FOT Forum
FOT Community => General Discussion => Topic started by: crumbum on June 10, 2009, 09:35:22 PM
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I've polished off all the recent classics -- The Wire, The Sopranos, Deadwood, Mad Men Season 1 -- and some lower-tier stuff like Carnivale. My all time favourites are mostly (the obvious) comedies like Mr. Show, Freaks and Geeks, I'm Alan Partridge and The Office. Now I'm stymied. Some candidates that look OK are Weeds, Dexter and Lost, but I like to finish what I start and I don't know if I'm up for another massive multi-season time investment just now. Something older or a little more obscure would be good. British stuff is nice cause the seasons are short.
Suggestions?
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My favorite British show is Only Fools And Horses. Have you ever seen it?
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If you're looking for a British comedy, might I suggest Blackadder Goes Forth or Fawlty Towers. They may be cliched choices, but they are funny.
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It's not old or obscure, but Season 1 of Breaking Bad is pretty special.
You've seen Arrested Development, right?
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It's not old or obscure, but Season 1 of Breaking Bad is pretty special.
You've seen Arrested Development, right?
And Larry Sanders, I assume?
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Manimal
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6iQ-mzYRl3s[/youtube]
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Big Love.
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Summer Heights High, Frisky Dingo, The Prisoner (seems to go without saying but surprisingly a lot of people I know have never heard of it), Trailer Park Boys (Sorry, Tom, I think seasons 4 and 5 are about as funny as Canadian TV gets, aside from...), The Newsroom, and, of course, season one of Look Around You. Just some randoms, but definitely check out Newsroom if you haven't seen it before.
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Big Love.
Finishing this last season at last. This show is incredible - I can't remember a show that kept turning up the tension at this pace and kept getting better.
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It's not old or obscure, but Season 1 of Breaking Bad is pretty special.
You've seen Arrested Development, right?
And Larry Sanders, I assume?
Yes and Yes. I guess I could have been more thorough in my case history.
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Summer Heights High, Frisky Dingo, The Prisoner (seems to go without saying but surprisingly a lot of people I know have never heard of it), Trailer Park Boys (Sorry, Tom, I think seasons 4 and 5 are about as funny as Canadian TV gets, aside from...), The Newsroom, and, of course, season one of Look Around You. Just some randoms, but definitely check out Newsroom if you haven't seen it before.
I remember when the Newsroom was on TV but I never caught it. That goes on the shortlist for sure. I will do some research into the others.
I haven't seen much of TPB beyond the first season and honestly I didn't much care for what I saw.
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Manimal
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6iQ-mzYRl3s[/youtube]
I'm not familiar with Aaron Eckhart's early work.
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Nathan Barley
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first season of "saxondale" is top-notch. second season has its moments but is mostly the audio/visual equivalent of tires spinning in mud. you could always do worse than s/coogan with a potbelly though.
"undeclared" has its moments. it's no "freaks and geeks," but what is, really?
SCTV dvds rule.
"weeds" is a smug turd of a show. it's difficult sometimes (all the time) to hear the dialogue over the sound generated by the writers/producers/etc patting themselves on the back in self-acknowledgement of how "edgy" they are. blech.
THAT said, "the shield" was/is absolutely ridiculous and great all at once. the harder it worked to cover up its tracks, the better it got; it's formulaic, but then again so is buffalo rock ginger ale - formulas can excel, too, sometimes!
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Black Books. A very fun british comedy that somehow never gets old no matter how much I watch it and how few episodes there are.
If you liked The Wire, you might also like The Corner and Generation Kill.
If you don't mind animated shows, you should try Home Movies. It might be better to start in the second season, as the first is pretty rough, especially with the animation. One of the best parts about it (among many great things) is Jon Benjamin, who is somewhat associated with The Best Show. One of my favorite shows ever.
And Newsradio. A very good sitcom.
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Yeah, Home Movies is great. So is it's music.
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Oh, I forgot:
Anyone who hasn't yet should watch Garth Marenghi's Darkplace. So. Damn. Funny.
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I second Summer Heights High. What an amazing performance.
Dunno if IT Crowd is out on dvd yet or not in the states, but that's really funny.
I didn't used to like Weeds, but I thought last season (and the season premier of the new season for that matter) was hilarious.
The State comes out of DVD next month so get ready for that.
I'm about to launch into Six Feet Under finally, having only seen one or two episodes.
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I second Newsradio. TOP TOP drawer.
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The Wire, The Sopranos, Deadwood, Mad Men Season 1
If you enjoy these, The Singing Detective is a must.
State of Play was highly acclaimed too, but I haven't gotten to that yet (disc 1 is waiting... and waiting...).
Also, BERLIN ALEXANDERPLATZ can be watched as the equivalent of an HBO season-length series.
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If you like The Wire, I would rent Homicide: Life On The Street (preferably seasons 1-5). It's got top notch writing and has a superb ensemble cast.
Agree with Scot, that you should also check out any of the seasons of SCTV that are out on DVD.
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If you like The Wire, I would rent Homicide: Life On The Street (preferably seasons 1-5). It's got top notch writing and has a superb ensemble cast.
Similarly, if he likes Deadwood he may like one of Milch's previous series, NYPD Blue. It's kind of formulatic like Law & Order, but less so and more character-driven, but the writing is generally good and the lead actor (Franz, not Caruso) is superb.
If I had to pick between the two, I'd go with Homicide. But both Sipowicz and Pembleton are awesome characters and worth being watched.
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I second Summer Heights High. What an amazing performance.
Dunno if IT Crowd is out on dvd yet or not in the states, but that's really funny.
I didn't used to like Weeds, but I thought last season (and the season premier of the new season for that matter) was hilarious.
The State comes out of DVD next month so get ready for that.
I'm about to launch into Six Feet Under finally, having only seen one or two episodes.
I have 6 eps to go of Six Feet Under. I must warn you, it's a tough, tough slog there in the middle. Tougher by far than Oz, the previous record holder for me in that dept.
I third Homicide. Do not watch after the Big Departure. You'll know what I mean when you get to it. And especially do not watch the movie. The first seasons are truly exemplary.
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maybe we should start a "homicide" thread. i think my favorite episode ever was the one with bruno kirby + sonic youth's original drummer, where they had it out for pemberton.
i couldn't watch the last season of the show - sort of totally drove me up the wall.
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I second Summer Heights High. What an amazing performance.
Dunno if IT Crowd is out on dvd yet or not in the states, but that's really funny.
I didn't used to like Weeds, but I thought last season (and the season premier of the new season for that matter) was hilarious.
The State comes out of DVD next month so get ready for that.
I'm about to launch into Six Feet Under finally, having only seen one or two episodes.
I have 6 eps to go of Six Feet Under. I must warn you, it's a tough, tough slog there in the middle. Tougher by far than Oz, the previous record holder for me in that dept.
We enjoyed Seasons 1 & 2 of SFU but Season 3 pretty much killed the series dead for me. So agonizingly drawn-out and bad. I have no plans to watch any further but I might reconsider if I hear that it gets better.
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This thread leads me to conclude that I have watched, watch, and no doubt will continue to watch a great deal of television.
It might be too cheesy now, but I will always have a place in my heart for I, Claudius. Hey, you should watch that before or after Rome.
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And Newsradio. A very good sitcom.
When it was on NBC I was a ceaseless proselytizer, but a couple of years ago I bought season 1 and found it didn't quite hold up as well as I'd imagined. Good but not great. I think it improved further in the second and third seasons though -- at least up until the end of the Phil Hartman era when I couldn't bear to watch anymore. I should definitely go back and get the middle seasons.
I still laugh to myself thinking of the episode with Jon Lovitz and Phil Hartman in the mental facility: 'I was talking to the cigarette.'
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My favorite British show is Only Fools And Horses. Have you ever seen it?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AtboTwW-Jao&feature=related
good golly.
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There are a few rough patches but overall I think Friday Night Lights is pretty great.
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I third Homicide. Do not watch after the Big Departure. You'll know what I mean when you get to it.
To be fair, very few shows could survive after losing Max Perlich.
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And Newsradio. A very good sitcom.
When it was on NBC I was a ceaseless proselytizer, but a couple of years ago I bought season 1 and found it didn't quite hold up as well as I'd imagined. Good but not great.
Same with Larry Sanders. Started watching it again and it did not really hold up. Still good, but not great...probably because so many shows have copied its style since then that it now looks formulaic. But to be fair, it may have something to do with me getting mad each time I see Jeremy Piven, knowing that he would leave the show and become a rug-wearing asshole.
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Rent Twin Peaks. :)
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I third Homicide. Do not watch after the Big Departure. You'll know what I mean when you get to it.
To be fair, very few shows could survive after losing Max Perlich.
I know people usually consider it the beginning of the end for Homicide, but you have to admit that the revelation that Luther Mahoney was a shapeshifter and that he'd infiltrated the Homicide Unit in his Brodie form was seriously shocking at the time. Plus, there were plenty of clues in retrospect, like Brodie and Mahoney never being in the same scene, and that huge pile of jeff caps in Mahoney's apartment.
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I third Homicide. Do not watch after the Big Departure. You'll know what I mean when you get to it.
To be fair, very few shows could survive after losing Max Perlich.
I know people usually consider it the beginning of the end for Homicide, but you have to admit that the revelation that Luther Mahoney was a shapeshifter and that he'd infiltrated the Homicide Unit in his Brodie form was seriously shocking at the time. Plus, there were plenty of clues in retrospect, like Brodie and Mahoney never being in the same scene, and that huge pile of jeff caps in Mahoney's apartment.
;D
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[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K4k238Qy3wo[/youtube]
Great scene.
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I third Homicide. Do not watch after the Big Departure. You'll know what I mean when you get to it.
To be fair, very few shows could survive after losing Max Perlich.
I know people usually consider it the beginning of the end for Homicide, but you have to admit that the revelation that Luther Mahoney was a shapeshifter and that he'd infiltrated the Homicide Unit in his Brodie form was seriously shocking at the time. Plus, there were plenty of clues in retrospect, like Brodie and Mahoney never being in the same scene, and that huge pile of jeff caps in Mahoney's apartment.
I always thought it was kind of odd that no one on The Wire ever commented on Luther Mahoney all of a sudden turning up as a sullen medical examiner. I attributed it to the apparently high turnover rate in the Baltimore PD (which also led to Col. Barnfather quitting and running a strip club) but now I'm beginning to think there was more to it than that...
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I third Homicide. Do not watch after the Big Departure. You'll know what I mean when you get to it.
To be fair, very few shows could survive after losing Max Perlich.
I know people usually consider it the beginning of the end for Homicide, but you have to admit that the revelation that Luther Mahoney was a shapeshifter and that he'd infiltrated the Homicide Unit in his Brodie form was seriously shocking at the time. Plus, there were plenty of clues in retrospect, like Brodie and Mahoney never being in the same scene, and that huge pile of jeff caps in Mahoney's apartment.
I always thought it was kind of odd that no one on The Wire ever commented on Luther Mahoney all of a sudden turning up as a sullen medical examiner. I attributed it to the apparently high turnover rate in the Baltimore PD but now I'm beginning to think there was more to it than that...
Yeah, that was a bit strange.
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The Adventures of Pete & Pete. Sadly, like UCB, season three is not available on DVD. Shameful.
But, great music, great guest stars (Iggy Pop, David Johansen, Gordon Gano, Kristen Hersh, LL Cool J, etc.), filmed in NJ.
Oh, Big Train (British sketch comedy staring Simon Pegg, Mark Heap and others), and Spaced (British sitcom staring Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, Mark Heap and others) are really good.
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Space Ghost Coast to Coast.
The one with Laurie Anderson in particular she explained the current economic crisis years before it happened.
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Father Ted is what you should rent next.
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The Adventures of Pete & Pete. Sadly, like UCB, season three is not available on DVD. Shameful.
But, great music, great guest stars (Iggy Pop, David Johansen, Gordon Gano, Kristen Hersh, LL Cool J, etc.), filmed in NJ.
For a long time, there was a rumor that the guy who played Artie wasn't an actor, but just an eccentric weirdo who wandered onto the set one day doing that persona. Either way, that guy was awesome. Agreed that the music was awesome, most of it from Stephin Merritt's projects.
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The Adventures of Pete & Pete. Sadly, like UCB, season three is not available on DVD. Shameful.
But, great music, great guest stars (Iggy Pop, David Johansen, Gordon Gano, Kristen Hersh, LL Cool J, etc.), filmed in NJ.
For a long time, there was a rumor that the guy who played Artie wasn't an actor, but just an eccentric weirdo who wandered onto the set one day doing that persona. Either way, that guy was awesome. Agreed that the music was awesome, most of it from Stephin Merritt's projects.
Don't forget about Polaris, which was basically a reformed version of Miracle Legion.
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And Newsradio. A very good sitcom.
When it was on NBC I was a ceaseless proselytizer, but a couple of years ago I bought season 1 and found it didn't quite hold up as well as I'd imagined. Good but not great.
Same with Larry Sanders. Started watching it again and it did not really hold up. Still good, but not great...probably because so many shows have copied its style since then that it now looks formulaic. But to be fair, it may have something to do with me getting mad each time I see Jeremy Piven, knowing that he would leave the show and become a rug-wearing asshole.
I like colonel sanders. is that the same guy?
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I like colonel sanders. is that the same guy?
I think they're distant cousins.
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The Adventures of Pete & Pete. Sadly, like UCB, season three is not available on DVD. Shameful.
But, great music, great guest stars (Iggy Pop, David Johansen, Gordon Gano, Kristen Hersh, LL Cool J, etc.), filmed in NJ.
For a long time, there was a rumor that the guy who played Artie wasn't an actor, but just an eccentric weirdo who wandered onto the set one day doing that persona. Either way, that guy was awesome. Agreed that the music was awesome, most of it from Stephin Merritt's projects.
Don't forget about Polaris, which was basically a reformed version of Miracle Legion.
How could I forget about Polaris? The episode where Little Pete becomes a fan of theirs after watching them play in their garage was what made me into a music fan at a young age.
"Waiting For October" is my favorite song my them.
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I like colonel sanders. is that the same guy?
I think they're distant cousins.
if the tv show comes with a 2-piece meal (dark meat), then i'm all over it.
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The Adventures of Pete & Pete. Sadly, like UCB, season three is not available on DVD. Shameful.
But, great music, great guest stars (Iggy Pop, David Johansen, Gordon Gano, Kristen Hersh, LL Cool J, etc.), filmed in NJ.
For a long time, there was a rumor that the guy who played Artie wasn't an actor, but just an eccentric weirdo who wandered onto the set one day doing that persona. Either way, that guy was awesome. Agreed that the music was awesome, most of it from Stephin Merritt's projects.
Don't forget about Polaris, which was basically a reformed version of Miracle Legion.
How could I forget about Polaris? The episode where Little Pete becomes a fan of theirs after watching them play in their garage was what made me into a music fan at a young age.
"Waiting For October" is my favorite song my them.
Yeah, the band that Little Pete formed had both Marshall Crenshaw and Syd Straw.
I really miss that show.
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watch the thick of it on youtube TODAY.
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I just did Lovejoy -> Mad Men -> Berlin Alexanderplatz (which I'm still on). Only driving me a little crazy.
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Mork and Mindy. The main character is really the city of Boulder. The first season, they take on the music store. The second season they take on the deli. And it goes from there.
The writers took a season off to map out how they were going to end it. Good thing they did. It led to a really great finale. I won't say how it ends, but here's a teaser: It involves Jonathan Winters in a Benjamin Button-style twist.
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Damn. I killed an otherwise interesting and informative thread with that dumb Mork and Mindy gag.
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Damn. I killed an otherwise interesting and informative thread with that dumb Mork and Mindy gag.
Oh, the threads I've killed.
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Damn. I killed an otherwise interesting and informative thread with that dumb Mork and Mindy gag.
Oh, the threads I've killed.
Come on, "you" don't kill too "many" thre"ads.".
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Damn. I killed an otherwise interesting and informative thread with that dumb Mork and Mindy gag.
Disagree. You killed an otherwise interesting and informative thread with a good Mork and Mindy gag.
I think between that and the Homicide discussion above, we just need a spinoff thread about missed plot/character opportunities for old TV shows, sort of like that "how the movie should have ended" thread that was also on the board somewhere a few months ago. I would start this, but I'm afraid my FOT flopsweat will show after the Video Analysis thread disaster and the Paul Stanley contest fiasco.
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Damn. I killed an otherwise interesting and informative thread with that dumb Mork and Mindy gag.
Disagree. You killed an otherwise interesting and informative thread with a good Mork and Mindy gag.
I think between that and the Homicide discussion above, we just need a spinoff thread about missed plot/character opportunities for old TV shows, sort of like that "how the movie should have ended" thread that was also on the board somewhere a few months ago. I would start this, but I'm afraid my FOT flopsweat will show after the Video Analysis thread disaster and the Paul Stanley contest fiasco.
I feel bad about not contributing to the Video Analysis thread. Almost as bad as I feel about the half-finished Movie Game entry I started months ago.
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Everytime this thread pops up the same shows get thrown out. I do agree that those shows are good though and to tell you the truth I don't think I'd have anything to add. But there have to be some hidden gems right? Any mainstream shows that are currently on that are better than the standard fare? I like Big Bang Theory a little bit.
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Everytime this thread pops up the same shows get thrown out. I do agree that those shows are good though and to tell you the truth I don't think I'd have anything to add. But there have to be some hidden gems right? Any mainstream shows that are currently on that are better than the standard fare? I like Big Bang Theory a little bit.
Go back to England, Gibby.
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Everytime this thread pops up the same shows get thrown out. I do agree that those shows are good though and to tell you the truth I don't think I'd have anything to add. But there have to be some hidden gems right? Any mainstream shows that are currently on that are better than the standard fare? I like Big Bang Theory a little bit.
Southland started off with a BANG. Kind of petered out a little but still better than most stuff out there.
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Everytime this thread pops up the same shows get thrown out. I do agree that those shows are good though and to tell you the truth I don't think I'd have anything to add. But there have to be some hidden gems right? Any mainstream shows that are currently on that are better than the standard fare? I like Big Bang Theory a little bit.
Southland started off with a BANG. Kind of petered out a little but still better than most stuff out there.
I couldn't get over the fact that one of the main dudes is called (no joke) Ben Sherman.
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I watched an episode of a show called Intelligence this weekend. Pretty good. It's Canadian, done by the guy who did Da Vinci's Inquest (I didn't know that when I decided to record Intelligence).
Come to think of it, Da Vinci's Inquest is pretty good, too. I haven't seen the show it evolved into (Da Vinci's City Hall); maybe it's good as well.
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Without having actually seen it yet, I recommend DESTROY BUILD DESTROY.
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Without having actually seen it yet, I recommend DESTROY BUILD DESTROY.
It does sound great. Andrew WK is kid of scary though. I can't imagine trying to maintain that persona for so long.
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Wasn't sure where to post this, I had to let you know. This arrived today by post!
(http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3582/3810835470_568713cf99_o.jpg)
Thanks to all FOT for great suggestions...books, movies, tv shows, music. I'd still be watching MASH if it weren't for all of you. I love this forum! (I also like MASH very much)
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Damn. I killed an otherwise interesting and informative thread with that dumb Mork and Mindy gag.
Disagree. You killed an otherwise interesting and informative thread with a good Mork and Mindy gag.
I think between that and the Homicide discussion above, we just need a spinoff thread about missed plot/character opportunities for old TV shows, sort of like that "how the movie should have ended" thread that was also on the board somewhere a few months ago. I would start this, but I'm afraid my FOT flopsweat will show after the Video Analysis thread disaster and the Paul Stanley contest fiasco.
I'd like to see a spinoff show. The Hills: Audrina's
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Wasn't sure where to post this, I had to let you know. This arrived today by post!
(http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3582/3810835470_568713cf99_o.jpg)
Thanks to all FOT for great suggestions...books, movies, tv shows, music. I'd still be watching MASH if it weren't for all of you. I love this forum! (I also like MASH very much)
Fantastic bunch of shows!
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Whats the one sandwiched between Darkplace and Look Around You Series 2? Based on the rest of the pile, I bet I want to watch it.
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It's Snuff Box, a sketch show with Rich Fulcher. I'd like to see that too. Rich Fulcher plays the awesome Bob Fossil on the Boosh.
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Whats the one sandwiched between Darkplace and Look Around You Series 2? Based on the rest of the pile, I bet I want to watch it.
It's Nathan Barley by Charlie Brooker and Chris Morris, a satire of "new media" assholes.
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Since Chris L. just mentioned him, he's a recent Brooker clip from his not-actually-that-great new show YOU HAVE BEEN WATCHING.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TneBg8ZEsBU
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Whats the one sandwiched between Darkplace and Look Around You Series 2? Based on the rest of the pile, I bet I want to watch it.
It's Nathan Barley by Charlie Brooker and Chris Morris, a satire of "new media" assholes.
I'd put Nathan Barley, Jam, Brass Eye, and The Day Today about two clicks higher in awesomeness than the rest of the shows here discussed. They have a welcome undercurrent of evil and hate that is sadly lacking from such efforts as Snuff Box.
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Agreed.
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So that's what The Deadliest [sic] Warrior is.