Wow! It’s May. How did that happen? You would have thought that being stuck at home would slow time down not speed it up. I hope you lovely people are well and adapting and coping with this situation at the moment. It’s still very weird and not getting any less weird, to be honest. So what better way to get your head out of all the weirdness than to enter the new top 3 contest about your favourite TV shows!! Perfect timing from Q!
BIG TOPIC!! I hear you cry. Well, you’ll be right. It’s going to be a tough ask to pick three of your all time favourite binge watching content. Here goes.
Honorable mentions.
I can’t not mention the shows that just miss out, they are too good not to talk about. It also might second as a cool list for those of you looking for something to get your teeth into something.
The Mandalorian
Thank the maker for Jon Favreau. If any of you have read one of my few and far between blogs you will know how I feel about the current situation with Star Wars. Unlike a lot of my fellow disgruntled padawans, I’m not a Disney hater. In fact quite the contrary. Some of my favourite movies are Disney. The Jungle Book, The Lion King etc. But one thing is for sure and that’s that they have royally screwed up the Star Wars saga, offended their existing audience and disrespected the history of the characters and the story. So, once again, Mr Favreau, we love you.
He gets exactly what Star Wars is about and whilst it takes the story to a more modern audience, it does it with class and subtlety whilst keeping the soul of the original movies intact. Everyone’s a winner with this, old and new. It’s funny, cute (if you haven’t heard why yet then you’ve got to check it out. No spoilers here), it’s cleverly written and brilliantly produced and directed.
The story is based around a Mandalorian bounty hunter of the same clan as Boba Fett. We follow him whilst he is taking jobs and risking his ass for a pay day. He visits familiar locations to the movies and we come across new and also familiar characters and ties in to the bigger picture beautifully. You can see that the team, led by Favreau, has painstakingly created this brilliant show with the love that they quite obviously have for the Star Wars lore. If you have even the smallest SW interest then go do it.
Hahaha. Ok that was long considering that it’s not even in the top 3!
House
An American medical drama starring Brit Hugh Laurie. What makes this even more great is the fact that I remember Hugh Laurie as ‘Percy’ from Blackadder (more brilliant British comedy with Rowan Atkinson), where he is a bumbling buffoon. Indeed, most of his characters were of the same ilk. Up steps Dr. Gregory House. He is a specialist in diagnosing strange medical ailments and illnesses. His character is gruff, miserable, rude, abrupt and downright hilarious. His sense of humour and anti-social rudeness drive the show. Brilliant!
The Last Kingdom and Vikings
Two different shows about Vikings and Anglo Saxons but both great in their own ways.
Vikings was big budget and really good, especially with Travis Fimmel (Ragnar Lothbroke). The show has some historical basis and centers around Ragnar in Denmark and expands from there. It may have made my top three but it has faded slightly in the last couple seasons.
The Last Kingdom is not as big a budget but is every bit as epic and also follows historical events with added fiction. Uhtred (Alexander Dreymon) is the main character and his relationship with King Alfred of Wessex (David Dawson) is the main storyline. Uhtred is a headstrong and stubborn character but very loyal and honourable. This usually gets him into situations that he cannot back out of especially when it comes to King Alfred.
It is in its 4th season and is as good now as when it started.
Cobra Kai
Similar to The Mandalorian that If you have any love for the original movie that the show was spawned from you will be totally in love with the show. That movie is The Karate Kid and the show is Cobra Kai.
It is the continued story of the original movies main protagonists/antagonists Daniel Larusso and Johnny Lawrence. The antagonist/protagonist label is interesting because the show does blurr the lines of who’s good and who’s bad and you certainly see Johnny in a different light. Something that wasn’t possible for me as a young teen growing up, I can tell you!
Season 3 is just around the corner and our family cannot wait.
You can see that the cast and crew are emotionally invested in this project and is another show made with the love and care of someone who, clearly, is a fan of the original story.
Some other shows of note
Elementry, Cheers, Friends, Dark Matter, Sense 8, The Fast Show, Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul, Heroes, True Detective, Stranger Things, Peaky Blinders, 24, Sherlock, Penny Dreadful, Weeds, ER, Blackadder, Rome, Battlestar Galactica, Downton Abbey, Line of Duty, Dexter, Making A Murderer, Spartacus, Pushing Daisies, Chuck and I just know I’ve missed a ton!!
I’m sat here with 4 left to separate down to 3. I really can’t bring myself to discard one of the shows that is so dear to me. Ok, I have to, I know.
So……… Number 4
Firefly
It pains me to not put this show in the top 3. I have this hang up that when I go to the shops and find something that I like, usually food, they stop selling it! Just to spite me. I’ve experienced this phenomenon in 4 different countries now. Well, I feel exactly the same way about TV shows. This happens so often and it is so unfair, usually to sci-fi stuff. I think it is because I like stuff that is a little different and is less palatable for the masses. Not always.
Firefly fell victim to this fate before the season had even got half way. There is a wonderful story about this and I shall tell you right here. The first episode of Firefly was extended and explained a lot about the characters and the whole background. Yeah it was slow going and detailed but it was necessary to make this show what it is. The TV exec’s in their wisdom inexplicably chose to ‘bench’ the first episode and place it 7th in the order. Confusion reigned. It was harder to understand what was going on and why!
Then by episode 6 (I think) they decided to pull the plug on it, ironically before the first episode or technically now the 7th, was aired. Ass bandits. They released the rest of the episodes but it didn’t get the primetime viewing it deserved and it died. BUT!!! Over the years it built a massive fan base and they were not happy. In fact, they were lobbying hard to get it reinstated to the network. They sadly failed in this attempt because, let’s face it, TV exec’s rule the world as we know it. What did happen though was that momentum grew for a feature length episode to finish off the story. This came to fruition with the backing of the actors and they made ‘Serenity’. It basically finished the story in fast forward mode. A little triumph for the little people.
Firefly is like Star Wars in the wild west. No lasers, just normal guns and space cowboys. Firefly is the ship captained by Malcolm Reynolds (Nathan Fillion) and the rest of the crew Zoe (Gina Torres), Hoban Alan Tudyk, Inara (Morena Baccarin), Jayne (Adam Baldwin), Kaylee (Jewel Staite), River (Summer Glau), Shepard (Ron Glass) and Dr. Simon (Sean Maher). They are travelling around the galaxy looking for work and trying to stay out of trouble, trying!
It’s rough around the edges, the budget inconsistency shows, it feels unfinished because it was. But it has a base that was brilliant. The characters and there actors were invested and were elevating it beyond the network budget. It’s such a shame that it didn’t get the chance to continue what it started. I’m sure it would have rewarded the patient beyond measure.
Top 3 - Number 3
Friday Night Lights
There were 5 seasons of this little beauty and I’ve watched it for the umpteenth time again during lockdown. It follows the trials and tribulations of Dillon High School and their football team in Texas and is based on the book and movie of the same name. The main stars are Connie Britton and Kyle Chandler who play Tammy Taylor and coach Eric Taylor. They are a brilliantly delightful couple whose relationship is as real as anything I have witnessed on TV.
American football is the theme of the show (which I love) but it is not essential that you like or follow football. It has all the elements that a show needs, emotion, excitement, grit, heart break, disappointment and tragedy.
Sadly, it ended but believe me, I never wanted it to. Jayne has refused to watch the last twenty minutes of the final episode for that very reason. So it lives on.
Clear eyes, full hearts, can’t lose!
Number 2
Red Dwarf
This show is a British space comedy. It first aired in 1988 on the BBC and is still going today, off and on. This show is a family favourite and my dad, brother and myself used to watch Red Dwarf at every opportunity. When we bought the box set of the original first 5 series, we would watch them over and over. Then we would watch reruns on live broadcast tv in between too. I can quote most of the dialogue but I’m nowhere near to the level my brother is. I’ll be surprised if RD isn’t in his choices when he posts.
The premise is that the crew of the mining ship Red Dwarf, which btw is the size of a major city, are all killed when a radiation leak gets out of control. They are all dead! Everyone is dead. Apart from Lister (Craig Charles). Lister is a crew member at the bottom of the rung who has been sent to stasis (frozen in time) as a punishment for smuggling a cat on board. The cat survived the leak by hiding out deep in the bowels of the ship. Holly (Norman Lovett and later Hattie Hayridge), the ships computer with an IQ in the thousands, releases Lister 3 million years later once the radiation levels die down.
In the meantime, Holly also made the decision to use the ship's holographic crew member capability to give Lister a companion based on his interaction time. He disastrously chooses his boss and enemy Arnold J Rimmer (Chris Barrie). Holly has gone a little bit senile and the cat (Danny John-Jules) has evolved into a humanoid creature with a serious sense for fashion.
Although the show changes over the years, and the budget certainly does, it essentially starts out as 3 guys in a room. Rimmer's struggle with being a hologram, Lister's struggle with Rimmer and Cat's struggle with what to wear that day. On their journey back to Earth they find a subservient mechanoid called Kryten (Robert Llewellyn) whom the selfish Rimmer takes full advantage of until Lister teaches him how to say NO!
Let the hilarity commence. Genius.
Finally - Number 1
Game of Thrones
I don’t really need to write a whole load of gumpf on this. Everyone knows it whether you have watched it or not. It makes me laugh that there are people that haven’t watched it and now refuse to watch it like a badge of honour. You are missing out on epicness itself. This is a show that, for the most part, is every bit as good as the fantastic books that it is based on. It really does have everything from the brilliant opening credits that tell the story and change over the seasons to the different music at the end of every episode. It's not all crash, bang, wallop! Although it has that in the right places too!
Tyrian Lannister is one of the finest, complex characters that I’ve witnessed on TV and film and credit has to go in considerable part to Peter Dinklage, who plays him superbly. Also impressive were Cersei Lannister (Lena Headey), Tywin Lannister (Charles Dance), Arya Stark (Maisie Williams) and finally to Sansa Stark (Sophie Turner) whose transformation from an annoying, superficial little girl to an understandably bitter but savvy and astute woman was quite remarkable and testament to her acting ability. Nobody was safe! No matter how famous the actor, any character could go at any moment. And boy did they. The ending of series one alone is enough for anyone to give this a pop that hasn’t already done so.
I was in on GOT from 2011 when it wasn’t particularly well known and I was hooked from the opening scene. There are shocks and heart aches along the way but there are also tons of heart felt moments and happiness. To say I was emotionally attached to this show is and was an understatement.
I miss it and will be re running it very soon and anticipating George R Martins final book too.
I’m just going to leave this here. See ya!
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This is one epic post! As epic as the choices you made. Though I have to admit, as with so many of these, I haven't seen your first two official choices! I have no excuse for Friday Night Lights, though I"m sure you can probably forgive me for having no access to Red Dwarf, haha. GOT, though, that one I am not surprised to see pop up in a few entries now. I would have to agree that Tyrion Lannister ended up being one of my top characters. Peter Dinklage was quite amazing in that role. I really liked Arya, as well. Even some of the characters I couldn't stand were played so well you couldn't help but applaud the acting. With how long the last of the written series is taking to come out, I may need to start reading from the beginning again to get reacquainted with the world of Westeros and beyond...
Friday Night Lights should be a national treasure. It's a brilliant show. Character strength is the key. You live every moment with these people. My dad has just watched the first 3 episodes and his word to describe it so far was'brutal'. It shocked me a little but when I though about it it does make sense.
I have a habit of looking back at the show and remembering all the fluffy stuff. Actually, it is pretty gritty and focuses a lot on adversity. I love the insight into the small Texas town and the obsession with high school football. There are 0 comparisons in the UK.
I absolutely recommend it but be prepared to watch all 5 series in quick succession.
Red dwarf is TV gold. Especially the first 3 series. I would love for you and @dksart to watch it and see what you think. See whether it translates to a US audience.
It is pretty crazy how certain regions are soooo crazy about a particular sport. Here in my part of the country college football is king. People schedule weddings and other big events around games so they don't miss big rivalries! I missed out on a whole rite of passage by picking a college that didn't have a football team, so it still baffles me how fanatic people get about "their" teams.
I bet he would be interested to see Red Dwarf. Though sometimes I think he'll really like something and then he doesn't. 🤷♀️
Nice selections, I need to check out the Mandalorian have not had a chance to watch it yet
Well worth it. Favreau just.. gets it!
Sheesh, Gaz, this being forcibly locked in is quite something. And, like you, I don't seem to have enough time in the day. How is that possible?
And old fuddy duddy that I am, I'm going to have to look out for your series. Some I recognise by name, but haven't seen. Except Black Adder.... 🤣
Anyway, you and the family stay well and safe!
AHH! Blackadder. Rowan Atkinson is genius.
We all safe and doing alright, thanks Fiona. Just trying to adapt. I hope you and yours are good too.
I loved the few Black Adder episodes I saw. I did really enjoy him in The Thin Blue Line. Mr Bean is best saved for the post office queue. IMO, of course.
Like you, adapting - including to a saturated online English teaching market... A bit of a slap in the face for Fiona reinvention v. 550..... Anyhow, I persevere on day 45 of lockdown.... 😀
An epic tale here Gaz! Had to pick you up on this bit though about Hugh Laurie in Blackadder:
He was actually the character "George" and Percy was played by Tim McInnerny.
I've not seen House though and can't imagine how he would play such a more serious character when I'm used to the buffoonery from the Blackadder days!
Sounds like they had a right 'mare with Firefly! What were they thinking moving the first episode to number 7 and then cancelling it!
Game of Thrones is popping up everywhere and I feel that I may be caving in to the peer pressure and will have to watch it... but that badge of honour though... 😃
Red Dwarf - 100% with you there, watched the entire series 1-8 (before they reignited it on Dave) multiple times with my flat mate at Uni and would do it again, superb sitcom.
Time for a cheese toasty now
Your absolutely right about Hugh's character. Bit of a mixup there. Oops.
This is probably the most appropriate gif for such an occasion if ever I've seen it:
😂