Author Topic: Best TV Series in the Cable Era  (Read 33784 times)

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Re: Best TV Series in the Cable Era
« Reply #120 on: September 20, 2016, 06:36:15 PM »

Offline jr_3421

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This is such a tough question because everyone has their own preferences but I think most people include the wire and the sopranos on their lists.

I put the wire ahead of the sopranos only for the fact that after rewatching some of both, the sopranos seems incredibly dated while the wire deals with a lot of stuff going on today.

The only reason I didn't include breaking bad was because I think the degree of difficulty in creating such a huge universe was higher in a show like the wire, where breaking bad revolved around 2 main characters.

 Also I can't imagine how even bigger the sopranos would have been if there were Twitter back then. I think shows like breaking bad and game of thrones got a huge bump from social media.
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Re: Best TV Series in the Cable Era
« Reply #121 on: September 28, 2016, 08:47:37 PM »

Offline Eja117

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I declare this the era of Netflix. I am watching Cheers from the beginning and it's just off the charts good

Re: Best TV Series in the Cable Era
« Reply #122 on: September 28, 2016, 11:19:47 PM »

Offline fantankerous

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I declare this the era of Netflix. I am watching Cheers from the beginning and it's just off the charts good

I've seen [dang] near every episode of Cheers and it's definitely on the charts.

Re: Best TV Series in the Cable Era
« Reply #123 on: September 28, 2016, 11:26:07 PM »

Offline tarheelsxxiii

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Re: Best TV Series in the Cable Era
« Reply #124 on: January 04, 2017, 10:15:48 AM »

Offline bdm860

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I know I'm a little late to the game with this one, but I just recently finished watching Breaking Bad.  Completely overrated, IMO.  Good show, no doubt, but one of the greatest ever?  Hardly. 

I don't even know if I'd rank it top 5 for shows with a corrupt protagonist.  The Wire, Sons of Anarchy, The Shield were much better.  (The Shield is completely underrated by the way), and then you have the other highly rated shows with a corrupt protagonist that I've yet to watch like Sopranos, Dexter, etc.  Wasn't even the best show on AMC (Mad Men was better, have yet to watch Walking Dead but will probably jump into that next).

For Breaking Bad, I thought there were a few too many episodes that went nowhere and did nothing for me. Episodes like the one with the fly in the lab, when Walt and Jesse are stranded in the desert when the battery on the RV dies, when Jesse tries to get money from the addicts who robbed him and ends up babysitting their kid.  Those stories seemed to take up the entire episode and didn't really advance the plot or develop the characters more, felt like nothing but filler to me.

Also not really a fan of the way the show handled flashbacks and flash-forwards.  And the whole airplane angle seemed odd and unnecessary.

I give it 3 out of 5 stars.

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Re: Best TV Series in the Cable Era
« Reply #125 on: January 04, 2017, 10:28:21 AM »

Offline footey

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I know I'm a little late to the game with this one, but I just recently finished watching Breaking Bad.  Completely overrated, IMO.  Good show, no doubt, but one of the greatest ever?  Hardly. 

I don't even know if I'd rank it top 5 for shows with a corrupt protagonist.  The Wire, Sons of Anarchy, The Shield were much better.  (The Shield is completely underrated by the way), and then you have the other highly rated shows with a corrupt protagonist that I've yet to watch like Sopranos, Dexter, etc.  Wasn't even the best show on AMC (Mad Men was better, have yet to watch Walking Dead but will probably jump into that next).

For Breaking Bad, I thought there were a few too many episodes that went nowhere and did nothing for me. Episodes like the one with the fly in the lab, when Walt and Jesse are stranded in the desert when the battery on the RV dies, when Jesse tries to get money from the addicts who robbed him and ends up babysitting their kid.  Those stories seemed to take up the entire episode and didn't really advance the plot or develop the characters more, felt like nothing but filler to me.

Also not really a fan of the way the show handled flashbacks and flash-forwards.  And the whole airplane angle seemed odd and unnecessary.

I give it 3 out of 5 stars.

I also liked Mad Men, but felt Breaking Bad was far more engaging.

Re: Best TV Series in the Cable Era
« Reply #126 on: January 04, 2017, 10:42:42 AM »

Offline wdleehi

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Breaking Bad was my second favorite show I watched off Netflix after Dexter. 

Re: Best TV Series in the Cable Era
« Reply #127 on: January 04, 2017, 11:06:25 AM »

Offline Moranis

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The show that I really have been liking lately is The 100.  Very atypical CW show in that it is very dark, but it really is a very good show on the whole.  That is the one show I suggest that people check out that is still on the air (frankly because most people have no idea what it is).
Season 4 coming back February 1st.  Definitely worth watching. 
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Re: Best TV Series in the Cable Era
« Reply #128 on: January 04, 2017, 11:33:18 AM »

Offline JBcat

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I declare this the era of Netflix. I am watching Cheers from the beginning and it's just off the charts good

I've seen [dang] near every episode of Cheers and it's definitely on the charts.

It's so good that's it both off and on the charts. ;D

Re: Best TV Series in the Cable Era
« Reply #129 on: January 04, 2017, 11:36:32 AM »

Offline Tr1boy

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Re: Best TV Series in the Cable Era
« Reply #130 on: January 04, 2017, 11:41:02 AM »

Offline Cman

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I need more definition around "cable era"
Did you know the first cable tv system was installed in the late 1940s? So are we talking best TV series since the 1940s?

I am guessing we are talking about best series of the last decade (so X-files and Sex in the City are out).

In no particular order: GOT, The Wire, Sopranos, Downton Abbey
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Re: Best TV Series in the Cable Era
« Reply #131 on: January 04, 2017, 11:45:05 AM »

Offline mmmmm

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Unfortunately, there are several shows for which the consensus is they were great shows but that I just never got the time to watch so I have to leave them off my list.   So my list can only be taken as 'great shows that I got a chance to watch a lot of'.

1. Homicide, Life on the Streets
2. Deadwood
3. Battlestar Galactica, the Sci-Fi channel reboot, esp. the first three seasons.
4. The Wire
5. Babylon 5

There were lots of other great shows during that time.  Those were ones that I liked and found time to watch a lot of though.

I went back and forth between Deadwood and Homicide and finally decided on a tie.

I know a lot of folks would rank the Wire over Homicide.   A lot of the same production crew on those two shows and a lot of similarities.  The Wire, being on cable (Homicide was on NBC) was more 'raw', gritty and R rated.  But the scripts on Homicide had some amazing dialog that was just wonderful to follow.   If you liked one of these two shows, you should like the other.

I agree with the notion put forth that we are transitioning now into the 'streaming' era of made-for-Netflix and made-for-Amazon Prime type shows.
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Re: Best TV Series in the Cable Era
« Reply #132 on: January 04, 2017, 11:59:42 AM »

Offline indeedproceed

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My Top-5 Post-Oz TV Shows*

*I believe that Oz, on HBO, actually was the changing of the guard moment that led to a lot of these shows. Oz on HBO had the best acting of any American TV show i have ever seen. It was extremely creative with its use of space and the lack thereof to tell a story.

5. Friday Night Lights
4. Sopranos, HBO
3. Justified, FX
2. Deadwood, HBO
1. The Wire, HBO

Shows included: Drama, action, prestige, no 1/2 hr comedies

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Re: Best TV Series in the Cable Era
« Reply #133 on: January 04, 2017, 12:04:51 PM »

Offline apc

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I recently watched all past seasons of Shameless- Loved it!
Funny yet sensitive. so many interesting characters.
And Fiona is great.   

Re: Best TV Series in the Cable Era
« Reply #134 on: January 04, 2017, 12:13:46 PM »

Offline Donoghus

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Just wrapped up 'The OA" on Netflix.   Definite traces of "Stranger Things" but more "adult-y" if that makes sense.

Not quite sure what to make of it.  Ending was...well, something. 


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