Favorite Shows

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A while back I made a list of some of my favorite books. Now it's time for tv shows:

Full Metal Alchemist: Brotherhood

Probably the single best tv show I've ever seen, period. I cannot praise this show highly enough. The first few episodes seem a little kiddy, stick with it and the depth quickly becomes apparent. The plot is excellent, with elements from early episodes coming to fruition during the finale. Every single character, including many of the one-shot characters, get an impressive amount of character development and all have unique personalities and motivations.

There are actually two different FMA animes. Both start out with the same first couple episodes, as they were both initially based in the manga, but the original (just Full Metal Alchemist) diverges after about episode 13. The writers decided they'd rather make their own ending than make five years of crappy filler episodes to wait for the manga to finish up. All in all, they did a very impressive job, and it's a very good show, albeit with a very bittersweet ending.

Brotherhood, however, sticks to the plot of the manga. And while the first few episodes aren't quite as good, which turned off a lot of fans of the first anime, once the plot picks up there is no contest. Brotherhood is better, hands down, with an huge cast of awesome characters, intense character development for essentially everyone, and one of the most satisfying finales of any tv series I've ever seen.

This is also one of the few shows that actually made me feel for the villains. Many of the bad guys are absolute monsters, yet you often see how their character flaws dragged them down and you can't help but emphasize with them. Several of the 'bad guys' actually make you respect them in spite of the things they've done. I'll bet money you'll cry at least a little for more villains in this show than in anything else.

I'll cut it short here so it doesn't turn into an essay. Long story short, this show is a must-watch. It's easy to find on Netflix and Hulu, so you have no excuse, though a few of the later episodes may not be dubbed yet so you'll have to read the sub-titles.





A Game of Thrones

HBO's series is a very faithful adaption of one of the best epic fantasy series in print today, and they did an outstanding job. An epic tale of the slowly evolving train wreck caused by feuding families fighting to control the throne to start out with, but once they get to the later books you'll start to realize that there is a much bigger threat out there, and that winter is coming.




Archer
@#$%^& hilarious. @#$%^&*, #$%^&*#$% hilarious. Totally not safe for anywhere but privacy, but this is the funniest tv show I've ever seen, period. Imagine M was James Bond's mom, and that every person in the agency had various personality disorders, and that James Bond's cavalier, cold and selfish nature was played up for laughs.






Avatar the Last Airbender
A kid's show, that wasn't written for kids. Apparently like My Little Pony, except that instead of ponies and rainbows and girly stuff you have element-wielding martial artists fighting over the fate of the world. It's great for both kids and adults. In fact, I'm almost surprised Pixar didn't produce it or something.

Just avoid the Last Airbender movie, though.





Burn Notice
Another spy show, but this time it's action instead of comedy. Michael Weston was burned and dumped in Miami for unknown reasons. Now he has to track down who burned him, while taking odd jobs using his super-spy skills to cover the bills, all while his retired SEAL friend spies on him for the FBI and his ex-terrorist ex-girlfriend hangs around for fun.






Angel Beats
A short anime about a high school student who wakes up dead with no memories, in a high school filled with other dead people. While it looks like a comedy on the surface, every person in the show is at this afterlife/high school because of unresolved personal issues. I would be amazed if this show didn't make you cry at several points.

[url]http://archaeon.blog.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/00/03/07/84/3078498/files/anime/angel-beats.jpg[/url]





Clannad
Another anime. It's nothing fancy, just a simple show about a former delinquent high schooler and some of his friends. The first season isn't anything special, though it is still fun to watch. The second season, though, will make you cry. I would bet money that anyone who watches this show through will start bawling non-stop at I think episode 16 of season 2, and won't stop until the finale. Even though the show is just about a poor guy trying to live his life with his loved ones, without many of the fantastical story elements in most other shows, Clannad is the most emotionally moving piece of fiction I've ever experienced.

[url]http://animeguyspl0x.files.wordpress.com/2011/09/clannad-3.jpg[/url]



Baccano
This anime is the complete opposite of Clannad. While Clannad is amazing because of the emotional connection to the characters and the crap they go through, Baccano is awesome, over the top, break neck, nonstop fun. It's set in 1930's gangland America, and jumps around non-linearly between multiple story lines with a huge cast of unique and fun characters. Several aspects of the show, and the first episode in particular, will be very, very confusing at first. Don't worry about it. Just go with the flow, and you'll start putting the pieces together one little bit at a time and have a blast doing it.

And watch the opening sequence. All the main characters, their names, and some of their relationships with the other characters are cleverly explained in the opening sequence, and with the non-linear storytelling and large cast of characters you're going to need all the help you can get.






Generation Kill
Based on the book of the same name, as well as One Bullet Away, Generation Kill follows a company of Recon Marines during the 2003 invasion of Iraq. It does not pull punches, it does not try to paint a pretty picture or hide anything, it just tells the story of what happened as accurately as possible. If you liked Band of Brothers, this is an excellent choice.

Do keep in mind this is a show about Marines and modern military forces, so there is a lot of cussing. A lot. As in, a whole ************************************************** ************************************************** **** lot of it. So, yeah, not for kids.

[eldargal]

At the moment:

Castle
Homeland (only halfway through the series)
Seth MacFarlane animations (my favourite is American Dad)
Upstairs, Downstairs
Agatha Christies Poirot

an assortment of my favourites that are no longer with us:

Transformers
Firefly
Star Trek (all of them)
Blackadder
Monty Pythons Flying Circus
Babar (shut up)
The Adventures of Tintin
Duckula
Rome
Batman: The Animated Series.


I've actually gone off Game of Thrones/A tale of Fire and Ice in a big way since I started reading it a second time. I mean I knew it was a soap opera for geeky boys before, but reading it again and watching the show, I don't know. Just not keen on it anymore.

[energongoodie]

The Big Bang Theory is my favourite show on right now by a long way. I love it

[DrLove42]

I'm a crime nut you might say

CSI (Original and NY)
NCIS
Mentalist
Castle

Then things like Big Bang Theory, How I met your Mother....

And the old crowd - Firefly, Dollhouse, Smallville (thats bad I know)

[lattd]

How I Met Your Mother
The Big Bang Theory
Suits
Mock the Week
Naruto
Bang goes the Theory
Top Gear
Transformers Prime
The West Wing
I cannot think of anything else atm.

[Joshuawesome]

AGOT
Dr. Who
Venture Bros.
QI

I just picked up Community. My friends all said it was rly good but I hated the first episode. watched a couple more and they were much better.

[Grenadier]

I agree completely with Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood as a choice. It's exceptionally well written with lots of layer and depth. With few exceptions you do grow attached to the characters. Even the villains. And the story is simply amazing. The animation itself is top notch and full of some incredibly rendered action sequences. And isn't General Armstrong one hot lady? She'd make an excellent Commissar!

Ghost in the Shell ranks as my second favorite animes. Major Motoko Kusanagi is hands down the sexiest characters. Sometimes the show bogs down in speechiness and technical jargon. But the premise is very interesting.

Least favorite anime: Bleach. While the character designs are interesting the show sucks. Every fight is more a war of words than blades.

Same with Deathnote. One half of the episode is Kira harping on and on and the other half is L harping on and on.

My other favorite shows:

Justifed on FX. It's not filmed here but it is set in the county I live in. So I gotta like it. Stars Timothy Olyphant.

Deadwood: cancelled but still excellent. Also starred Timothy Olyphant. It had some brilliant writing and memorable characters. Most notably Al Swearengen. The show features actual historical figures like Charlie Utter, Calamity Jane, Wild Bill Hickock, Seth Bullock and Al Swearegen. It's a fictionalized tale of Deadwood South Dakota. The only place in America that the whole town is a historic landmark. At one time this town did not belong to any state or nation. It was utterly lawless. This gold mining town at one time averaged a murder a day. In recent years archaeologists discovered underground warrens used by the Chinese immigrants who lived in Deadwood long ago.

The Wire: hands down the greatest cop show ever.

The Sopranos: The Godfather ain't got nuttin' on this.

The Walking Dead: ZOMBIE APOCALYPSE! 'Nuff said.

Hell on Wheels: one season down, on AMC. Excellent show. Covers the building of the transcontinental railroad. A time in America's history when the once glorious western frontier was nearly pacified and conquered. A time in which the very fabric of America was undergoing transformation.

Mythbusters: Gotta love science and geekery at its best. And the cute red haired gal is a nice perk.

The O'Reilly Factor: if the left hates it I'll love it.

Farscape: in my opinion the greatest 1 hour sci-fi show ever. Great characters, great story, and great villains.

Stargate: All three series. Although it seems to borrow heavily on that whole alien astronaut-Chariots of the Gods garbage.

Sanford and Son: Come on...Redd Foxx?!? Need I say more you big dummy? The funniest sitcom I ever watched.

All in the Family: hated the Meathead but Archie was a fine and upstanding American.

MASH: a very beloved show that represented the last best sitcom. After MASH very few sitcoms really had anything going for them.

The Cosby Show: while very idealized it was a charming show and as a kid I wished Mr. Huxtible could have been my dad.

Cheers: you know, because sometimes you wanna go where everyone knows your name. Would it not be great that when you step inside everyone in the joint shouts your name?