so for all of you who know me at all, you know that I can't sit through a movie. Kill me! that's two whole hours of drivel. YET I am delighted to rent TV shows on DVD and watch four of five straight hours of TV in 42-minute blocks (that's for a drama show) and that is certainly time not wasted.
Jason sent me a column from the San Francisco Chronicle which outlined the best shows to watch on DVD. Currently I am in the middle of Season 7 of the West Wing (almost done!) and I am caught up to the new shows on TV for Grey's Anatomy. I am also simultaneously watching Seasons 6 & 7 of the Gilmore Girls. I am watching Season 3 of the Wire...which as you might notice below, it's considered the best show on TV!
"Dramas:
In the order I would get them:
1. "The Wire." It's not just the best show on television, it's the best show ever made for television, as anyone who watched the recently completed Season 4 will attest. Start with Season 1. It's like giving someone a great novel. (My comments: definitely agree. Although this is why we keep calling Oliver 'shitbird,' see season 2.)
2. "Deadwood." We've said it before -- Shakespeare in the mud, with guns. (I don't watch this, my parents loved it though, probably for the profanity.)
3. "The Singing Detective." Dennis Potter was a true genius and this is one of those litmus test DVDs. If someone has this, everything else is forgiven. (no clue)
4. "Prime Suspect." Any season. Helen Mirren in the best female detective role anywhere. (Jason is a big fan.)
5. "Cracker." Any season -- just make sure you get the original British series with Robbie Coltrane, not the weak American knock-off (which didn't make one season). Criminal psychology the modern Brit way: boozy, troubled, nasty. No smooth American efficiency here, so if you're hooked on CBS procedurals, this may be a big change.
6. "Rescue Me." Two seasons available. This FX series is compelling in a number of ways (and lead Denis Leary is simply amazing), but the real coup is that it dares to
juggle shocking, realistic drama with politically incorrect humor. The results are jarring but rewarding.
7. "The Sopranos." Pretty much any season. It only goes this low because you probably have some of the seasons already and it seems like a given to say go get it. (Note: the new season should be arriving very soon, and we'll be cooking for it.)
8. "Northern Exposure." Any season. Its quirky charms still hold up.
9. "The Shield." Start with Season 1. Because it's harrowing, for starters, and it put FX on the map by reinvigorating the long-tired police drama. 10. "Hill Street
Blues." Season 1. Before "The Shield" beat the genre with blunt force, "Hill Street" shook it by the collar and made it realistic and not cliche-ridden. Overlapping dialogue, crossing cameras, anti-heroes -- the series changed the rules of how TV told stories.
11. "Homicide: Life on the Street." Any season but the last one. You could spend a lot of time arguing which network cop drama was best -- "Hill Street," "Homicide" or
"NYPD Blue," but the vote here goes for "Homicide." It was the napkin
sketch for "The Wire." (note: I own all seven seasons.)
12. "Crime Story." You've got to have a cult hit in here and I give this a slight edge over "Wiseguy" but wouldn't be upset if you opted the other way. "Crime Story" was just cooler in both attitude and look, as a post-"Miami Vice" Michael Mann hooked up with Dennis Farina and made some network magic, if not ratings.
Comedies:
In the order I would get them:
1. "Arrested Development." All three seasons. Pure genius that not only stands up to repeated viewings but actually gets better. (these were a great rental!)
2. "The Office," British version. I love the American version as well, but I might wait a few years to collect it.
3. "The Simpsons." You have to. Not all of them, mind you, but start somewhere.
4. "Kids in the Hall." It's arguably the best sketch series ever and it holds up even now.
5. "Looney Tunes." What's not to like? Cartoons rule, and these were the best. 6
6. "South Park." What comedies have going for them that dramas don't -- and animated series have in particular -- is a real ease for multiple plays. You can watch these
repeatedly and still laugh.
7. "Rocky & Bullwinkle." Simple and brilliant.
8. "Chappelle's Show." One of the best of the current (now recent past)
cable sketch series and certainly the most socially biting. (Much better on DVD than on TV!)
9. "King of the Hill." Easily the least appreciated animated series of our modern time. A shame, that.
10. "Freaks and Geeks." Pair it with "Undeclared" for a pitch-perfect look at the high school and college experience as depicted on the small screen. Sadly missed.
11. "Aqua Teen Hunger Force." You could probably pick just about any series from Cartoon Network's late night spin-off channel, Adult Swim, and not go wrong. But there's something so utterly ridiculous and funny about this one.
12. "Little Britain." For the twisted Anglophile in all of us.
13. "Weeds." Sure you could get "Entourage" and give HBO more money (and you'd even spend it well), but this is a better series and Showtime could use the cash -- to continue to improve its series, naturally. (we rented these and the show was outstanding! I am too cheap to get Showtime though.)
Lastly, I'll offer up four wild- card picks, all of them documentaries.
(Listen, a good site for you to browse is www.tvshowsondvd.com, which
states that there are 6,245 shows released on DVD, so this column could be
a lot longer -- don't get snippy with me about picks.) Anyway, you can't
go wrong giving "Baseball" and "Jazz" from Ken Burns, and "From the Earth
to the Moon" and "Band of Brothers" from Tom Hanks and company. Great
stuff all around."
