Of TV Shows and Tribulations

[Nighthawk]

We will control the horizontal. We will control the vertical. So do not adjust your sets.

Do you watch TV and/or TV shows and/or series, and/or? Got any good ones to recommend?

While I can't stand that pile of junk behind me, I loves me some good TV sans the TV. Thanks to the Internets, I can watch anything I want anytime I want, which it the way I want it. So let's kick the proceedings off with a few good ones.

1) Arrested Development

This is, currently, by far my favorite sitcom and a testament to the hitherto purely theoretical notion that American sitcoms can be intelligent and hilarious. Seinfeld notwithstanding.

It's the story of a wealthy family who lost everything, and the one son who had no choice but to keep them all together. No laugh track, the jokes aren't strained, they're often subtle, sometimes you miss them on the first viewing, some of them aren't even relevant to what's going on onscreen, a lot of them are referential... It's beautiful and I enjoyed every minute of it. A big recommendation.

2) For those SF geeks among you, there's Battlestar Galactica, another of my personal favorites.

It's a well-written political SF about the struggle of the remnants of the human race on the run from homicidal robots called the Cylons. It's not really about the thrills of war in space, but a post-9/11 critique of American society and the strains that dire straits put on democracy and the people living in it. I shit you not. There's a bit of philosophy thrown in there and a lot of fantastic, incredibly human characters. The show, in the end, is about them. People and what makes them tick. Also loved every fraking moment of it.

I usually don't watch things more than once, but these two shows I've watched several times and plan to do so again.

3) If you're into music, I whole-heatedly recommend The Flight of the Conchords, about the world's best guitar-based digi bongo A Capella rap funk comedy folk duo.

Here's a clip from the show, to give you a taste of what it's like.

Check it out. Tenacious D fans, that means you

Though I could go on like this, I'd better finish.

4) Lastly, but not leastly, I recommend The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, a satirical news program that's on Monday through Wednesday in which Jon and his news crew analyze the latest news and comment on them in their trademark style. Lulz are to be had and news taken in.


If there was, at one point, a topic similar to this one, my deepest apologies.




I also recommend "Buffy the Vampire Slayer".

[Markus]

I also recommend "Buffy the Vampire Slayer".

I heard that!

Me, I don't have any special shows I'm watching regularly - I go for random movies and documentaries. When possible, I watch the Sunday-evening-docu on a certain German public service station and some satiric shows.

On most movies, especially whodunnits and action or horror movies, I fall pleasantly asleep.

Cheers!

Markus

[Persephone]

I love Willow I mean, I really did when I was smaller. She's so wonderful. Especially as a lesbian vampire 

Well, I've been watching House M.D. with my bf.... and....ahahahahah Star Gate. Now we run on Star Trek - the Pickard season and The Big Bang Theory.
Also loved Black Books and Father Ted.

I strongly recommend Blackadder - if You like British sense of humour - this is definitely Your choice With Rowan Attkinson and Hugh Laurie (only in one season) both are wonderful actors especially on the ground of Theatre!

Battlestart Galactica we have at home - still haven't seen that. But it's on the list. Firstly we wanna watch Babylon 5 and such.

[Nighthawk]

I love Willow I mean, I really did when I was smaller. She's so wonderful. Especially as a lesbian vampire  

Ah, yes

Buffy surprised me at how intelligent it was. Also, fun.

Well, I've been watching House M.D. with my bf.... and....ahahahahah Star Gate.

SG1?

Now we run on Star Trek - the Pickard season and The Big Bang Theory.

Trek is, as always, ridiculous and awkward in its ideas, but great fun nonetheless. And, besides, Picard's awesome. Make it so!

The Big Bang Theory... Hm. Could continue with that one. I stopped at the beginning of the third season, I think. No particular reason.

I strongly recommend Blackadder - if You like British sense of humour - this is definitely Your choice With Rowan Attkinson and Hugh Laurie (only in one season) both are wonderful actors especially on the ground of Theatre!

Actually, Hugh Laurie stars in seasons 3 & 4, and appears in the last episode of season 2

I grew up watching Blackadder I still sometimes start acting-out certain scenes for no apparent reason. I'm a riot at the unemployment line.

[Markus]

Hey folks,

Black Books? Watched that several years ago... I still remember that scene in the first episode where Jehova's witnesses ring for the second time and Manni opens the door.

Cheers!

Markus

[Persephone]

Star Trek is not ridiculous  I mean, I simply can't help myself. I love The Next Generation. I do not like the other ones at all. But that pure idealistic rightness in Picard's thinking and all what they try - always behave as good as it gets... (I hate Wesley btw)... I grew up on this
Idealistic space in my mind. This is where I would love to live. On Enterprise.... still on the move still... finding new stuff. And being moral all the time 

SG 1

You did grew up on Blackadder...? Oh really?

[Nighthawk]

Star Trek is not ridiculous  I mean, I simply can't help myself. I love The Next Generation. I do not like the other ones at all. But that pure idealistic rightness in Picard's thinking and all what they try - always behave as good as it gets... (I hate Wesley btw)... I grew up on this
Idealistic space in my mind. This is where I would love to live. On Enterprise.... still on the move still... finding new stuff. And being moral all the time 

Oh, don't get me wrong, I adore Star Trek (I actually also like the other Treks ), but the way it handles some of its ideas tends to be rather silly.

In one episode, Wesley trips over and falls into a petunia bush which, of course, warrants the death penalty. At least on the planet of the week, where they're currently situated. Picard spends the episode pondering on his obligation towards his crew-member - a child, at that, although an irritating one - and his duty to the Prime Directive. He juggles morality around, feels distressed about it, then shrugs and drinks a cup of Earl Grey. He takes the boy and to hell with other cultures.

The Angela Merkel School of Multiculturalism

(well, not really, but I just wanted to used that joke)

Not that I think he was wrong or anything, it's just that the writers blatantly ignored the whole plot because they had no idea how to solve the conundrum that Picard set before himself. The writer's are usually way over their heads. The philosophy of politics, like science, tends to be the victim of technobabble.

Still, it's fun. I just like to complain

SG 1

Well, it's got MacGyver, so it can't be all bad

You did grew up on Blackadder...? Oh really?

Really.

[Persephone]

[Luth]

I'll be brief:

-I like Star Trek. I think I can be called a trekkie... although a bad one. I specially like TOS (The Original Series), with Kirk, Spock, McCoy... I like the Picard ones too, but sometimes I feel stressed with so many thinking and so few acting  I didn't liked too much the Deep Space 9, and I saw some of the Enterprise series... very good ideas, but badly developed, IMO. Spock Forever!!!!!

-I have got hooked to Lost. You may like or you may not like the final episode, but it's one of the best series ever  

-And now, I am only following one series: Fringe. The scriptwriter of Lost, and Leonard Nimoy (Spock) in its last TV appearance, as I'm told he'll appear in second season. I MUST watch it  

[Mystique]

3) If you're into music, I whole-heatedly recommend The Flight of the Conchords, about the world's best guitar-based digi bongo A Capella rap funk comedy folk duo.

Here's a clip from the show, to give you a taste of what it's like.

Check it out. Tenacious D fans, that means you

Someone called me?  
Will give it a shot, as soon as I get home to my flat rate   oh sorrow, I don't have it here.

Blackadder! Hear the words I sing: war's a horrid thing. So I sing sing sing...ding-a- ling-a-ling Love that show!
Also, speaking of the British shows: The Fast Show. Boutros Boutros Ghali!

Trek is, as always, ridiculous and awkward in its ideas, but great fun nonetheless. And, besides, Picard's awesome. Make it so!

qapla'  

The Big Bang Theory... Hm. Could continue with that one. I stopped at the beginning of the third season, I think. No particular reason.

Watching this one. IMHO, the first three seasons were great, but the fourth one is kinda...trying too hard. Still, fun to watch.

[Luth]

Talking about series... what about "The Young Ones"? 

[Persephone]

You know it?   

[Luth]

I have the DVD (I have still not watched all of them)... 

[Persephone]

I also did not see all just a few first but I loved it Especialy Vyvyan  As far as I know it has only few seasons huh? One or 2?

[Luth]

Two seasons of 6 episodes each one. So, only 12 episodes 

Enough for rotfl

[Nighthawk]

Blackadder! Hear the words I sing: war's a horrid thing. So I sing sing sing...ding-a- ling-a-ling Love that show!

"Baldrick, forgive me for not doing a cartwheel of joy, but your family's history in the department of cunning planning is about as impressive as Stumpy O'Leg McNoleg's personal best in the Market Harborough Marathon."

...

Or something like that. From "Blackadder: The Cavalier Years".

Shelley: "O, Love-bourne ecstasy that is Mrs. Miggins, wilt thou bring me but one cup of the browned juicings of that naughty bean we call "coffee", ere I die..."
 
(...)
 
Byron: "To Hell with this fine talk. Coffee, woman! My consumption grows evermore acute, and Coleridge's drugs are wearing off."

I'll stop now Also won't point out that Johnson & Byron/Shelley weren't contemporaries and that neither Byron nor Shelley would be caught dead sitting at the same table as Coleridge

Also, speaking of the British shows: The Fast Show. Boutros Boutros Ghali!

Hm... A British comedy sketch show unknown to me. It shall be mine! Oh, yes, it shall be mine!

qapla'  

MajQa'

Talking about series... what about "The Young Ones"? 

Oooooff "God, I'm bored. I might as well be listening to Genesis." (Rik)

"The Young Ones" didn't knock me that far out, but they were certainly... special

[Lasse]

I was thinking about what shows I like and realised that juding by my TV habits I'm somewhere between a teenager pothead and a lesbian...

American Dad: You might have heard about this one: it's an animated series made by Seth MacFarlene. There are pretty obvious similarities with The Simpsons and Family Guy (Seth makes FG and AD as well), but what makes the program so hillarious is that they seem to make fun of all the "too politcal" or "too heated" issues which they didn't dare to touch this much in Family Guy (abortion, religion, homosexuality). It really makes The Simpson's look like a fairytale for kids. It's really strong in every term, the characters, the jokes, the languague, but it never really crosses the border of unneccesary nonsense unlike South Park or even Family Guy does sometimes. I strongly recommend everything from it from the second season and on.

Ellen Degeneres, Wanda Skyes, Oprah: We all have our dirty little secrets, eh? I don't even know if I should comment on these, but I love them! Seeing such open-minded and sensible people getting their own prime-time television shows in America tell me that there still is hope out there and the country didn't entirely get brainwashed by Christian fundamentalism. I mean who else can be even more socially handicapped than a black lesbian woman? On the other hand I know that the shows themselves can end up being long and shameless promotions for whatever movies and products and they'll invite everyone who is able to tearjerk the housewifes of the US, but to be honest I don't care as long as they spread the thruth in key issues.

Boomerang: This is a channel, don't know if it's avaliable everywhere. It airs cartoons from the whole 20th century (very-very few recent ones), could that be old-school Hanna-Barbera, Tom & Jerry, Looney Tunes, or older Cartoon Network programs like Dexter's laboratory. It's good to sit down and see some Jetsons or Popeye instead of the sh*t from nowadays.

I probably might watch some documentary channels too from time to time.

[The One]

What is this ancient artifact you speak of? A Television?
Television for me is a thing of the past. For one, I don't watch it because I don't have time, and for two, most of its contents are total crap nowadays.

The only things I do enjoy when I have a chance to approach this ancient artifact are documentaries or something of the sort. You know, interesting stuff on the History or the Discovery Channel... Like Mythbusters, man, that's a good show. It may be watered-down science with a mix of expertise in special effects, but I can't deny I laugh my ass off every time something goes "kaboom!".

Most of the good old cartoons I grew up on are no longer aired anywhere. And I can't be bothered to even attempt to watch what crap my 7-year-old sister watches. Although, now with Internet, I've been able to fish out the first season of one of my all-time favorites... And catch a lot of the innuendo and adult humor that was there and I never noticed as a child.

[Mystique]

I'll stop now Also won't point out that Johnson & Byron/Shelley weren't contemporaries and that neither Byron nor Shelley would be caught dead sitting at the same table as Coleridge

That's the charm of it

Hm... A British comedy sketch show unknown to me. It shall be mine! Oh, yes, it shall be mine!

Blasphemer!  

MajQa'

My Klingon doesn't stop here, but anything else that I could say would either be an insult or...an insult.  

Listen very carefully! I shall say this only once!
Any fans of 'Allo 'Allo?  


ooh! And I almost forgot. To all of you documentary fans, I have a recommendation. History's Clash of the Gods series Very interesting, mostly on Greek mythology, but there's an episode about Beowulf too, and Tolkien's monsters...and Thor Pretty well made, only one season though (unfortunately)

[Nighthawk]

I'll stop now Also won't point out that Johnson & Byron/Shelley weren't contemporaries and that neither Byron nor Shelley would be caught dead sitting at the same table as Coleridge

That's the charm of it

True

Still... I was an avid Byron fan in high school, so sometimes I take personal offense when they pair him with Coleridge. The bastards! My high-school self demands justice!

My Klingon doesn't stop here, but anything else that I could say would either be an insult or...an insult.  

Y'know, my first reflex when someone starts talkin' Klingon is to mention the smoothness of some of their relatives' foreheads, which usually tends to end nasty. Trekkie fights can be mean

Listen very carefully! I shall say this only once!
Any fans of 'Allo 'Allo?  

To be quite frank, I took the moniker "Nighthawk" back in elementary school as a reference to "'Allo, London, zis is Night'awk, are you receiving me, over?". It has proved to be... unnervingly prophetic.

ooh! And I almost forgot. To all of you documentary fans, I have a recommendation. History's Clash of the Gods series Very interesting, mostly on Greek mythology, but there's an episode about Beowulf too, and Tolkien's monsters...and Thor Pretty well made, only one season though (unfortunately)

Sounds good. Goin' in my Little Black Book of Documentaries to Document. Coincidentally, I'm in the process of downloading "Greek Myths - Tales of Travelling Heroes", a BBC documentary on the origins of Greek myths. Dunno if it's any good, but the BBC has rarely let me down.