Panfan wrote:I'm really interested in checking out the following, but need a second opinion on them:
Veronica Mars
Supernatural
Beverly Hills, 90210
Gossip Girl
The O.C.
Everwood
Joan of Arcadia
Smallville
I'm cheating by borrowing my words from
this post and
this post, and adding/changing things...
"Veronica Mars" - it's Kristen Bell. That's one reason to get into it. It's an engaging detective series that isn't afraid to be dramatic when necessary and funny nearly all the time. That's another reason to get into it. It's Kristen Bell. That's a repetitive-but-totally-worth-it reason to get into it. The first season is the best, while the third was the weakest. The second suffered from, IMO, being darker than it should have been.
"Supernatural" - it's a show that I'd like to get back into watching regularly, but I simply don't have the time. It's about two brothers who go around chasing supernatural spirits and demons, and with a rather cool vintage car. It's got a unique look too, with really washed-out colors that make the atmosphere seem more eerie than it should. Catch a few episodes on CW before you decide to blindbuy the seasons on DVD.
"Beverly Hills, 90210" - If you've got SoapNet in your cable package, you can check out 90210 (the original, not that crappy new version on CW!). I'm not sure how far they are on SoapNet right now (I think they're at least up to Season 5 or 6). The first few seasons are...well, basic. High school drama and some family stuff. It's not until the later seasons that it gets to the good soapy stuff, which is why I always preferred the later seasons to the earlier ones. Plus, the yummy Vanessa Marcil was Gina Kincaid during the last 3 seasons.
The middle seasons are the transition between cliched high school drama and cliched young adult drama, and I usually have a love-hate relationship with it. There were some good stories (I miss the days of Steve and Clare), and Valerie was definitely an interesting character.
"Gossip Girl" - it's a show that I am interested in, but never have time to watch nor do I really prioritize it as a DVD blindbuy even if I know I'll enjoy it. But if you have the time to get into it, go right ahead.
"The O.C." - The O.C. was great in its first season (even Mischa Barton was tolerable), but the later seasons were steps down in quality. A few episodes in the fourth season are slightly better. If you want to get into it, do so for Adam Brody and Rachel Bilson (Seth and Summer). They were the two best things about the show.
"Everwood" - a bit pretentious in its first season, but the characters loosen up a bit (although some get even more high-horse). Damn the CW for dumping this and picking up "7th Heaven" for Season 139. They used to show it on ABC Family, but not anymore (dammit!). Luckily, the first season is pretty easy to find for $20 or less, and the second season will FINALLY come to DVD sometime in 2009 (though with music changes, but that's a sacrifice that I'm willing to overlook in "Everwood"). IMO, the final season was the best. Great stories all around and characters who were finally comfortable with each other and their relationships.
"Joan of Arcadia" - the best show in the world according to netty. I watched it faithfully during its first season, but never had a chance to catch up on its second (that's what DVDs are for, silly Scaps!). This is one show where you can easily blindbuy it and not be disappointed. Plus, come on, God talks to a teenager? What other teen drama can boast that kind of awesome premise? Thanks to this show I discovered it was indeed possible to watch something with Joe Mantegna and not immediately think of
Baby's Day Out.
"Smallville" - "Smallville" is probably the only "Superman" series I don't like, mainly because Tom Welling is a horrible actor, and if you have a bad "Clark", you better have a great "everyone else". And unfortunately, everyone else is only good, not great. None of them stand out enough as worth watching to make up for Welling's lack of talent (not even vets like John Glover, Annette O'Toole, or John Schneider). First season stories suffered from "Krytonite-Infected Human-Turned-Monster of the Week" syndrome which is what kept me from tuning in regularly for the subsequent seasons. And they had now idea how to write for Whitney Fordman (Eric Johnson), which is sad because he could have provided a "normal person" parallel to Clark without having to be a serious enemy (like Lex was), even though he started as such. At least they gave him a good exit (enlisting in the Marines, followed by a really bad episode where a shapeshifting girl pretends to be him and returns to Smallville, is discovered by Clark and killed, then we learn that the real Whitney was killed in action as well.). Ultimately, it's one of those shows where you wonder how the hell it got popular at all because the actors aren't that great (despite some being very nice to look at) and the stories are okay but not really enjoyable unless you are truly invested in them, especially if you want the story to help you overlook the actors.
Panfan wrote:Recommend any more you think I might like, too!
There are three that always come to mind for me:
"My So-Called Life" - this is the show that really captured the essence of teen drama. It only lasted a single season, but packed so much within that season that people still remembered it for years to come, and it's still highly influential on TV shows today. This is the
Citizen Kane of teen drama. Nothing can ever equal its greatness, though many shows have tried.
"Freaks and Geeks" - just as MSCL is the
Citizen Kane, here's your
Casablanca (in that it's on equal footing critically, though is more relatable to a general audience). It's another one-season-wonder teen drama (well, dramedy) that had a huge influence on its viewers and a continuing popularity today.
"Jack and Bobby" - this was my favorite new show of the 2004-2005 season and easily earned a spot in my top ten favorite shows ever*, and sadly WB canceled it. Just like the previous two I mentioned, this is another one-season-wonder. There aren't any channels that air this and there's no DVD release, though if you know where to look on the internet, you can find episodes online. And I highly recommend you find those episodes.
albert
*In chronological order: "I Love Lucy", "Doctor Who", "The Golden Girls", "Beauty and the Beast", "Star Trek: The Next Generation", "Twin Peaks", "Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman", "Coupling", "Jack & Bobby", and "How I Met Your Mother"
