I Need More TV Shows
July 19th, 2009 | Categories: Entertainment, Question of the Week | 17 CommentsI’ve been rotting away in front of the TV (or my laptop screen, watching TV online) this summer. Needless to say, I’ve gotten through quite a bit of my TV show “catch up” list. There are still a few shows I need to watch, some of which include:
- Skins (season 3)
- Veronica Mars (recommended by Krissy)
- Supernatural (season 4)
- Black Books (recommended by Melody and Sophie)
Still, I’m looking for new TV shows as I can never have too many on my to-watch list. However, I’m rather disheartened by what I’ve found so far (the new 10 Things I Hate About you series, I’m looking at you. Who thought that series would be a good idea?). I want to find a new show that’s light and funny, similar to How I Met Your Mother or The Big Bang Theory (congrats to Jim Parsons on his Emmy nod!), really good drama similar to Skins, or something along the lines of Merlin, all of which I love.
Maybe I’m just looking in the wrong places, but good TV shows to watch are hard to find!
Question of the Week: What are some of your favorite TV shows? What shows would you recommend for others?
Tags: recommendations, tv
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Hi, I'm Manda. I'm a college student studying communications and languages. I like to read, shop, bake, and travel. I have a tendency to listen to my favorite songs on repeat for hours on end. Sometimes I catch myself thinking in a language other than English. 
The It Crowd is a must! The Mighty Boosh, Green Wing, Bones, All The Small Things, Stargate, and i’ll get back to you when I remember more.
Oh wow, you’ve never watched Veronica Mars?!! You definitely should! It’s still one of my favorite shows of all time. Sooo good. I don’t buy TV on DVD often but I have both season one and two! Back when it was airing, the Tuesday Gilmore Girls/Veronica Mars pair-up was the best combo ever!
I have yet to finish Skins season three because I was just too attached to the original characters, and also because love triangles irritate the heck out of me. I blame Asian dramas for that.
Yes, good TV shows are so hard to find! And then I remember my long list of shows to-watch/catch up with. Heh. Have you watched Bones? I don’t think I’ve ever heard you mention crime dramas/procedurals but I don’t even like to label Bones as one of those, because while the cases aren’t taken lightly or anything, there’s a huge emphasize on the characters and the relationships between the characters. I mean, it’s one of the few shows where I love every character so much! It’s so funny, and David Boreanaz is so charming.
I can’t think of anything similar to HIMYM or TBBT – I don’t really think there exists such a thing. They’re very unique – and I still need to watch both of them. Bah. On a random note, “light and funny” brings to mind ABC’s Cupid – it was canceled but there are seven episodes out there and I really enjoyed it. But it’s a either you like it or you don’t kind of thing.
And now I feel compelled to write of list of what I need to watch…
Of course, I will always vouch for Veronica Mars. It’s one of my favourite shows. In a way, I think it could sort of fit your request for something light and funny like HIMYM/TBBT. I wouldn’t really say it’s light, but there are a lot of really hilarious one-liners. VMars is good for that. The snark is just… top notch.
I also second Alice’s recommendation of Bones. Great show, very easy to get into. :)
That’s all I’ve got, otherwise. I think for the most part, you and I watch the same shows. XD
This doesn’t exactly fit the criteria on your list, but if you haven’t watch The Office (US version), I would heartily recommend it. Every episode is hilarious. It’s definitely my favourite TV show!
Not sure if this really fits your criteria either but I’ve been watching United States of Tara and that’s quite good, it’s a sort of dark comedy/drama. Also, do remember that old cartoon Daria? It has some intelligent humour actually. I’m scared to get into any more TV shows, I spend wayyy too much time (and download quota) on them xD
I’ve only seen Veronica Mars once but I did like it. I don’t really watch TV much, but as for new shows, I really enjoyed Lie To Me.
Also I recommend Firefly! You have to watch it. And yay for all the Bones love!
My favourite tv-shows are all long gone. I love watching the re-runs of Gilmore Girls, Friends, The Cosby Show, All in The Family, 7th Heaven. I can’t think of a “fresh” tv series to recommend…
Ok, just read the previous comments and I agree, Bones is a very good tv show!
The X-Files and Lost are my all-time favorites <3 I don't know any (good) new ones either, but I'd recommend Cold Case and Silent Witness to those who haven't seen them yet. They're both powerful and moving crime shows. Though by no means light and funny – especially Silent Witness can be really emotionally exhausting.
House, Doctor Who, The OC, Life On Mars (UK version was great but quite “British”, there was a US version but I don’t know how that turned out) are all current favourites, in addition to TBBT. Ok, so that list doesn’t look that promising… people enjoy Torchwood though I wasn’t thrilled by the first ep, and though I’ve never watched them I’ve heard good things about Grey’s Anatomy, Veronica Mars and All The Small Things. Gossip Girl is also HUGE here. I don’t know about the US version of The Office, but I remember the trailers for the UK version and it seemed pretty funny.
Gilmore Girls.
If you’re okay with blood, sex and nudity (of both male and female kinds), and vampires not taking themselves seriously, then I recommend HBI’s True Blood. They’re based on the Sookie Stackhouse novels by Charlaine Harris. They’re little murder mysteries about a telepathic waitress in a world where vampires, shapeshifters etc. are real.
It is violent etc. but it also doesn’t take itself seriously when it comes to some things either. Like the vampires themselves – they dress in the black etc. to attract customers to their “vampire bar” but off duty they’re in jeans and pastels and flip-flops etc.
I’m seconding Catherine’s vote for Trueblood. :P
I’ve just finished season 2 of Veronica Mars. Very much worth watching!
If you liked Merlin, try “The Legend of The Seeker.” :P
I’m not sure which shows you already watch Manda, but here’s a few I’d recommend…
Entourage: Very funny show about a movie star and his friends who “benefit from his fame” so to speak. It’s a bit of a boys club show, but it’s VERY funny and I think, totally awesome!
Life on Mars: It’s already been mentioned to you, but this show is quite frankly, one of the best shows ever made. If you do want to watch this, watch the UK version (stay clear of the cheap knock-off US crap!). It does have British slang through it, but as you’ve seen other UK shows, you’d be fine with it. :) I don’t know of many people at all who don’t like this show. It really is THAT good!
Doctor Who/Torchwood: Another 2 UK shows, and both are great! Doctor Who is a classic UK series that was brought back in 2005. I hated the original series, but the new Doctor Who is one of my faves. It’s a sci-fi series but it’s light as it is a family show. Torchwood is it’s spin-off series (with a very hot lead actor!) and is much darker and adult orientated. It’s best to watch series 1 of Doctor Who first though, as it introduces you to Captain Jack Harkness, who is the main character of Torchwood. Both are great shows!
Damages: This is a law series that is great if you like shows that you really do have to watch closely. There’s twist and turns galore in this show which does jump through time lines a bit, but you do get used to it quickly. It’s a show that hooks you in virtually straight away. I came to this show after it’s first season and virtually watched all 13 eps (of the 1st season) one after the other as quickly as I could. Awesome acting too in this series.
There’s a few series for you Manda! My fave out of these… Life on Mars. It really is one of the greatest TV shows! :)
My favorites are: House MD, Heroes and Black Adder. I guess you’ve probably heard of House and Heroes before so those won’t need an introduction. Black Adder is a UK series. In each season you’ll find Black Adder, the main character, in another time in history. During the first season he’s a prince in the Middle Ages. He’s kind of an anti-hero. The show is a great laugh if you like British humor.
Oh and Pushing Daisies. I loved Pushing Daisies. It’s a mixture between the movie Amelie and CSI. Ned, the main character, has the ability to bring people back from the death by touching them. This way he can interrogate them and invest their deaths. I especially adore the lovely female main lead. Her style and wardrobe in the series is awesome.
As you’ve got Black Books there I’ll recommend another Tamsin Gregg series, Green Wing. It’s extremely random but very unique. Series 2 was gratuitous in gore and quite disgusting but the first series is excellent.
I second Kathleen’s Black Adder recommendation. Coupling was also good, like a British version of Friends only more adult but very funny and easy to get through. Hotel Babylon is awesome, another unique series with interesting technical concepts like camerawork.
You could try looking at eztv.it when it’s back up. They have a HUGE list of TV shows, with nice short descriptions. :)
I always look there when I’m looking for something new to watch.