# TV show recommendations?



## hawkataine (May 31, 2014)

Hey.
I've run out of good TV shows to watch. Has anybody got any suggestions?
Preferably character driven with a plot that isn't too shoddy.
Should have a decent range of supporting characters because I don't like the main characters as a general rule XD
Thanks


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## Eckis (Feb 7, 2013)

Here are a few of my favorites:

Walking Dead
Game of Thrones
Arrow
Avatar The Last Airbender/Legend of Korra
American Horror Story

I'm not really sure what you like though, or what you've seen already.


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## hawkataine (May 31, 2014)

Ah cool thanks 

Good point. I shall rectify.
TV shows I like(d):
Game of Thrones
Lost
Firefly
Torchwood
The Night Shift
Agents of SHIELD (although that might just be my attachment to Marvel)
Merlin
BBC Musketeers

If there are any cop show type things that actually have interesting characters, they'd be great. Not too sure they exist though :dry:
Must have a sense of humour. Or at least one entertaining character that also has a character trait other than Comic Relief.


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## Agelastos (Jun 1, 2014)

I second Game of Thrones and The Walking Dead (TWD is very uneven, but some episodes are great enough to make up for that).

Also:
The Prisoner (1967)
Twin Peaks
Carnivàle
True Detective
Pretty much anything by Joss Whedon (except maybe his latest show)
Battlestar Galactica (2004)
Neverwhere


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## Eckis (Feb 7, 2013)

Criminal Minds is a cop show with interesting characters (and usually interesting episodes). They get more developed after the first couple of seasons, though. 

I second True Detective. That was a great show.

Walking Dead and American Horror Story are great shows but they aren't really good in terms of comic relief, but they're certainly entertaining and have a few awesome characters. Both are getting another season next month as well.


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## randomshoes (Dec 11, 2013)

hawkataine said:


> Firefly


Sooo...have you seen Buffy the Vampire Slayer? Cause it's pretty great, and seems to fulfill your requirements. Absolutely full of fun and camp and fight-y ness. Fun dialogue, lots of humor, and a very complex world mythology. Also its brother show, Angel, since you seem to like darker things a la Torchwood. Same world as Buffy, darker tone. It gets frustrating and a little ridiculous in the middle, but there's a lot there worth watching.



> Torchwood


Didn't like Doctor Who? Cause there's a lot there to keep one busy, and it's a very, very 7 show. Ridiculousness with a side of everything.

So, we happen to share a tritype, enneagram order, and two out of three wings, so I'll just mention other things I've loved. To give you an idea of my general taste (so you know whether to ignore me or not): I like fast moving shows featuring smart people talking a lot. I'm big on character in television shows, since you have so long to explore things. Okay:

Veronica Mars is a big one. Absolutely perfect characters, intricate mystery, clever dialogue, and a first season that is nearly perfect. Main character is a giant 6, so a lot of social commentary, layers of lies, and fun sarcasm. If you like solving puzzles (Lost) you might enjoy this.

If you like workplace dramas, you can't go wrong with The West Wing. Of course, be warned that the creator doesn't hide his political views, but he doesn't treat people who disagree with the characters as less than human. It's a great dissection of American politics with an optimistic and idealistic bent. Wonderful characters, including some of the most complex and fully realized working women I've seen.

BBC Sherlock, of course. Lots of energy, beautiful and unusual filmmaking, and a great view into the mind of a genius. Lots of fun. Very fast moving.



> If there are any cop show type things that actually have interesting characters, they'd be great. Not too sure they exist though


Bones is a cop show with great characters, but be warned: it is varying levels of unrealistic and silly all the way through what I've seen, and I haven't seen the most recent stuff at all. Certainly the early seasons are fun, and the main character is a well-written brilliant woman, which is rare in television.

Actually, I would also recommend checking out The Mentalist for good consistent characters without the inconsistent plotting and general silliness. The main character is possibly a psychopath, but an interesting and likable psychopath, so.... Also Det. Cho is the funniest man of few words EVER.

So that's my giant rant. Hope something helped in there.


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## Aya the Abysswalker (Mar 23, 2012)

Twin Peaks
Firefly
Elementary
Castle
Cowboy Bepop
Battlestar Galatica
Gravity Falls


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## Cosmic Hobo (Feb 7, 2013)

@Agelastos suggested _The Prisoner_. Seconded. (The new Number Two.)
@randomshoes suggested _Doctor Who _and _Sherlock_. Doctor Who is excellent - but the old series has better scripts and is more intelligent than the new one; try a Hartnell or Tom Baker or McCoy episode. And I'll see your Cumberbatch and raise you Jeremy Brett.

I, Claudius
The Shadow of the Tower (historical series about Henry VII)
House of Cards (Ian Richardson)
Edge of Darkness
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
Blake's Seven
Yes Minister
Red Dwarf
Sapphire and Steel
The Avengers
Survivors
Adam Adamant Lives!
Mysterious Cities of Gold


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## Aya the Abysswalker (Mar 23, 2012)

I forgot to suggest Rome which is a very good a short show.


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## hawkataine (May 31, 2014)

randomshoes said:


> Sooo...have you seen Buffy the Vampire Slayer? Cause it's pretty great, and seems to fulfill your requirements. Absolutely full of fun and camp and fight-y ness. Fun dialogue, lots of humor, and a very complex world mythology. Also its brother show, Angel, since you seem to like darker things a la Torchwood. Same world as Buffy, darker tone. It gets frustrating and a little ridiculous in the middle, but there's a lot there worth watching.


Hey  Nope, haven't seen Buffy or Angel. Have been meaning to check them out for a while but never got round to it. They sound good. Is it possible to watch Angel without having seen Buffy?


> Didn't like Doctor Who? Cause there's a lot there to keep one busy, and it's a very, very 7 show. Ridiculousness with a side of everything.


Hrm. I don't like Doctor Who as much as most of the rest of the list. I watch it, and it's been getting better, but Steven Moffat's female characters annoy me. Plus the Eccleston and Tennant series were much better. I also liked the setting of Torchwood better, and the fact that there were more than just two or three recurring characters. Although I haven't seen past Season 2 out of principle (If you've seen it, you'll know what I mean)


> So, we happen to share a tritype, enneagram order, and two out of three wings, so I'll just mention other things I've loved. To give you an idea of my general taste (so you know whether to ignore me or not): I like fast moving shows featuring smart people talking a lot. I'm big on character in television shows, since you have so long to explore things.











@Aya Saves the World
@Cosmic Hobo
Thanks for the suggestions  I think the watching list may actually be longer than the reading list now XD


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## Aya the Abysswalker (Mar 23, 2012)

I also forgot Burn Notice. Add that one too XD


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## randomshoes (Dec 11, 2013)

hawkataine said:


> Hey  Nope, haven't seen Buffy or Angel. Have been meaning to check them out for a while but never got round to it. They sound good. Is it possible to watch Angel without having seen Buffy?


Yes. There are crossovers and stuff, but it's mostly self-contained. It's more similar in tone to the rest of your list, but if you have the chance I would check out Buffy, because it's really worth the time.



> Hrm. I don't like Doctor Who as much as most of the rest of the list. I watch it, and it's been getting better, but Steven Moffat's female characters annoy me.


Oh dear, the gender politics of Steven Moffat....best left out of this discussion *headdesk*.



> Plus the Eccleston and Tennant series were much better.


Oh my yes. Donna and Ten are my favorite.



> I also liked the setting of Torchwood better, and the fact that there were more than just two or three recurring characters. Although I haven't seen past Season 2 out of principle (If you've seen it, you'll know what I mean)


Argh. Yes, I do know. Although I will say that Children of Earth is VERY GOOD, but also possibly the most upsetting thing I think I've ever seen on television. So that's a personal choice, depending on how much pain you can take.

And to finish off this post, I will deploy dorky dancing Angel:


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## hawkataine (May 31, 2014)

randomshoes said:


> Yes. There are crossovers and stuff, but it's mostly self-contained. It's more similar in tone to the rest of your list, but if you have the chance I would check out Buffy, because it's really worth the time.


Awesome, shall do 



> Oh dear, the gender politics of Steven Moffat....best left out of this discussion *headdesk*.


XD I know what you mean. I never used to take much notice of it, but some of my friends literally cannot stop complaining about it, and now I hate Clara and her writers just as much as they do  it's like passive feminism or something XD



> Argh. Yes, I do know. Although I will say that Children of Earth is VERY GOOD, but also possibly the most upsetting thing I think I've ever seen on television. So that's a personal choice, depending on how much pain you can take.


Meh. I think what bothered me more about it was the second season, where they utterly trashed Owen as a character and then decided they didn't want him back alive after all. Then I realised how much more pain was going to happen to the characters left in season three and kind of gave up out of principle XD I did the same with Supernatural. Still haven't seen past 5x19 Hammer of the Gods XD


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## Cosmic Hobo (Feb 7, 2013)

@hawkataine, @randomshoes:

Some Doctor Who recommendations:

William Hartnell:




(If they were available on DVD, I'd suggest_ Marco Polo, The Crusade, The Myth Makers, The Daleks' Master Plan _and _The Massacre_.)

Patrick Troughton:





Jon Pertwee:


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## Cosmic Hobo (Feb 7, 2013)

Tom Baker:
















City of Death (filmed in Paris, script by Douglas Adams, cameo by John Cleese)

Peter Davison:





Sylvester McCoy:
Ghost Light
The Curse of Fenric


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## laura palmer (Feb 10, 2014)

Twin Peaks (my fave, thank this post if u get the joke)
The X files
Veronica Mars
Party Down
Dead Like Me
Pushing Daises


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## PoV (Sep 25, 2014)

I'm always going to recommend *House of Cards*! There's only two seasons so far but it's on Netflix! Kevin Spacey slays me every tiiiime. The cinematography is purposeful (and stunning usually), the acting from the supporting cast is suitable and effective, the lead (played by Spacey) is SO entertaining. Also, probably the most important, is that the characters' progressions, or rather, decisions are questionable but situationally understable! A good portrait of hard-fact humanity, in the same vein as *Breaking Bad*. All about that individual POV. I think the only qualm I can say right now is that it's on the high-brow side of television dramas. But so good. So so good.


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## Cosmic Hobo (Feb 7, 2013)

Sailor Mercury said:


> I'm always going to recommend *House of Cards*! There's only two seasons so far but it's on Netflix! Kevin Spacey slays me every tiiiime. The cinematography is purposeful (and stunning usually), the acting from the supporting cast is suitable and effective, the lead (played by Spacey) is SO entertaining. Also, probably the most important, is that the characters' progressions, or rather, decisions are questionable but situationally understable! A good portrait of hard-fact humanity, in the same vein as *Breaking Bad*. All about that individual POV. I think the only qualm I can say right now is that it's on the high-brow side of television dramas. But so good. So so good.


Have you seen the original British series? Ian Richardson as Francis Urquhart is one of the great performances in television history: a murderous Machiavel.


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## PoV (Sep 25, 2014)

Cosmic Hobo said:


> Have you seen the original British series? Ian Richardson as Francis Urquhart is one of the great performances in television history: a murderous Machiavel.


Wow, I didn't know this existed! I can see the parallels of the Francis [Underwood] character in Uruquarts! I'm definitely going to watch this in the future. Thanks. I read the shows are based off a book, does this version generally follow along the lines of the book?


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## perpetuallyreticent (Sep 24, 2014)

WELL, this isn't a new show at ALL, but I've been blown away by Prison Break. It's sorta old so you may have seen it. Others are:

The Following (crime/cult centered)
Hannibal (title is a give away, really. it's REALLY good, though)
Vikings (also a give away, and very good.)
The Blacklist (just watch it, do it)
The Walking Dead has been mentioned, but I second(third? fourth? twentieth?) it. It's amaaaazing.


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## Beetle (Oct 2, 2014)

Orange is the New Black
Castle
Game of Thrones
3rd Rock From the Sun (HILARIOUS!)
Parks and Recreation
Gravity Falls
Bob's Burgers


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## writtencoffee (Aug 19, 2014)

Orange is the new black, Doctor Who, How To Get Away With Murder, Parenthood, The Mindy Project


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## Squirrel (Jun 14, 2014)

- Prison Break
- Once upon a time
- merlin [bbc]
- robin hood [bbc]
- the IT crowd [bbc]


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## Dissertation2014 (Oct 14, 2014)

Game of Thrones


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## euphorie (May 21, 2014)

I see that you enjoy Game of Thrones and Merlin (which I like as well). Breaking Bad's already suggested.

Hm... I'll just name the ones I really enjoy:
- Sherlock (BBC) 
- Orphan Black
- Avatar: The Last Airbender/ Legend of Korra 
- American Horror Story


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