The Brainless Box (aka Television Shows)

[Collector]

I never seen Dead Like Me, but if you rate it higher that Battlestar Galactica is should be great. I'll try and see if I can get a copy from Play.com or Amazon.

Be sure to start with the pilot. It's a shame that you can't get Hulu.

[AndreaDraco]

I checked the wiki page for the show and it seems interesting. Since I take you're a sci-fi fan, is there any other genre show you'd like to recommend?

Right now, I watch pretty much everything that's on SyFy (Eureka, Warehouse 13, Caprica, etc.)

[Tawmis]

Since I mentioned it in my last post, I now ask you: what are the three best show of this decade (2000-2010)? I'd say...

1. Battlestar Galactica
2. Six Feet Under
3. True Blood

= Me posting this thread originally.
= Me seeing it keep getting replies
= Me seeing folks talk about shows they enjoy.
= Me thinking all these people enjoying this thread is cool.
= Me getting a chuckle out of some of the comments
= Me talking about some of the shows coming to an end

Then...
= Me reading this post.
= Yeahbutwhat?
= Me, as shock settles in.
= Wondering if Andrea is joking.
= Realizing he's not joking.
= Furious he's not joking
Feeling the devil come out and consume me!

How is SUPERNATURAL not in your top 3????

And really? REALLY? The new BSG?
Le Sigh! Over Supernatural, no less?

I admit. I watched BSG when it was just prior to it's final season. I was one of those old stones that was reluctant to do so (Changing Starbuck to a girl? Cylons who have sex? A red glow down their back? WTF?) But - my wife had heard great things, so she wanted to watch it - renting all the DVDs, beginning with Season 1 and moved forward. So I detached myself from it being BSG, and considered it a new series. I enjoyed it. But top 3? Not even close. It got so confusing with the visions/dreams/dying/reborn in tanks - what was happening, what was flashback. By the time I reached the end, it was an Okay show for me - would not have ranked it anywhere near my top 3.

[AndreaDraco]

As much as I love Supernatural, and I do, a lot, I honestly think that Battlestar Galactica is superior: the depth of the show is sometimes so mesmerizing that I find myself staring at the screen with my jaw dropping. The political, religious and social themes the writers talked out during the four seasons are thought-provoking and profound, and the mythology of the show absolutely fascinating.

About my Top Three, I was about to rank Supernatural third, but then I thought of True Blood, which is, right now, the show whose new episodes I wait with more a bated breath. I'd rank Supernatural fourth, I think (unless I have to merge this list with my sitcom's one, since Friends must be in the Top Three).

[Collector]

I checked the wiki page for the show and it seems interesting. Since I take you're a sci-fi fan, is there any other genre show you'd like to recommend?

Right now, I watch pretty much everything that's on SyFy (Eureka, Warehouse 13, Caprica, etc.)

That's the problem. Real SF has become hen's teeth. Eureka and Warehouse 13, are only marginally SF. They are really more comedies with an SF theme. The vast majority of what is on "SyFy" has nothing to do with SF. Creature feature garbage, ghost show nonsense, anime and even WWF are mostly the bill of fare for what used to be a venue for at least some SF.

As much as I enjoyed the first two Stargate series, SGU is unwatchable. Even the last Star Trek movie was a waste of time. Take a series that was based on thought and story and turn it into a brainless action movie with "edgy" (read by a palsied 13 year-old with ADD) cinematography with little regard for Roddenberry's vision or the time line set by the previous series. There is even little new printed SF.

Lately, I have been mostly watching streaming videos online of the shows from the last 25 or so years. Things like all 5 of the Star Trek series, Babylon 5, the ill fated Crusade, SG1 and SGA.

[Maiandra]

Honestly, I haven't gotten into that many shows in the last decade. I didn't even have a TV for a number of years, since I was living overseas, then didn't bother to buy one for a while after I got back. However, I'd have to say my 3 favourite are:

• 1. Angel (and Buffy the Vampire Slayer)
  2. Ugly Betty
  3. Heroes

As much as I like True Blood, I'm still fairly new to watching it, so I haven't developed the same amount of fondness for it yet. Plus, I prefer shows that mix up the humour and drama a bit more. I will admit it's quite addictive, though.

[DeadPoolX]

Collector, I absolutely agree. The most recent ST movie was all special effects. Not that I dislike special effects, but ST was always based more around the characters and the story. The actors who played Kirk, Spock and so on did a good enough job, but the plot itself was so rehashed that I couldn't believe we paid to see it. Plus, I really disliked seeing Leonard Nimoy in it. I normally like him and I think of him as "Spock" but there was NO reason for him to be in the movie except for some fan service to die-hard Trekkers.

I really wish movie studios would stop the "remake" madness they've been on for a while now. Hell, I saw an ad for a new Karate Kid. Why?! The old one worked. Come up with something new!

Anyway... as for my favorite three TV shows, I'd say I don't have that many. It's a stretch for me to even count one of them. If I had to choose, I'd pick Heroes, Angel (I liked that series better than BTVS) and possibly Ugly Betty.

It's hard for me to pick fictional TV shows. Most of the stuff I watch is on Animal Planet, Discovery Channel, History Channel, etc.

[Collector]

there was NO reason for him to be in the movie except for some fan service to die-hard Trekkers.

Which was silly as the movie almost seemed as if it was designed to thumb its nose at the fan base. But I agree. Stop with the half baked remakes or "reboots". If they want to make more Treks, pick up where the others left off and don't ignore the history and style.

[Datadog]

I'm not quite sure what this thread is about anymore, but I rank my top three as:

1. Buffy the Vampire Slayer
2. South Park
3. Avatar: The Last Airbender

Also, I thought the ST reboot was handled really well, compared to how everything else is rebooted. Batman, Freddy, Jason, Bond, even Spider-man now - studios are just wiping the slate clean and hoping we'll all pretending the original movies never happened. At least with Star Trek, they played it out as a sequel to ST6, used time-travel to make it into a prequel to TOS, and then used an alternate time-line gimmick to create new adventures for Kirk's crew (making it a spin-off now!) That's pretty awesome in my book, plus I think this new movie made ST fans 30% less likely to receive wedgies in High School.

Also, also, remakes will stop when people stop seeing them. Studio execs are in the business of making money (it's how they feed their children and pay their thousands of employees) so if they happen to make ten times more money on a remake than an original movie, take a guess at their future investments. They have plenty of original ideas (original ideas are the only unlimited resource we have.) It's whether the original idea is worth risking millions of dollars on that's the question.

[Collector]

But the Trek reboot was just mindless juvenile action drivel. It had nothing to do with the original series except for the names. I saw on a movie board where some kid tried to defend it by saying "But it was so exciting!!" One action sequence after another just makes for a very boring movie. Special effects for the sake of special effects is so cliché. Here's a novel idea, how about using them just to effectively tell the story that the movie is trying to tell and not to be the movie itself.

I don't mean to offend anyone, but my tolerance level for such crap has reached its limit. Fine. Give the kiddies what they want, but at least leave something for the rest of us.

[therogue]

what are the three best show of this decade (2000-2010)

your milage may vary but mine are;

- The Wire
- Deadwood
- Life On Mars / Ashes to Ashes -> I count this as one series as it really is one story.

I liked Supernatural as popcorn entertainment for its first two seasons but I found the third season so hateful that I had to stop watching.

Also, Dead Like Me is fantastic, the two seasons are, that is. Personally I wasn't that charmed by the movie.

[Collector]

Also, Dead Like Me is fantastic, the two seasons are, that is. Personally I wasn't that charmed by the movie.

The 3rd season was not as good as the first two, but still watchable. It was indicative that the series had run its course and was time to end it. The movie was a throw away. The lack of Mandy Patinkin also hurt it.

[AndreaDraco]

I liked Supernatural as popcorn entertainment for its first two seasons but I found the third season so hateful that I had to stop watching.

Can I ask exactly what do you mean with hateful? For me, apart from the stunning Season Two finale, the third season is when Supernatural hit its stride, dropping the MoW structure of the first seasons for more well-planned myth-arcs.

[therogue]

Also, Dead Like Me is fantastic, the two seasons are, that is. Personally I wasn't that charmed by the movie.

The 3rd season was not as good as the first two, but still watchable. It was indicative that the series had run its course and was time to end it. The movie was a throw away. The lack of Mandy Patinkin also hurt it.

Uh, Dead Like Me only had 2 seasons, at least according to imdb.

Regarding Supernatural, obviously your milage may vary but I got tired very fast of nearly every character that wasn't white and male ending up dead or evil. I also found the treatment of female characters appalling and its been a while but I remember being so angry with the twist regarding Bela at the end of season 3 that I had enough and moved on to another show.

[Collector]

Dead Like Me only had 2 seasons, at least according to imdb.

You're right. It has been a while since I've watched it. It just seemed that the last couple fell short of the earlier ones.