In honor of the recent Academy Awards (which I didn't watch, and whose honorees I also didn't watch), I'd like to share with you my nod to pop culture. I'd like to think I could exist without a TV, and have in fact done so for longish periods of time, but TV shows are just so... you know... fun. I'm sure that this slice of my life would be the first to go if I had children or something significant to come home to, but I'll enjoy it while it lasts.
And so I present: My Favorites in the genre of TV on DVD. I'm proud/horrified to say that I have watched ALL of these shows. All the way through. Some of them more then once. A couple of them more than twice.
1.) The entire Joss Whedon TV Universe. This includes Buffy the Vampire Slayer (7 seasons); its spinoff Angel (5 seasons); and Firefly, the best space-western ever, which, due to extreme negligence on the part of the network was canceled (gasp!) after one lone fantastic season. Joss Whedon is pure yum. Lots of girls kicking ass, esp. in Buffy.
2.) Arrested Development (3 seasons). Ahh, the satire. The irony. The noir. The way I Can't! Stop! Laughing!
3.) Scrubs (7 seasons). Scrubs is just fun, and great fodder for inside jokes.
4.) Veronica Mars (3 seasons, should have been more). Trixie Beldon meets Encyclopedia Brown and then rubs elbows with the rich and arrogant.
5.) Alias (5 seasons). More of girls kicking ass. This time supposedly in the CIA. And then actually* in the CIA. *You know, in a make-believe sort of way.
6.) Gilmore Girls (7 seasons). Those garrulous and giddy Gilmores. Gotta love 'em (and their witty banter).
7.) Everwood (3 seasons; only two available on DVD so far). Oh, the drama that ensues in a tiny mountain town when the recently-widow(er)ed brain surgeon and his precocious yet sullen kids come to town.
8.) Sex and the City (6 seasons). Actually a lot of heartfelt analysis and some surprisingly solid relationship advice, amid the surfeit of superficiality.
9.) Friends. A classic, spanning 10 of my formative years.
10.) Freaks & Geeks. Tight yet underrated one-season wonder.
11.) Pushing Daisies. Not on DVD yet, but destined to become a favorite of mine. The only one on this list that's still running -- 1 (truncated) season and counting.
12.) Berlin, Berlin! (4 seasons). My German soap-opera-esque favorite with a winning female lead, who gets to kick ass every once in a while.
Show to which I am considering a commitment: Lost, Grey's Anatomy, Northern Exposure, Twin Peaks, The Office. Possibly others.
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
Pop goes the weasel
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6 comments:
Ooh..commit to Lost!! It's definitely addictive and intriguing. Also some interesting issues about faith and science. We have watched all of them as they've aired.
And Joan of Arcadia. It was only on two seasons--should have gone at least one more. It's about a high school girl who encounters God in unique ways each episode.
Freaks and Geeks ... wow, talk about underrated. The phrase for this show is "pitch-perfect". It captured the sensibilities and language and culture so perfectly. The acting is uniformly brilliant. The writing is never over-the-top, beautifully restrained, but also honest about teenage emotions and sentiments.
Arrested Development, one of the funniest shows ever on television. Some of the best humor writing and ensemble acting available. It's right up there with Mystery Science Theater 3000 for humor.
I strongly recommend Northern Exposure, again it's about the writing. Brazenly philosophical, sublimely hilarious.
The Office is definitely worth commitment! Watching the DVDs (*cough* multiple times *cough*) never fails to make me laugh. Out loud. Even when there's no one else in the room. Not many shows can do that.
As an added bonus, it's very quotable.
As an extra added bonus, it has John Krasinski. ;)
I loved both "Twin Peaks" and "Northern Exposure" when they were on TV, and own both on DVD. I think "Twin Peaks" has better stood the test of time as far as remaining intriguing. I'd also recommend "Torchwood" ... just released in the US on DVD. The people who write/produce it really love the Joss Whedon universe, so there are all sorts of homages.
Northern Exposure is awesome on DVD!
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