help! need suggestions for dvd series.

[harborshore]

My brother's 21st birthday is tomorrow. He just had knee surgery, in another three months he will have MORE knee surgery (fuck fuck fuck, I feel so bad for him) and I need a present that will help him sit still this summer when he needs to rest.

So. He and his girlfriend just finished watching all of West Wing and they LOVED it. I need long series that are just as good and engrossing, which I realize is complicated, but yes. Help? He's seen Game of Thrones, and it's also not quite long enough yet (more than 2 seasons is preferable but not absolutely necessary).

Also, I'm still taking Avengers or X-men cuddling prompts in my last post.

Comments

[pearl-o.livejournal.com]

Farscape is pretty awesome, and definitely rewards the intense, focused watching like that. And, like ... Lost isn't necessarily good, but as far as DVD watching binges go, it is about as addictive and engrossing as it gets.

[harborshore.livejournal.com]

Lost is definitely not his thing, but Farscape might be. Thank you!

[mrsquizzical.livejournal.com]

would he go for the 'avatar the last airbender' series? it's four 'books' of 20ish episodes. such a great watch!

[harborshore.livejournal.com]

Hmm, but it's animated--maybe!

[mrsquizzical.livejournal.com]

yeah. i realise it might not be his cup of tea. just it won me and hubby and a few of our friends over and i really think it's got enough in it for adults as well as kids. just a thought, anyway. :)

[harborshore.livejournal.com]

I know it's really good, I just don't know that it's quite his sort of thing. He likes realism, gritty or no.

[mrsquizzical.livejournal.com]

sure thing. just was the longest engaging thing that came to my mind. :)

[bunnymcfoo.livejournal.com]

Does he like Sci-fi, fantasy, comedy, crime dramas? I totally have recs, but narrowing it down would probably help. :D

[harborshore.livejournal.com]

He actually watches most genres, but it absolutely has to be well written and compelling, and preferably ensemble-focused rather than only one.

[bunnymcfoo.livejournal.com]

Awesome. For the purposes of this list, I'm going to assume you've never heard of any of these and will be linking you to wiki. Also, I use my West Wing icon in yr brother's honor. :D

1) The Wire (5 seasons, 60 episodes, Realistic as all Hell, Cops and Dealers)
2) Deadwood (3 seasons, 36 episodes, Historical)
3) Carnivale (2 Seasons, 24 episodes, Historical, Sci-fi elements)
4) Sons of Anarchy (4 seasons, 53 episodes, still airing, REALLY Violent, Rape warning)
5) Friday Night Lights) (5 seasons, 76 episodes, Amazing TV)
6) Mad Men (4 seasons, currently airing. S5 is about to wrap up. Historical)
7) Justified (3 seasons, 39 episodes, still airing, Cops & Robbers)
8) Six Feet Under (5 seasons, 63 episodes, Sci-Fi elements)
9) Dead Like Me (2 seasons, 29 episodes, Sci-fi elements)
10) Battlestar Galactica (4 seasons, 75 episodes, Sci-fi)
11) Sarah Connor Chronicles (2 seasons, 31 episodes, Sci-fi)
12) Eureka (5 seasons, 68 episodes, just wrapping up, Comedy, Sci-fi)
13) Castle (4 seasons, 81 episodes, still airing, Comedy, Cops & Robbers)
14) Life on Mars (British, 3 seasons, 16 episodes, Sci-fi elements, Cops & Robbers)
15) Ashes to Ashes (British, 3 seasons, 24 episodes, sequel to Life on Mars [and I like AtA much more], Sci-fi elements, Cops & Robbers)


In all honesty, The Wire is incredibly good but really fucking depressing. I don't know if you've ever watched it, but I haven't managed to get through the entire show - I keep getting a season further every time I try, but I've also learned to balance it with something utterly ridic like Community. Sons of Anarchy is probably the second most grim thing on this list.

For my money, I'd say Six Feet Under might be the best combination of quality AND quantity up there - and the show had a complete run, unlike Deadwood, Carnivale, SCC, and Dead Like Me - all of which are wonderful shows, but they do kind of leave you cursing HBO and Fox.

[thesamefire.livejournal.com]

Friday Night Lights!

[harborshore.livejournal.com]

Man, it would be perfect, but it fucking STARTS with a serious injury. Idk if that's--you know.

[turps33.livejournal.com]

I don't know if it's a genre he likes but I've been working my way through The Wire recently. It's gritty and hard to watch at times, but perfect for focussed watching.

I'd also second Farscape if he likes sci-fi.

[harborshore.livejournal.com]

The Wire really might be the best bet here. Hmm.

[rufus.livejournal.com]

I'd offer Star Gate: Atlantis (all five (I think?) seasons) and Stargate SG-1, and also Battlestar Galactica, or Doctor Who. There's like THREE DECADES of Dr. Who he could watch. And Star Trek, whether First Generation or all of the various descendents.

Non sci-fi things, hmmm, Carnivale is supposed to be compelling but somewhat unsatisfying as it's essentially unfinished - it got cancelled before the story arc closed. Or maybe The Sopranos, or The Borgias, if he's into costume dramas. Downton Abbey, if he'd like his costume drama slightly less bloody.

I'll second The Wire recs above and add The Bill and/or NYPD Blue, if he's into police procedurals.

[harborshore.livejournal.com]

He's seen the Sopranos, and he's not much for sci-fi, honestly (also Doctor Who doesn't always have the depth I'm after). I'm leaning towards The Wire, honestly. And it's not so much important that there are eight million seasons--definitely quality over length here.

[spn-girl.livejournal.com]

Firefly!!! Its only short (got cancelled way too early) but has the follow-up movie Serenity to tie up most of the loose ends. Its by Joss, so of course its brilliant dialogue, great ensemble cast, and seriously amazing story telling (its my favorite show of all time, can you tell, lol?!)

[harborshore.livejournal.com]

I gave him Firefly four years ago :) He loves it.

[spn-girl.livejournal.com]

hmmm okay, what about White Collar (I have only seen bits and peices of the first season though, which seemed quite promising, but I cant really vouch for the rest of it). Supernatural - I firmly believe this needs to be watched on dvd/download rather than on tv, as when I tried to watch it on tv it didn't really do much for me and I probably wouldn't have bothered to watch it again, but on dvd I really enjoyed it - I think the ad breaks kill the suspense factor and spoil the show. There's also Buffy and Angel, but I expect he would have already seen those?

[romanticalgirl.livejournal.com]

Babylon 5

[harborshore.livejournal.com]

Perhaps!

[nokomis305.livejournal.com]

Sons of Anarchy! It's a biker gang Hamlet. (Assuming he's down with shows about dubious-to-nonexistent morality.) There have been four seasons, and it's utterly engrossing and compelling and amazing. I cannot rec it enough; it's probably my favorite show. I also second the rec for the Wire -- I haven't seen the complete run of it yet, but what I've seen has been stellar. Breaking Bad is great, though it's popular enough that he's probably already seen it, as is Dexter, which isn't quite in the same league as the other shows but still very entertaining. I also love Justified, which has had three seasons now, which is about a US Marshall who is reassigned to his home state of Kentucky, and in the process has to deal with the less-than-legal activities of the family he has left there. It's waaaay better than it sounds, and is one of the most entertaining (and morally ambiguous) law enforcement shows I've seen. For period pieces, the Tudors is highly entertaining, if a bit trashy, and HBO ran a series called Rome a few years ago that was amazing. It only had two seasons, but they were good ones.

...my family watches a lot of TV together, and these are the shows that seem universally loved, regardless of genre preferences.

[sunsetmog.livejournal.com]

Probably not his thing, but I've just watched all of Parks and Recreation (apart from series 1, which is NOT AS GOOD) and fallen stupidly in love.

[morebliss.livejournal.com]

Buffy the Vampire Slayer?

[takkatakkatakka.livejournal.com]

The Sopranos? Kind of old now, but it was pretty sharp.