Television...

[fajrdrako]

TV meme - from dargie and monsieureden. These are a list of TV shows. The meme is to say whether I ever watched it, and what I thought of it.

Keep in mind that I just don't like television comedy, and seldom watch it. When I do watch it, it's usually under duress, which makes me grumpy. So this list has a lot of stuff I've never seen, and many of my favourite shows are not listed, though some are.

50. Quantum Leap - Watched it once or twice. Good moments, but it didn't make much impression.

49. Prison Break - Never saw it.

48. Veronica Mars - Saw every episode at least once and loved it with a passion, especially first season, especially the Veronica/Logan romance - one of the best on television. I never got fannish about it, though. Held a few Veronica Mars parties, but didn't write or read the fic, didn't join the communties and the mailing lists. I still want to see the Veronica/Logan relationship resolved with them together. So many good lines. (Logan to Veronica: "If cuddling together afterwards is the best part, he's doing it wrong.") I have mixed feelings about the possibility of a movie, though. Can they recapture what made it good?

47. Star Trek: Deep Space Nine - When this started I had high hopes. I'd been in love with the actor who played Sisko from his role of Hawk in Spenser for Hire; I quickly fell in love with Kira and Bashir, and liked the concept of Odo. Alas, I hated the Ferengi, and Sisko turned out to be a terrible bore, and the Bajoran politics made my teeth ache from grinding. I don't think I lasted more than a season or two... though I have good memories of the sexy "Mirror universe" stories.

46. Sex & The City - Never saw it. I think Harry might have shown me an episode once - I'm sure he did - it made no impression at all and I don't remember it. I think I was bored.

45. Farscape - I saw some early episodes at Tasia's place and liked it. Saw The Peacemaker War and didn't understand anything that was going on. I like Claudia Black. A lot. Would like to watch the show properly some day, but haven't had the opportunity.

44. Cracker - Intend to watch the episodes with Christopher Eccleston, but haven't yet.

43. Star Trek - The old series? I saw two episodes when it was first aired, and thought they were dumb. They were both about Spock falling in love with women. What are the odds? I thought it msut all be like that. In 1978 I rediscovered the show through one of the published short story collections, fell in love with the K/S, and that was my first slash fandom. Discovered fanzines. Discovered fannish conventions. What glorious days those were.

42. Only Food Fools and Horses - What? Never saw it.

41. Band of Brothers - Never saw it.

40. Life on Mars - I watched the first three or four episodes because it was so enthusiastically recommended by my fannish friends. I was extremely bored, and didn't like any of the actors or characters - except one who hardly ever appeared. Saw part of a later episode at a club meeting and was still unimpressed.

39. Monty Python's Flying Circus - Loved it. My mother and I used to watch it every week, howling with laugher. My father didn't get it, and thought we were both crazy. Wouldn't want to watch it again, though. That was then, this is now.

38. Curb Your Enthusiasm - Never saw it.

37. Star Trek: The Next Generation - I was in love with Captain Jean-Luc Picard and Patrick Stewart. And with Michelle Forbes, though not so much with Ensign Ro. Watched every episode, complained a lot about the bad stories, but loved the rare great ones: "Darmok" stands out in my memory, along with "Yesterday's Enterprise" and "The Measure of a Man". Once read a Picard/Data slash story by - by who? M. Fae Glasgow, I think - and loved it.

36. Father Ted - Never saw it.

35. Alias - Someone showed me the first few episodes and the story was intriguing, but I never saw more.

34. Frasier - Never saw it. I never watch TV comedy if I can help it.

33. CSI - Only ever saw it once, thought it undercharacterized and over-gross and, worst of all, it bored me.

32. Babylon 5 - I watched every episode. Liked it much less than all my friends did, though for a while I loved Garibaldi (before they ruined him) and Sinclair (before they wrote him out). I don't really have happy memories of the show now, but once wrote a Garibaldi/Sinclair slash story that was a pleasure to write.

My best Babylon 5 memories are of seeing J. Michael Straczynski, Harlan Ellison, and the whole cast give a preview of the show at San Diego Comic Con - before there was even proper footage from pre-filming. What fun that was.

31. Deadwood - Never saw it.

30. Dexter - Never saw it. Heard the writing was good.

29. ER - Never saw it.

28. Fawlty Towers - Never saw more than bits and pieces.

27. Six Feet Under - Saw some of first season with maaseru, who loved it. I didn't.

26. Red Dwarf - Saw a bit with friends once. It made no impression. Kind of quirky.

25. Futurama - Never saw it.

24. Twin Peaks - Watched a few random episodes and loved its style - thought this was a few years after its initial airing. Didn't feel compelled to watch the rest, though.

23. The Office - Never saw it.

22. The Shield - Never saw it.

21. Angel - Ask me again when I've seen more of it. I was most disappointed by the first half of first season, even the Spike episode; it made me dislike characters I'd loved in Buffy. But I hear it gets better. I expect I will come to love it - after all, I was unimpressed with Buffy initially, too.

20. Blackadder - Have managed to avoid this fairly artfully.

19. Scrubs - Never saw it.

18. Arrested Development - Never saw it.

17. South Park - I liked the "Blame Canada" song.

16. Doctor Who - I discovered this in 2006 and fell totally in love. A brilliant, wonderful, unique and enthralling show. Some of the best writing and most imaginative ideas on television. Sadly, some big let-downs, too, but on the whole - brilliant. The Christopher Eccleston series was the best.

I haven't seen much of the classic Doctor Who and have mixed feelings about watching it. I'm curious about the background and the characters, but I know it isn't relationship-rich, and that's what matters to me.

15. Heroes - Initially, I loved it, but it went downhill after the first 'volume', and I lost heart in "Villains" when Peter Petrelli started turning bad. I assume he has, or will, be redeemed? I'm scared to look.

Regardless of that, I was happy to see superheroes brought to television so well.

14. Firefly - Let me quote dargie: "OMG, one of the best shows ever." CLever, funny, moving, exciting, well-characterized, with some of the best female characters in television and some of the most original thinking I've seen. Can't praise this one enough. It's only fault was its brevity.

13. Battlestar Galactica - Never liked the original show. Never saw more than scraps of it. The current show? Beautifully, beautifully written, but depressing, and things aren't going the way I want. Love Will Adam, and Lee. Used to love Starbuck, but she hasn't been herself lately. I'm feeling... unenthusiastic or trepidatious or something about the current season.

12. Family Guy - Never saw it.

11. Seinfeld - Never saw it.

10. Spaced - Never saw it.

09. The X-Files - The show that seduced me and betrayed me and broke my heart.

I had resisted it and refused to watch first season. Second season, I decided to use it to amuse myself while running on a trampoline in my living room. I found it watchable but nothing special through "Ice" and a couple of other episodes - and then I came to "Humbug". I fell in love. Fannish love. It made me laugh. It scared me. It charmed me. I adored Mulder with a deep and abiding love. I wrote Mulder/Skinner fic and Mulder/Krycek fic and Krycek/Skinner fic. I was a happy, happy fan.

...Until the show fell apart and the stories became stupid and the last straw was when Mulder found out what happened to his sister and he was okay with that.

And let's not talk about the decay and destruction of Krycek.

Betrayed and distressed, I have never returned to the show or the fandom. I might eventually get around to watching my old favourite episodes again, and seeing the new movie. Maybe.

08. The Wire - Saw the first five minutes of the first episode, disliked it, and turned it off. I am told it's brilliant by those I trust, so I may, at some point, try again.

07. Friends - Never saw it. Is this boring yet? Might as well excise all the comedies from this list: I don't watch comedies, don't intend to watch comedies, and if I do watch a comedy, it's a fluke.

06. 24 - Never saw it. Might watch it, if I get the chance. I like Keifer Sutherland. And I hear Peter Wingfield turns up in it.

05. Lost - Loved the first episode. Enjoyed most of second season, more or less. But the ... style ... began to wear thing. Surprises and mysteries for the sake of plot twists, whether they made any sense at all. No payoff. I stopped watching. I'm told it's good again, but I can't think of any reason to watch - I feel no particular love for the characters, and that's what I watch TV for.

04. The West Wing - I saw and enjoyed an episode (or two?) without really getting a feel for it. I know it's good; everyone says so; but it didn't grab me.

03. The Sopranos - Never saw it.

02. Buffy the Vampire Slayer - I'm watching it slowly. Heard much about it when it was first on - most of my friends were fans. I resisted. Saw a few episodes at the time, didn't much like it. Saw too many music vid scenes at conventions, of scrawny teen girls weeping in each other's arms, and that turned me off. But, but... Spike. I knew about Spike. I saw his sex scenes with Buffy. Hot! And Giles. Loved him. Surely I could swallow my dislike of David Boreanaz and watch?

A fannish angel sent me the DVDs a year ago, and I started to watch.

Most of first season seemed pretty dumb, but there was enough there to enjoy, to keep on watching... I came to love Spike. And Buffy. Knew all along I'd love Giles. Was thrilled to love the Buffy/Angel romance, against all expectation.

So I've watched as far as the beginning or middle of fourth season. Loved "Hush", don't like Riley.

I don't feel fannish about the show, but I love Spike and hope to find time to get back to it soon.

01. The Simpsons - Kathy Li once made me sit down and watch the episode "The Raven". Loved it. I have great admiration for Matt Groening. If I watched comedy, if I watched animated shows, I might watch this. As it is, I admire it from afar.

Comments

[xinef.livejournal.com]

Too long a list for me to do! So some quick comments, instead.
Firefly - didn't see it when it was on, bought the DVD with the entire set of episodes. LOVE IT.
CSI - watch regularly. Some episodes are good, some aren't. Will see how it gets on without William Peterson (Gil Grissom).
Star Trek: TNG - watched regularly. Don't think we missed an episode during its normal seasons. Watch repeats occasionally.

Others I think they've missed:
MASH - loved it. Still love it (mostly). Have the DVD sets for all seasons after #4 (ie after Frank left).
Paper Chase - loved it. Didn't watch all episodes, but probably saw most.
Fame - loved it. Didn't watch all episodes, but probably saw most.

Current ones I watch, which weren't on their list:
Criminal Minds - Fascinating. Try not to miss any.
Numb3rs - not a great show, but I like it! Find some of their math based solutions a bit far fetched, but still fun.
Bones - don't watch religiously but catch it fairly often. I like the sexual tension and light humour.
The Rick Mercer Report - ok so that was a US list, I guess! LOVE Rick Mercer. He is hilarious. His rants are usually right on the money, in my opinion.
Little Mosque on the Prairie - gentle, Canadian fun. Love this show.

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

Firefly is simply magnificent - so wonderfully entertaining. I was less impressed with the movie Serenity, though.

Funny they didn't mention MASH! Everyone watched MASH! Now, I didn't watch it regularly, but it was probably the last comedy I ever watched on anything like a more-than-occasional basis.

I've heard a lot of people say Criminal Minds was good. What season is it on?

I love Rick Mercer, too. Don't see his show a lot but always enjoy it when I do.

[abrakadabrah.livejournal.com]

Geez, it doesn't even have Supernatural on the list.

Who wrote this thing!?

[VBG]

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

Who wrote this thing!?

I wondered that myself. A lot of shows my friends are watching - Supernatural, Stargate Atlantis, SG1, Smallville - just not there. I couldn't see a pattern. It isn't all new stuff. It isn't all old. It isn't all American. Sort of arbitrary, really.

[chazzbanner.livejournal.com]

Band of Brothers - miniseries - is amazing. Of course, some people won't watch anything about war. * (Damian Lewis is terrific in it, and he's not the only one. I own the DVDs.

My other big pluses here would be Farscape, Deadwood, and the Simpsons.

*it's about the real life Easy Company, paratroopers who were in Normandy, Operation Market Garden, and the Battle of the Bulge.

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

I've heard good things about Band of Brothers. I don't know if I'd watch it for Damian Lewis, but if it's well written - I don't care if it's about war or not.

I would like to see Farscape and Deadwood if I get the chance.

[mommimus-prime.livejournal.com]

There are only a one show there that I've never heard of: Only Food Fools and Horses.

I generally avoid serious dramas and despite my fannish nature I've never watched Buffy,Farscape, Babylon 5 (saw the pilot). Dramas like CSI, The Wire, Lost, etc, etc I've never bothered to watch. I've seen an episode of West Wing which Tom loved. I love The Office, The Simpsons, Family Guy, Star Trek Classic, watched DS9 but didn't really care for it and didn't watch any more ST after that. Quantum Leap was a big favorite. I should actually copy this list and go over it.

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

Buffy is odd - I find it very uneven, but what's good about makes me keep coming back.

I only saw a few episodes of Farscape, but it seemed very entertaining, in a way that, actually, reminded me of the Legion - people from different planets and species together with goals in mind.

I should actually copy this list and go over it.

Yes, why not?

[monsieureden.livejournal.com]

Well now I'm interloaning Firefly. I saw Serenity and didn't like it and I thought that was based on Firefly so never bothered.

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

Well... I didn't much like Serenity either, partly because I didn't think it had the great strengths Serenity had - the moral fibre, the humour, the characterization. And partly because they killed of characters who shouldn't have died, and didn't pay much attention to the female characters, who were so wonderful, and gave quick/flip resolutions to themes that deserved much better.

[cionaudha.livejournal.com]

So, why no comedy?

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

why no comedy?

Easy answer: because I don't like it. I usually don't find it funny, and there's nothing more boring than listening to something that's supposed to be funny and isn't. I love humour in the context of TV shows or movies that aren't themselves comedies - for instance, I find Joss Whedon's writing very funny, often. But it isn't comedy, because it's also partly serious.

[topgeargirl2.livejournal.com]

Blackadder is on my favourite comedies, I loved Life on Mars, Monty Python was excellent.

Doctor Who is my favourite tv show of all time.

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

I can't argue about Doctor Who - it's just wonderful.

[femme-slash-fan.livejournal.com]

You do realise that 1.) I too love Firefly and 2.) I'm sorta hooked on CSI (only for the monumental GAY they try to hide and fail...)

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

I too love Firefly

Wonderful show.

hooked on CSI (only for the monumental GAY they try to hide and fail...)

What does that mean? Is it slashy?

[femme-slash-fan.livejournal.com]

It's heavy on the lady-slash and yeah, it has moments of subtext.

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

Ooh, sounds good!

[janne-d.livejournal.com]

I can completely recommend Cracker, in particular the set of episodes called To Be A Somebody (guest starring Robert Carlyle before he was really a star).

And I suspect that Only Food Fools and Horses is meant to be Only Fools and Horses, a very long-running and very often repeated British comedy series.

Loved "Hush", don't like Riley.

That's because Riley is annoying.

Is there a theory behind what went on the list?

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

Robert Carlyle - oh, how wonderful! I'll see if I can find that.

Riley is annoying.

Yeah. Really. I kept thinking: "She's forgotten Angel - for the sake of this guy? Why on earth?"

Ithere a theory behind what went on the list?

I really don't have one, except maybe that it was what someone could think of as popular TV shows off the top of their head. We could follow the source LJ by LJ and see what we find - assuming everyone who did the meme said where they got it.

[janne-d.livejournal.com]

I'll see if I can find that

You should - the word for it is 'electrifying'. But all the ones I can remember were really good.

She's forgotten Angel - for the sake of this guy? Why on earth

Well, that and I just plain don't like Riley. There is a particular episode where he really annoys me and there is another one where I developed a seething hatred for the character (I actually seethingly hate that entire episode, he is just the main focus). If you ever make it to posting about them I expect you will hear why in much greater detail!

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

I wonder if I've seen the episodes you're talking about yet? It doesn't help that I can't recall what I saw after "Hush"... Okay, yes, time to catch up with Buffy. Somehow.