The Good Place
That show is a philosophical masterpiece
It's also breakneck paced, batshirt unpredictable, and forking delightful.
Also the season 3 and season 4 finales had me bawling.
I think it dragged on in places, but the ending was an absolute masterpiece. My fear was a half-assed resolution, but they had clearly planned how to end the show, and everyone's ending was perfect and final.
This was going to be my answer! I have other shows I love, but this one is just great beginning to end.
Hi there! Looks like you linked to a Lemmy community using a URL instead of its name, which doesn't work well for people on different instances. Try fixing it like this: thegoodplace@lemmy.world
Noone has mentioned Avatar - The Last Airbender yet...? I thought that would be amongst the first answers.
Take my upvote, I am ready for more of this!
Although I think the perception of this thread is ruling out animated stuff.
I am not at all surprised that this is one of the most upvoted. Man, this show is just great in every aspect.
The Expanse, hands down.
100% agreed and I'm not biased at all, can just ignore my username <_<
I may or may not have named my car "Peaches" in his honor. 🥰🤘🏽
Amos is such a good character! I only read the books and pictured Amos as Alan Tudyk.
Fosho, kopeng!
Mi beratna, koyé?
Upvote - but dude, don't link to twitter posts that link to youtube videos...
I sometimes get the opposite hate by linking to YouTube; and this was just faster for me at the time.
I stand corrected.
Damned if you do, damned if you don't. I'm sorry, I should not have been so harsh. Basically I'm still thankful that you shared the links.
S'all good. As Shrek said, "better out than in." You showed a preference and I can respect that.
Breaking Bad was 10/10 the whole way through. Basically every other show has had bad episodes, bad plots, etc...
And Better Call Saul is equally great. Two best shows I've seen. Consistently high quality from start to end for both. That's a hard thing to do.
Agreed, it is an amazing follow up.
Better Call Saul started as the answer to the plot holes in Breaking Bad. It's a shame the writters abandon that and ended the show on a nothing note.
Rewatch the finale and try to understand why things go the way they do.
Did you reply to the wrong comment? The finale is only one part of a weak season.
There are no weak seasons in Better Call Saul.
Did you like that all the character building amounted to nothing? Jimmy, Kim, Lalo, Gus, Natcho all didn't evolve or have any intresting endings that used their character. You could have replaced every of them with completely new characters during the final season and it wouldn't change anything.
Lalo lost because he likes vlogging. So much for the scary powerful smart killer.
Gus left the safe house because he planned that Lalo likes vlogging. Impossibly improbable. Beyond stupid.
Natcho dies because he wasn't smart enough to come up with a better plan despite frequently demonstrating that he's smart. I can understand being unable to run from your problems forever, but his ending was the laziest way to show that.
Jimmy and Kim were just passive observers in something that didn't really involve them. Kim has a life before Jimmy, and the boring life without Jimmy is unfitting of her character. Jimmy never had an expressive turn that justified his change of heart. It was unearned.
Genuinely lazy writing. There was no point for any of these characters to exist. By far the worst final season of a show to ever exist. So much potential wasted.
of the live action shows, breaking bad is my favorite as well. el camino and better call saul are also incredibly good.
I remember watching the S5E15 finale and actually getting chills from the ending. Best show.
Season 2 was definitely not 10/10, it was slow and annoying, maybe a 9/10... 😉
IT Crowd for me
0118 999 881 999 119 725 - 3
I'm disabled ...
Leg disabled?
My tits, my tits are hot.
You'd best put seat belts on your ears, Roy, 'cause I'm about to take them for the ride of their lives!
I loved Scrubs when it was on.
An 8 series run of a fantastic TV show.
Mr. Robot. Even though I didn't love the ending as much as most people did, that show as a whole was just so well-made.
It's also very good at depicting social anxiety. I've never seen it depicted in anything before, but it's very accurate.
I really liked season 1 I just couldn't get into or past season 2 at all.
I have a friend who feels the same, but season 2 is the weakest season. If you can manage to get past it, seasons 3 and 4 are excellent.
At one point it became so boring that I could not watch it. Specifically when they try to go physically in building and hack it , I did not understand why they have to show his mental parts and what not. I could not waste anytime on it any more.
The Wire is the best show ever made.
I liked being disappointed with a few episodes only to realize they are far better than most anything else out there.
Rewatched it recently and other than pagers and pay phones no longer existing it’s still great.
This, I believe, is one of the least controversial positions in the 21st century. A masterpiece.
Pagers and phone booths stay in.
Correct.
Where are my Firefly fans!?
You can't take the sky from me.
🍃
Here, but it's still too soon to talk about floating like a leaf on the .... Ok I made myself sad again.
Instead, let's talk about "Curse your inevitable betrayal!"
Community
Pop pop!
Came to upvote this, some of the funniest writing and acting on a show that just gets better with time
Fat dog for midterms!
It is not made up, it is not made up!
+1. Even if not objectively "the best", it is definitely my favorite and is very unique and underrated.
Better Off Ted.
Or Dirk Gentlys Detective Agency.
Honestly though Better Off Ted probably wins it because its the best comedy show I’ve ever seen and NOBODY HAS EVER SEEN IT
Sad that dirk gently got cancelled when it did
Dude I was so looking forward to that third season too. You have no idea.
I’ve seen it. When Lem tried to kiss his date in front of the apartment I lost it. To this day it’s one of the very few scenes I rewind a couple of times for the sheer comedy gold.
I forgot what happened so looked it up and THANK YOU! I needed that laugh :)
If you like Dirk Gently you’ll probably like Mrs. Davis
Sounds interesting. I’ll check it out!
And if you like dirk gently you will probably also like maniac
Yeah I didn’t like maniac
And it has a heart to it that’s kinda sweet
I've seen it! It's so so good!
It's so hard to choose between Star Trek, Star Trek, Star Trek, or Star Trek... 🤔
Definitely star trek
You're out of your mind if you think it's Star Trek and not Star Trek.
My first full run of DS9 is going so well. What's amazing is the amount of single fatherhood in the show.
Alright, lets start the controversy... Discovery you can easily skip but Enterprise is always rated too low.
I don't see anyone mentioning DARK yet.
Probably one of the absolute BEST series I've ever watched. The ending was SO good.
Dense as fuck but so meticulously crafted. Still, as much as I sing it's praises, I would only recommend it to a narrow selection of people.
One of the media that I wish I could erase from my memories so I could experience it for the first time again
All of my this. Though a rewatch is also amazing because now you get to see all of the little details that were always there, but now make a LOT more sense!!!
I was stoked when season three started.
If was all so familiar, yet not quite the same.
Then half way through I realised I'd already watched it.
Superb.
Best ending and felt satisfying.
Severance. It's only been one season, but goddamn it's so good. It's an amazing premise with some absolutely brilliant writing. The cast is amazing.
Brilliant show. Really want season 2
I literally cried out in pain when then last episode ended and I realized season two was not (yet) available. Then I learned season 2 might not actually happen and I got waaaaay more depressed about it than one would expect about a TV show I spent two nights binging.
I hear not good things about season 2 😐
Season 2 isn't even out
I can tell you not good things about season 2 even if it isn't out. Season 2 will eat whatever it finds in your fridge and put what it doesn't finish back in a different location. I've never met a dog or cat that liked season 2. Season 2 has a weird smell that reminds you of the first time you felt homesick and knew you could never go back home.
I tell you what though. I'm going to wait on season two until I can ask Lemmy if..
spoiler
something unspeakable happens to those baby goats.
I'll skip it if so.
That's the not good thing. Would he better if it was?
According to recent reports, there has been behind-the-scenes drama during the filming of Severance season 2, which has led to delays in the show's return[1][2][3][5][6]. The drama reportedly involves a falling out between the show's co-showrunners, Dan Erickson and Mark Friedman, which has led to scrapped scripts and a complicated workplace environment[3][5][6].
However, director Ben Stiller has refuted these reports, saying that everyone is working together to make a healthy work environment and that everything is going slowly but smoothly[1]. Stiller has also hired Beau Willimon to work on the show, which has led to speculation that he may be replacing one of the co-showrunners[3][5].
There is currently no release date for season 2, and the longer the delays continue, the less likely it will be that the cast can come together in a timely manner[6].
Citations: [1] Ben Stiller Responds To Alleged Severance Drama Behind The Scenes - Game Rant https://gamerant.com/ben-stiller-severance-season-2-delay-response/[2] Report: Severance season 2 delayed amid behind the scenes drama - The A.V. Club https://www.avclub.com/severance-season-2-delays-showrunners-fight-report-1850386615[3] 'Severance' Season 2 Is Reportedly Being Delayed by Behind-the-Scenes Turmoil | GQ https://www.gq.com/story/severance-season-2-delayed-behind-the-scenes-drama[4] Behind-the-Scenes Drama That Led to Severance Season 2 Delay : r/SeveranceAppleTVPlus - Reddit https://www.reddit.com/r/SeveranceAppleTVPlus/comments/17d0161/behindthescenes_drama_that_led_to_severance/[5] Severance Season 2 Faces Delay Amid Backstage Drama (Report) - TVLine https://tvline.com/news/severance-season-2-delayed-controversy-beau-willimon-1234980075/[6] Severance Season 2 BTS Chaos: New Report Details Major Issues & Delays https://screenrant.com/severance-season-2-delay-drama-behind-scenes-report/
Scrubs - I maintain that the "9th season" was a spinoff. It was called Scrubs: Med School. Scrubs as a whole series (1-8) is unbeatable.
Stranger Things - it just seems to hit all the right notes. Especially season 4. There were some episodes in that season that were just perfect.
I also enjoyed it as a spinoff. Didn't fit with the rest of the show, but was good for what it was.
Firefly, and the accompanying movie, Serenity.
I swear by my pretty floral bonnet, I will end you
Maybe not best, but still, Dark was pretty amazing. Three seasons and not a drop in quality.
IMHO, there was a huge drop in quality after first season, sorry.
I really liked season one but stopped watching when the melted face bald guy stuff started, dunno if that was the second season maybe. By then everything was just too much trying too hard-cringe and I had to stop.
Loved it! The show gets more and more complex but I still found it interesting.
I'm torn between Battlestar: Galactica and Dark. The first one is definitely my favourite space opera of all time. But the mind-blowingly intricate plot of Dark makes it the one of the best mysteries ever told I'd say.
True Detective Season 1
The Wire. It's the only show I've watched more 3x and it got better with the rewatches. No show has come close to the raw grit. I may be biased because I lived in Baltimore for a few years though.
I think most TV shows overstay their welcome when they go past 5-6 seasons and run out of ideas.
Better Call Saul and Breaking Bad are my next two favorites.
Based on this, maybe check out Snowfall next…
Snowfall season 1 was great. It started to go off the rails after that, IMO, but S1 had me glued.
Can't let Adventure Time go unmentioned. The first season was a little silly, but after that, I found that I was basically free to interpret most of the episodes and plot lines with as much depth as I could want. One of the few shows out there who's ending made me sad not because the writers wanted me to, but because I knew it was leaving an empty place behind in my soul.
The first three or so episodes were absolute cringe, but the rest of the series is 100% quality material with some surprisingly deep lore and super interesting subplots all the way through. Plus sillyness, but on the right level to not be cringe.
Everyone who wants to give that show a shot should know this, because you need to watch at least six or seven episodes before judging the show, instead of giving up immediatly after the awkward start. It gets better - by a LOT.
Red Dwarf
Skip over Blackadder for Red Dwarf?
Not as cunning as a rotten turnip, you.
Babylon 5.
It can be easy to dismiss it due to the 90s TV budget and effects, and there’s a little awkwardness in the first season as the show figures itself out. But once you get into it, it's just amazing.
Every episode changes something about the status quo and usually advances the ongoing plots, avoiding the reset button so many other shows at the time would have, while still making each episode a satisfying story that can stand on its own, unlike a lot of modern serialized shows. It deals with timeless themes and ideas that echo history, a lot of which feels more relevant today than when the show was new. The writing is complex and nuanced, the dialog is snappy, the humor is fantastic, and the storylines are compelling.
But more than anything, it's the characters that make the show such a treat. There is a richness to the characters, a complexity that allows them to have layers and go through significant changes as their arcs progress, while still feeling natural and consistent. And all throughout you can't help but like and root for them, even when they are doing something misguided or horrific. Hell, you will often see conflict between two characters and find yourself wanting to root for both, no matter who (if anyone) is right or wrong. And when one of those big character moments hits, be it a man realizing the price of his obsessions, or a kind hearted doormat spitting in the face of a mass murdering power broker, when everything comes together and those characters get their chance to shine... *Chef's Kiss*
It's also absurdly quotable. You'd be hard pressed to find an episode that doesn't have a line that sticks in your memory, whether that's because it's profound, funny, or badass.
Best long form story ever.
Zathras approves!
It can be easy to dismiss it due to the 90s TV budget and effects
It's a plus for me. Something about the sets and effects being more 'attainable' makes them more interesting to me.
All of Star Trek, end of story.
So say we all!
May the force be with you
@vettnerk This is the way.
Arcane on Netflix. It is perfection to me. Fantastic characters, writing, and phenomenal art. For anyone who has not seen it yet that is curious to check it out after seeing this comment, I just ask that you watch three episodes before deciding if it's your jam or not.
I loved it so much I spent literal hours watching other people react to it. Now my feed is permanently riddled with that garbage content format
I forgot how much I enjoyed that. Time for a rewatch!
Seconded. Best damn show I've ever seen
I couldn't watch past the pilot. I couldn't tell you what that goal of Arcane was. It came off like a parody, every character just states how they feel. Pointless show.
TV series Farscape. For its time it was cooler than the Stargate series.
Frell yeah!
Surprised to not see Mr Robot. Having experience in the field I can confirm its pretty bang on
I enjoyed the hacker hero angle, and the espionage aspects, all the political intrigue, but it really lost me when it went full on into the multiple personalities and mental illness stuf. It just got too convoluted and I felt like the creators should have just done a new show if that was something they wanted to explore.
Second season was nearly unwatchable
Peep Show
The secret ingredient is crime.
Chernobyl ranks up there for me.
Better Call Saul
To bad about the ending. Started strong.
Arrested Development
S01 and S02. After that, questionable.
I liked season 3. 4 was bad, I didn't even finish 5
Same. Original seasons I've seen many, many times. So densely packed with nonsense humor.
Season 4 (and probably 5, didn't watch) felt contrived. The show had a great flow and the later seasons felt so forced.
But those first three were amazing.
The Netflix restarted series was just awful. Clearly the original writers had moved on.
Gravity Falls
And its sister shows Amphibia and The Owl House. (Though I'm still upset that The Owl House wasn't given a full third season.)
All of these are so good. And of course the Adventure Time including the new gender bender spinoff.
Yep, Game of Thrones. People get hung up on the hellishly stupid last season, but we spent the better part of a decade talking about it around the water cooler. The world was sucked into it.
I feel like that's a bit of a cop out to say "it was good except for the last season". That statement is true, much of GOT of absolutely S-tier stuff, but the last season was also part of the show. That's like saying "that meal I was the best I ever had", and when your friend asks "what about the chef's eccentric decision to put dog feces on the potatoes?", you replying "oh don't get hung up on that, it was the best meal I had, but you have ignore that part", if it was on the plate, it was on the plate.
I adore the first few seasons of Community, but would never in a million years (like Game of Thrones) say it's the best show I've ever seen because they both have garbage parts, that as unfortunate as it is, are legitimate parts of each of them.
If half of the seasons of a series are bad, and the last one is the worst in TV history it can't be a good series. The first few seasons can't rescue that Trainwreck
The first 4 seasons of GOT are some of the best in TV history. Seasons 5-6 are good, but that's when some of the tropes start to get overplayed and you see corners being cut. I should have stopped then, but I still had hope that they would rescue it. Nope.
the problem I have is that while I agree seasons 1-4 were brilliant, I simply can't watch them again because of how it ended. simply knowing how bad it became is enough to tarnish those seasons because the things they were setting up, simply didn't matter. like at all
Haven't watched GOT. The last season is what's been keeping me from watching it.
Haven’t watched GOT. The last season is what’s been keeping me from watching it.
The first four seasons are the best thing that has ever been on TV.
Season 5-6 are like... They lost track of what made it great and went for spectacle, it was good if that's what you are into.
Season 7 was bad.
Season 8 was actually offensive. It's not just a meme that it made everything that came before worse.
If you have never watched it, watch s1-4, and tip your toe in s5-6, dont go any further.
If you have never watched it, watch s1-4, and tip your toe in s5-6, dont go any further.
I just really hate knowing that I won't have a proper ending or I'll have to make one up myself. I'm not sure investing my time in something like that is worth it.
It probably isn't. Which is such a shame because you're gonna miss out on 40 episodes of legitimately some of the best TV ever made. But that makes the let-down so much worse when it comes.
Yeah... I'd say watch it and just enjoy the first 3–5 seasons which contain arguably some of the best television ever made. Things start to do downhill as the writes had less and less source material to work off of, but season 6 is ok. Season 7 I think is bad. It's mostly just setup for the last season which failed miserably, and I think it would have been good had they managed to pull through with 8. Idk. Maybe just make up your own ending after watching the first 6–7 seasons.
Bojack Horseman.
One of:
- I, Claudius (1976)
- Connections (1978)
- Band of Brothers (2003)
- Breaking Bad (2008)
- Better Call Saul (2015)
Glad to see Band of Brothers mentioned. Not my favorite show in the world (not a big fan of war media) but damn was it good!
I Claudius!
Connections is an amazing series. Claudius can be difficult to get into at first, but it pays off.
Many of these shows wouldn't have been possible without Twin Peaks
I'm not watching TV or streaming tv, but "raised by wolves" I liked. From the evolutionary point of view.
God, I loved its brand of sci-fi weirdness. Season 2 was extra strange, and I was here for it.
I was sad it got cancelled, but I knew the world wasn't ready for it
Red dwarf and all the Black Adder ones.
Edit: special dedication to "The lost room"
I'm really hoping you're referring to The Lost Room mini-series. I love it but I feel like I'm the only one who's watched it.
Yeah exactly! It's like you're the only person that have seen starwars and listens to the Beatles or something. It should have a cult status IMO.
BREAKING BAD
Better Call Saul and Band of Brothers, both in my all time favorites.
BEST TV show? Hmmm.... Better Call Saul, The West Wing, The Leftovers, The Wire, Friends
The Wire, what a good show
Ooh, yeah. @Kyrgizion@lemmy.world brought up Dark. One of THE best shows. Even if the first season was better than the other two, the whole series was phenomenal.
We seem to have very similar taste. Haven’t heard of leftovers before, thanks!
The Leftovers was great. The book was a good read too. It's a unique concept (or felt like one at the time). And Justin Theroux is awesome.
I thought the book was a big letdown. Was very annoyed by it. Almost gave up on the show because of it but the show branched off and was much better.
The leftovers is the best written show on television, ever.
It isn’t easy to get through, it doesn’t hold your hand, it doesn’t give you the answers you think you want, and it doesn’t address any of the mysteries it raises.
And somehow every other TV show feels like Blues Clues by comparison. It’s fucking phenomenal in a way no other television has ever even come close to.
Season 2 is a masterpiece of show making. Nothing else quite like it which is quite an achievement in these media saturated times.
Thanks for the review, seems right up my alley. I loved dark, and it sounds like there are similarities.
And it's not even close.
Better call saul. Deadwood. The Wire.
Impossible to pick a favourite one.
30 Rock
Right now?
Our Flag Means Death
Such fabulously gay pirates 🥰
How has Venture Bros not been on this list yet?
Because it's actually basic and panders too much to pseudo intellectuals. Brock had the only funny moment on the show when he drew that Led Zeppelin album cover on a test he was supposed to take instead of taking the test... Still laugh about it.
Venture
I want to make sure the tone of my response is set correctly. You are 100% allowed to not enjoy Venture Brothers (or anything that does not appeal to you).
Venture Brothers is a 100% satire around an entire era of TV cartoons, how "deep" would you expect the themes to be? I am also really curious to know more about the pandering claim above? In the show, it deals with super science versus magic, and comically exaggerated good guys versus bad guys. How would this even fake as intellectual?
Finally, and without taking away from the Icarus joke, the mournful tits banter is way up there among the many hilarious scenes.
I'm actually sorry, bud. I thought about that comment a lot today. I felt bad because I wasn't really giving so much of an unbiased opinion as I was just maybe grabbing low-hanging fruit to make myself feel a bit better for 30sec, in the vile manner of talking shit about something that someone else enjoys. Not that I thought about it a lot today obviously lol. But honestly I didn't really like the show at all, personally. The type of humor that the Brock character portraid was all that made me laugh those nights with nothing to do but watch adultswim. I knew it was makin NG fun of Johnny Quest etc, but I never liked that show either. I could plainly see what the shows were going for in their genres or whatever. My problem with them, Quest and Venture et al, was that I don't think they did it good enough, you know? Venture Brothers to me was like drinking powdered milk while living on a dairy farm. I didn't like it because I knew it could easily be neatly the best with just a little better writing and a little better humor. I watched it's premier and followed through through the years, and it just settled for acceptable and manufactured instead of creative and evolved. I think I was more into Aqua Teen at that time actually lol. And experimenting with weed in the beginning of High school. Idk. I'm sorry if you read all this shit, I just get bored and type.
I can appreciate the statement, and the fact we have a difference of opinion. These kinds of conversations are exactly why I have enjoyed Lemmey more than any other social media.
You two are cool people with some real self reflection. That was a nice thing to see this morning on a day I don't expect to go great. Keep on being good people.
Better Call Saul
Drama
Six Feet Under
Pushing Daisies
Dead Like Me
After Life
Doc Martin
Sci-Fi
Misfits
Firefly
Battlestar Galactica (2004)
Stargate SG-1
The Star Trek Franchise (of course)
Comedy
Fresh Meat
The Young Ones
IT Crowd
Green Wing
Miranda
Black Books
Peep Show
The Mitchell and Webb Look
Murder Mystery
Death In Paradise (if you like campy)
Poirot
Inspector George Gently
Wallander
Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries
Misfits
Fantastic show, that immediately implodes once Nathan leaves.
Definitely. Robert Sheehan is a force. You made me realize how much I forgot!
The Young Ones was delightfully insane, I'll give Fresh Meat a go
Add Foyle's War and Bletchley Circle
Rome. I was so sad when they cancelled it.
The original Twilight Zone.
Farscape, at least for Sci-fi shows.
Dramatized History: Earth to the Moon, with Band of Brothers being there right along side.
The Leftovers. I'd been sleeping on it for years and finally watched it this year. The best ending to anything I've ever seen.
I love this show so much. Think about Patty's monolog frequently. "You DO understand, Kevin"
Funny on this one the show is wayyy better than the book. I read the book first and it had an interesting idea but was very disappointing. The show branched off from the book pretty quickly and was right to do so. There were a few plots and characters from the book that went nowhere and were still in the show…hoped they would get fleshed out in the show but they were not. I wish I hadn’t read the book and could have experienced the show with a full open mind
The Americans. The two leads are great and it's gripping from beginning to end.
There isn't just one; that's an impossible choice.
Rake, Hard Quiz, Breaking Bad, The Expanse, X-Files, Malcolm In The Middle, Futurama...
Lotta good shows people have already listed, but one that is conspicuously missing, Reservation Dogs. It is an absolute master class treatise on grief and loss, yet somehow manages to be fucking hysterical at the same time.
I'll really miss the Warrier, great character.
It was great. Sad it's already over. It will be interesting if there are spin offs.
The Sopranos
The only real answer for me as well.
Scrubs is still my favorite. If you want a (very) little gem I would recommend Over the Garden Wall. Such a beautiful Autumn atmosphere, awesome music, a great story.
We just rewatched Over The Garden Wall for Halloween. It has such a unique atmosphere.
Enoch: What a wonderful harvest. And what about you? You sure you want to leave?
Wirt: Me? Yes.
Enoch: Oh well. You'll join us someday...
Best: Probably Breaking Bad or The Wire. Favorite: Deadwood
Futureman.. Gave it a shot and it became my favorite series.
which version of Cracker? UK or US ( Fitz)
Yeah I was kinda joking, the US is not as good (don't remember it being awful tho). Love Robbie
Battlestar Galactica.
You know, I know about farming.
Tales from the Loop. It's wonderfully imaginative, mysterious and uncanny. Highly recommended even if you're not into sci-fi (I'm not).
I haven't seen it - any relation to the Swedish artist Stålenhag?
Awesome. That's the coffee table book I have and love. Those old Volvo's and Saab's parked by COOP stores just take me back to my preschool years. Ah, when summers were long and warm and I didn't at all mind having sand in my pockets and shoes...
Drama: Mad Men
Comedy: Monty Python's Flying Circus
Animation: Rick & Morty
Educational: Connections (1970s, with James Burke as host)
Miniseries: tossup between True Detective Season One and Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (BBC, 1979, with Alec Guinness)
True Detective Season One was groundbreaking. I bought the score, and I don't buy movie or TV scores.
Was it ground breaking? It's just two dudes bad mouthing each other for 20 minutes and a basic detective plot ever 30 minutes. There was no effort to make anything original. Mindhunter is much better despite lacking direction.
With its' bleak philosophical and metaphysical concerns, True Detective S1 felt to me very much like Tarkovsky and/or Bergman exquisitely done for television.
I wonder why I found True Detective unoriginal but I suspect it's because I grew up on The Simpsons where philosophy and metaphysicality frequently is the joke and plot of an episode. Maybe a perspective that expanded on and challenged common modern thought would have made True Detective interesting to me, but as it was I felt it lacked insight and purpose. The show didn't personally expand on anything I knew to be true.
Oh my god, I loved Connections! It really was a great show.
The Leftovers. Really great premise, the acting and writing is fantastic, etc, only 3 seasons so I didn't have time to get burned out. Watched it a year or so back and I'm already thinking it's time to rewatch
Edit, gotta mention Get Smart. My parents showed it to me when I was young and it has really shaped my sense of humor in a lot of ways. Very wholesome (although some episodes are very much a product of their time).
The Marvellous Mrs Maisel.
Managed to be funny and heartfelt all the way through, with a well written conclusion. Anything that doesn't wrap up properly just sinks any enjoyment for me, but this show left me feeling satisfied.
They are seriously missing a golden opportunity by not making the talk show she wrote for its own spin off.
Definitely Mad Men. The high quality and attention to detail are something incredibly rare in television.
For the uninitiated: the story follows the main character, Don Draper, a New York advertising executive in the 1960's. Don struggles to deal with the memories of his horrible childhood and the things he did to try to escape from it. His increasingly heavy drinking and philandering lead to the collapse of his personal life and career, until he reaches rock bottom and realizes he no longer needs to hold up the carefully crafted image of himself which has become so heavy.
My favorite scene Don, having been fired from his job, takes his kids to see the place he grew up and has a moment of understanding with his daughter, Sally. This is the kind of writing that shows you can say a lot with almost no dialogue.
I hated Man Men. Just about every character is a giant piece of shit. Not even in an interesting way, just selfish pricks. I had to quit part way through because business and advertising are boring and I just wanted horrible things to happen to all of them.
Ha! I loved it, but I’m giving you an upvote for your honesty. It can be a polarizing show because as you said, every character has their ulterior motives.
It's between The Wire and Deadwood for me. If forced to choose, Deadwood is just a little closer to my heart. It's the closest a TV show has gotten to rich literature, in my opinion.
Edited to add: The Bear Season 2 also broke me. I cried like a baby. To a Taylor Swift song, no less. Check it out if you haven't.
The Wire and The Bear are so easy to rewatch and kind of similar...
You should check out Kill la Kill, it’s even better.
Fringe and X-Files.
Fringe is a god damn masterpiece
The last season was iffy but overall it was a hell of a ride and the characters are great
X-files.
Utopia - the 2013 conspiracy theory spy drama. It's bold and striking. The music, visual style, writing. Even the recaps - you know, the "previously..." bit. What other show has notable recaps?
Watch the first scene. It doesn't need any of that "give it a few episodes" nonsense. You'll know within the first scene if you want to stick with it.
I loved it but it never got a proper ending so it dropped down in my favorites unfortunately
Yeah I didn't mention that cos I was trying to sell it. As I see it, the first season is a complete story that reaches a satisfying conclusion. Then the second season came with a bit of a genre shift and new narrative threads that it never got the chance to tie back up. In retrospect, it pioneered the Netflix mode of storytelling
I'll go ahead and second people praising The Wire and Twin Peaks, but Deadwood is on the same level. The cast is loaded with some of the best character actors of the era. The writing is remarkable. No other show has ever made the word cocksucker sound so Shakespearean
Band of Brothers or The West Wing. Both are brilliantly written… for something funny I like Chuck
Unsaid so far: Samurai Jack.
The Singing Detective https://archive.org/details/the-singing-detective
Wow. This might get my vote too. I have never encountered another person who has seen it or even heard of it. A few people know about Pennies from Heaven (what is a decent movie with Bernadette Peters and Steve Martin).
I'm too young to have watched it when it was broadcast. My Dad told me about it years ago. Eventually found it on archive.org and it blew me away. Surprised it isn't as widely known about. Pennies from Heaven is great too but didn't connect with me the way the Singing Detective did.
As fantastic as it was part of me wishes we got it the way Dennis Potter intended. The hospital scenes would have been shot on video tape in a studio like a sitcom of that era, the detective scenes would have been black and white film like a classic noir and the memory scenes would have been the only ones shot on colour film as the whole show was in the end.
Thank you friend. Knowing there are fans of the original show out there has spurred me on to make a Youtube video about it.
You’re welcome. I was surprised to see your comment and be reminded of this amazing show. My mom told me about it, she saw the original airing, and then I was able to make a VHS recording so I could see all of it (a looooooooong time ago). I really like your comments and that’s great you are making a YT video about that. I will look forward to it!
Psych. Watched it growing up and I'm still rewatching it. The friend dynamic between the main characters are unbeatable. I love how they are still making movies. I might consider subscribing to peacock just because they are continuing my all time favorite show alive.
Nathan for You
Psych (2006) is by far the best series I have seen
Love it even if the second season finale left me unsatisfied. I love everything Masamune Shirow.
Maybe I'm still reeling from the second season but our flag means death is flawless imo. It's just so fun and somehow still everything else a queer pirate show should be
Oh you're spot on. I came for Rhys and Taika, stayed for everything else. Never thought I would tear up watching two male pirates kiss. But it happened. Damn it's such a wonderful show. Pure Taika and ridiculously wholesome at the same time.
Six Feet Under.
Call the Midwife! is in a category of its own.
It's a three way tie between peep show, our flag means death and what we do in the shadows.
What we do was just abstamazing the entire way through. Then Taika hits us with Our Flag. This man is a genuine treasure.
Also check out Wellington Paranormal. Not as good as What we do, but takes place in the same world and is still a really solid show. Maaka is such a fun character.
I'm going to go with the X-Files. Although I was going to say The Sopranos because when it first came out it was like no one had ever made good TV before and they were showing everyone else how to do it. But I have rewatched X-Files way more than the sopranos (I have a few times, but the last couple of times I kind of skipped over the therapy sessions to get to the rest of the show). The seasons were long enough that they could keep a main story going, and then allow the characters to develop more fully in these little side quests with other interesting characters. The chemistry between Duchovny and Anderson was perfect, the writing was extremely compelling, and they did a really wonderful job with story arcs. Also, it's mostly filmed in Vancouver in the 90s and I have fond memories of that town in that time. Continuum is another favourite for that same reason. But yeah, the X-Files. Currently at season 7 in another rewatch and still loving it.
South Park
All of my top picks have been mentioned, but I have a few more that stand out from recent memory.
Hijack (Apple TV+) was one of my favorite thrillers, perfectly wrapped up in one season. Multiple jaw-dropping moments. Very hard to put down.
Perry Mason (HBO) is an enigmatic murder mystery that will keep you guessing. Characters are written with depth. Feels realistic for the time period.
Watchmen (HBO) is a faithful continuation of the comic book that, like the book, uses superheros to explore ethical and social issues instead of drawing clean lines between good and evil. Also responsible for teaching many Americans about the Tulsa Massacre.
I think Will & Grace held their own and Malcolm in the Middle still makes me laugh.
Will and Grace falls apart towards the end. When they start talking about having a baby together it pretty much feels like a completely different writing team.
although the ending was so anticlimactic
To answer, as my username might suggest, my vote is for "The Good Place"
The West Wing.
Monk, without a doubt. That show has so many subtleties and humor to boot.
Maybe not the best of all time, but an incredibly underrated one: The 4400
This Life (minus the catch up 20 years later which suuuuuucked)
My first intro to the gorgeous Andrew Lincoln and Jack Davenport. And I really wanted to be Anna when I got older.
I bought the box set because its not available ANYWHERE
They are not the best shows, but considering how many times I have rewatched them I would have to say all The Next Generation era 80s-90s Star Trek (gonna throw Lower Decks into that lot as well since its around the same time period in the canon).
Also… Deep Space Nine might actually be the best show… but maybe not.
Mad Men and The Wire in a photo finish. I have trouble choosing one over the other.
House and Boston Legal. Hard to choose between them.
What is still missing from these replies: Hannibal was almost better than The Silence of the Lambs. And Mads Mikkelsen might've been a better Hannibal than Hopkins...
People who love this show say this, but I found Mads performance lacking the seductive charm of Hopkins portrayal.
I always loved the show "Leverage"
Final Space, nothing beats it for me. I'll be empty and hollow until Olan releases the graphic novel they're letting him license to finish off the story from season 3 since it was cancelled with one of the time warner mergers.
Vox Machina and Chernobyl(HBO) were close contenders though.
Star Wars The Clone Wars
The Office
Except for Scott's Tots..... The writers and producers had to be heavily medicated to make that episode.
Breaking bad & Alice in borderlands
A lot of shows I liked are mentioned here already, so I'm going to add Brooklyn 99. Recently finished it and it's a surprisingly rich show, really enjoyed it.
Whole different vibe, but Don't Look Up. As an environmental scientist, that one really nailed the existential dread many of my colleagues and I feel every day...
Not the best show by any means due to pacing and scenes that just don't flow at times but I find Upload to be a realistic horror show of the modern world ahead for us and future generations. The poverty in the new world is a little too realistic for me along with how filtered the world becomes especially without money. They have really nailed some of these aspects while taking shots at what I would call the Amazonification of the world. I'm surprised Amazon is allowing it. Enshitification of the world plays out too.
The hat tipping of the world ahead is more subtle than that of Travellers. The latter was dealing with a horrific future world of survival due to a lack of those today giving a crap about the future which might not be worse than a shift of reality like Upload is trying to portray. Both are real horror shows to me beyond the usual stab stab, guts, blood of many shows today.
Beyond these current interests it's the usual suspects of Breaking Bad, Better Call Saul, Mr Robot, Deadwood, Dead Like Me, IT Crowd, Mad Men, first season of American God's, Community...
I ironically love Uncle Grandpa
Rectify
Death Note
The Shield. One of the most tightly written seven seasons of television I’ve ever watched. Most things tied together, and the finale closed the loop on what happened in the first episode. The end of every episode left you immediately wanting to start the next one.
It’s about the Strike Team, a special unit of four cops within a police department. The whole series is on Hulu. Give it a try, and you’ll be hooked.
There are a couple that I would put in the same tier, but the one that hasn't been mentioned yet is True Detective.
Season 1 was amazing, I felt let down by S02 and haven't seen S03, although I hear it's a bit of a return to the glory that was Season 1
Surprised no mention of Hill Street Blues.
1883, The Leftovers, Boardwalk Empire, and Succession come to mind
Prison Break or The Blacklist for me. I haven’t finished watching either of them, likely to never finish them, but they’re the shows I’ve watched the most season of.
Probably the same as you, though all the Star Wars stuff ranks up there.
Heroes. wish it lasted longer, there were a lot of really neat powers they could have expanded on
Yeah, complete shame there wasn't a second season.
You haven't seen much, have you?