I didn't see a thread of this type, so...
TV on DVD. Best thing ever, IMO. Both from a price standpoint (a TV show offers many more hours worth of entertainment to the dollar than movies), to getting caught up on new shows (Lost, The Office) and discovering some old classics.
TV on DVD was at one time a bright new world for me, filled with so many viable options. But now...that large window is starting to close. I've reached a pretty high saturation point, and this is where you fine people come in. I just bought Mad Men Season 1 and Wonderfalls today, and plan to get Psych and Spaced on Friday, but other than that not much has been catching my eyes.
So if you would, I'd like you to discuss your favorites. Talk about if a show has been quality all the way throughout, if there are certain seasons I can skip or stop at, etc. Also this can be a thread to talk about new upcoming shows on DVD you're excited about.
A few things I need to clarify first:
- NO reality television. The only reality show I've ever liked is Top Chef, which is sadly not on DVD.
- Anime is okay, but no hentai/tentacle stuff, please.
That's pretty much it. A list of the shows I already own is below, spoilered for length, so anything other than these is fair game for recommendation.
Thanks in advance!
30 Rock (Seasons 1 and 2)
The Adventures of Pete and Pete (Season 1)
Arrested Development (Complete Series)
Babylon 5 (Season 1)
Buffy the Vampire Slayer (Seasons 1-3)
Clerks: The Animated Series (Complete Series)
Cowboy Bebop (Complete Series)
Deadliest Catch (Season 1)
Dexter (Season 1)
Firefly (Complete Series)
Friday Night Lights (Season 1)
Futurama (Season 1)
House (Season 1)
Heroes (Seasons 1 and 2)
Jericho (Complete Series)
Lost (Seasons 1-4)
Mad Men (Season 1)
Martian Successor Nadesico (Complete Series)
The O.C. (Complete Series)
The Office (Seasons 1-4)
Planet Earth (Complete Series)
Pushing Daisies (Season 1)
Scrubs (Seasons 1-6)
The Simpsons (Seasons 4 and 5)
Smallville (Seasons 1-3, 5 and 6)
Twin Peaks (Complete Series)
Veronica Mars (Complete Series)
Weeds (Seasons 1 and 2)
The Wire (Season 1)
Wonderfalls (Complete Series)
Yu Yu Hakusho (Seasons 1-3)
Posts
I have not.
I'm waiting to see a good sale on Season 1 before I take the dive, because I have a feeling it's going to swallow me whole.
Entourage
as far as my must-watch "pay" Cable Station shows. All have a delightful mix of drama and comedy. Sopranos is an obvious suggestion but by now I assume everyone on Earth already watched it. Deadwood is the next series on my queue, I've heard good things
Also if we're talking "Any show ever made that's on DVD" Get The Mighty Boosh seasons 1-3 are all pure gold
edit: oh no! i didn't look at the list carefully dexter and weeds cut from the post, you sir have good taste
All 7 seasons are 100% gold. Only 1-6 are out yet, but 7 will be a day one purchase for me. I currently have 3 different guys going through the series with my DVDs and they all love it.
Does it exist in a decent format yet? They used to have Farscape on a retarded 3-episode DVD at hideous prices.
Farscape
Extras
Entourage
Chuck
Terminator : TSCC
ADV did have the Starburst editions a while back, but those are a bust now. Season 1's rights got bought by Sony so, well, until they do something with it there's no Season 1 on DVD.
Stargate SG-1 is pretty good for the first couple of seasons.
The 4400 was pretty cool.
Is Psyche out on DVD yet?
Came out mid-late 90s. It's about a supergenius that basically grew up in a lab. He escapes and hijinx commence to happening. The hook is that he can basically pretend to be anything. Surgeon, pilot, lawyer etc etc.
Show was before it's time. Nowadays with the huge over-arcing plots of so many shows, it would fit right in, but back then people were more used to a story per episode regimen.
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Yeah, I've been meaning to get the rest of Babylon 5. I really enjoyed season one.
And yes, Psych seasons one and two are out on DVD. I'm getting season one on Friday.
Till you see it, all other suggestions are wrong.
Ok, except maybe The Wire.
If you like Wonderfalls and Pushing Daisies, check out Dead Like Me. Two seasons from Showtime, and a movie is coming out next month I think.
Angel 1-3 is quite good. Season 5 is also pretty good, but probably won't make a lot of sense without trudging through season 4.
Dark Angel is pretty cheesy fun, but becomes much more serious fun in the second season.
If you're not already familiar with him, Aaron Sorkin's work is excellent. Sports Night and West Wing are quality. I think Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip is also great, but it got pretty mixed reviews.
For animated stuff, Venture Brothers, Samurai Jack and Batman: TAS are all highly recommended.
Never seen Samurai Jack.
It was Ron Moore's show before BSG so that intrigues me. Keep in mind though, it was plotted out for six seasons, and only got 2.
Bah, Season 4 is great.
You can also look at getting Buffy 4-7. The show is never as good as in the first 3 seasons (the quality followed David Boreanaz around for some inexplicable reason), but it's still good.
Angel 1-5, however, is better then Buffy 4-7.
That's a downer.
One of the things that drew me to Babylon 5 was the fact that it was plotted out for five seasons beforehand, and I believe it was one of the first shows to have huge arching storylines.
EDIT: This is also what drew me to Lost, I had heard (erroneously) that the writers didn't know what the fuck they were doing, but when I heard about the locked-down contract, I went out and bought season one. With obviously beneficial results.
Hell yes. Although, IIRC you can just watch it instantly online via Netflix (if you have a Netflix account, which everyone should).
Is one of the best shows I've seen. It looks like an "anime," but it's made by Americans and has American sensibilities of plot and pacing (so no 12-episode punch attacks).
It's about ... well, basically, if you like Final Fantasy, you'll love this shit.
*gasp*
I like Final Fantasy!
I bought Season 1 of Carnivale after hearing good things about it and liked it so much I immediately went out and got the second season. Though, as someone mentioned, the end of Season 2 leaves a sort of unfulfilled feeling as there is so much more that could be told.
Here are some other ones that I highly recommend:
Coupling (BBC) - Described as the "British Friends." Only smarter. And funnier. And sexier.
Cracker (BBC) - Ronnie Coltrane is amazing as a gambling-addicted forensic psychologist.
the "no true scotch man" fallacy.
Weird that we have very similar tastes but do not agree on this one. I like the British Office, but I feel the American just surpasses it in every way possible from season two on (especially season three).
Well, it's not that I like the British one more. It's just that the British one is very realistic to me and I guess a lot of the humor comes from the atmosphere it sets up. Having said that, I can watch the American one over and over and not get tired of it as fast as I would from the original.
Six Feet Under is supposed to be great, I just ordered it. I liked True Blood this year and that should be coming out soon. Mad Men is supposed to be excellent.
You can get Clerk The Animated Series for pretty cheap I'm sure and it's six episodes of really great humor if you're a Kevin Smith fan (though in my opinion it's probably the easiest thing of his for anyone to like).
Shows like Duck Man, Clone High, Undergrads and some others I'm forgetting are more great animated adult geared comedies.
Twin Peaks is supposed to be cool though I've yet to see it. There's always the first few seasons of 24, for me up to five is worth watching and obviously the jury is still out on the current one.
Skit shows like Mr. SHow and Kids In THe Hall are excellent though obviously there's no story to follow. I like Wonder Showzen though I've really not seen it a lot and I'm not sure it's something I'd need to own, it might drive one insane watching to many eps in a row.
sorry if I doubled anyone, just read the OP and ran with it. I'm sure there's a lot I'm forgetting.
Good man.
24
Burn Notice
Babylon 5
Law & Order (vanilla and SVU)
I wish History Channel would sell complete seasons, instead of rape-expensive single discs. Aside from The Universe (which I want), I haven't seen a lot from them available.
Seriously, though, Dead Like Me.
Agh, how could I forget Rome? HBO is so freakin' good, which also brings me to Band of Brothers. I just got it on Blu-ray, and my goodness, it's gorgeous.
Avatar, West Wing, How I met your mother, Daybreak, Terminator, and more of The Wire.
I'm surprised you never went past season 3 of Buffy. If it helps at all, Nathan Fillion appears in the last season. :P
I watched up through season five, just haven't gotten around to the last two seasons. I have a reason to now, though.
And I just read the premise on Burn Notice in the Burn Notice thread, it sounds really good.
Yes, Band of Brothers is required. I still haven't seen it on blu-ray though but I can see how it would be totally awesome with the cinematography.
Venture brothers too, though if you didn't watch Jonny Quest when you were a kid or other super hero/villian cartoons you probably won't get a lot of the jokes.