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Anorak Revolution
Apr 26, 2008

by Fragmaster
It seems that about everyone here at some point fell in love with a tv show on the first viewing and blew through a complete season (or series) on DVD in a space of a few days/weeks.

For me, it's been Six Feet Under. I had never watched this show until a week and a half ago. I had never been interested in this show before. The premise seemed a bit contrived and not that exciting, I wasn't sure where they could really go with it. I just couldn't be bothered, even if I read the hype about it here for years. I feel in love with Micheal C. Hall when I saw him in Dexter and thought he was just an incredible actor playing such a terrific character. In fact, that even put me off from watching SFU because I didn't think I'd be able to dissociate David from Dexter out of love for the latter so much. Well, I was incredibly wrong on all points. Through sheer boredom a week and a half ago, I happened to watch the pilot and tonight I finished the season 2 finale.

It's definitely one of the best television series ever created, and a proof that television can be a medium superior to cinema. Also, I never thought a tv show could make me cry so much. It really started with a bang, too. Never saw that coming. The mother's emotional pain after she received that phone call might be the most human and gripping expression of grief I've ever seen on tv. I felt like I had been punched in the gut. Right there I realized I was watching something special. Also, it's just incredibly funny.

So, what about you? (Try to restrict it to series already out on DVDs, or well Hulu too I guess)

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Atarask
Mar 8, 2008

Lord of Rigel Developer
Farscape, now on the last season. Started a little rough and generic but overall it really took off. The fact that almost all "filler episodes" are worked into being important later on, in a manner moreso than other shows that attempt to do so, was pleasantly surprising.

...and who can't love:
"Godlike aliens... I hate godlike aliens! I'll take a critter any week over godlike aliens!"

Rhyno
Mar 22, 2003
Probation
Can't post for 10 years!

Atarask posted:

Farscape, now on the last season. Started a little rough and generic but overall it really took off. The fact that almost all "filler episodes" are worked into being important later on, in a manner moreso than other shows that attempt to do so, was pleasantly surprising.

...and who can't love:
"Godlike aliens... I hate godlike aliens! I'll take a critter any week over godlike aliens!"

Farscape still stands as one of my all time favorite shows. I'm still bitter about it's cancellation.

I haven't powered through a whole series but I have been catching up on the last year of a few shows. I'm on my second to last episode of Rescue Me Season 4 right now and man is this show still twisted.

Next up I guess I'll finally start watching the Wire.

Not So Fast
Dec 27, 2007


At the moment I'm catching up on Battlestar Galactica since I've been meaning to watch S3&4 for a year or so but haven't found the time. After that I might rewatch Avatar: The Last Airbender before the season finale and try out The Wire.

Anorak Revolution
Apr 26, 2008

by Fragmaster

Not So Fast posted:

After that I might (...) try out The Wire.

Rhyno posted:

Next up I guess I'll finally start watching the Wire.

You're both in for another show that certainly deserves a spot in the list of best series of all times.

Also, this made me think of Stuff White People Like: the Wire

incredible bear
Jul 10, 2005

doing the bear maximum
Started watching West Wing about this time last year, I don't get to binge on it as I'm watching it with my parents (my mother of which being the only person who's watched it before). Got six episodes left of Season 4 and completely dreading Season 5 at the moment, but I'm hoping it won't be as bad as I fear, who knows.

Loved the Josh/Donna chemistry right from the start, though the more recent episodes have been going in directions I don't really want them to. It's been a load of fun to watch, though I found Season 3 a bit of a chore to get through, Season 4's been a blast (anyone else find this?)

I don't know what to watch after that, I just can't see myself liking Six Feet Under or Oz but they're the only great shows I've yet to truly explore.

EVGA Longoria
Dec 25, 2005

Let's go exploring!

Started on The Shield sometime last week and I absolutely love it. I dunno how I missed it so long, but I wish I hadn't.

Jedi
Feb 27, 2002


Not really a "great" series or anything, but I'm blitzing my way through House like a meth fiend with an old radio. Never watched it before because the commercials made it look way too over the top. Truthfully, it's fun and quirky, but I wouldn't call it amazing by any stretch of the imagination. I'm pretty much only watching it, because I've exhausted everything else that even slightly interests me.

Although, I did just finish Mad Men - now that's an amazing show. DVD comes out on July 1st and if you haven't had a chance to catch it, I highly recommend picking it up. Plus - the DVD case is shaped like a Zippo.

Also - seconding and thirding both Farscape and The Wire.

Wezzo
Sep 15, 2007
Rated PG
Northern Exposure, Due South, The X-Files and Buffy. All shows I'd overlooked for one reason or another in the past, all varying degrees of excellent. Next up will be The West Wing and The Sopranos.

Conduit for Sale!
Apr 17, 2007

Just finished the third season of House and How I Met Your Mother. I never really liked House, because the "medical mystery" portion of the show is really formulaic. I decided to give it a chance, and now I really like it. I still don't really care about the medical parts of the shows most of the time, but the characters, especially House, more than make up for it.

HIMYM was pretty good. Other than the premise it's not that original, but it's entertaining enough. Ted is a boring rear end character though.

Next is West Wing and the second season of Rome. I need to finish The Wire eventually, but it's annoying that they apparently just refused to film in widescreen.

Mu Zeta
Oct 17, 2002

Me crush ass to dust

I poop socked through Mad Men and Burn Notice. Burn Notice is a little forgettable but Mad Men is really something special. I read that the creator got the Exec Producer job on The Sopranos after David Chase read the pilot script for Mad Men.

McNutty
Feb 25, 2007

Forum cheer squad sez: "Cheer the fuck up your avatar is depressing you left-wing commie ass-smoker. For fuck's sake. Jessus."
Just ran Lost Seasons 3 and 4, 4 on my parent's Tivo so I suppose it fits the thread. The more "magic" the island gets the sadder I get. Were it not for characters like Sawyer, Ben, and the supposedly "fine" Jin I would consider dropping the show. Ben is just far too compelling to ignore.

waar
Sep 29, 2001
Pretty much every single show I've ever seen I've binged through at least some parts, depending on what else I had going on at the time. One that particulary comes to mind is Rome, that I watched in two sittings. Currently I'm doing Stargate SG-1.

Annakie
Apr 20, 2005

"It's pretty bad, isn't it? I know it's pretty bad. Ever since I can remember..."
Don't know if it's binging but I've been watching Remington Steele on Hulu when doing really boring stuff at work, so usually 3 or 4 episodes a week. I remember watching it with my parents when I was a kid and now I get why my mom liked it so much. It's really held up well after fifteen years. Pierce Brosnan is drat sexy and I'm really liking Laura as a character, she is a strong, smart woman holding her own in a man's world. Also Remington and Laura have all sorts of chemistry together, the show is often really funny, remembers its own history, and the mysteries are usually pretty good too.

The last show I really devoured and watched nonstop as fast as I could was Friday Night Lights. It was really gripping and for the most part realistic. I thought I'd never give that show a chance because even as a Texan, High School football annoys me now that I haven't been in high school in so very long. But wow, FNL was fantastic and I couldn't stop watching.

V-Men
Aug 15, 2001

Don't it make your dick bust concrete to be in the same room with two noble, selfless public servants.
I've recently been binging on Battlestar Galatica, Lost and Veronica Mars.

BSG I've stopped because I need to get season 2.5 so I've held off watcing the last two episodes on season 2.0. I just finished Lost season 2 and it'll likely be awhile before I start season 3. I'm currently working my way through Veronica Mars season 2.

It's a great show, but it's completely won me over with a Rushmore reference.

"Oh I'm sorry. Did someone say my name?"

Atarask posted:

Farscape, now on the last season. Started a little rough and generic but overall it really took off. The fact that almost all "filler episodes" are worked into being important later on, in a manner moreso than other shows that attempt to do so, was pleasantly surprising.

...and who can't love:
"Godlike aliens... I hate godlike aliens! I'll take a critter any week over godlike aliens!"

Sci-fi is making new webisodes of Farscape. I'm not sure if they're done yet or what.

don Jaime
Apr 3, 2004
Er...Speed Racer on account of the movie last month. It's corny as hell but surprisingly likable.

Jedi
Feb 27, 2002


V-Men posted:

Sci-fi is making new webisodes of Farscape. I'm not sure if they're done yet or what.

They are? I thought the ending was pretty final, and I can't think of anything left dangling that comes to mind. Then again, it's been awhile since I saw it, so I may be forgetting something.

Oh yeah - I binged my way through Burn Notice in two days last week. I was very pleasantly surprised at how good it was.

Conduit for Sale!
Apr 17, 2007

I tried to watch Farscape because I wanted a good scifi show to watch, but I couldn't get through the first episode because it was just so incredibly cheesy and generic. I'm guessing it gets better, but when exactly does that happen?

V-Men
Aug 15, 2001

Don't it make your dick bust concrete to be in the same room with two noble, selfless public servants.

Trophy Boner posted:

I tried to watch Farscape because I wanted a good scifi show to watch, but I couldn't get through the first episode because it was just so incredibly cheesy and generic. I'm guessing it gets better, but when exactly does that happen?

Somewhere around the episode "A Bug's Life" if not an episode before. The storyline technically starts around "A Human Reaction" but you won't know that at the time.

Jedi posted:

They are? I thought the ending was pretty final, and I can't think of anything left dangling that comes to mind. Then again, it's been awhile since I saw it, so I may be forgetting something.

Nothing serious. I imagine it'll just be a small arc like The Office webisodes or little stand alone stuff humorous stuff.

shadok
Dec 12, 2004

You tried to destroy it once before, Commodore.
The result was a wrecked ship and a dead crew.
Fun Shoe
I just blitzed through all three seasons of "Deadwood" - found seasons 1 and 2 cheap just randomly browsing through a DVD store, and then I had to go and order season 3 from Amazon with next-day delivery so I could have it all. What a tragedy that there won't be any more.

I have had the season 1 box set of "Heroes" on my shelf for like a year and still haven't watched so much as the first episode yet. SOME DAY!

mangler103
Jun 6, 2003

Metroid sighting huh? Well, I did just pour this coffee...it will still be there tomorrow.

incredible bear posted:

Started watching West Wing about this time last year, I don't get to binge on it as I'm watching it with my parents (my mother of which being the only person who's watched it before). Got six episodes left of Season 4 and completely dreading Season 5 at the moment, but I'm hoping it won't be as bad as I fear, who knows.

Season 5 really is that bad. There's one great episode, about the Supreme Court, and the rest is terrible. It improves once they shift focus to the election in 6 and 7 though.

I make a habit of re-watching series on DVD every summer when the TV season whithers, and Six Feet Under is what I'm watching now. I just got the box sets since Best Buy had them cheap. Marathoning that series can get really depressing.

Right before that, I re-watched Twilight Zone.

A couple of summers ago, I went nuts and watched Buffy and Angel over again, except in chronological order by broadcast date. It was really easy for the first three Buffy seasons, then it involved a lot of disc switching for the next couple seasons, and then in Buffy season 7/Angel Season 4, when they were on separate networks, the schedule was really off, since they weren't on back to back anymore. That's when it got challenging.

Jedi
Feb 27, 2002


Trophy Boner posted:

I tried to watch Farscape because I wanted a good scifi show to watch, but I couldn't get through the first episode because it was just so incredibly cheesy and generic. I'm guessing it gets better, but when exactly does that happen?

As V-Man says - it gets better. I'm not gonna lie and compare it to something like B5 which if you slug through the first season attains monumental levels of awesome, but it does get better. I wasn't crazy about it the first time I saw it either, but I ran out of stuff to watch about 2 years ago and a buddy lent me the DVD's.

It's worth a watch for sure. Just don't go into it expecting that it will change your life. It gets very good in the middle and ends abruptly, not for any reason other than it was cancelled and then given two hours to wrap up a story that needed more.

Meow Cadet
May 2, 2007


friendship is magic
in a pony paradise
don't you judge me
I recently finished watching Freaks and Geeks. I was quite impressed. I wonder why I never watched it when it was being Broadcast. Next up for me is My So Called Life. I guess I'm catching up on all the teen dramas I never had time for when they were on.

archaeopteryx
Oct 30, 2005

Trophy Boner posted:

Just finished the third season of House and How I Met Your Mother. I never really liked House, because the "medical mystery" portion of the show is really formulaic. I decided to give it a chance, and now I really like it. I still don't really care about the medical parts of the shows most of the time, but the characters, especially House, more than make up for it.

No one I know gives a poo poo about the medical stuff in House. It's just ~45 minutes of Hugh Laurie being an rear end. And we love it!
I watched the first two seasons in about two weeks because I just couldn't wait. I think we're one season behind where I live and stuck on repeats half of the time, anyway.


I've just started watching the second series of Life On Mars. I completely forgot about this show after I watched the first series in one day while in hospital last year.

Before that it was Q.I. and Never Mind The Buzzcocks (the episodes hosted by Simon Amstell, the ones with guest presenters and only a few with Mark Lamarr, when there were interesting panellists.).

Escobarbarian
Jun 18, 2004


Grimey Drawer
Last was all of Arrested Development when I discovered it a few months ago, and Look Around You when I bought both seasons on DVD last week. Next will probably be How I Met Your Mother season 3 and/or 30 Rock season 2.

Wolfgang Pauli
Mar 26, 2008

One Three Seven
I just finished The Shield (until the last season starts) and it turned out to be pretty much everything I expect out of quality television. It shows why Glenn Close and Forrest Whittaker are such amazing actors and, to date, has my favorite directing and camera work. Nothing I've seen in television beats that part of Season 1 where Vic and a Latino detective who works with Los Mags find out about the hostage situation. They just drop everything and sprint out of the Barn, the camera guy a few steps behind them, everything silent except for the sound of boots hitting the floor. Brilliant. I was expecting the show to start ratcheting down during Season 4, but then on comes Glenn Close and the pace is kept up all the way until the end. It's just such a shame that Alex O'Loughlin left the show for that shitfest Moonlight.

Right now I'm a few episodes into the second season of The Wire. Holy poo poo is this an amazing show. Outstanding writing, outstanding acting, outstanding directing. The DVD doesn't have much else besides commentary, but I love how the director's commentary boils down to "The list of regular television conventions we told to go gently caress off." And according to the Las Vegas Sun, Hope is a man named Omar.

Anorak Revolution
Apr 26, 2008

by Fragmaster

Wolfgang Pauli posted:

I just finished The Shield (until the last season starts) and it turned out to be pretty much everything I expect out of quality television. It shows why Glenn Close and Forrest Whittaker are such amazing actors and, to date, has my favorite directing and camera work. Nothing I've seen in television beats that part of Season 1 where Vic and a Latino detective who works with Los Mags find out about the hostage situation. They just drop everything and sprint out of the Barn, the camera guy a few steps behind them, everything silent except for the sound of boots hitting the floor. Brilliant. I was expecting the show to start ratcheting down during Season 4, but then on comes Glenn Close and the pace is kept up all the way until the end. It's just such a shame that Alex O'Loughlin left the show for that shitfest Moonlight.

Right now I'm a few episodes into the second season of The Wire. Holy poo poo is this an amazing show. Outstanding writing, outstanding acting, outstanding directing. The DVD doesn't have much else besides commentary, but I love how the director's commentary boils down to "The list of regular television conventions we told to go gently caress off." And according to the Las Vegas Sun, Hope is a man named Omar.

The shield is quite something. I'll be watching the whole series again in order to get ready for the last season.

Last season. :smith:



Also, if you've never watched "The Wire", it's your logical step to take now.

Soothing Vapors
Mar 26, 2006

Associate Justice Lena "Kegels" Dunham: An uncool thought to have: 'is that guy walking in the dark behind me a rapist? Never mind, he's Asian.
I watched three seasons of How I Met Your Mother in about a week. Amazing show.

calandryll
Apr 25, 2003

Ask me where I do my best drinking!



Pillbug

Anorak Revolution posted:

It seems that about everyone here at some point fell in love with a tv show on the first viewing and blew through a complete season (or series) on DVD in a space of a few days/weeks.

For me, it's been Six Feet Under. I had never watched this show until a week and a half ago. I had never been interested in this show before. The premise seemed a bit contrived and not that exciting, I wasn't sure where they could really go with it. I just couldn't be bothered, even if I read the hype about it here for years. I feel in love with Micheal C. Hall when I saw him in Dexter and thought he was just an incredible actor playing such a terrific character. In fact, that even put me off from watching SFU because I didn't think I'd be able to dissociate David from Dexter out of love for the latter so much. Well, I was incredibly wrong on all points. Through sheer boredom a week and a half ago, I happened to watch the pilot and tonight I finished the season 2 finale.

It's definitely one of the best television series ever created, and a proof that television can be a medium superior to cinema. Also, I never thought a tv show could make me cry so much. It really started with a bang, too. Never saw that coming. The mother's emotional pain after she received that phone call might be the most human and gripping expression of grief I've ever seen on tv. I felt like I had been punched in the gut. Right there I realized I was watching something special. Also, it's just incredibly funny.

So, what about you? (Try to restrict it to series already out on DVDs, or well Hulu too I guess)

I was the same way. I just added it randomly to my Netflix queue. And I absolutely love the show. I'm working on season 4 and it's just getting better. I really like it because it is a really dark humor which I tend to have.

bucksmash
Mar 11, 2002

My brother whipped out his Venture Bros. S1/S2 the last couple of weekends, and now I'm wondering why the hell I hadn't been watching the show before.

The only thing that sucks is I don't have Cartoon Network/Adult Swim so I can't catch up to the present in season 3.

The Duke
May 19, 2004

The Angel from my Nightmare

Just finished Arrested Development and It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia for the 20 time, right now my friend and I are working on Curb Your Enthusiasm ad The Simpsons.

Books On Tape
Dec 26, 2003

Future of the franchise
Been going through Babylon 5 for the past couple months, and tonight I'll be finishing it with the insanely hyped finale. Great series overall, I rank it just behind BS:G and DS9 in terms of my favorite sci-fi series.

OP, you have no idea how good that show is going to get. The part you spoilered will pale in comparison.

nyratk1
Jul 24, 2006

by Tiny Fistpump
I'm starting to binge through The Office since I got the DVD free with PepsiPoints. Now to wait for Black Friday so I can get season 2 and 3 extremely cheap. :sigh:

Lascivious Sloth
Apr 26, 2008

by sebmojo
Powered through the first season of Twin Peaks and HIMYM. Great shows.. I guess i'll check out The Wire after I finish the second season of Twin Peaks.

Republican Vampire
Jun 2, 2007

I got a new iPod a while back, so I've been ripping DVDs for it. I just blazed my way through Slings & Arrows, which is probably the best TV show to come out of Canada ever.

eclectic taste
Jun 5, 2004

Future Schmidt
I just re-watched Arrested Development & Futurama, now I'm looking to move to The Wire & Get Smart.

Ghendo
Nov 25, 2007

by DocEvil
Blasted through three series' of Meerkat manor last month. love it.

Vulgar
Aug 17, 2003

I am the man of la Mancha… my dream is impossible!

Just finished the last episode of OZ last night, great series overall, but the first 3 seasons were definitely better than the last 3.

Most cringe inducing moment for me this weekend

Cutler talking to Robson "We're gonna spoon"

The Human Cow
May 24, 2004

hurry up

Meow Cadet posted:

I recently finished watching Freaks and Geeks. I was quite impressed. I wonder why I never watched it when it was being Broadcast. Next up for me is My So Called Life. I guess I'm catching up on all the teen dramas I never had time for when they were on.

If you liked F&G, try watching Undeclared too. Another Judd Apatow classic that was killed before its time.

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LooseChanj
Feb 17, 2006

Logicaaaaaaaaal!
Star Trek TOS, now working my way through the disco-tastic animated series. I don't care if it's not cannon. :c00lbert:

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