Favorite TV Show(s)

[JetFan1983]

Let's see.... so many to name.

Sopranos, Dexter, Quest for the Card, Big Break, Curb, Seinfeld, Californication, I Shouldn't Be Alive, Cash Cab, Jeopardy....

My new favorite show is definitely Pawn Stars.

The Walking Dead is pretty sweet at times, but pretty boring at others. I like Boardwalk Empire a lot.

I probably forgot a few.

[jamo]

The Office because it's hilarious, and House because it's my favorite hospital show, and everyone needs to have a hospital show.

Pffft. 2010 me was an idiot. House hasn't been truly great since season 5, and the Office hasn't been watchable since season 4. I liked Community last year, but this season hasn't been quite as great, though it's still pretty good. Parks and Rec is probably the best week in and week out, though it's never transcendent. The Mentalist is great pretty consistently. Modern Family is funny just about every week, and I'm truly amazed How I Met Your Mother is still watchable with essentially the same exact cast for 7 seasons, but it's still great. The Big Bang Theory is good, though I wish it was on at a different time so Community could get a few more viewers (dumb hiatus). How to Make it in America is pretty good. Top Gear is simply awesome. In fact, I'm watching the Vietnam Special right now. Past shows I liked include the last two seasons of Law and Order, I love Seinfeld (probably my favorite), Sopranos is good (love HBOGO).

[mvmac]

Curb, Modern Family, Community, Parks and Rec, Broadwalk Empire, Game of Thrones (best show ever), Walking Dead (also read the comic, would recommend it if you like the show), Breaking Bad, Mad Men

[boogielicious]

In no particular order, Modern Family, Jeopardy (wife and I watch it religiously), Feherty, Throw Down with Bobby Flay and my new favorite Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives on the Food Network.  A friend of ours referred to it as "Food Porn".  Good Eats was a good show, but Alton stopped making them.  Lastly, Antiques Road Show.

[RPMPIRE]

Big Bang Theory (very hilarious), South Park, Family Guy, Top Shot, Top Gear (both British and American), NCIS, NCIS: LA, Criminal Minds just to name a few. Don't necessarily watch these shows religiously. It's more like if it's on then I'll watch it.

[iacas]

The hour-long ones off the top of my head: Bones, The Mentalist, Castle. Fringe. Psych. Covert Affairs. I pay attention to some of those more than others. ;-)

The half-hour type sit-coms include Modern Family, HIMYM, Happy Endings, Big Bang Theory.

I watch more than that, but I think that's most of the shows I "try" to watch (though again, I "watch" while doing work or even reading most of the time.)

Oh, plus nearly every Penguins and Steelers game. And golf. But those aren't "TV shows."

[forza utreg]

The Wire is for me the best tv show ever made, by far.

loved Sopranos too, although it went downhill big time after season 3.

Atm i'm really enjoying Treme and Boardwalk empire.

[namkrats]

Modern Family, Family Guy, Curb your Enthusiasm, and American Justice. Bill Curtis has the best voice

[Gary]

was really addicted to Suits on USA network over the summer.

[jamo]

was really addicted to Suits on USA network over the summer. [URL=http://thesandtrap.com/image/id/187796][IMG]http://cdn.thesandtrap.com/5/50/300x224px-LL-50f88919_SuitsUSANetwork.jpeg[/IMG][/URL]

Yeah, that's another good one. I don't think I ever saw the last few episodes though.

[nevets88]

The Wire

Treme

The Sopranos

Intelligence (Canadian)

Forbrydelsen (Danish)

Deadwood

Battlestar Galactica

30 Rock

Fringe

Homeland

[JetFan1983]

Originally Posted by mvmac

Walking Dead (also read the comic, would recommend it if you like the show),

The comic is definitely better than the show. This piece by Dan O'Brien perfectly sums up how I feel about it. I love to hate it. The finale for season 2A was pretty good though, I'll give it that, but man does that show make me bitter 9 times out of 10

Dan O'Brien : The Walking Dead

The Walking Dead is the only show in America that all of my friends watch despite the fact that we all mostly hate it. I've seen that phenomenon with reality TV shows (the audience of Jersey Shore is made exclusively of people who only watch on the off chance that one of the characters might choke to death in the middle of an episode -- but I'll let Dave talk about that ), but never with a serious, scripted television show on a network known mostly for its quality.

This isn't the place for me to talk about why this show is bad (the pacing, unlikable characters, not enough zombies, a lack of fresh ideas, child actors, what's-her-name, Rick's terrible accent), and I know that taste is subjective. Just because all of my friends watch the show begrudgingly doesn't mean the rest of the world does. That said, we have a Forum where people can talk about movies, TV shows, music, life and whatever else they're interested in. Everyone's usually pretty articulate and thoughtful, it's nice in there. Here are some quotes from various folks in the thread dedicated to The Walking Dead:

"Why are the writers doing their best to make us hate the main characters?"

"Man, this show is getting more and more soap opera-y every week. They really need to get back on the road because it's starting to stagnate."

"I was trying not to dislike Dale and Andrea, I've failed."

"I think at this point, the words that come to mind when I think of Lori are 'useless' and 'no redeeming qualities.' That's probably not good for your leading lady."

"Yes, I do hate the shit out of most everybody."

It's not like we have a special section of our forums for people to hate a TV show. Those are people in a thread reserved for fans of The Walking Dead ! And the weird thing is that they are fans. The people who don't like the show don't watch it, but the people who love this show hate it. Go to the comments section over at the AV Club whenever they recap a new episode, and you'll find that most of those commenters are similarly pissed off at the show. The show that they keep watching. Every. Single. Week.

And why do they do that? One word: Hope . And now for some more words: Everyone who watches The Walking Dead isn't watching it because it's good; they're watching it because it can be good (and because Daryl rules). When I heard about this show, I was on board because I thought, "This could be either a show about people fighting zombies OR a show about interesting, diverse strangers trying to set up a new life at the end of the world, and also there are zombies in the background." It is, unfortunately, neither of those shows (it's a show where 12 unlikable people get into tense whisper-fights inches from each other's faces and between two and four zombies get killed every episode to remind people that HEY ZOMBIES). But I keep watching because, one day, it might be one of those better shows I envisioned when the show was first announced.

Some people watch because the graphic novel on which the show is based is awesome, and they're holding out hope that, one day, the show might be as good as the comics. Some people keep watching because it has all of the ingredients of a good show (money, the creative freedom a network like AMC allows, great source material, lots of characters, a liberal amount of side-boob, zombies), and even though it hasn't embraced those ingredients yet, it still might some day.

The Walking Dead is successful because people are tuning in but watching a different, better show in their imaginations, every single week. We, as a television-viewing audience, have never been this optimistic.

[nickolasjt]

I'm on season 3 of the office right now.. I can't get enough   great show!

[jamo]

I'm on season 3 of the office right now.. I can't get enough   great show!

You have two more seasons until it jumps the shark. You've been warned!

[bwdial]

The wife and I got addicted to Criminal Minds a few years back, and it's pretty much the only drama we follow.

It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia and The League are just flat out hysterical.

No Reservations and Bizarre Foods are neat because you get a real glimpse into other cultures that you normally might not get. Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives just makes me drool.

I don't get to see Pawn Stars as much any more because Monday Night Football keeps my attention, but I do watch Storage Wars .  I'm not sure if I'll find the Texas version as interesting.

[nevets88]

[sean_miller]

Can't say there's any show on right now that I "just can't miss". Not one. There are few that don't have me reaching for the remote though: a few on the Food Network, some random sports (snowboarding, golf, football, gymnastics and figure skating with my daughter and of course hockey (depending on who's playing), Castle, Bones, basically anything staring ex Buffy/Angel characters for some strange reason. There are a few comedies I like but in limited doses of course. Comedy relies on timing and somewhat on the element of surprise so those jump the shark pretty quickly for me. The first 2 seasons of any series are always the best. Everything beyond season 3 is a stretch.

[Kieran123]

Modern Family is still good. The Office has lost it's appeal ( I own the original British version on DVD - still the best )

There isn't much to watch really. I don't mind Person of Interest but don't really sit down to make sure I see it.

Big Bang Theory is terrible IMO....forced humour, laugh track - no thanks

There is a new show I have been enjoying: