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

[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.