DVD is only way to watch TV series

Qmanol · November 22, 2007, 5:03pm

Bill_Dungsroman · November 22, 2007, 6:57pm

<3 <3 <3

Malderi · November 22, 2007, 8:26pm

Babylon 5. Really, just go buy it.

EvilIdler · November 22, 2007, 8:41pm

House is cheap on DVD. Also the earlier seasons of Farscape should be possible to find cheap.
(But hurry, as a second edition set exists which doesn’t look nice on the shelf anymore. Grr!)

I second Dexter, Weeds and League of Gentlemen. Short seasons = cheaper boxes.

quantum_mechani · November 23, 2007, 1:15am

Having just recently watched most of Babylon 5 on DVD, I think I’d make a more cautious recommendation. It has some good parts, but it starts very rocky, takes two or three seasons to really get going, and then goes back to very poor in the last season

Malderi · November 23, 2007, 12:00pm

Yeah, but the 5th season is worth it for “Sleeping in Light”.

malkav11 · November 23, 2007, 3:18pm

I think B5’s worth watching across the board, but it’s certainly not consistently as brilliant as its best arcs are. Still…there’s a lot of subtle stuff built into even the early episodes. Notice, for example, that Delenn is actually building her chrysalis in many scenes in episodes before she goes into it, but it’s never really remarked on.

And the commentaries are pretty neat.

quantum_mechani · November 23, 2007, 5:00pm

One of the key problems with the first season is the awful actor that plays the commander. The later guy is not great, but still a step up.

shift6 · November 24, 2007, 1:33pm

QFT. Take that $40 a month cable TV bill and put it into Netflix plus GameFly.

RodeoRanch · November 24, 2007, 2:05pm

I greatly enjoyed watching “Heroes” on DVD. No commericials, no weeks of waiting for the next episode.

Of course now it makes watching the extremely “meh” season 2 even worse because of the fucking commericals. Argh!

John_Reynolds · November 24, 2007, 4:10pm

Just dated yourself there, Andrew. Though if I live to be 150 years old, I’ll never forget Billy Crystal walking into the house and saying, “What’s this crap about a possessed baby?” To which he’s then lifted into the air and you hear a demonic voice say, “Shut your mouth, faggot!”

z0diac · November 25, 2007, 1:25am

SCTV, Larry Sanders, Action!, Alfred Hitchcock Presents…all recent purchases.

Chordian · November 25, 2007, 2:12am

I also only watch them on DVD.

24 (first two seasons - stuck in the third)
4400
Battlestar Galactica (first two seasons only)
CSI
CSI: Miami
CSI: New York
Firefly
Futurama
House M.D. (great!)
Lost
MAS*H
Numb3rs
Prison Break
The Simpsons (up to season 7 so far)
Space: 1999 (didn’t age well)
Star Trek
Star Trek: The Next Generation
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (season 4-7 only)
Star Trek: Enterprise (season 2-4 only)

Mini-series:

From the Earth to the Moon
Taken
The Triangle

quantum_mechani · November 25, 2007, 11:54am

Oh, speaking of miniseries, The Lost Room cannot be passed up.

Crispus · November 25, 2007, 12:09pm

Most of what I use Netflix for is TV series watching. I almost never watch regular TV except for sports and the occasional Family Guy episode.

My favorites so far:

Rome (best HBO series)
Supernatural (season 1 had a good opener, followed by a half-dozen lackluster episodes, and then improved for most of the rest of its run so far)
Buffy/Angel
The Office & 30 Rock (both available through Netflix’s “Watch Now” online viewing)
Freaks & Geeks
24 (I watched the first 3 seasons before taking a break)

Disappointments:

Sopranos (it wasn’t bad, exactly, and its characters were memorable, but I don’t feel like it’s earned the notoriety it has. There were also too many slow episodes/seasons.)
Smallville (I’m still watching this, up to season 3 now, but it’s slow going - I’m determined to stick with it. It seemed to improved markedly about halfway through season 2, but still needs work.)

NuclearWinter · November 25, 2007, 2:24pm

This thread needs more love for The Wire. So:

The Wire

Zuwadza · November 25, 2007, 6:47pm

Thankfully someone finally mentioned Freaks & Geeks! I’d like to give another recommendation; it’s a great show.

Shows that I don’t think were mentioned so far:

Spaced
Extras

and… that’s all I can think of right now.

malkav11 · November 25, 2007, 7:47pm

No kidding. I knew I was forgetting something.

LionelThompson · November 26, 2007, 3:49am

malkav11:

British:
Ultraviolet - very well done series about a small covert government agency tasked with researching and countering the activities of vampires (though they never use the word, referring to them instead as “Code Fives” (V)).

The House of Cards Trilogy - political drama about a devious, manipulative, and ruthless member of Parliament’s maneuverings towards the Prime Minister’s role (and his subsequent efforts to stay in power). He’s a very charismatic character, but not at all a nice man.

The Sandbaggers - excellent 70s series about the Special Operations Directorate of the British foreign intelligence service (MI-6, I think. But I forget). Very realistic treatment - no James Bond gadgets and high action theatrics, but plenty of politicking and tense covert action. Three series in all, with the storyline ending a bit abruptly as unfortunately the show’s creator and primary mover disappeared mysteriously before he’d completed it.

The Prisoner - if you don’t know about this one…

Black Adder - the first series has the highest production values but is the least of the four in my opinion. Series two and three are hysterical and make excellent use of their historical background. Four is less funny overall but, well, it is set during the first World War, which means a certain somberness creeps into things. The last episode is positively tear-inducing. Oh - it is a Britcom, so if you don’t like that brand of humor…ah well.

The League of Gentlemen (not to be confused with the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. Really really different.) - How to describe this show…hmm. It’s…uh…it’s kind of like Monty Python crossed with Twin Peaks or something similarly bizarre and somewhat unsettling. There’s the usual skits (more or less) and the inherent comedy of having a handful of middleaged men play most every character of either gender. But there’s a darker edge to it. The proprietors of the Local Shop dance naked around a bonfire and do strange and terrible things to non-local visitors. The butcher sells a secret “special” meat. The veterinarian tends to kill animals he treats in spectacular manner (not intentionally). The weird, creepy traveling carnival proprietor winds up fleeing the town screaming.

If you want to hit the British great ones, also include

Doctor Who - Watch the new series, or start off tasting the old for some wonderful sci-fi. The writing generally makes up for the special effects.

Fawlty Towers - John Cleese classic about a horrible man and his attempts to run an inn and the people he has to deal with there.

'Allo 'Allo! - created by the team who created ‘Are You Being Served’, this is about a French cafe owner who reluctantly works for the French Resistance during WWII.

Hammet · November 27, 2007, 9:38am

Last I heard, von Trier decided against doing Riget III after the death of Ernst-Hugo Järegård. Ernst-Hugo played the evil Swedish doctor (the guy who stands on the hospital roof screaming Danish bastards!). His brilliance made a big part of the show

Ernst-Hugo Järegård was, for my money, one of the greatest actors the world has ever seen.

Edit: Just saw madkevin already answered that. Next time I’ll shoot him in the groin first.

Just bought the first season of Mork & Mindy. It is quite brilliant at times.
Deadwood. Deadwood. Deadwood. Read the transcripts. Then watch them again.
Waiting for the John From Cincinnati DVD.