I haven’t forgotten about my movie recommendations, but I’ve been watching a lot more television than movies lately, and while going through my Netflix ratings I’ve realized that there are quite a few television series present. Some obscure, many short-lived, and most are no longer on the air. But a truly excellent television show is an even rarer find than a truly excellent movie, so if you’re looking to start a new series, these are my recommendations:
Life on Mars (2006-2007)
This is a gem of a series from the UK, centering around a police officer who is struck by a car in 2006 and wakes up in 1973. Is he in a coma? Is he dead? Is he actually back in time? The show plays with all of these possibilities, but despite its peculiar premise, at its heart it’s really a buddy-cop show with a touch of the supernatural, and there is a balance here that works. Anytime you have a series that is essentially about entities in opposition to one another – 2006 versus 1973, for instance, or nerds versus normal folks – you run the risk of turning both into extremes, caricatures without any subtly. Someone said that The Big Bang Theory (see Honorable Mentions) started working when it stopped making fun of the nerds and starting having fun with them. Life on Mars works because 1973 isn’t all that bad, and 2006 may not be all that great. Life on Mars ran for just two years, which really works in the show’s favor. The storylines are tight and the series has a definite arc from beginning to end – a rarity in television. The only other show on this list that can boast that kind of continuity is Battlestar Galactica, and even then it limped across the finish line with a few gaping plot holes. Life on Mars is just great from start to finish.
note: the show inspired a spin-off series, Ashes to Ashes, with a similar premise and many of the same supporting characters (not the least of which is the incredible Philip Glenister). The third and final season just ended this past May, but I have to admit, I haven’t gotten around to watching it…yet. Then there is the truly atrocious American spin-off by the same name. Everything that worked for the British series they changed for the American one, and the resolution in the final episode is just a travesty. Don’t waste your time.
Dexter (2006-present)
Should I start with the many reasons why I shouldn’t like this show? It’s about a serial killer, for starters. It’s on SHOWTIME, which means the content is pretty no-holds-barred when it comes to language, violence and…other stuff. I often choose to just close my eyes. And did I mention that it’s about a serial killer? Perhaps that’s a testament to the show’s strengths, because despite all of that stuff, you can’t help but find yourself sympathizing with a sociopath. Not sympathy for his actions, which are far from glamorized, but sympathy for him as a person. The show is based on a book series, but takes a step away from the plot of the novels to make Dexter a much more complex and human character. In the show’s four seasons (so far – the fifth began airing in September), the character of Dexter unfolds and develops in ways you would never have guessed, and I can only credit Michael C. Hall for embodying a character who should not be as compelling and likeable as he is. Seriously. The show’s amazing.
Battlestar Galactica (2004-2009)
This reboot of the original 1978 series takes the basic premise of “humans in space fighting robots” and makes it so, SO much cooler. It bears very little resemblance to the fantastically campy show that spawned it (Starbuck is a girl!); like much of science fiction, it uses the backdrop of space and technology to explore what it really means to be human. and it does so consistently, offering one exquisitely crafted episode after another. Everything about it, from the acting to the writing to the cinematography, makes each of the episodes feel more like a mini-movie than a television show. From the very beginning of the series, the writers had a definite end in mind, which gives the story a nice arc, and gave us some closure after four years of totally messing with our minds. But it was worth it. Totally.
The X-Files (1993-2002)
This show wasn’t just great, it was a bona fide pop culture phenomenon. Mulder and Scully are pretty much the standard for two characters remaining locked in UST for years on end. I got hooked on it 12 years ago, when the show was already in its sixth season, and had just released its first movie. We borrowed the episodes on VHS from a friend and watched them. All of them. Repeatedly. Now the episodes are all available on Netflix Instant, but when we’re feeling nostalgic, we liked to pop in an old VHS and watch Mulder and Scully the way we did when we were kids.
Let me take a moment to just be honest: where Battlestar Galactica and Life on Mars are two prime examples of cohesive storytelling, The X-Files is not. Don’t get me wrong, I love the show and still think it’s fantastic many years later, but the more you watch the more you get the sense that they’re just making it up as the seasons go along. In reality, The X-Files is really two shows: the standalone ‘monster of the week’ episodes which tend to be very funny and really capitalize on the playful closeness of Mulder and Scully, and the ‘mytharc’ episodes which deal with the larger issues of government conspiracies and little green gray men.
But despite its flaws, and despite the fact that the series went on a bit longer than it should have, this is a GREAT show and a classic of American television. The truth is out there.
Doctor Who (new series: 2005-present)
When you think of Doctor Who, you probably think of this guy.
What you may not know is that Doctor Who is the longest-running science fiction show ever, from the original black-and-white incarnation in 1963 to the ‘new series‘ currently airing on the BBC (and BBC America). Doctor Who is undeniably a significant part of both television history and British popular culture, and though it’s never been quite so huge here in America, since the series revival in 2005 appreciation of the show has certainly been growing.
And that’s where I’d recommend that most people start: with the 2005 series. Yes, ‘Classic Who’ is, well…classic. But ‘New Who’ (these are real terms, I swear) is like a far-less-gruesome Battlestar Galactica: it takes an enjoyably cheesy show and transforms it into something much more captivating. Doctor Who still retains some essential bits of cheesiness, but it really has only gotten better as it’s gone on, and this past season was undeniably fantastic. I really can’t wait for 2011.
(I included the above photo for Hannah, who remains first and foremost a fan of David Tennant as the Tenth Doctor. I, on the other hand, and despite my many misgivings, have found myself loving Matt Smith.)
On a related note:
Sherlock (2010-present)
Created by two Doctor Who writers, Sherlock definitely has that Doctor Who-esque vibe. And when you really think about it, Sherlock Holmes and The Doctor have quite a lot in common: they’re highly quirky, they don’t have great social skills, they have a companion who remains faithful despite the aforementioned quirks, rude behavior, and constant danger, and they frequently like to remind the people around them that they are by far the cleverest one in the room.
And they’ve got one more thing in common: they both make great TV shows. Within the first series (just three episodes) Sherlock has received raved reviews and become internationally popular. Three episodes. I can’t wait for more.
Freaks and Geeks (1999-2000)
In the Pantheon of TV Shows That Ended Far, Far Too Soon there is Freaks and Geeks. It took the unpopular kids – who as characters are often relegated to the side story – and made them the center of the show. It’s sweet, it’s funny, it’s painfully relatable, and it’s fitting, really, that a show about misfits would get pushed right off the air. It won’t make you miss high school, or the 80′s, but it will make you appreciate what storytelling on the small screen can be.
Arrested Development (2003-2006)
When you’re a high school kid who doesn’t fit in, you’re either a freak or a geek. When you’re an adult that doesn’t fit in, and you’re rich, then you may be a member of the Bluth family. The show is almost impossible to explain (Wikipedia has a section set aside to discuss its “intertextuality and reflexivity“), but not at all difficult to be drawn into. It’s certainly unlike any other sitcom I’ve ever watched. It ended too soon, but three seasons is certainly better than nothing. And I’m holding out hope for the Arrested Development movie.
30 Rock (2006-present)
Let me just tell you: in the beginning I avoided this show. Alec Baldwin? Seriously? And Tina Fey…well, I had never found her all that funny on Saturday Night Live. What tidbits I did happen to watch in 30 Rock‘s first few seasons just seemed frenetic and a bit too hard to keep up with.
But Mom and Dad started watching it – after all, it is on after The Office – and so I started watching, too. And I was more than pleasantly surprised. As it turns out, Alec Baldwin is a fantastic comedic actor, and Tina Fey? Tina Fey is not just funny, she’s ADORABLE.
30 Rock is a smart show, and still fresh after four seasons. I’ll keep watching.
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And there is, of course, Firefly, which I raved about not-so-long ago…
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Honorable Mentions:
The Big Bang Theory (2007-present)
The Big Bang Theory is moments of comic genius interspersed with far too many sitcom tropes and one-dimensional characters (and that laughing, oh that terrible studio audience laughing). If nothing else, the show has given us the brilliant, condescending, idiosyncratic wonder that is Dr. Sheldon Cooper. Jim Parson’s performance may be the only reason I watch The Big Bang Theory, but that’s reason enough.
Community (2009-present)
Of the fairly solid Thursday night line-up (30 Rock, The Office, Community, and The Big Bang Theory), Community is the only one that I eagerly anticipate. It may not have started as a strong show, but Community has gained a lot of ground, and in its second season emerged as something really great. I can only hope that it continues to live up to its potential.
