TV Shows
With the recent flood of TV on DVD, and some very well written current shows, I have started taking TV much more seriously. TV can have story arcs and character depth that is impossible to get into a two hour movie or two. In order to cut down on the number of lists I have, I have included Anime with the American live action shows. Thanks to the internet the world is becoming a smaller place, and we can all more easily enjoy the entertainment of other cultures. Most of these are in no particular order. I will be adding personal comments to all of these as I have time.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer
I have written and re-written this paragraph trying to sum up the greatness of this show in one paragraph. Ultimately I think it comes down to the fact that the creator Joss Whedon and his crew of writers love the material and they all "get" it. This is the definitive show about growing up for people who are now in their twenties. It is funny, sad, dramatic, happy, and depressing at different points, sometimes all at the same time. Best taken as a single 100 hour long epic, characters and storylines often come and go as if there weren’t separate episodes or seasons. There are hundreds of little jokes and comments that refer to previous episodes that give the show a continuity that is deeper than most novels. If you like a good story you owe it to yourself to pick up the DVD’s and give the show a shot.
Angel
I see Angel as just an extension of Buffy. The first season of Angel and the fourth of Buffy are so intertwined with crossovers that you miss an entire dynamic of each if you don’t watch them together. While Buffy is about growing up, Angel is about dealing with your past and moving on, no matter what that past may be. If you like Buffy, chances are you will like Angel just as much.
Firefly
Sci-fi from Joss Whedon and Tim Minear that Fox stupidly canceled in the middle of the first season. That alone should get you to rush out and buy the DVD set of all the produced episodes. This probably would have become the best sci-fi show ever if it had lasted more than thirteen episodes. Fortunately, there is now a very good movie, Serenity, and there is a possibility of resurrecting the show or making more movies.
Battlestar Galactica
The new Battlestar Galactica produced by Ronald Moore is the best science fiction show that has ever been on TV. Firefly would have probably put up a fight for that title if it had stayed on the air, but it didn’t so there really isn’t any competition. It has a well thought out and fast moving main plot arc. It also has very cool space battles.
Veronica Mars
Veronica Mars is the best drama currently on TV. Every episode is well written, and it can switch from funny to serious in a way that only Joss Whedon’s shows did previously.
Farscape
Farscape is more hit and miss than Battlestar Galactica and Firefly, but it wasn’t afraid to make sweeping changes to the show like killing off main characters and cloning a main character and then keeping them both alive for a season. It’s first DVD release was ridiculously expensive, but they are re-releasing the show in a much less expensive version.
Babylon 5
Babylon 5 is the show that convinced me that it was possible to have a deep engrossing story arc on a TV show. The shows five seasons were planned out from the beginning, and it shows. It miraculously beat off the sci-fi show cancellation curse(by a narrow margin) and was allowed to run it’s course. Even though it has been finished for a few years now, it is still the best completed sci-fi show.
West Wing
Aaron Sorkin has the most ear pleasing writing style of any TV writer possibly ever. While it is well written and acted, the real reason I have the show on my must watch list is just to listen to the dialog. Don’t bother with anything after the 4th season, Sorkin and his crew left and they put the guy that ran E.R. into the ground in charge.
RahXephon
On the surface RahXephon is just another "boy with giant robot" anime, and maybe that is all it is. But, it is by far the best "boy with giant robot" anime I have ever seen. I love the animation style, and there are no annoying characters that you are supposed to root for, but would really rather die. The last third of the series is also one of the most powerful anime endings I have ever seen.
Cowboy Bebop
Cowboy Bebop (which really has nothing to do with cowboys) is all about the atmosphere, from the animation to the music. It follows four characters as they deal with their past and try to move on. It also gets progressively darker and more serious as it progresses.
Last Exile
Last Exile is still on the air in Japan as I am writing this, so I can’t say how it stacks up as a complete series, but the first 2/3 are amazing. It has deep characters and a complex world with strange technology and battling airships. It drops you in explaining nothing and slowly drops clues and flashbacks about the characters pasts and what is actually happening in the world. It is shaping up to be one of my favorites.
Trigun
Trigun is a bizarre comedy that gets surprisingly dark and serious as it progresses. It is definitely worth watching, and don’t be put off by the first few episodes.