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The summer is a time for lots of things. It is the time for beaches, and barbecues, and camping, and swimming, and sunscreen, and for making boring lists of obvious things that everyone already knows. But it is not the time for there to be anything on TV to watch! Sorry, NYC Prep, but you are a poor replacement for 30 Rock, Lost, Friday Night Lights, and The Office. Actually, let’s leave those other shows out of it altogether, because NYC Prep is just a poor replacement for Gossip Girl, much less real shows for adults. There’s nothing on!
But it’s 2006! Most shows are on DVD now. So actually, there’s plenty of great TV to watch. The summer should be the time for catching up on the TV you don’t have time to watch during the fall and winter and spring because you’re too busy watching new TV. I, for one, am going to try and power through Mad Men, because I have only seen the first few episodes of the first season, and the third season starts in August, and wouldn’t it be nice to watch some TV that was actually good for a change (up your butt, Miami Social!).
I am also going to check out The Mighty Boosh. And maybe some old Steve Coogan shows that I have never seen but of which I have heard so many good things. (Although I will never forgive him for giving Owen Wilson all that heroin. Cut it out, Steve Coogan. Owen Wilson’s not a chicken, you’re a turkey!)
For you guys, I have some assignments:
If you haven’t watched every episode of these shows already, you are going to need to catch up, or else you fail. At stuff.
Friday Night Lights
The Wire [doyoyoy]
Eastbound and Down
The first few seasons of The West Wing before it got boring.
Many of these might seem obvious, but you would be surprised how many of your Videogummates have not seen some of these shows!! Let’s go, you guys!! We can watch it all!
I would now like to open the class up to a trust building exercise in which you each suggest one show that you think everyone should watch as you close your eyes and fall backwards. We will catch you! Metaphorically!
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I’VE BEEN enjoying the hell out of some FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS and have heard some SHIT about EASTBOUND AND DOWN but I can’t find that shit ANYWHERE.
For all YOU CATS, I recommend watching SOME EPISODES of the 700 Club, especially IN IT’S EARLY YEARS, that shit was PROVOCATIVE, STIRRING, AND INTENSE.
But, really, WHERE CAN I FIND Eastbound?
There is this trick someone told me about where Netflix will send you a trial DVD of the first season of any TV show, all you have to do is turn your fucking caps off.
OH SHIT I’m behind. I didn’t even realize it was on DVD. LAST TIME I LOOKED I couldn’t find it anywhere so I just ASSUMED it wasn’t. IGNORE ALL THAT THEN.
And CARRIE, I love you, EVEN IF YOU’RE not ready to admit it.
Is it me or are all the regulars being a bit snippy today? I don’t want to fall backwards into any of you!
I’m FULL of LOVE today. I don’t understand WHY I GOT some unnecessary HATE. EITHER WAY, I hope you’re DOING WELL, Adrienne.
I am doing very well, thank you! We should share a lunch table, An American Patriot. E-lunch, during our break from TV summer school.
Honestly, you don’t want to fall forwards on most of us, either.
Dear sir PATRIOT.
You may find said eastbound and down here:
http://www.amazon.com/Eastbound-Down-Complete-First-Season/dp/B001IBIDLI/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1247772557&sr=8-1
If you do not wish to pay for it, then well there is the “internet” with it’s nifty “google”.
I might have been at a NINJA to see said VIDEOs dot NET.
Hope you find what you are looking for.
lots of love,
KANG
THANK YOU, the last time I checked AMAZON it wasn’t there. SO I’M SORRY GUYS (Carrie) for apparently UPSETTING EVERYONE! I didn’t mean to make EVERYONE so tense!
Not that this is related, but congratulations on coming so close to defeating the Turtles. You’ve accomplished a lot for being a brain with arms.
There are torrents for East Bound & Down. I watched ‘em as they came out. They’re pretty easy to find.
YEAH but my NORTON ANTIVIRUS2000 is apparently OUTOFDATE. So I’m worried about getting TROJANS AND VIRUSES. I’m not Dr. Mario over HERE!
Ah bummer, I use a mac so I forget that viruses exist. The trade off is I can’t use .srt files for subtitles cuz Apple hates for anybody to be cool with each other and share.
What program are you using? I’ve used .srt files with no problem on my mac using VLC. It’s free, and great for watching pirated foreign films. Waltz with Bashir, anyone?
Holy shit! Are you serious? Is VLC findable? I really did want watch Walz With Basheer but I couldn’t get the subs to work.
Torrents aren’t that scary, and losing your whole hard drive is WORTH watching EASTBOUND AND DOWN.
On the real, download AVG Free anti-virus; it’s FREE, runs and updates smoothly and doesn’t clog up your PC. Then download a program like uTorrent. THEN, thank me later. ENJOY!
Okay, you can calm down now.
http://www.casttv.com/shows/eastbound-down
Okay, you can calm down now.
http://www.casttv.com/shows/eastbound-down
If Lindsay were here I would just cheat off her paper.
i just watched Deadwood and I think it should be included as well. Also Breaking Bad.
Everyone knows that all of television is all down hill after the Wire, but here goes.
Skins–for the same reason one watches Gossip Girl. Wait, what’s that reason again? I still don’t know, but it grows on you the same way Blair’s 79-year-old/2-year old charm does. Or something.
ugh, skins.
the first 2 seasons were ok. season 3 is a fucking disgrace to television.
Skins is one of my favorite shows, I’m trying to get everyone to watch it. It’s not like Gossip Girl–the characters are interesting, the story telling is imaginative, and they actually fuck. Let’s paint, exercise, and watch Skins everyone!
Skins is an absolutely great show for videogum. And not in the complimentary way. In the “wtf this show is ridiculous” way. Remember the first season finale? When whats-his-face was HIT BY A TRUCK? What the hell was that?
And remember how the next season was all about how he was now mentally handicapped? Because that’s how that works?
Seriously that show is ridiculous. I love that show’s ridiculousness so much. (/They should have just made it “The Cassie Show”)
But Cassie was awful ): Skins is fun in a way that you know it’s miserable, but you kind of can’t really relate and it’s better than Degrassi and Gossip Girl.
dude! no! youre insane! NO. Cassie was the best. Cassie was like the show’s credibility. she was the only relatable character on the show. That video blog she did? That was the best special feature ever. “i love things so much, i feel like i can float away.” So good.
ALSO GUYS REMEMBER WHEN SYD’S DAD DIES? WHAT? WHAT WAS THAT? ALSO WHO GOES TO A CONCERT THE DAY THAT THEIR DAD DIES? I MEAN I LOVE CRYSTAL CASTLES AND ALL, BUT WHAT?
Oh yeah, I remember that! What a hoot! People were dying all over the place in season 2, it was like fucking Lost or something. ALSO, Cassie was definitely the best character, doyoyoy. Remember when she turned into the friendly neighborhood crack whore in season 2 because she was mad at Syd or something? That was weird. But, you know, character development. There’s a lot of that on Skins, which is why I love it. Tony’s the scheming ringleader of the gang, then poof! he’s a semi-retarded guy who can’t swim.
Skins is great. It’s like the Gossip Girl that doesn’t suck, but somehow still manages to be the True Blood of teen drama.
YES YES YES TO SKINS! I came out of comment hiding to back this statement about Skins, it is so worth watching. A lot of the time it is actually good and then when it’s not, it’s fun-bad in the Gossip Girl way, the music is usually good too and it can be ridiculous enough on occasion that you can True Blood bash it(but still secretly love it)! and i am realizing that I am and overzealous Skins fangirl.
but seriously everyone. watch it.
Oh man, I had no idea so many Videogummerz liked Skins! It is (was? Haven’t seen the third season yet) a great show. Especially the first season. Remember when they were all singing Cat Stevens at the end of the finale while Tony got hit by a truck? So ridiculous! What other show does that? Gossip Girls doesn’t have the balls to pull that shit off.
oh my gosh, i totally forgot about the singalong. i think i was just so in shock of the guy getting hit by a car out of nowhere and with no set-up whatsoever, that i blocked everything else from my mind.
also, good call on flapjack. maybe not so good a show for videogum, but still an amazing awesome show.
I was gonna watch Mad Men too! We can watch it together! Like buds!
homicide: life on the streets. the first five seasons, anyhow.
i’m one of those lousy assholes that “dont own a tv” and havent for seven years, so i’m really behind on television. i’m actually doing buffy the vampire slayer right now. also, battlestar galatica.
OH YEAH I second the BSG. The series ENDING is just a little MEH IF YOU KNOW WHAT I mean.
i dont, im only on season 2, and i’ve avoided all mention of how it’s ended, so shush! shuuuuuush!
another nomination, and SHAME, SHAME ON YOU if you haven’t watched it, is twin peaks. just do it. it’s for the kids.
THAT SHOW IS AWESOME. And SORRY I didn’t realize. Don’t worry IT’S ALL AWESOME until the end, but IT’S MOSTLY the ride that counts? RIGHT?
I wish TWIN PEAKS had had a better CONCLUSION.
I agree on the ending of BSG. It was just OK. Did you see the Caprica pilot? I thought that was gonna be a show but there was the one long ass episode then nuthin. I’d like to see more of it.
YES. It was PRETTY INTRIUGING but I guess IT WAS LIKE a miniseries? OR SOMETHING? I dunno, I wish THEY WOULD EXPAND ON it. Wasn’t it LIKE A PREQUEL or something?
They are expanding Caprica I think. Or they were anyway. The movie/miniseries is just the pilot sort of? The development of Caprica has been very complicated and I don’t know why I know so much about it I shouldn’t BSG stopped being good in the third season and frankly I wish the robots had killed everyone except Edward James Olmos who they would’ve turned into a robot and then he’d be Robot King Mendoza and make a little toy unicorn out of aluminum foil that then taught some inner city schoolchildren about hard work and calculus. That would’ve ruled.
I like your avatar!
woo! modern art dorks FTW!
also, patriot, i concur on the ending of twin peaks, but it wasn’t necessarily lynch’s fault, as the show got cancelled halfway thru the second season and he had to try and tie up all the plotlines in the remaining 6 episodes. so the train wrecky aspects actually weren’t his fault, for once.
OH NO I completely agree. ANY SHOW like TP would suffer the same fate. I mean THINK OF THE CLUSTERFUCK Lost would have been if they had just AXED IT in say the 3rd season.
(Then again, SOME PEOPLE think it’s already out of control, but WHATEV THEY JUST JEALOUS)
Hey! Not owning a TV is no excuse anymore. I haven’t had a TV for year and watch TV all time. We are all on computers ya know. Actually here in Czech Rep. most people don’t have TVs. It’s pretty cool. Moms and crazy uncles all know how to download torrents for US TV shows and get Czech subtitles for them. Necessity really is the mother of invention. But I don’t mean to get on your case. If TV ain’t yer thing that’s fine.
I haven’t seen any of those shows. I am so lame.
Also, I would like to randomly suggest Wonderfalls. It was a show that aired on Fox in Family Guy’s slot during the period of time that it was cancelled. Like many of the shows that aired during that time, it didn’t last: only 4 episodes aired. Unlike probably any of those other shows, it was really, really good and very funny. No, really. You should watch it.
Also, in the super-duper obvious category, 30 Rock and Arrested Development (as if many of you don’t already own every season of Arrested Development).
You’re right, Wonderfalls is a fantastic show. Netflix recommended it to me, and I have been paying them 18.99 every month since then as a way of saying thank you.
Thanks for the wonderfalls rec. I dl’d the first two eps and I think I liked it…it was weird, but I like weird.
I just finished the last season of the West Wing after watching it for 2 years. It was tough after Sorkin left but with a little Aderol i powered through it anyway. Do I get extra credit? Does anybody want to start a study group?
I suggest Dead Like Me and Freaks and Geeks, two shows that left us waaay too soon.
*falls backwards*
Dead Like Me just went up on Hulu, FYI.
I can do Eastbound and Down, but I’m going to have to copy off someone else’s work for the rest or bullshit my way through the inside jokes (seriously, videogum is like a russian nesting doll of inside jokes and i’ve literally been here since day one).
I’ll second Mad Men (let’s get me out of this skirt, you guys) and WOULD HAVE added Kings if NBC hadn’t been such negligent ass clowns about the whole thing and cancelled it.
*I’m falling!*
YOU LIKED KINGS? Wow, I THOUGHT I was the only ONE. Seriously, that SHOW was ABSURD in all the right ways.
I like VIDEOGUM SUMMER school.
I know, especially now that nothing is on I am clinging to the last episodes of Kings. It’s sad really…
Kings was an epic fail–no foreskins!
When you say EVERY episode of Friday Night Lights you are not including season 2, right? I mean season 2 [spoiler alert] was season terrible. What an awful season of television. UGH.
Also, you seem to have left Dexter off your list of shows that all the gummers should watch, which is strange because of how it is the best and all the gummers should watch it.
I don’t know why, but I really like being referred to as a “gummer.” Probably not in real life, but definitely on the internet.
It’s not something that you would go out of your way to watch on DVD but I think that COPS is probably the most entertaining half hour of television ever. Especially now that everybody is on meth. It’s fucking bedlam..
Classic Kenny Powers…You crave the spotlight so much that while your show is on haitus, you steer us towards the episode of cops where you and Clegg get busted for meth.
HELL YES, sir.
And I BELIEVE I came across like a BEST OF DVD in Walmart one day or somethin.
Good thing you didn’t take Stevie’s advice and have that shot of you smoking weed in the training video, dude.
Damages.
It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia.
Flight of the Conchords.
Am I the only person who doesn’t enjoy Its Always Sunny? I mean, Danny DeVito has some killer one-liners but I haven’t made it through an entire episode. RIP Lindsay, but I’m going to have to say Mr. Show(w/ Bob and David) if you’ve got some hilarious time on your hands.
It’s strange, I love Bob & David but I rewatched Mr. Show series 1 and it was so dated I just couldn’t get into it. I know they are awesome but it just didn’t work for me somehow. But is is funny to see David Cross wearing 90s grunge uniform. Cut offs that are too short and hiking boots? I want to love it but I just cain’t.
Sons Of Anarchy is a seriously good show. The characters are surprisingly complex, the writing is fantastic, and the cast is amazing.
Seconded
I was going to say Dead Like Me or Wonderfalls they have both been mentioned already..
I suppose I can offer another Bryan Fuller creation – Pushing Daisies?
I love Kings. I hear they’re supposed to air the rest of it on Hulu before it’s released on DVD in September at least?
Cop Rock. ‘Nuff said.
I’m watching the utterly brilliant first season of Six Feet Under. I know you said that you didn’t like that show, Gabe, but you’re wrong.
Keep going! You have five more seasons to realize that the characters are small and mean and self-involved and unpleasant to be around.
Isn’t that the case for most shows? Sometimes it works!
we spent a whole summer watching every episode and the characters totally fell apart, it was very disappointing because the first two seasons were pretty perfect. NARM.
My belief is that Six Feet Under went downhill after Alan Ball left, which is why Seasons 4 and 5 were so awful.
The ending montage was pretty brilliant though.
I loved loved loved Six Feet Under when it first came out on HBO. I was about 16, maybe a bit older. I have recently started rewatching it at 28 y/o, and now have the SAME opinion as Gabe. Does that mean I was small and mean and self-involved and unpleasant to be around? I don’t think I would have wanted to know me back then.
And Nate sure does cry, ALOT.
I watched every single episode of that show, screaming at the screen the whole time. It was terrible, but once I make a TV commitment…well, I stick with it. I wanted to punch every single person in the neck, even the adopted kids!
Just a quick note: is ‘doyoyoy’ now Gabe’s ‘dee-dee-dee’?
Carnivà le or Dead Like Me
I loved Carnivale! I really wish HBO hadn’t canceled it, so that the end of the second season could be wrapped up appropriately.
Gabe, if by old Steve Coogan shows you mean I’m Alan Partridge (seriously, that show is the best), then you should check out The Thick of It – it’s also written by Armando Iannucci and forms the basis of In The Loop, which is even funnier if you’ve seen the series.
Armando Iannucci is the best. Add ‘Time Trumpet’ to the list. Its a show set in the future that looks back on the events that took place between 2005-2030… Its brilliant.
Second both Time Trumpet and The Thick Of It. Especially Time Trumpet. But especially The Thick Of It..
http://www.amazon.com/Thick-Non-US-Format-PAL-Region/dp/B000UXN80Q/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1247832916&sr=1-1
Don’t think it’s available in Region 1 though.
Also Peep Show..
http://www.amazon.com/Peep-Show-Three-Four-Region/dp/B0013QY20Y/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1247833038&sr=1-2
Firefly
Are we having fun yet? If not get your ass to Netflix and watch Party Down!
The IT Crowd
Is this coming back for a 4th season? Each season kept getting better and better, I’d be sad if it didn’t come back.
There is going to be a Christmas special in December, and a fourth season next year.
FINALLY…a “love watching” tag!
I am very excited for Videogum Summer School! I am going to take your (and everyone’s, including my dad’s) advice and watch The Wire. My suggestion: Sports Night.
Class is in session!
The Wonder Years, butthead. We should all watch the Wonder Years and talk about how innocent life was before the Internet (and Walker) gave us all AIDS. And also watch Fred Savage transform from being little Kevin Arnold into one of the best producers on TV.
Since my only choice was to go out and find my TV I’ve pretty much exclusively gone and watched old series that I never finished/got around to. All of these have torrents.
-. Rome: both seasons, really cool stuff. History! Boobies! Blood and Guts!
- Hyperdrive: It’s stars Nick Frost (Ed from Shaun of the Dead) Low budge sci fi show and totally hilarious. I tried to watch Red Dwarf after seeing this and just couldn’t stand it.
- Mighty Boosh; Series 1 is OK but it really gets funny in Series 2 & 3 when they forget about the Zooniverse.
And of course since I use it for my avatar I have to mention Black Books. Bernard Black is one of the best characters to ever be on TV. I think you can get it on Netflix. btw Dylan Moran has a few stand up concerts that are well worth watching.
I’ll take Hyperdrive and raise you Spaced (though, if you like Black Books, Hyperdrive and other british humor, I’m going to just assume you’ve watched it).
Oh shit! I forgot Spaced. That’s a great series. It was one of the first series I burned through when I got on this kick so I forgot it. Great catch. I love that show.
Oh yeah on the Simon Pegg obscurity tour have you seen Hippies? It’s not near as good as spaced.
I’ll see your Hippies and raise you Big Train. Screw it, I’m going all in. Fawlty Towers, Peep Show, and Brass Eye.
Oooh, Peep Show is really great. Also in that vein is The Smoking Room. Webb is on it, his character is “closeted” but everybody knows, don’t care, and lot’s of funny shit ensues.
You stumped me on Big Train. Don’t know it, much respect to you Bytor13.
Big Train is comedy gold. Also everyone should watch pretty much anything Chris Morris has ever touched. Including the aforementioned Brass Eye, but also Nathan Barley, Jam and The Day Today…
Crap, I forgot “Look Around You”. Great faux-science documentary show.
The first season though, just the first one.
I respectfully disagree. The first season is great, relying more on writing (or improv, who knows) where the second season has more goofy effects and elaborate backgrounds, which is great, too. I think they do a great job mixing it up and doing something different with each season. Gabe, don’t watch it on Adult Swim; for some reason they edit out some of the best stuff.
Thesaurus entries for “great”: fine, glorious, highly regarded, paramount, crackerjack.
Don’t get me wrong, I do really like the first series. It made me want to watch 2 & 3. Actually I went back an re-watched it recently and liked it better. I still like 2&3 more. I think maybe after you get to know everybody better it gets funnier. Kind of like Home Movies or Big Lebowski. Stuff that isn’t really all that funny out of context is hilarious because of who says it.
It is totally available on Netflix. I just finished watching it because Netflix told me to, and they were completely right and I will never leave them.
At this point, I think if Netflix said “We think you’d like ‘Jumping off a bridge’” I totally would give it a try.
How I Met Your Mother, obvs.
Oz… one of the best shows ive ever watched
Arrested Development… my favorite comedy series ever
Brotherhood… its only three seasons but its great if u like sopranos or the wire
Season two of 20 Minute Workout
On a semi related note, this is the most well written and strongest argument for what exactly happened in the final scene of the Sopranos. It’s a little lengthy but incredibly engaging:
http://masterofsopranos.wordpress.com/the-sopranos-definitive-explanation-of-the-end/
Best to read by going back and forth between the article and rewatching the scene on Youtube.
And if you haven’t watched the entire series, i’d recommend that above and beyond any other show besides the Wire.
Bada Bing.
The Sopranos. Everyone seems to love it, but I can never get myself to watch it. This summer it’s going to change!
I didn’t have cable one summer, I was between jobs as they say, so to fend off the boredom I was like, well let’s see what all this Sopranos hulaballoo is about. And I became OBSESSED. It was before I had Netflix so I was renting from the local vid store, going there on my dinosaur, and they were like, out of one of the eps of one of the Season and I literally drove all around my city, which is huge, to find it. I was that obsessed. I guess it’s possible not to like that show but I don’t see how. Tony Soprano is the single greatest character ever written for TV. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. If nothing else, when they do an intervention in about Season 3, it’s the funniest fucking scene ever written.
northern exposure, also!
i’ve gotten really nostalgic for early/mid 90s television lately. i’ve also been watching the xfiles, which is both better and worse than i remember from obsessing over it in middle school.
New Kids On The Block: The Animated Series is really good, it deals more with coping with fame, coming of age, and staying true to your friends, not your standard cartoon at all. Its kind of like the wonder years, but animated, surprisingly poignant and intelligent series. Everyone should give it a chance.
If by it’s kinda like Wonder Years, you mean that they are both TV shows, then I’d say you’re exactly right. NAILED IT! But if you were looking for any other similarities in the shows, well then… yikes.
I gotta catch up on The Wire. Recs: Strangers With Candy, Rome, Garth Marenghi’s Darkplace, Generation Kill… Good choice with trying The Mighty Boosh, Gabe. I hope you like it. Oh and I second that everyone needs to catch up on Mad Men because it just is amazing.
Stella and Wainy Days
Just because you can never have enough Michael, Michael and David
I SECOND STELLA! I looooved that show soooo hard.
Can we please get Dexter on this list? The first season of Dexter is seriously the best 12 hours I’ve ever spent.
Definitely Ricky Gervais’ Extras (only two 6 episode seasons and a finale) and Simon Pegg’s Spaced. I just finished watching the last episode of The Wire last night. (spoiler alert – this show isn’t about abortion)
There was a really great/depressing show on Showtime a few years ago for a minute called Out of Order, but I don’t think it is available on DVD outside of the pilot movie. It starred Eric Stoltz, Felicity Huffman, Kim Dickens (just prior to Deadwood), William H. Macy, and Peter Bogdonavich and his neckerchief (destined to be the new indie hip trend to set off your waxed mustache?). It suffers from Deadwood and John From Cincinatti syndrome in that the story was never wrapped up due to poor ratings/no integrity on the part of Showtime (and HBO on those other ones). With this new world wide web, you can undoubtedly find it out there somewhere. Surf the shit out of it.
Better Off Ted. Just make it past the first two, funny but heartless shows and you’ll be rewarded with this weird…I dunno. I’m still trying to work through it and figure out what they fixed in ep. 3, but it’s really very funny. and only a 1/2 hour. perfect summer watching.
Extras AKA the other Ricky Gervais show.
Yes yes yes to everything on this list (though I will be joining the class for The Wire). The West Wing seasons 1-4 were gold, as is everything FNL has ever done.
Personally I’m already in school with Weeds, and I hope to follow it up with Dexter and It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, unless a Videogummer tells me these are terrible choices and I should watch something else.
Peep Show!
Aw, it’s like we’re all gonna be friends or something, like the opposite of why we’re here, right?
For all of you cold-hearted Videogummers who are new to The Wire, if season 4 doesn’t make you cry at least once, you must be dead inside.
I’ve heard from several different people that I need to watch The Joe Schmo Show season 2. Seriously. Can anyone second this opinion?
I also forgot to mention Carnivale. It’s shame it got cut off. How can you go wrong with a Flannery O’Connor preacher, the David Lynch backwards talking midget, side show freaks and The End Of The World?
Season 1 of Twin Peaks. If you are masochistic watch Season 2 also.
i think it’s impossible to only watch season 1, though, by the end of season 2, you might wish you hadn’t gone through with it. ditto with watching fire walk with me. i definnitely say season 2 is definitely worth the david duchovny role. not to mention lynch himself hamming it up.
Agreed. That last episode was dizzying and barely tolerable though.
i think it’s impossible to only watch season 1, though, by the end of season 2, you might wish you hadn’t gone through with it. ditto with watching fire walk with me. i say season 2 is definitely worth the david duchovny role. not to mention lynch himself hamming it up.
You know, I was recently watching the slowest part of season 2 of Twin Peaks, and although it pales to the rest of the show, you should re-watch it sometime. The acting and cinematography are STILL far better than 90% of what’s on TV these days… and I’m talking about the WORST episodes. It’s far too harshly judged, IMHO
that’s exactly how I feel about Dexter.
Season two is not THAT bad if you fast-forward every time Josie Packard appears onscreen.
Actually, just fast-forward every time Coop is NOT onscreen.
i’ve been watchin the hell out of sopranos this summer….that & dexter
absolutely fabulous!
party down please.
Three words: “Summer Heights High”. All 8 eps are packed with Lots of Love.
I can get behind this. If only for Jonah.
Also, Chris Lilley is supposed to be working a new show, supposedly.
Nurse Jackie
Pushing Daisies
Nurse Jackie just started and its frigging brilliant and should be covered. Pushing Daisies is also unlike any other show on television EVER. and its amazing
i want to second the Rome suggestion that has already been made, and offer up Undeclared, the weird, not always funny (buy mostly funny!) show that featured most of the Freaks & Geeks crew and also had one lonely season. there is also a guest star appearance by Adam Sandler, so its ideal getting ready for Funny People material, because summer dramedies are things that everyone needs … to…. get ready for? whatever, jason segel is great in it.
Ditto on Undeclared. I actually prefer it to Freaks & Geeks, maybe cus I had a much better time in college, dunno. I borrowed the box set from a friend and it was all I watched over & over for months, all the extras, rewinding funny parts – total nerdsville. When Jason Segal gets broken up with & he’s sobbing in the shower? OMG. Hilarity. The fight/chase scene on razor scooters? The whole show is great, for those that haven’t checked it out.
Tales From the Crypt
Upright Citizens Brigade
Mr. Show
The Tudors
Has anybody else heard of “no heroics”? Its basically the plot of mystery men, but with less ben stiller and more humor. ive been watching it on the internet completely legally, by exchanging money for goods and services.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w3zpMTKvvgk
A US version was in development at ABC this year. STARRING FREDDIE PRINZE JR. Woof alert. They shot the pilot but ultimately didn’t pick it up to series. Close call.
I loved that show! I’d forgotten about it though… I remember Videogum posting the trailer for the show before it came out. Maybe I’ll watch it again, since I refuse to watch The Wire and have seen the rest of Vigeodum Summer School’s syllabus.
Seriously? Only one mention of Breaking Bad? Internet detention for all you Videogum commenters.
I figured Breaking Bad was a given, like we all knew about it already.
I’m Alan Partridge is king. However, I’m not sure it balances out the heroin, and worse, Hamlet II.
I’ll add “What Goes Up” w/ Hilary Duff. Don’t ask why I know that.
Yeah I think Breaking Bad should be up there. I really wish I could finish all of Sopranos, it’s just so freaking long. And definitely jump on the Mad Men wagon if you haven’t already.
Stick with it dude, seriously! After that ridiculous season where Jackie Jr. got whacked, the show remained CRAMAZING right up until the final episode. I will totally jump on the Mad Men wagon if you stay on the Sopranos wagon! This will be our summer pact!
Thanks Gabe for this post. Now I’ve got good stuff to look forward to watching again. I’ve exhausted all my own TV knowledge. I was scraping the barrel with The 4400 and Farscape. (Farscape is not totally terrible but 4400 kinda is).
I’ll add The Larry Sanders show if y’all haven’t seen it. Hey now!
Sports Night. It only managed to last two seasons, so it’s easy enough to get through. But that is some damn fine television.
Avatar: The Last Airbender. Watch it before M. Night Shama-lama-ding-dong ruins it for everyone.
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there SHOULD be a bookgum…. pithy, snarky remarks about books. i’d read it!
but i had a whole marketing plan for the gum media network brewing in my head when i saw the (500) Days of Summer ads… i thought there were going to be ALL KINDS OF GUMS!!!
technogum, politiogum, bookgum, gamegum, you now… every type of gum!
but alas……………..
I would like to read Gabe’s Hate-Reading recap of Jane Eyre, or maybe Lauren Conrad’s book. That would be good I think.
Hmm, that would be great for the books I’ve mistakenly read (coughthelovelybonescough), but hate-reading is so much harder and time-consuming than hate-watching. Also, one of my favorite things about Vgum is how dynamic and thoughtful the threads can get on a post about something as insipid as, like, a cat farting on a trampoline or whatever. That almost never happens on Stereogum, for some reason the comment sections over there retreat into douchebaggery and/or “[insert literally anything here] < MPP” almost immediately. I guess what I’m saying is that Videogum nourishes my inner aspect.
> MPP” almost immediately. I guess what I’m saying is that Videogum nourishes my inner aspect.
(Uh P.S. I have no idea why it cut off my comment but I’m already self-reflexively feeling the kneejerk Vgummer response of hating me for it)
Gabe, you’d better be watching I’m Alan Partridge as part of your Coogan lineup.
Coincidentally, I just started going through Arrested Development again. It just keeps getting better. I think I might try Mad Men if I can.
Dexter, Dexter, a thousand times Dexter.
Dexter is OK but I just hate the actor that plays Dexter. It’s definitely worth watching but doesn’t rank with Breaking Bad or Mad Men.
State of Play (the BBC miniseries, not the shitty movie) is incredible. Only 6 hour-long episodes. Get on it!
The mandatory watching seasons of the West Wing are 1-4. After the 4th season Aaron Sorkin and Thomas Schlamme both left and since they were the showrunners, yeah it basically became a completely different show, one that was sad and boring and lame.
Yes, second State of Play! Also on a John Simm note, the British Life On Mars , because Phillip Glenister!
Having just come off a West Wing marathon, I have to disagree with basically everyone on The West Wing though: season 6 and 7 were great! Some parts of it are a bit too much The Josh Show, but I love Josh so it’s OK.
Someone probably already said this, but for the love of God, watch Freaks and Geeks. If you miss college, you should also watch Undeclared.
Kids in the Hall, duh you guys.
Also, I am no Adult Swim fan (lol @ ‘swim fan’, great movie.) but Home Movies is the best. And if you’re into H. Jon Benjamin, O’Grady and Dr. Katz are better than most things.
Has anyone seen Pilot Season? I haven’t.
I’ve been meaning to watch Friday Night Lights, I watched a few episodes, but it was during school and I didn’t really have time, I guess I do now over summer.I have seen the movie though, and thought it was pretty great.
We’re dancing around Lucky Louie. I remember one time Lindsay (iRIP) said that show was terrible, but I remember it fondly. I just figured it’s cancellation could be filed under # 2 of DJ Ol’ Youngin’ and Raaaaaaaandy’s rules: They ain’t ready.
I think I’m going to queue it up.
oh oh oh I forgot about News Radio. The best cast show ever?
Yea, totally agree with news radio. Also The Sarah Silverman Program and Summer Heights High. I also like the show Z-Rock on IFC, which is starting its second season I believe.
YES. Plus on that show Phil Hartman is the king of Fucking With People While Pretending To Not Be Fucking With People, which as we all know is never not funny.
Check out David Mitchell and Robert Webb in “Peep Show” and “That Mitchell and Webb Look”. Both are on Youtube in their entirety.
my dog ate my homework.
I am going to start FNL tonight
Only one mention of JAM, you guys? It is like if David Lynch directed Tim and Eric. Also:
-Breaking Bad
-Delocated
-Party Down
-Pilot Season (now playing on MyDamnChannel, but they’ve obnoxiously broken up the episodes into 2-minute chunks, so try to find the full eps online if you can)
-Moral Orel… the 3rd and final season is what you need to watch, the first two are basically just hilarious setup
I’m going to watch Mad Men again, and maybe The State, and maybe Reno 911… no idea if Reno is any good, but I am going to start at Season 1 solely because of this clip… just like I watched all of 30 Rock solely because of Tracy Jordan turning into a stabbing robot.
http://www.comedycentral.com/videos/index.jhtml?videoId=172283&title=lottery
I’m also going to throw “Andy Richter Controls the Universe” out there, if you can find it. “This is the wettest I’ve ever been!”
A few necessaries (in my opinion) that I haven’t seen mentioned yet, for the other folks who have watched most of the obviouses:
Deadwood – If you’re not retroactively pissed at its untimely cancellation after watching it, I’ll be shocked. After The Wire it’s without question my favorite thing HBO has ever done, it also has the highest concentration of F-bombs I have ever heard on a TV show.
Dead Like Me – This just came up on hulu. The lead acress kind of grates, but the first season in particular is pretty endearing. If you liked Pushing Daisies, this earlier Bryan Fuller series will also probably appeal to you. If you like both, check out his short-lived but also good Wonderfalls.
Generation Kill & Band of Brothers – War miniseries perfect for bro-downs. Completely different in tone but similar in quality – Generation Kill is an adaptation of a book by an embedded journalist on the front lines with recon marines in the first days of the war in Iraq – the adaptation was helmed by The Wire’s David Simon, which is about as high a recommendation I can give. Band of Brothers is the much-acclaimed mini-series about WWII, and is a bit more staid in tone, but equally awesome.
Rome – halfway between guilty pleasure and legitimately awesome show, it collapsed under the financial weight of its own huge ensemble and elaborate scenery (much like Deadwood), but unlike Deadwood it came to a pretty satisfying conclusion. The bitches of Rome be maneaters, y’all.
I also second the initial recommendations, with the caveat that if you haven’t seen The Wire you have missed out on what was unquestionably the best thing on TV for the entire 5 seasons it aired, so that’s top priority.
Wow, on second look all of those have already been mentioned with the exception of BoB, but I hope the little blurbs are helpful. Maybe?
Breaking Bad…worth mentioning again. The first season (7 episodes in all) is one of the best runs by any tv show ever.
Crap. I’m behind beyond repair – at the moment I’m rewatching “Frasier” (I know, I know) and “Blackadder” (which, to be fair, is brilliant, barring the first series). Need a tutor for going back to basics, I guess.
The State and Freaks and Geeks. It’s the history of pop culture, and those are very important beginnings for comedy as we know it today.
How about everybody read a god damn book for once?
In lieu of that, Twin Peaks, y’numbskuhs.
yes, the Boosh! Wonderful, hilarious. If you have a multi-region DVD player, get their live tour DVD too. I had the pleasure of seeing them live in London last year, they are true artists.
Also, check out Nathan Barley. As someone who works on the Internet, and seems to hold a general disdain for most of it, I think you will find a lot to identify with.
GAVIN & STACEY.
Finally, someone who gets Welsh jokes.
Has anyone seen the Canadian show Trailer Park Boys?
can i get a Dog Bites Man up in here? A.D. Miles, Matt Walsh, and Zach Galifiniakis (his character’s name is the same as in the Hangover- LOVE IT)
Has anyone else watched Flapjack, the amazing newish cartoon on Cartoon Network? It’s really great! It could totally be the next Spongebob (seriously, it’s so good!) if Cartoon Network keeps airing it instead of turning into a 24-hour children’s game show network. It’s really funny, and not in that for-a-cartoon sort of way.
I love that show too!
Me too! Chowder is equally awesome.
Yes, I’m this lazy… sorry. This was a great idea, Gabe! I was always one of those kids that took elective summer school–”summer enrichment”, I think they called it–(’cause I was THAT cool!), but this is the best summer assignment ever! Also, I’ve watched all I can of these shows and have been turning to friends for recommendations, but they generally have poor taste (they like tv for dummies)…
Definitely looking forward to checking out some of these recommendations! I’d have to add Strangers With Candy, The State (which was just released on DVD this week, I think), and Carnivale (which I need to re-watch, it’s been so long) to this list…
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Garth Marenghi’s Darkplace, you guys! It may be too meta for some people, but those people can get mauled by drunken Scots for all I care. Since I wanna be a good study buddy, I’ll help get everyone started, here’s the first episode. The series only lasted 6 episodes, and they’re all on youtube (it hasn’t been released on DVD here in the U.S.) Prepare for a boost in your LOLk.
Garth Marenghi’s Darkplace episode 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nNfQ0ORwSDM (part 1) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OQtK33C-KrQ (part 2) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fnob1BOf7Y0 (part 3)
Trailer Park Boys, yes.
Trailer park boys, no. You’re better than that.
There most certainly needs to be me far more love for It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia. That show had me sold simply by reading out the episode titles. Let it overwhelm and excite you:
“The Gang Exploits A Miracle”
“The Gang Finds a Dumpster Baby”
“Charlie Goes America All Over Everybody’s Ass”
“The Gang Solves the North Korea Situation”
“Dennis Looks Like a Registered Sex Offender”
and my personal favorite…
“The Aluminum Monster vs. Fatty Magoo”
Go! Go now!
My favorite show that was sadly cancelled but was still one of the best shows on television was Pushing Daisies. I know, I know it was cheesily romantic. It did have excellent writing though! I think everyone should watch the extremely short first and second seasons.
Deadwood, The Wire, Sopranos. Cult British comedies. Change the record, people. It’s time we all took a second look at this. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4TfHfsxEKi0
I love what they did in the later seasons of The Sopranos. It went from being a pretty good mafia show to an amazing piece of art in the last two seasons.
Although maybe it’s different watching them now. I know A&E replays kind of ruined it for me.
Oh man. There are so many good suggestions on here! I hardly even know what to do! All I can say is, I’m endlessly glad you’re going to be watching The Mighty Boosh, Gabe. That show is pure unadulterated genius.
My So-Called Life.
I think everyone has already mentioned these: Extras, Freaks & Geeks (& Twin Peaks), Dexter. Veronica Mars is pretty campy and addictive. I used to like Weeds but now I think it is the worst. Oh and Undeclared!
weeds and burn notice. on tv right now. summers not so bad.
I am certainly NOT wondering where in the world wide web I could watch episodes of HBO gems such as Flight of hte Conchords (whihc should have been included on this list ) and summer heights high
I’d just like to bajillionth Dexter, Veronica Mars, Summer Heights High along with We Can Be Heroes, all Alan Partridge shows, and throw in Black Books for good measure. When I started reading this site, I thought Gabe WAS Bernard Black from Black Books.
Oh, and Spaced. Duh.
My head boggles with the amount of time I’d need to watch all these shows but hell here’s another suggestion – Father Ted is well worth a watch.