Looking for some show to watch

DarkDusk

Hi guys,
I'm looking for some new shows to watch. I currently watch Game of Thrones (absolutely love), Vampire Diaries (brilliant), Boardwalk Empire (awesome), Suits (Good). Have watched Lost (twice!) which was one the best shows of all time imho.
I was looking at a new show called Hannibal which looks very promising. Revolution looks interesting also, but it may be sh!te also...

Any suggestions? Based on above?

Thanks a mil, I really appreciate it.

Sir Digby Chicken Caesar

justified

justified


did I mention justified?

justified

I have seen the first few episodes of Revolution, it is not the best, to be honest, but watchable.
If you haven't seen Breaking Bad, then that is a must see, I'd also recommend The Walking Dead.

ScumLord

Justified, Vegas, Vikings, the Americans is ok, I assume you've already watched Breaking Bad. Hannibal seems ok so far.

Spartacus is ok too.

Tigger

Breaking bad
Beanshee
Deadwood

don ramo

if you enjoy Suits, you might also enjoy White Collar (4 seasons) and Covert Affairs (3 seasons), their on the same network as Suits and kind of have a similar feeling to it,

also some other shows id say you would like would be Person of Interest (2 seasons) and Elementary (first season), both are fairly procedural, but they both have interesting overall story-arcs also, while Elementary is on season 1 its still settling into it rhythm, but Person of Interest has gotten a lot stronger in its second season,

also Justified (4 seasons), Homeland (2 seasons), and Breaking Bad (finishing up its 4th and final season this june) are amazing shows and shouldn't be missed out on,

Dexter also is a pretty good show, its starting its 8th and final season this june,

all these shows i thoroughly enjoy and all have a fairly decent fanbase here on boards,

dave1982

I'm jealous of everyone who never seen this

dave1982

Another great TV series

dave1982

Another excellent show

Lisa78

Definitely second Justified, Walking Dead, Spartacus and Deadwood. Haven't seen the others myself.
A few others I'd recommend Sons of Anarchy, Bones, Mad Men, and these are old but so good - The Wire and The Shield. Another good cop one is Southland. Camelot looked like it was going to be good, but it didn't get funding for a second season. A couple of great British ones are Luther and Sherlock. They're only a couple of seasons in, with not many episodes but they're definitely worth a watch. Some more older ones 24, Nip/Tuck and Dollhouse.
By the way Game of Thrones would be top of my list at the moment, and Sons when it comes back.

Richard Dower

Lost Girl, Being Human [US]....and anything on ABC Family.

DarkDusk

Wow, thanks for all the replies guys. I was planning on watching Breaking Bad and Dexter, they look like brilliant shows. I never really got into The Wire, I might give it a go sometime in the future and see if it clicks with me. Never heard of Justified, but it looks pretty good though! Might give The Walking Dead a try at some stage too. Anyone willing to give True Blood a +1? I was thinking about watching that aswell. I've watched and love Battlestar Galactica too btw, and heard Firefly was brilliant. Have watched Sherlock (loved some eps, not so much with others...)

I've thought of watching Spartacus and The Shield before and heard greta things about them. I've watched a few eps of Bones and thought it was very good, and sometimes hilarious! Anyone want to say anything about the Borgias? I'd be interested in that if it's consistently good. Watched first ep of Newsroom also, does it continue to be good throughout the season?

Thanks a mil guys, and thanks in advance to anyone that replies regarding the above.

Sir Digby Chicken Caesar

justified is very "villain of the week" for the first half of season 1, then once the characters are all broken in the show starts properly. season 1 ends well but season 2 is just incredible television and it just builds from there in 3 and 4.

--edit

if you liked battlestar and would be interested in another sci-fi, check out farscape. it looks a lot more ridiculous than it is, it's actually a very smart and damn well written show with some of the best characters in tv sci fi (not that that's such a huge accomplishment I guess)

Lisa78

Oh yeah- The Borgias is worth a look- forgot about that.
I finally got around to watching Firefly a few months ago and it really wasn't as great as I was expecting - it's good, and I usually love all Joss Whedon's stuff - Buffy and Angel are two of my all time favourites, and loved Cabin in the Woods, Avengers and Dollhouse was pretty good too. Maybe I was expecting too much from Firefly after hearing how amazing it was for years. If you like Vampire Diaries, I'd say True Blood would be a good bet - I don't watch them but my sister loves them. Definitely try and get into the Wire. That and the Shield alone will keep you going for weeks :-)

Richard Dower

There is a lot of quality dramas, The Borgias, Da Vinci's Demons....a lot of people highly recommend Starz' show with Kelsey Grammer called Boss.

The Americans, Hannibal, loads to choose from.

Artful_Badger

I'd recommend:

Breaking Bad (Excellent)
The Walking dead (Weak but strangely addictive)
Deadwood (Great)
Spartacus (First 2 seasons excellent, rest ok)
Dexter (Great, mix of excellent seasons and good ones)
Vikings (New but off to a good start)
Hell on Wheels (New and pretty good)
OZ (Classic)

I plan on checking out Justified too, seems to be pretty popular and thought the lead actor was great in Deadwood.

Lisa78

+1 for Hell on Wheels - wasn't sure for the first couple of episodes, but stuck with it and was really glad I did, and always like Colm Meaney in things.
Timothy Olyphant is very good in Justified-I think he was better in that than Deadwood, but Deadwood was a better series than Justified, not by much though.

hyperborean

Did anyone mention Justified? Rayland Givens - Coolest character on TV and not even the best in the show (every series a new legend)

Check out the Killing if you haven't already

Lisa78

A couple of good mini-series would be Band of Brothers and The Pacific if you haven't already seen them.

DarkDusk

Thanks a BILLION everyone! I've heard great things about most of the above shows, but I had forgotten about most of them... But now they're all in one thread which I can refer back to!

Never heard of Deadwood but it looks very very good!

I'm going to dive into a lot of these this summer when I have loads of time to watch them. Regarding the shows which are new e.g. Hannibal, I will probably wait until the season is finished and then watch them all at once.

Thanks again, you've been great!

dave1982

Lisa78 wrote: »

A couple of good mini-series would be Band of Brothers and The Pacific if you haven't already seen them.

There are a few great mimi series theres one about a bank robbery I can't think of the name of it.

Mad dogs a English series very short I think only 4 a series but worth watching

Slippin Jimmy

Check out southland. One of the best and most underated shows ever.

DarkDusk

dave1982 wrote: »

There are a few great mimi series theres one about a bank robbery I can't think of the name of it.

Mad dogs a English series very short I think only 4 a series but worth watching

Is this it? http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0862593/ I did a google for "mini series about bank robbery"

I've heard great things about Mad Dogs also, thanks, I'll add that to my list also!

dave1982

Yep thats its, new series of Mad dogs starting starting soon

DazMarz

The Sopranos, Mad Men or the original Robbie Coltrane Cracker.

All brilliant.

barneysplash

Some good suggestions there. I will pitch in with some of my own,
many off them are from long ago, that I only recently saw myself.
But classics are called classics for a reason

Prime Suspect - Helen Mirren is a police detective chasing a serial killer.
It's 1991 and the Police is still very much a man's world. This went on
to become one of the most successful British crime drama's of the 1990s
and early 2000s along with...

Cracker - Robbie Coltraine plays a psychologist who helps police understand
and crack violent and seemingly deranged criminals. He must battle his own
demons of a marriage on the rocks and a niggling gambling obsession along
the way. My favourite story line is Robert Carlyle's deranged football fan,
consumed by anger and determined to seek a terrible revenge. Powerful stuff.
1993 - 2006 ITV

Traffik - A senior British politician tries to get tough on drugs, but his own
daughter is a heroin addict. This drama gives herion's journey from the fields
of Pakistan, to the docks of Hamburg and finally to British addicts. This was
remade as a watered-down film by Hollywood, but there's no substitute for
the real thing. 1989 Channel 4

Edge of Darkness - I don't know if you are old enough to remember the early
1980s. Nuclear war still seemed possible between the US and the USSR.
Several countries developed atomic weapons, frequently in secret, and often
against public outrage and mass protest. A policeman's daughter is murdered
to in an attempt to conceal a fearsome nuclear conspiracy. This atmospheric and
taut drama will take you back to the height of the Cold War and bring the huge
news stories of the day into a stark and humane focus. 1985 BBC

The Shadow Line - A murdered drug dealer sets an honest cop on a collision
course with the Metropolitan Police establishment. But a missing suitcase full of
money and a patchy memory means he may not be so honest after all. 2011 BBC

The Wire - Epic police drama set in Baltimore profiling the war on drugs.
Don't be afraid to switch on the subtitles when watching
Believe the hype it really is that good. 2002 - 2008 HBO

Generation Kill - Dramatization on a journalist's own experiences of reporting
from the front line with the US Marines during the 2003 invasion of Iraq. 2008 HBO

A very British Coup - Another fine 1980s British political drama. An idealistic
socialist Prime Minister must tread carefully and not fall victim to a secret
plot to discredit him and seize power.
1988 Channel 4.

Copper - New York in the 1860s is a dangerous place. The only force for order is
the Police, known as "Coppers". While entrepreneurs search for profit and high society
enjoy their indulgences, the poor pay the price, often in blood.
The Civil War rages on, and is coming straight for New York. Fantastic sets, costumes and
decent performances make for a good first series. 2012 BBC America

The Americans - Philip and Elizabeth Jennings appear to be a happily married
couple with two kids, a lovely suburban house and a thriving travel agent business.
But this facade hides a dark secret - they are Russian spies.
Both will lie, steal, murder and seduce America's secrets in a deadly game of cat and mouse
with the FBI. Based on the true story of KGB operations in 1980s America. 2013 FX


Now for the ones to avoid...

In my opinoin, what you don't watch is important as well.
You can invest a lot of time in TV series and box-sets only
to be disappointed. This can when the are over-extended by a network
looking to cash-in on a show's success i.e. Mad Men, or when the
writers go nuts and destroy the show's credibility i.e. Sons of Anarchy,
Battlestar Galactica.

In my opinion, you should not bother with:

Breaking Bad - Starts off good, but too many "oh he just got away"
moments to make it enjoyable. It's just not dark enough to be plausible,
given the subject matter. It's the kind of show you could miss two episodes
of and come back and nothing would have changed.

Sons of Anarchy - The first episode set the tone for an unflinching looking
at the secret underbelly of American motorcycle gangs. Then the show turned into
the A-team. No-one important gets even a scratch after a car-bomb or close
up machine-gunning. A farcical shame.

The Kill Point - Great actors, terrible script, pretentious dialogue, implausible scenarios, zzzzzz

The Sopranos - I'm probably going to get some stick for this but I wouldn't
bother if I was you. It just goes stale after a few episodes and turns into a
"dysfunctional family" drama with the occasional murder and organized crime
sub-plot thrown in. Each season works like this:
Look out Tony, you've got a new rival / oh you've killed him /
Your marriage is in trouble / your kids are becoming adults /
Your henchmen are unreliable / You are worried you are going soft
Someone from your past threatens your position / Yawn.

Mad Men - Should have been great. A very interesting time in American history.
JFK & Jackie , civil rights, women liberation, the beginning of our current consumer culture.
The amount of media attention this show has garnered is unbelievable, a shame
it's for the style and costumes and not the content. Yes, the outfits worn by the cast
are great, but the storylines don't really go anywhere. Many episodes end with
Don Draper sitting in a dark room drinking whiskey out of a big tumbler,
while looking moody, but in a nice suit.

Bomb Girls - Set in Canada during World War II, this tells the story of a
group of women drafted to work in a munitions factory. Free to earn their own living,
and live unsupervised, they soon experiment with alcohol, sex and standing up for
their political beliefs. Unfortunately it soon turns into a predictable soap-opera
with lovely sets and costumes. It started off great, but ended up like "Home and Away"
with hairnets.

DarkDusk

Wow Barney, thanks a mil for all that.

I haven't watched Breaking Bad yet so I can't agree/disagree with you on that. I totally agree with you regarding The Sopranos. I never got into that show and it really confused me as to why so many people rave about it.

Thanks again.

barneysplash

It's no bother, I had those comments from other discussions over the years.
I guess you could call me a drama buff

A lot of the shows that are around today take "inspiration" from older dramas
like Prime Suspect or Cracker. It's interesting when you see the original, and
then begin to notice similar themes or aspects in newer shows.

It's so annoying when you get into a show and then it goes to pot.
There's some good shows out there, but there is a lot of rubbish that gets
hyped up because the studio is making a fortune from worldwide
syndication or sponsorship. In interviews, you can see some of the stars
in these shows begin to treat it like a day job - they do it just to pay
the bills and get their names out there. James Gandolfini (Tony Soprano)
and Christina Hendircks (Joan Harris in Mad Men) spring to mind.

scudzilla

Vikings, without a doubt, it's something else, if ya love GoT you'll love this

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XQFQN3-Pm8E

Richard Dower

And yet no love for Pretty Little Liars........ ?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LVVpw7Q1QyM

^

barneysplash

What about one-off dramas?
They're not films, they are usually only shown once on television and
they're not always put on DVD.

If they're part of a series I guess you'd call them a drmaa anthology, like
the brilliant BBC "Play for Today". These series and one-offs started the careers
of many of today's big stars, both on and off-camera.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Play_for_Today


I see Sky Arts are doing a season called "Playhouse Presents"
that is in the vein of Play for Today. They've got some big name
starts to appear in these. I've see a few of them, they're quite good.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Playhouse_Presents

Here are a few older ones I've seen over the years and are quite fond of:


Abigail's Party - Some neighbors gather for a dinner-party.
Seething resentment, rampant sexual tension, new racism and class
rivalry all bubble beneath the surface of this brilliantly play adapted
for the small screen. 1976 BBC

My Zinc Bed - A recovering alcoholic writer finds himself
the mental plaything of a successful entrepreneur he is sent to
interview. The plot thickens when he meets his subject's beautiful but
damaged wife. 2008 BBC/HBO

Professional Foul A British professor visiting Czechoslovakia for a symposium
becomes dangerously embroiled in an oppressed writer's attempt to smuggle
something very dangerous to the West. 1977 BBC

twirlagig

Another 'Breaking Bad' recommendation here
Heard lots of good stuff about it but never got around to watching it somehow. One weekend in February I got Season 1 in Xtravision on a Saturday evening... Watched the whole lot that night in to the early hours of Sunday morning! Went to bed and slept and hopped into HMV the next day for Season 2! Was hooked! Got Seasons 3 and 4 shortly after, really love it, great show! Will hand on til release of DVD 5 before I buy anymore.

One I want to see is 'Suits' - meant to be brilliant.

The Black Oil

Sir Digby Chicken Caesar wrote: »

justified

justified


did I mention justified?

justified

Just watched the first episode. Good, tense. Goggins and Olyphant make for good foils. Racial stuff seems a bit scary, probably not half of it yet. Will watch further.

the whole year inn

Cracker sounds class, defenitly my next show . band of brothers should get more love.
You ever watch prison break, the first two seasons are very good.

platinums

Burn Notice - It's like McGuyver / A Team

RUSTEDCORE

DarkDusk wrote: »

Hi guys,
I'm looking for some new shows to watch. I currently watch Game of Thrones (absolutely love), Vampire Diaries (brilliant), Boardwalk Empire (awesome), Suits (Good). Have watched Lost (twice!) which was one the best shows of all time imho.
I was looking at a new show called Hannibal which looks very promising. Revolution looks interesting also, but it may be sh!te also...

Any suggestions? Based on above?

Thanks a mil, I really appreciate it.

I like the same stuff and have watched every show heres the best besides what you watch.

Tru blood
The walking dead
gold rush
bering sea gold
sons of anarchy
breaking bad
smallville
falling skies
heroes
nikita
Revolution

barneysplash

The Black Oil wrote: »

Just watched the first episode. Good, tense. Goggins and Olyphant make for good foils. Racial stuff seems a bit scary, probably not half of it yet. Will watch further.

It falls to pieces after the first episode. The darkness and racist story line
soon get sidelined by the main character's love life. Yawn. A shame, it
could have been great. The criminal underside of the south has plenty of
scope for stories and plots that this show screws up - white supremacists,
black-market guns, prescription drug abuse, fugitive capture and of course good
old fashioned moonshine runners. Plenty of subject matter that the US
Marshals deal with in the real world. But, alas it all plays second fiddle to
formulaic love-triangles and implausible shoot-outs involving the lead character.

For a good comedy I'd recommend Party Down. It's the story of a struggling
group of actors and wannabees trying to make it in Hollywood. To pay the bills
they work as party caterers. The show is about all the goings on at the events
and parties that they must service. The great Jane Lynch of Glee fame is
in the first series.

Band of Brothers is great, so is The Pacific

Weathering

American horror story,season 2 especially. Completely new storyline so you don't need to have seen one to follow it.
Watch one episode you'll be hooked

Sir Digby Chicken Caesar

barneysplash wrote: »

It falls to pieces after the first episode. The darkness and racist story line
soon get sidelined by the main character's love life. Yawn. A shame, it
could have been great. The dark underside of the south had plenty of
scope for stories and plots - white supremacists, gun runners, prescription drug
abuse, fugitive capture and of course good old fashioned moonshine runners.
Plenty of subject matter that the US Marshals deal with in the real world.
[/B]

what the ****, did you watch more than 1 and a half episodes?

barneysplash

Sir Digby Chicken Caesar wrote: »

what the ****, did you watch more than 1 and a half episodes?

Yes I watched the first season, and stopped watching after the first episode of season two.

No offence intended, if you find a series you like, belt away and enjoy. I guess I have
grown less tolerant of poor quality in my old age, having been disappointed by so
many promising shows.

Might check out that American Horror Story, think someone told me before that it's good.

hyperborean

barneysplash wrote: »

Yes I watched the first season, and stopped watching after the first episode of season two.

Your loss , the 2nd and 3rd season are only brilliant. Everyone to their own I suppose, I know a guy who hated the godfather movies <

RUSTEDCORE

hyperborean wrote: »

Your loss , the 2nd and 3rd season are only brilliant. Everyone to their own I suppose, I know a guy who hated the godfather movies <

Never been able to sit through godfather 1 and I watch more movies/tv than any man ever has

barneysplash

hyperborean wrote: »

Your loss , the 2nd and 3rd season are only brilliant. Everyone to their own I suppose, I know a guy who hated the godfather movies <

Yeah, If you like it, work away and enjoy. I'm happy to say that it's just not for me.

In a way, high-profile TV shows are a bit like the Godfather - celebrated and
familiar to many. But, like good tv dramas, if you seek them out, Mario Puzo's
other written works are very enjoyable, for example "The Fortunate Pilgrim"
and "The Last Don". If you want a harrowing account of life in post-war
Germany, check out his first book, "The Dark Arena"

Anyway, back on topic. As I said earlier, I'm a fan of the classics. I recently
bought the first season box-set of The Twilight Zone and the second
season box-setof The Outer Limits from the 1950s and 1960s.

I bought the second season of The Outer Limits after reading an article about how
the film "The Terminator" was based on two episodes from this series.

Anthology shows i.e. where each episode is a separate, self-contained story with
no relation to the next episode, are nice to dip in and out of when you fancy
something different.

I think there is a freedom that comes with not having to worry about what happens
to the characters after the episode is over. Like in Tales of the Unexpected
that was recently re-broadcast on Sky Arts at night.

In the early days of television there were many actors and production staff who went
on to become big names in television and film history. I like to see the original stories
that they were involved in. Many top directors, writers and producers
grew up watching cheap shows and b-movies like these, and then drew "inspiration"
from them. Quentin Tarantino springs to mind.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Outer_Limits_(1963_TV_series)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Twilight_Zone_(1959_TV_series)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tales_of_the_Unexpected_(TV_series)


The first season of Prison Break was great. The second season was ok, I stopped
watching it after two episodes of the third season. I believe it got even
more ridiculous in the fourth and final season.

Lisa78

Would recommend American Horror Story as well - haven't seen the second season yet but the first was really good - took a while to get into but well worth it.
Arrow is ok - entertaining no-brainer, and Weeds as well. Treme is great if you're into music (and if you're not!). I thought Blue Bloods was very good as well, and Nurse Jackie.
I keep thinking of ones that I'd forgotten about!

snausages

barneysplash wrote: »

Yes I watched the first season, and stopped watching after the first episode of season two.

No offence intended, if you find a series you like, belt away and enjoy. I guess I have
grown less tolerant of poor quality in my old age, having been disappointed by so
many promising shows.

I thought season 1 was rubbish but it became a much more cohesive show in season 2. Never finished season 3 but it seemed a step up from S2.

barneysplash

In 2000, the British Film Institute compiled a list of the 100 best television shows of all time.
Read all about it here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BFI_TV_100

I've used it over the years as a good starting point when hunting for new stuff to watch.

noodler

BattleStar Galactica



I would like to put in a few positives for Sons of Anarchy. Just finished watching the fourth season and feel it is getting stronger.

Its very soapy in many ways and you do of course have to suspend belief but is addictive stuff and the soundtrack is amazing.

Shy_Dave!

I would too recommend Justified.
It has some really fantastically written characters and dialogue on top of interesting single-episode stories and multi-episode story arcs.

JP Liz V1

Supernatural

barneysplash

I almost forgot this one, but if you want to watch one of the funniest
comedies ever made, get Operation Good Guys.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Good_Guys

It's a spoof of a fly-on-the-wall documentary series about an "elite" team
of UK police taking on an organized crime boss. They are absolutely useless
and their characters get more surreal and hilarious as they show goes on.

Anyone who remembers those hard-hitting police undercover shows
like The Cook Report or World in Action will enjoy this.

Much of the show was improvised by the cast, which lends a real pureness
to the conversations they have about everyday things.

You can see a lot of this show's influence in subsequent series like The Office, Extras
The Thick of It and Veep.

Very funny stuff. BBC 1997 - 2000

the whole year inn

Thanks def going to watch that show!!