- Television
Dexter
Mature Audiences. If you are old enough, watch it. The series is fantastic. I always worry when I start spouting the praises of a series that isn't finished yet because I've seen so many go over the deep end, but I have high hopes that Dexter will go the distance, stay the course . . . etc. etc. For those of you who don't know, it's a television series following the life of a ficticious serial killer who hunts down and kills murderers.
I do have too admit that what little I know about real serial killers seems to suggest that what is portrayed here just isn't how that kind of psychosis can work, but who cares! The writing is good, the acting is good, the storyarchs are fun and keep you guessing. Great show, definitely worth the time.
Watchability: 5
Staying power: 5
Rewatchabililty: 4
Firefly
Scifi series set in space, but with a very wild West feel to it. The show was canceled after about a dozen episodes (maybe sixteen, I can't remember). Years after the series ended, they made a movie, Serenity. See my must see movies. Firefly is an amazing series with a true ensemble cast of three dimensional characters whom we were only just getting to know when the series ended.
Watchability: 4.5
Staying power: 4
Rewatchability: 4.5
The Big Bang Theory
The best thing to happen to physics since String Theory. Two brilliant, and brilliantly nerdy, roommates(Sheldon and Leonard), well entrenched in academia, become friends with a worldy, but less educated (not to mention physically stunning) neighbor, Penny.
Watchability: 4
Staying power: 2
rewatchability: 4
Better off Ted
Inside of Veridian Dynamics, a morally bankrupt company, we follow Ted Crisp, a single father who is trying to balance his duties to his company with his moral compass. A very funny series, especially for anyone who enjoys absurdism.
Watchability: 4.5
Staying Power: 2
Rewatchability: 3
Castle
I don't know about you, but I'm getting burnt out on crime dramas. There are so many of them these days that you have a hard time not stumbling across one no matter when you go channel surfing. There are so many, that you have to talk about the sub-genres these days. I avoid them. Even the good ones. Except for Castle. Maybe it's because I'm a writer and I kind of get off on having a writer solving crimes. Or maybe it's because I'm a major fan of Firefly, and I'll watch Mal on almost anything. I don't know, all I know is that I watch every episode, and plan on buying the series when it comes out on dvd.
Watchability: 4
Staying power: 3.5
Rewatchability: 0
V
Again, one of the main characters is a Firefly Alum, and seeing Inara as a bad guy is kind of awesome. But it's more than that, I genuinely enjoy this series. Science Fiction writers have been doing a lot of rewriting, they take the old series and update them, which seems to work a lot better than I would have anticipated, and I think that V is potentially a fantastic series, there are still hurdles to overcome, like when conflicts start coming up and they have to figure out how to replace people who leave, and when they start having 'insert' episodes, space fillers that could be fascinating, or could cross the line to the ridiculous, but it could be so good, and I have my fingers crossed. Of course, the biggest question these days isn't about the show itself, it's the production company. These days they seem to drop shows for no better reason than boredom, and I have my fingers crossed that somebody is smart enough to hang onto this one.
Watchability: 3
Staying power: 2
Rewatchability: 1
The IT Crowd
First off, not the 'it' crowd, the 'I.T.' crowd. This low budget, British comedy, centered around two I.T. guys and their technology-impaired manager has several 'laugh-til-you-cry' scenes in every season (that I've seen). Though the acting isn't amazing, and the characters are, for the most part surreal caricatures, but they're based on the kind of people you actually meet. It isn't the kind of show I'd watch over and over again, but it is definitely worth seeing the first time through.
Watchability: 4.5
Staying power: -1
Rewatchability: 1
Coupling
Another British comedy. This one has the kind of chemistry that rarely comes up. Three seasons of roll on your back, laugh so hard the neighbors call the police comedy. Get it, watch it, thank me later. Oh, it is largely about sex, so while there's very little Mature Content, it definitely isn't for the young uns.
Watchability: 5
Staying power: 2
Rewatchability: 3
Leverage
I watched the first ten minutes of the first episode back when the series got started, and didn't watch it again until the second season came out. Frankly, I didn't think it would be worth the time. Whenever the premise of a show is: 'We've gathered the very best in the world,' my first instinct is to change channels. I've tried writing stuff like that, and it never seems to work out. Either the characters progressively get worse at what they do so that there is a risk of them losing against smaller opponents, or, worse yet, the problems they face become more and more ridiculous so as to continually push them. In Leverage you get a little bit of both, and, frankly, sometimes you find yourself saying 'wait a second, it takes Eliot the same amount of time to take out three ex-seals as it does to take out one hitman?' But that's not what the series is about. The series is about sitting down for an hour and vegging, it's a show that's just engaging enough to keep a few synapses firing while you wind down for the day.
Watchability: 3.5
Staying Power: 0
Rewatchability: 3
The Good Guys
I've said it before, I'll say it again, 'I'm tired of cop shows, but . . .' in this case the 'but' is: but I love a tv series that doesn't take itself seriously. At first I was wary of the show; I mean, come on, a buddy cop series based around a young, uptight, by the book guy gets paired up with an older, technologically illiterate, shoot-first-and-ask-questions-later cowboy-type. Yeah, that hasn't been done before. And what's the premise? They get assigned low end cases that somehow always put them in the middle of shootouts with mobsters, drug dealers and hitmen. Tell me it doesn't sound like something you've seen a hundred and fifty times before. If it weren't done tongue in cheek, and if the actors weren't of the calibre that they are, I can think of a dozen different ways this show could fall flat on its face, but it is tongue in cheek, the actors are awesome, and the show is definitely worth watching.
Watchability: 4
Staying Power: 2
Rewatchability: 3.5