First let me say that I don't have cable, not even basic cable, and yet I rarely watch mainstream TV. My only source for what I think is watchable comes from Netflix DVDs and Instant Watch, plus a bit of Hulu. I hope they appreciate my plug. A free rental would be nice.
So to begin with the basics, the regular weekly series, my top two shows are Parks and Recreation and Community. They are consistently funny in their genre and actually have a lot of heart. I did not think anyone could top Tina Fey's Liz Lemon character in 30 Rock when it comes to strong comedic women but Amy Poehler's Leslie Knope is such a clever genuine character that I hope to follow her all the way to the White House in her sincere effort to be a good citizen. Although I also live for every moment Ron Swanson is fantasizing about bacon.
Community obviously appeals to an absurdist nerd sense of humour plus an extreme knowledge of popular culture but I raise my hands on both counts. As a long time Monty Python fan this is as close as it gets to a British comedic view of the world. And what's not to love about "Troy and Abed in the Morning"? Best episode ever? The original Paintball episode in season 1, "Modern Warfare", a spot on parody of every zombie apocalypse/post nuclear film ever made.
On the serious side there is Fringe, which is winding up this final year with one of their weakest seasons, but was always consistently interesting for those who miss X-Files. Watch it in order because, otherwise, it will never make sense. Hint: it involves time travel and alternate universes. And there is Grimm, which involves demon and monster hunters, not as dark or as witty as Supernatural, but aimed for a slightly older age group.
Speaking of age groups, apparently I must be about 25 years old emotionally because I have always found shows like Buffy the Vampire Slayer ( NOT like Twilight, trust me) and Supernatural a lot more fun that lawyer shows, doctor shows, or grisly crime of the week shows. I consider the CSI franchise and Criminal Minds as crime porn, in which they try to titillate by coming up with really twisted villains and imaginatively horrible ways for people to die, especially women, that borders on the truly perverse. Mandy Patinkin bailed out of the latter show because it disturbed him so much, so I respect him for that. I love a good thriller or murder mystery, I just don't like pandering to peoples' worst impulses. Also may I say that any series that runs longer than five years is basically running out of steam and is just rehashing old plots or pulling some weird "jumping the shark" gimmick out of their ass.And CSI is not fooling me by having three shows in three locations. Miami just has more sun saturated shots and more Cubans.
Which brings me to BBC and other British network productions. Oh how I love those British shows! And oh how stingy they are with their seasons (some are only three episodes long for crying out loud!) But at least they keep you begging for more. In no particular order....well, forget that......my top favorite BBC show is Sherlock. It is brilliant. The acting, the writing, the cinematography are all outstanding. It has been referred to as a "Rolls Royce" of a show and it does not disappoint. There are only two seasons of three episodes each, the last of which came out in 2011. Season 2 ended with a jaw dropping cliffhanger and we will have to wait until December 2013 to see what happened. Once you see the amazing Benedict Cumberbatch as Sherlock, and master of subtlety, Martin Freeman as Watson I think you will be hooked.
I have talked three separate people into watching this show and now they are completely sucked in. The American version, "Elementary" is a pale imitation. Johnny Lee Miller, a good actor with some charisma, makes an interesting Sherlock but the writers have turned it into just another crime solving show with a quirky lead who could be named anything.
The rest of my BBC/ITV/PBS obsessions are Luther, with a mesmerizing Idris Alba, Doctor Who, MI-5, and Downton Abbey.
And then there are the premium cable shows I watch. I know I criticized the CSI franchise and Criminal Minds, so I probably seem like a hypocrite when I say I love Breaking Bad, Boardwalk Empire, and Dexter. If you're going to watch sick people do sick things watch them in the hands of master writers and directors who know all about the endless and ambiguous shades of good and evil, the slippery slope, the wrestling with conscience, the frailty of greed and revenge. In Breaking Bad, especially, the descent into hell is a hypnotic, shocking, and nail biting journey, a morality tale as black as night in a setting scorched by the Southwestern sun. I also enjoy Justified more than I should for someone who does not put hillbillies and meth labs in Kentucky on my list of places to visit. Maybe, just maybe, I am enjoying the view. And by view I mean Timothy Olyphant.
So that's my particular list. There are shows, like Homeland, that I have not seen yet (long wait on Netflix) and others I have tried to watch and given up on, like The Sopranos. I know that show was a critic's darling but I could never warm up to it. I'll watch the original Godfather any day. Which brings me to my pick for the best show ever made on U.S. TV: The Wire. It's a tough one to initially get into. There are five seasons and I almost gave up after three episodes. It seemed slow and confusing at first. I had to sort all the characters out, and their dialects, and the various sub plots. But stay with it. You get to know the characters, both the police and the drug dealers they pursue, in all their richness, and there are heroes and villains on both sides. It is an unrelenting look at the culture of poverty in an inner city, gritty as any documentary, and it has a perfect arc from beginning to end, with each season featuring a different aspect of social issues plaguing our urban areas including drug dealing, labor unions, public education, the fracturing of the family, and the endless cycle of poverty. And yet it has humour, it has complex characters (Omar! The Robin Hood of the ghetto), and it even offers occasional glimmers of light.
If there's a really good show I am missing let me know. I have never seen The Good Wife. Maybe I am put off by yet another lawyer show. And for some reason I have never liked domestic dramas or comedies. Maybe too much like real life. If I want domestic drama I'll just invite my whole family over for a holiday meal then sit back and watch. Based on my choices I tend to like fantasy, period dramas, and dark worlds I would never want to inhabit in real life. I'm only there for the vicarious experience. But I have been spoiled over the years. It's like wine. In college you pretty much drink whatever is poured, then later the discerning nose steps in, and soon you're reading reviews and going on about soil and complexity and hints of pear. The same with TV. Once I discovered really good writing and thoughtful, non-cliched plots and characters I am just not as happy watching Castle or NCIS anymore. If I want me some Nathan Fillion I'm going to have to pull out my DVD of Firefly.
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