I was never a big fan of TV when I was a youngster, I much preferred reading or playing computer games (imagination or interactivity vs a passive activity).
There was a few series I watched and as I grew up I got hooked on a few things. We had a LOT of aussies series in the UK most notably Neighbours and Home & Away. I also used to watch a lot of Heartbreak High.
These were the series where a lot of people like Kylie Minogue, Jason Donovan and Isla Fisher started out.
As for the UK field it – the big ones were Eastenders vs Coronation Street with Emmerdale Farm and Brookside coming in after that. The ‘teen’ soap was Hollyoaks, which was pretty good – a lot of the UK TV presenters you see started out in Hollyoaks.
I was a big fan of Eastenders, it’s on 3 times a week! I used to watch the 1.5 hour omnibus on Sunday afternoons after having my Sunday roast.
There was a few other things I loved to watched like Quantum Leap, Absolutely Fabulous and some comedy shows like Hale and Pace and Spitting Image.
Lately I’ve noticed there has been some good series coming out of the USA, mostly drama/thriller types. I’ve always been a big fan of CSI (the original not the new cheesy ones) and started faithfully watching every episode starting with Season 1. Currently at the beginning of Season 4 right now.
I eventually bought into the hyper of Heroes too, and eventually watched Season 1 – which was actually really very good. I’ve just started watching Season 2…I have to say it doesn’t seem as gripping as Season 1. But then it was written in the midst of the writers strike. I’ll have to finish off the Season and see how it goes, but apparently Season 3 isn’t that great either.
Heroes was where my new TV Series obsession started, I started Googling to see what the other top rated shows were, checking out what friends had been watching and randomly checking IMDB for reviews of series people mentioned in their Facebook status. There it began.
The ones I really got into at first were House M.D. at which I’m currently on season 4. One thing with House is you can’t watch too much of it in one stretch as it seems to become rather forumlaic, you need to watch it a little while apart to really enjoy it.
Hugh Laurie and his dry wit and excellent Boston accent are just superb.
I became quite a fan of My Name is Earl too, mostly just because it’s stupid fun and Jason Lee is just such a nutcase (Randy cracks me up).
Hey Crab Man! Currently watching Season 3, have loved all of it so far.
Those are the ones I started out with..and it spiralled downhill from there. Recently I started watching.
- Pushing Daisies (Season 1 was great, waiting for Season 2 now)
- True Blood (First episode was a bit slow but after that – WOW, can’t wait for the rest of Season 1)
- Prison Break (Just started watching Season 1 – seems ok)
- 24 (Season 1 was very good, gripping to the max…not sure how they can continue the same concept with the same energy)
- Dirty Sexy Money (My newest discovery and I love it! Season 1 was fantastic)
- Lipstick Jungle (Watched one episode and that was it…waste of time)
- Little Britain USA (Watched 2-3 episodes, not that bothered about watching the rest – pretty bad)
After this I got my sights on Its Always Sunny In Philadelphia, Soprano’s (All 6 seasons), Gossip Girl, Dexter, Chuck and 24 Season 2. Of course I’ll continue watching what is good from the above.
Of course like any guy who has a girlfriend, I’ve watched all 6 seasons of SATC and the movie.
Any other recommendations?
I’ll write about some of my favourite UK series (mostly comedies) that I recommend in another post – the newer ones.
Dexter gave me sleepless nights!! And when I DID sleep, it gave me such morbid dreams! It’s old, but you may want to watch Six Feet Under too.
Oh, if you can get your hands on Band of Brothers, watch that one too. I’m not usually into that kinda of genre, but Band of Brothers was really good.
I wrote about it on my post here:
https://whimsicaljottings.wordpress.com/2008/11/11/good-movies-good-movies/
House is so the man. But I have yet to get my hands on the second half of season 4. 13 is pretty hawt. I watched Grey’s Anatomy but stopped at season 4. My all time fav. though has to be F.R.I.E.N.D.S
whimsicaljottings: Haha sounds good, Six Feet Under yah must catch up with that too. Band of Brothers, I’ve owned the original DVD box-set ever since it came out – I’ve watched it about 5-6 times..it’s awesome. I can’t believe you haven’t watched The Usual Suspects though – one of the greatest movies of all time!
wombok: House is great, Grey’s Anatomy seems a bit boring. Friends was good but got a bit weak in the later seasons.
I was still in school when The Usual Suspects came out. 😛 I’ll definitely try to get my hands on it when I can. Not easy though, in this country. Maybe I’ll wait till I get back to Msia.
if you liked house, i’d think you would rather enjoy dexter. personality driven TV at it’s best.
some of the other shows i’m watching, TV geek that i am: sons of anarchy – the shield with bikes. the mentalist – another personality driven show, though not as good as the ones mentioned before. fringe – x-files lite.
do not resist. bow down before your masters.
agree with you that house must be watched with a gap in between.
btw, heroes season 2 was not good. but at the moment s3 is nice. more twists and turn.
24 is actually able to continue with the same formula i.e. 24 hours for the whole season. Lots of twists & turns and absolutely gripping.
You might like The Shield. My guy loves that although I can’t quite stand it because of the camera work.
If you like sci-fi even a teensy bit you have to watch Battlestar Galactica. Not the 1980s one but the 2003 one.
Dexter is a must watch. Another one with an unconventional hero is Life, with Damian Lewis from BoB.
Check out Dr WHO
Am following so many series’ right now it’s not funny anymore. haha.
Must watch for me this season: Dexter, Life, The Mentalist, True Blood
Great shows but not MUST watch: House, Chuck, Californication,
Watch if you got time: Bones, Mad Men, My Own Worst Enemy, Sarah Connor Chronicles, Pushing Daisies
A little iffy but ok to watch: Fringe, Heroes
Don’t bother: Knight Rider, Little Britain USA,
Heard that Lipstick Jungle got axed. Good riddance! It was hyped as the “extension” of Sex and the City. Turned out to be tacky. Thank goodness I didn’t spend any hours on this. 🙂
Love Heroes and House. Love House’s caustic humour.. >:)
Yeah, back then it was more like sitcoms. First true TV series I watched was the X-Files.
Prison Break is great
Heroes is good
The Shield is gritty like scifighter mentioned, and very short (I think the first season ended at 13 eps)
24 is great
Six Feet Under has a great concept but ran out of steam after the second season
I kinda liked Gossip Girl too
Bionic Woman is good as well
Reaper is corny and cheesy but nice
If you haven’t seen The Wire, you haven’t lived.
Coronation Street is still a very popular series over here in NZ.
My favourite series to date is still Six Feet under, I like how the characters are written. It’s my love for Micahel C Hall from that series that prompted me to start watching Dexter, a little twisted but I think he portraits the character extremely well and is simply one of the best thing on TV now. Monk is also on my favourite list, it’s too entertaining to miss!
I never really found heroes that interesting or chair glueing, but on the other hand however Chuck is just awesome. Season 1 ended some time ago and currently Season 2 is being aired. Entourage is also pretty good, as in watching the inner problems faced by upcoming movie stars.
Wat about Dr. Who? That’s a bloody awesome series! Cheesie but fun!
You’ve watched all the season of SATC AND THE MOVIE?!?! Your girlfriend is really lucky then. My boyfriend can’t sit through even one episode of SATC let alone the movie.
Hi, i was one of those who didnt quite like the beginning of season 3 heroes but after a few weeks, it does get better. The first 3-4 weeks were bad i think due to the back and forth storyline that will make you go, “huh?” and “wth” at the same time. Maybe the writers were drunk or somethign when they wrote it. But trust me, after that it does get better. Much much better. I cant wait for Monday to see wht’s gonna happen whent hey all lose their powers. 🙂
Try Samantha Who? it’s fun! and if you like Dirty Sexy Money ( i like season 1 too ), you probably will like Brothers and Sisters.
Oh oh, do you like law themed drama? Try Boston Legal! It’s absolutely great!
What else..Chuck is fun, but I didn’t manage to finish it yet, and how about medical drama, like Grey’s Anatomy? real drama, you know. 😀
the shield is in its last season, a great show! u must watch it from the start
Season 1 of Prison Break got my jumping on my chair. It was a really great season. I’m currently watching Season 4. It ain’t bad as well.
whimsicaljottings: Yah you should, it’s worth it!
4chan: Yah I think Dexter looks good, a lot of people mention it.
kevin: Yah Season 2 of Heroes definitely doesn’t have the same buzz as Season 1.
scifighter: Hmm might be worth continuing with 24 then. Yah BSG is good, will watch in full at some point. Life looks pretty good too.
Chai: Yah new Dr Who is pretty good, forgot to mention that one, haven’t finished Season 1 yet though.
eyeris: Yah I know you watch almost every series haha. Shame PD and DSM got canned though 🙁 Planning to check out Dexter and Californication.
Angie Tan: Yah it was horrible, I heard it got cancelled, then recently it got bought up again…not sure now. I won’t be watching it either way.
Huai Bin: Yah I’ve seen a bit of The Shield – not watched enough to know the characters though. I think I’d like it. 6 feet under was a good concept but definitely ran out of steam. Will catch Gossip Girl soon.
Oli: Dunno why all my British friends say I have to watch that and Oz.
cc: It still is in UK, it’s been on for 40 years. Monk was not bad, seems like Dexter is a firm favourite for everyone at the moment.
moons: Chuck looks like something I’d like too, planning to watch it.
Michael Yip: I like it, Billie Piper ftw!
Ashleigh: Yah Season 1 was pretty horrible, Season 2 was moderately better, by Season 3 it was pretty good.
Farina: Will have to try and grind through Season 2 then.
djes: Didn’t much like Boston Legal, it’s ok. Grey’s Anatomy nah never liked that either. Will check out Brothers and Sisters.
chris: Ok will watch it all.
James: Yah damn good Season 1, just finished….left me hanging for the start of Season 2.
I’ve also recently started watching prison break with my gf after being hounded repeatedly by my sis. Finished it in a few days, but didn’t get the closure I expected to get at the end of season one. Can’t wait to start season 2!
If you like my name is earl, you should definitely go for
-everybody hates chris
-how i met your mother
-two and a half men
two and a half men and how i met your mother are awesome, haven’t enjoyed sitcoms as much since the days of friends.
Anyway, It’s always sunny in philly is pretty good too, first two seasons were great, third was good, starting of four is a bit weaker, haven’t got to the next few episodes, hope they wont disappoint like the first though.
Yup, I’ve also been bitten by the TV series bug of late. The best ones so far :
-24 : much better than most action movies out there.
-Lost : probably my favourite TV series ever. Mysterious, exciting, endlessly fascinating.
ckwei: Thanks man. Yeah I finished the first Season pretty fast but damn kancheong at the end. Can’t wait for Season 2 either. Might have to check out some sitcoms too, maybe watching too much heavy stuff.
Dedalus: 24 is great I agree, I don’t really understand the fascination with lost though.
You definitely should pick up Its Always Sunny…..I only started watching the latest season and I was blown away by the sheer stupidity/ignorance/lack of dignity of the main casts. VERY FUNNY.
The Shield just wrap up for good and I’m sad to see it go. It was one of the best tv shows I’ve seen. Not exactly mainstream stuff, but get the dvds if you can, you won’t regret.
You should also check out The Closer, another under the radar gem. It has Mrs Kevin Bacon as the lead and she is HOT.
Gotta agree with the horrible imports of Little Britain and Kath & Kim. Unwatchable crap.
Z: Aye have heard some good things about it, and it’s over now so I can get the whole lot without worrying about it being cancelled. Shield looks like my kinda thing, I’m deep into Prison Break now though so I’ll finish that first. The Closer? Not heard of that – will check it out.