have a whole HBO/Starz line up sitting there.

I'd do like Chaos said and start with The Sopranos. Move on to Deadwood, Rome, The Wire, Boardwalk Empire, and Spartacus after that. Then maybe watch Friends to cleanse your ears of the 50,000 times you just heard the words Fuck, Cocksucker, and Cunt.

Lost Ranger_sl said:

I have never seen a full Seinfeld episode from start to finish. I have seen lots of bit parts when I would turn the channel to it while it was on, and clips people have posted over the years. Every time I watch some of it I always end up asking myself the same question. How the fuck does anyone find Jerry Seinfeld funny? Nothing against the guy personally he might be the coolest guy on the planet for all I know, but god damn he is one unfunny fucker. Same with the supporting cast on that show. Kramer would burst/stumble into Jerry's apartment and people would start laughing. No idea how anyone found that more then mildly amusing more then once.

I always figured it was like the people who loved watching Gallagher smash fruit and shit with his big hammer. To each his own. I damn sure don't get it.

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The plotting of most episodes was phenomenal, that's what I liked about it. Each character would start off with their own little story or issue, and by the end of the episode they'd all come together for a hilarious payoff. The episode where George has been telling a chick he's a marine biologist and at the end has to go yank a golf ball out of a whale's blow hole that Kramer had hit in to it is a perfect example.

I agree that Seinfeld himself isn't very funny, either in the show or in stand-up. But the show itself is hilarious and pretty timeless (a lot of sitcoms age very badly). The only exception to Seinfeld not being that funny was the episode where he and Kramer trade apartments, and start becoming each other. Seinfeld as Kramer was pretty fucking funny.

I don't think "Dead Like Me" has been mentioned in this thread yet. I've seen it, but I'm pretty sure most people haven't. It's extremely good and I believe it was fairly critically acclaimed.

Eomer_sl said:

The plotting of most episodes was phenomenal, that's what I liked about it. Each character would start off with their own little story or issue, and by the end of the episode they'd all come together for a hilarious payoff. The episode where George has been telling a chick he's a marine biologist and at the end has to go yank a golf ball out of a whale's blow hole that Kramer had hit in to it is a perfect example.

I agree that Seinfeld himself isn't very funny, either in the show or in stand-up. But the show itself is hilarious and pretty timeless (a lot of sitcoms age very badly). The only exception to Seinfeld not being that funny was the episode where he and Kramer trade apartments, and start becoming each other. Seinfeld as Kramer was pretty fucking funny.

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Yeah I was going to post exactly this, you're not going to "get" Seinfeld if you've never watched a full episode.

George was the best part of Seinfeld.

Art Van DeLay the Architect. That's just classy.

Lemmiwinks_sl said:

Dexter
Dr Who
Lost
The Sopranos
Heroes
Deadwood
Rome
Any Star Trek
Breaking Bad
The Wire
Mad Men
Spartacus
Friends
Boardwalk Empire

I dont watch much TV...I dont know where to get started.

Click to expand...

Start with Sopranos, Deadwood or Rome. These three shows do an excellent mix of episodic excitement, and long term story telling--as well as amazing acting and deep story lines. The big thing is though that you'll see dividends, in terms of story, in the first episode. The Wire, Breaking Bad, Mad Men and Boardwalk are just as good, BUT they take a few episodes to put out and they are long burns--which means entire episodes can be set ups for future stories (NOT filler, just no real "satisfaction" that something happened.).....If you're not into TV, these shows can lose you before you really get anywhere (Many a people never get through season BB--which sucks because the long story is mind blowing good.)

Rome/Deadwood/Sopranos though strikes an excellent balance between the now, and the long term--I'd pick depending what you like (Crime=Sopranos, Deadwood=Western/Crime, Rome=Historical Drama.)

Deadwood is great, but was cancelled too early, so be ready for that.

But if you guys haven't seen the new BSG... There really is nothing better. Even if you aren't a big fan of sci-fi (not sure what you're doing on this board) this is the best complete work that's available. I know there are a couple of episodes that aren't completely infallible, but those are few and still have redeeming qualities.

The only show that holds a torch to BSG is The Wire. Most of what makes that show so phenomenal is the dialog. An entire scene where the only dialog is "Mother Fucker" just said with different inflections.... Might sound crass but it really is brilliant.

The other shows mentioned are "good" but just on completely different levels than these 2.

Thanks for the suggestions sers. I think I'll start with Deadwood since its the shortest, then probably Rome and Sopranos. Then again, those three are so highly acclaimed I should probably save one for last, so the others don't disappoint.

Rome was also cancelled too soon. You can tell that the show was informed it was being cancelled about halfway through Season 2, it becomes very rushed and the time moves very quickly in the last half of the second season to tie everything up quickly. Rome Season 1 is amazing, season 2 is pretty mediocre.

I need to watch The Tudors and Downton Abbey. I generally enjoy period/historical based shows, I just haven't given those a look yet.

And I second Six Feet Under as the best series ending ever. Made me cry like a little bitch, the only TV show or movie to ever do so. I still can't hear that damn song that played during the ending and not get choked up.

Also, are there any really good fantasy themed shows around? Pretty sure nothing in existence, fantasy wise, can hold a glass candle to GoT.

I really can't think of any fantasy/high fantasy TV shows besides Game of Thrones. Everything that could remotely be considered some sort of fantasy are going to be more in the Sci-Fi realm (Firefly, Terminator:SCC, Battlestar, Etc) or more horror/monster based like Buffy, Vampire Diaries, True Blood.

Spartacus would be the only thing even remotely close to GoT, but it's not really fantasy, theres no magic/monster/mythology to it, it's just set in ancient times, based on somewhat historical events and people.

I've heard good things about Merlin, but I've never seen it

I've heard both ways on Merlin. Some people love it, some say it is cheesy and campy

Lemmiwinks_sl said:

Thanks for the suggestions sers. I think I'll start with Deadwood since its the shortest, then probably Rome and Sopranos. Then again, those three are so highly acclaimed I should probably save one for last, so the others don't disappoint.

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Rome is actually shorter than Deadwood, if that is your concern with starting.

"Once Upon a Time" could probably be considered fantasy, but it's an awful show.

Legend of the Seeker is just like Xena / Herc and from what I have heard, Merlin. Cheesy shows but worth killing time with if you enjoy those types of shows. If anything else, watch it for Bridget kicking ass in knee high boots (swoon)