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Top 15 television shows to watch on DVD this summer

Mike May 29th, 2008 Television

I’ve had this post planned for a very long time, and was going to do it during the writer’s strike, but it just never materialized. But now that summer is here, it’s time to pass on my vast knowledge of quality television that you may have missed out on over the years. Okay, maybe not vast, but I have watched my fair share of it.

So this is my list of the Top 15 Television Shows you should think of watching this summer. Those long, hot months get boring when there is nothing but reality TV on, and you might desire something good to watch.

This list has some shows that are still active that you might want to catch up on. But there are also great series that were canceled before their time, and others that just ended by normal means and tell a great story.

Either way, you wont be disappointed with any of them.

This list will undoubtedly leave off shows that you guys will think SHOULD be on it. I welcome you to leave your comments afterwards on how screwed up my selections are and how you would change it, or what you would add to it.

I am purposely not including any shows that came out this past year, because they just aren’t available on DVD yet. Reaper would be one I might add to this list if that were the case.

Enough babbling…let’s get to the good stuff.

The Top 15 Television Shows to Watch on DVD This Summer

15. Coupling (BBC)

4 “series” or seasons, 28 total episodes, 30 minutes each

Coupling is a BBC show that can make me cry from laughing too hard. It’s raunchy to say the least and it’s like the dirty version of Friends. You have six friends, three guys and three girls, and the show is all about their relationships…with each other and outsiders. It’s pretty much all about dating, sex, marriage and commitment. One of the funniest shows I’ve ever seen.

Here is a quote from a dinner party, where Steve has had enough of getting picked on about leaving a porn video in his VCR for his girlfriend to find.:

“I want to spend the rest of my life with the woman at the end of that table there, but that does not stop me wanting to see several thousand more naked bottoms before I die, because that’s what being a bloke is.  When man invented fire, he didn’t say, “Hey, let’s cook.”  He said, “Great, now we can see naked bottoms in the dark.”  As soon as Caxton invented the printing press, we were using it to make pictures of, hey, naked bottoms!  We have turned the Internet into an enormous international database of…you guessed it, naked bottoms.  So you see, the story of male achievement through the ages, feeble though it may have been, has been the story of our struggle to get a better look at your bottoms.”  ~Coupling, “Inferno,” original airdate 2 June 2000, written by Steven Moffat, spoken by the character Steve

14. Freaks and Geeks

1 season, 18 total episodes, 42-44 minutes each

One of the very first things Judd Apatow did was this great comedy drama called Freaks and Geeks, which is about some kids in high school that are either…well…freaks or geeks. You get a few great names of actors that are still around, like James Franco (Spiderman), Seth Rogan (Knocked Up) and Jason Segal (Sarah Marshall).

If you love Apatow’s stuff, then you owe it to yourself to go back and watch this series. It only lasted one season, so it wont be that big a job to get through all the episodes. It’s not the dirty comedies he does now, but this show has a ton of heart and great characters. It’s set in the year 1980-81, which should appeal to some of you nostalgic, older folks. *grin*

13. Entourage (HBO)

4 seasons, 54 episodes so far, 22-34 minutes each

One of the better shows I’ve seen on HBO, Entourage is about Vincent Chase, a young, hot star in Hollywood who has three buddies from their hometown of Queens as his “entourage.” They live with him, they party with him, and they have fun together like they were still back in New York.

While Adrian Griener who plays Vincent is awesome, this show is really about the supporting cast. Jeremy Piven won a Golden Globe for his role at Vincent’s agent, Ari Gold. He’s an absolute riot and seriously the best part of it. But Kevin Dillon, who is Vincent’s brother Johnny “Drama” Chase, is so fantastic, words can’t describe.

The episode are quick to get through being only a 30 minute show, which will allow you to catch up in time for season 5 sometime in 2009. Definitely an R-rated show, keep the kiddies away.

12. Veronica Mars

3 seasons, 64 total episodes, approx. 42 minutes each

The name Veronica Mars just doesn’t sound like it would be awesome, but it is. This is where Kristin Bell got her start, who you’ve now seen in Heroes and Forgetting Sarah Marshall. She plays a highly intelligent high school girl who has learned all she knows from her single dad who is a great private investigator.

She uses her talents to help solve little mysteries at school, but that’s not where the beauty of the show lies. Each season contains an overall story arc from beginning to end that is one massive mystery which Veronica tries to figure out. Every week you find out a little more, you get a bit closer to the truth and each step along the way is a blast.

And if I haven’t said enough about Bell before, she’s the reason the show rocks. She’s hilarious, witty, smart and just perfect. The writing is top-notch with a ton of great pop culture references.

Definitely worth a watch. It was canceled after 3 seasons due to being subjected to the WB/CW’s poor ratings.

11. It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia (FX)

3 seasons, 32 episodes so far, 22-23 minutes each

Always Sunny in Philadelphia is seriously one of the funniest shows ever. It’s bad…so very bad. The political incorrectness is off the charts, but it’s done so brilliantly you cannot help but die laughing. The writing so sick and twisted.

Here are some of the names of episodes: The Gang Gets Racist, Charlie Wants an Abortion, Charlie has Cancer, The Gang Finds a Dead Guy, Charlie Got Molested, Charlie Gets Crippled, etc., etc.

You get the idea. The cast is made up of three guys and one girl who run a bar in Philadelphia. I really don’t know what else to say other than if you can enjoy twisted humor, this is one of the best around.

And this is a good time to catch up as the show should be returning this fall for a 4th season.

10. Damages (FX)

1 season, 13 episodes so far, 43 minutes each (55 minute pilot)

Damages was a spectacular legal thriller last summer on FX. The wife and I were engrossed every week with brilliant acting and a 13-episode long story arc that kept you on your toes guessing until the final minute. Glenn Close and Ted Danson were awesome, but the rest of the supporting cast is worthy of a theatrical movie. I’m including it here because the DVD is already available.

The show has been renewed for a second season, but as with others, it wont be back until 2009, so now you can catch up on a short first season.

9. The Sopranos (HBO)

6 seasons, 86 total episodes, 45-60 minutes each

This is one of the more difficult shows to catch up on as it had 6 seasons and it’s an hour long program. And I must add, I’ve never seen more than one or two episodes.

Why am I putting it on my list without even watching it? Because when I’ve been told by everyone I know that I HAVE to see this show because it’s one of the best EVER, I just know it’s true. I actually would like to start watching it myself, but the daunting task of 86 episodes makes my knees shake. It probably deserves to be higher on this list, but until I see it, it stays here.

But I at least need to get started and promise to try my hardest to at least watch the first season this summer.

8. Firefly

Half a season, 14 total episodes, 45 minutes each

This series and the following one are like family to me. I get all excited just talking about them. The way they were just so amazing and got cut short makes you bleed inside. Reminds me a lot of Journeyman this past year.

Firefly was a Joss Whedon show that was made up of a cast no-names in a sci-fi western that I never gave a chance when I first heard about it. But of course it was SCIENCE FICTION, so I had to watch it. I was sucked in from the very start.

The characters were amazing. Whedon knows how to write a friggin’ show, that’s all I can say. The idea of a sci-fi series that is like a western doesn’t immediately sound awesome. But the more you watch the stories, the interaction amongst the crew, then mystery behind River Tam…it just pulls you in until you can’t believe it got canceled after only 9 aired episodes.

Nathan Fillion is the captain and really makes the show perfect. Of all the starship captains we’ve gotten from the Trek universe, I would take Mal Reynolds over any of them in a second.

You can catch repeats of this show on Universal HD every Friday night.

7. Sports Night

2 seasons, 45 total episodes, 22 minutes each

The second show that is near and dear to me is Sports Night. Aaron Sorkin wrote such an amazing show and created such vibrant characters. It sounds like a sports series, but it’s really about the inner workings behind a television show and the people that run it. Most of the actors went on to become hugely popular, like Felicity Huffman (Desperate Housewives), Peter Krause (Six Feet Under) and Joshua Malina (The West Wing), etc.

Robert Guillaume (Benson) plays the the man in charge of Sports Night. Guillaume suffered a stroke during the filming of the show, and when he comes back after a long absence, you pretty much cry along with everyone else.

I’ve never seen so much heart put into a 22 minute show every week. While it only lasted 2 seasons, it’s worth noting that the final episode is absolutely perfect and leaves you wanting more. Yet it completes what feels like a 2-season story arc. So much stuff comes together because of what the show was going through at the time.

In fact, both season finales elude to the real world struggles the show was going through just trying to stay on the air. I miss Sports Night so much. I always wonder what happened to those guys.

6. Flight of the Conchords

1 season, 12 episodes so far, 27 minutes each

This is actually a new series, only having one season so far, but it’s already out on DVD, so you can go rent it pretty easily.

Flight of the Conchords is a real life New Zealand comedy folk “band” made up of Bret McKenzie and Jemaine Clement. They decided to make a TV show out of their songs and it just worked. They are two dim-witted guys who are trying to make it in America as a band, but pretty much fail miserably. Their band manager, Murray, is stupidly hilarious and holds “band meetings” in his office at the New Zealand consulate.

The show sprinkles in music videos that are usually relevant to the story at hand, and so in that way, it’s like a musical comedy. It’s funny, brilliant, but you have to sort of like this kind of humor. Give it 2-3 episodes before you judge whether you like the show or not.

5. The Office: USA version

4 seasons, 66 episodes so far, 22 - 45 minutes each (mostly half-hour episodes)

I actually just started watching the original BBC version of the show, and it’s pretty funny. But the American version of The Office is just as good and if you haven’t started watching it yet, you have to do it from the beginning.

A lot of people I know have seen an episode or two here and there, and always say the same thing: “It just didn’t seem that funny to me.”

That’s the problem and brilliance of the show. It’s vital that you know who the characters ARE and why they are funny. That is about 75% of the “funny” on the show. You see them for the first time, start to learn about each of them, and then you watch them grow and evolve with time. Simple looks from a guy like Jim Halpert are laugh out loud hilarious because of what you know about HIM and the person he’s smirking about.

There are a lot of episodes to catch up on, but the first season is only 6 total and you should at least give that a shot.

4. Arrested Development (FOX)

3 seasons, 53 episodes, 22 minutes each

Honestly, Arrested Development would rank #1 on my all-time comedies list. I’ve never seen a show written with such utter perfection and wit.

If you get into shows that are serials, like Lost, BSG, X-Files, etc., this series was sort of like that. There are jokes that are so funny because of things that happened in the past. And not only that, but the producers put hints along the way about things coming up down the line. If you go back and watch old episodes, you’ll laugh even more at the clues being left about a major event that happens 10 episodes later.

Jason Bateman…I never knew he was that funny, but now he’s one of my favorites. You also get Will Arnett, Portia De Rosi (who is a riot) and Michael Cera, who is finally getting his due in feature films. The rest of the cast is just as good, but I’m not going to name them all.

The show is narrated by Ron Howard, and you can feel him grow in that role as the series moves on. In fact, he becomes almost another character and is responsible for a huge amount of the laughs.

It wont take you long to catch up on this series, and you can catch repeats right now on HDNet.

3. Band of Brothers (HBO)

Mini-series, 10 total episodes, around an hour each

I just wrote an entire review about Band of Brothers last week, so if you want to learn more about it, check it out.

Needless to say, it’s the best thing I’ve ever seen done in the genre of war films and series. Schindler’s List, Private Ryan…this is just as good…maybe better?

Wont take you too long to watch 10 episodes and you’ll forget about the time anyways.

2. Battlestar Galactica (SciFi)

3+ seasons, 61 episodes so far, 1 pilot miniseries, 1 TV movie, 10 webisodes

Most of you faithful readers will not be surprised where this ranks on my list. I know I’ve talked about how great Battlestar Galactica is to no end, but I can’t help it. The show is just that good.

The show is science fiction, yes, but a lot of that isn’t as noticeable as the politics, religion and relationship stories going on while the last surviving humans from the 12 colonies try to find Earth. The cast is simply one of the best on television and it’s a travesty that it hasn’t been nominated or won for an ensemble cast award. It did nab a Peabody though.

This is the perfect time to catch up with the show. The final season has started and we’re in the first half of that right now. The last 10 episodes wont air until 2009, so you have that entire span to grab the DVDs and start watching!

1. Lost (ABC)

4 seasons, 81 episodes so far, 44 minutes each

And here we are. The #1 show I’d recommend to watch over the summer: Lost.

I truly envy anyone that sits down to experience Lost for the first time. Sure, you may have gotten wind of a few spoilers here and there, but for the most part, you are probably in the dark. Hopefully.

Either way, you get to enjoy the entire journey to where we are now. Tonight ends the fourth season of the show, so you do have some ground to make up. But as with many of these here, now is the perfect time.

It’s hard to imagine that some of you don’t know what the show is about, but in case you don’t: It’s about a commercial airline that crashes and leaves a bunch of survivors on a mysterious island. Where are they? What is going on with this island? Why did their survive? Why did they crash?

The show really re-defined the “serial” in the last four years and we’ve now got an abundance of these kinds of series. But this is the original in my book and you should really give it a shot.

Parting Thoughts

This list is made up of shows that I’ve seen, aside from The Sopranos pick. I realize of course that there are so many shows out there that could also be a part of this. Dexter, Monk, Burn Notice, Curb Your Enthusiasm, etc. I’ve heard so many great things about those shows, but just haven’t had a chance to watch it.

I’m curious where you’d disagree with me, or what you like about the list. And what shows would you have put on here instead of the ones I picked?

Also, let us know if you plan on taking any of these on, so we can see how you like them over the summer. Check back in on this post and talk about how the show is going for ya.

I’ll add a link to this somewhere so it’s easy to find.

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