Recommended HBO shows.

Dman001

I've started to get into the more recent HBO shows such as True Blood, Hung, Eastbound and Down and Curb Your Enthusiasm. Can anyone recommend any older HBO shows. I've heard great things about The Sopranos and Six Feet Under and I recently discovered that Carnivale was a HBO show. What is the best series all round, and the best one to get stuck into?

KnifeWRENCH

Definitely get into The Sopranos and Six Feet Under - both excellent shows.
The Wire was also HBO and is well worth getting into too.
I can't say which of the three is the best - they're all pretty damn good.

More recently, Flight of the Conchords (probably the best American sitcom going) is also HBO.

BopNiblets

The Wire
Entourage
Californication
Would be my picks.

Dman001

Oh yes Entourage, I forgot about that. But I'm watching too many comedies so I'm leaning towards Six Feet Under. But I'm liking the look of Carnivale, it has a dark vibe about it.

abelard

Oz was a pretty amazing show

User45701

Oz

Sosa

abelard wrote: »

Oz was a pretty amazing show

Oz really faded badly from season 4 onwards,but the first few seasons are really good,made on a shoestring budget,raw and some parts will make you cringe and hold onto your chair as you thank god that its not you in that prison...poor old Tobias Beecher...i saw him in a few things recently,poor fella.he got an awful time in that

But the two best HBO shows are without question,The Sopranos ( best show ever made ) and the Wire ( 2nd best show ever made )

Caked Karen

Others bar the ones mentioned about (def Sopranos and Entourage IMO)

In Treatment
Deadwood
Rome

and cause I'm a lady I'm going to say Sex and the City aswell

beng128

Started series 1 of The Sopranos at the start of summer and now near the end of series 4... great show, every episode is like a little movie, pure briliance. My favourite show out there with Entourage a close second.

Dman001

I see In Treatment is on Sky Arts so I'll Sky+ it, I remember catching a few episodes on 3e a few months ago and thought it was decent. I think I'll start with Six feet Under, than The Sopranos and then move onto Carnivale/Rome. Pity there isn't a HBO channel on Sky, although FX does a very good job of importing the good HBO Shows (along with Breaking Bad).

I have so much to watch it might take me a while to get around watching these HBO shows. My Sky planner is packed with True Blood, Eastbound and Down, Hung, Burn Notice, Scrubs, In Treatment, Chuck and the odd Office repeats.

MagicMarker

Oz.

chenguin

The Wire is the best box set that I have watched. And everyone I know that has watched it absolutely loved it. I would also recommened Sopranos, Californication and entourage.

quickbeam

Rome is fantastic. Definitely recommend it.

J-blk

How has "Band of Brothers" not come up yet? :eek:

Mossy Monk

In no particular order

Oz
Deadwood
Curb Your Enthusiasm
Rome
Band of Brothers
The Sopranos
Entourage
The Wire

chenguin wrote: »

Californication

Not HBO. That is Showtime

Dman001

I always thought Deadwood was some BBC drama. Just Googled it and it sounds rather good. I like the idea of a Western Drama.

Also Starring LeVar Burton

The Wire
Oz
The Sopranos

ronano

Dman001 wrote: »

I always thought Deadwood was some BBC drama. Just Googled it and it sounds rather good. I like the idea of a Western Drama.

You're thinking of torchwood a sh*t dr. who spin off

JP Liz

Deadwood

&

Hung

ixoy

The Wire definitely - no question.

Generation Kill - Why has nobody mentioned this yet?! I know it's a mini series but it must be watched. Superb stuff - Best war drama ever. Based on real people (one person even plays themselves).

Oz is worth a watch - very tough and brutal at times but really compelling. It went into some silly territories in later seasons but worth your time.

Sopranos - Meh, never really cared that much for it. A lot of other people like it so maybe you will too.

Carnivale - Very enjoyable this. The first season is very slow, the second season moves a lot faster. Beautifully filmed but be warned the show was ended prematurely and there's no neat ending.

Rome - Pretty good stuff. It only lasted two seasons as well but it has a good wrap up.

Band of Brothers - Great WWII mini series that makes all other WWII series and movies redundant. It's got a companion mini series - "The Pacific" coming out next year.

The Corner - Another excellent mini series set in drug-torn Baltimore. Based on real people.

meathman 007

The Wire - Best Tv program ever made

Generation Kill - ^ Ziggy is great in it

The Corner

David Simon is a genius

Dman001

ronano wrote: »

You're thinking of torchwood a sh*t dr. who spin off

Maybe that was it. Did the BBC show Deadwood by any chance?

I was just beginning to watch Generation Kill on 4oD (Thankfully 4oD is available to us again). It has only began last week on C4 so I might keep my eye on it.

I'll try and watch a few Wire episodes on FX but I don't think I'll like it.

qwertplaywert

ronano wrote: »

You're thinking of torchwood a sh*t dr. who spin off

Bit off topic, but I'd hardly call Torchwood sh*t. Season 1 and 2 were by no means that good of tv, but the recent 5 part season 3 'Children of Earth' was some of the best tv all year, either side of the atlantic.


HBO Shows: Can't go wrong with a bit of Carivale, The Wire, Six Feet Under, Generation Kill, Band of Brothers and John from Cincinnati.

dubmick

BopNiblets wrote: »

The Wire
Entourage
Californication
Would be my picks.

Californication is actually a Showtime production. Sorry to be picky!

tvnutz

Well the Wire is the best tv show ever made so therefore the best HBO show.

Carnivale and Deadwood are both very enjoyable but both were cancelled without proper endings.

Oz was really good for the first few seasons,well worth watching.

As far as mini series go,The Corner and Generation Kill are great. Was Band of Brothers HBO? Because that was also brilliant.

Mossy Monk

tvnutz wrote: »

Was Band of Brothers HBO?

Yes.

pickarooney

The Life and Times of Tim is worth a watch.

Cina

There's not really such a thing as a bad HBO show...

Everything I've seen has been (mostly) excellent, from the drama of
The Wire
Deadwood
Oz
The Sopranos
The Corner
Generation Kill
Band of Brothers
Rome
True Blood (surprised this hasn't been mentioned much)

To the comedy of:
Curb Your Enthusiasm (and this too!)
Entourage
Hung

To the downright weird Carnivale!

Also, 2 fantastic Showtime (which is another subscription channel in the states, similar to HBO but not quite as popular) shows are
Dexter
Californication

Nothing beats HBO, nothing.

iguana

Big Love, about a fundamentalist Mormon polygamist family, is the greatest show that nobody watches. (Obviously some people watch it, shows no-one watches don't get renewed for a 4th series, but I can't find any of them). It starts out almost lightheartedly with a lot of comedy about having sex with 3 wives. But the darker side of the lifestyle is hinted at from the beginning, and eventually the organised crime, child abuse and trafficking of young girls comes to the fore, all the while keeping the show about the family.

It's intelligent, funny, genuinely heart-breaking, well acted and written and it shines a light on mormonism, both fundamentalist and mainstream. Harry Dean Staunton's Roman is particularly excellent as he's an evil bastard who you want to be destroyed utterly, yet you sort of root for him as he's just wonderful to watch.

rowlandbrowner

bored to death has potential

robby^5

The Corner
The Wire
Generation Kill

ixoy

iguana wrote: »

Big Love, about a fundamentalist Mormon polygamist family, is the greatest show that nobody watches..

I watch it! I forgot about this show - it's another one worth watching. Not quite in the same league as the ones I've listed above but still head and shoulders above most mainstream network dramas.

D-Generate

Whenever I hear "Aaaaaahhhhhhhhhh" and the HBO logo pops up on the screen I always smile knowing I am in for some quality tv viewing! Unfortunately then it turns out that Sex and the City comes on and I am gutted......

The Wire
Oz,
The Corner
Generation Kill
Deadwood
Band of Brothers

anything really that they show is decent

Mossy Monk

D-Generate wrote: »

Whenever I hear "Aaaaaahhhhhhhhhh" and the HBO logo pops up on the screen I always smile knowing I am in for some quality tv viewing! Unfortunately then it turns out that Sex and the City comes on and I am gutted......

This has happened a few times to me and it is gutting.

Dman001

Finally got around to watching True Blood on C4, and Wow! I wasn't really expecting much, I was only really watching because of the hype and I was surprised how good it was.

I then watched the pilot of Hung and thought it was great too. Now to buy some HBO boxsets!

BopNiblets

Ah yeah Californication is Showtime, but HBO/Showtime, it's all good!
Dexter is Showtime too, and is awesome.

I'm watching Generation Kill again, really good but kinda short.
"Gentlemen, we just seized an airfield... that was pretty f*ckin ninja."

sweetie

the shield also comes in under the fx/showtime/hbo (all great networks) and is a great crime drama, different than the multilayered wire and just as essential

Mossy Monk

sweetie wrote: »

the shield also comes in under the fx/showtime/hbo (all great networks) and is a great crime drama, different than the multilayered wire and just as essential

FX are basic cable and would never be allowed to broadcast some shows that HBO and Showtime make without some serious editing.

sweetie

Mossy Monk wrote: »

FX are basic cable and would never be allowed to broadcast some shows that HBO and Showtime make without some serious editing.

I didn't know that but still feel their shows like the following are of a similar ilk
to the hbo and showtime stuff
# Damages
# It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia
# Rescue Me
# Sons of Anarchy

L31mr0d

rowlandbrowner wrote: »

bored to death

I feel it's like arrested development, in that it's taking its time to ripen, I just hope it doesn't get cancelled before it does. It keeps getting better with each successive episode.

Will also throw in my vote behind:

Hung
Generation Kill
Band Of Brothers
True Blood

Jessibelle

It's a Showtime show but Nurse Jackie is well worth a view.

JPA

Surprised no one said just watch them all!

Personally I found it hard to get into Deadwood though, too slow for my liking.