PIK95
Footballguy
At the time all of that was really pushing the limits of what was allowed on TV imo. It didn't just creep over those lines, it smash, smash, SUMASHED them. :kaithehatchethippie:
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The best drama in television history (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter Captain Cranks
- Start date
parasaurolophus
Footballguy
It was an HBO show. Its not like it took clever writing or was living on the edge. There was literally zero skill involved in showing nudity or having people swear. I could at least buy an argument if there was tons of nudity in it and somebody pointed it out to you well after the fact and you were like oh yeah, I never realized that. That would actually require talent.
But this is much more like they hired beavis and butthead for artistic consulting. Any suggestions guys for this scene? "Yeah. Put some boobs in it and make him say #### a lot"
Rove!
Footballguy
Rove!
Footballguy
A lot of those shows were great for their time period, but time s have changed
- production values and cinematography have improved
- The window of what you can present has opened much wider
- When you aren't churning out 25 episodes a a year, you can focus on quality, and get away from lazy formula and trope driven scripts and characterizations
TheFanatic
Footballguy
I've rewatched TWD from seasons 1-6 in anticipation for season 7. I've rewatched GoT from seasons 1-7 in anticipation for 8. I've never done that before either. I went with GoT because when this last season is done, I can see myself going back later on and rewatching from start to finish because I know there are easter eggs I missed simply because I don't know how it will end.AAABatteries said:
TheIronSheik
SUPER ELITE UPPER TIER
I think it was more the writing. We kind of take good dialogue for granted now, but this show had some of the best back and forth between characters. Justified did a great job of that, as well. Paved the way for all of these current shows having great dialogue. But before Deadwood, I can't really remember watching a television show that blew me away with the writing the way Deadwood did.
Mr. Mojo
Footballguy
parasaurolophus
Footballguy
I obviously am enjoying the show or I wouldnt watch like 25 episodes, but I just cant get the "great" hype at all. I read comments like this and I honestly wonder if I am watching the right deadwood. Like is there a european version of the office type thing going on here?
TheIronSheik
SUPER ELITE UPPER TIER
Again, I think because you're watching it now, you're seeing it through the lens of this type of dialogue being the norm. But back then, it was not. I obviously can't say that's the reason for sure, but it's a thought. And of course there's always the fact that people like different things. Nothing wrong with that.
parasaurolophus
Footballguy
Unpossible. Just like sports there is always a factual conclusion to be reached when it comes to TV! Let's just wait for the TV analytics guys to tell us what we are watching.
Ted Lange as your Bartender
Footballguy
My wife is absolutely addicted to British shows. Watches every single one she can find. I asked her to give me her top British show power rankings. In no particular order:
Poldark, Grandchester, Downton Abbey, Outlander, Call The Midwife, Doctor Who
wikkidpissah
Footballguy
The first two have hot guys as leads but don't work for me. I started the FFA thread on Downton but it lost me after a wonderful 1st season. The first ep of Call the Midwife was one of the best things i ever saw on TV, but the series fell prey to what has become an epidemic in British TV - projecting modern values into period pieces - and also lost me (even tho it has Jenny Agutter, who i'm still
for even tho she's in her 60s and plays a nun here). Outlander/Doctor Who aren't my cuppa, but it shows your wife's a pretty kul gal.
Don't Noonan
Footballguy
Mostly agree. However, I remember raving about Breaking Bad and my parents happened to be visiting. After the kids went to be and I was sitting with my Dad I played the next episode which happened to be "The Fly." Worst episode of the series. To his credit, my Dad still went home and watched the entire series from the beginning and loved it.
Bull Dozier
Footballguy
Regarding Deadwood dialogue, I think what makes it so interesting/groundbreaking/entertaining is the realism of the words used (swear words by a swarthy bunch in a rough town) but the patterns of speech are Shakespearean. It wouldn't be anything special for a scheming bar owner to swear constantly and talk like we know of run of the mill no gooders. It also wouldn't make sense for a bunch of people living in a town on the edge of the law to talk like Hamlet. But, mixing the gutter words with poetic iambicpentameter elevated it higher than it would otherwise have gone.
wikkidpissah
Footballguy
cain't nobody scribble genuine, high-concept frontier jibberish like a junkie horseplayer and that's the truth *spit*
The General
Footballguy
Could be worse. My lovely bride can’t stop watching Vanderpump Rules and Summer House.
nirad3
Footballguy
Real Housewives in my household. Thankfully we have another TV in the office so I just go in there and lay around watching sports while that nonsense is on the living room screen.
zamboni
Footballguy
I'm pretty dense when it comes to British shows. With a few exceptions here and there, my taste in British shows basically begins and ends with The Benny Hill Show.
shuke
Black Ice Skeptic
Scoresman
Footballguy
Rove!
Footballguy
Minerals! Major Spoilers below...
it showed Hank’s state of mind. He was bored out of his skull as he is recovering and he picks what many would find a boring af. But he shows how obsessive and tenacious he is by really going overboard with it. His boredom and obessesion leads him to enthusiasticly dig into Gale’s notebook at the first opportunity that the local PD asks him for what they thought might be a brief background inquiry. But Hank digs his teeth in and finds all kinds of stuff like a noticing a Pollos napkin and tracing random number to a part to manufactured by Madrigal.
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KarmaPolice
Footballguy
I don't think any of the shows are perfect by any stretch.
Breaking Bad made missteps with the build up with the eye in the pool stuff that was pretty pointless and corny. Some of the stuff at the start was bad as well - somebody mentioned Tuco already. People have talked about The Wire's 5th season bringing it down (still haven't seen it), as well as Sopranos' ending, Mad Men tailing off, etc.. I can't think of any show that we couldn't nit pick a bit with.
Not sure the highs are up there as much as with some of these other shows, but I do think that Six Feet Under was one of the best at keeping it's tone, story, and characters consistent and good throughout it's run. Maybe a little bit with the crazy brother got old, but that's it, IMO. That has to be one of the better endings to a show as well. As others have said, I think it deserves to be in the discussion here.
Breaking Bad made missteps with the build up with the eye in the pool stuff that was pretty pointless and corny. Some of the stuff at the start was bad as well - somebody mentioned Tuco already. People have talked about The Wire's 5th season bringing it down (still haven't seen it), as well as Sopranos' ending, Mad Men tailing off, etc.. I can't think of any show that we couldn't nit pick a bit with.
Not sure the highs are up there as much as with some of these other shows, but I do think that Six Feet Under was one of the best at keeping it's tone, story, and characters consistent and good throughout it's run. Maybe a little bit with the crazy brother got old, but that's it, IMO. That has to be one of the better endings to a show as well. As others have said, I think it deserves to be in the discussion here.
Captain Cranks
Footballguy
Rove!
Footballguy
As a plot point, her stealing introduces Hank to the cop who would bring Hank the file on Gale which set a lot of things into motion
From a character standpoint, it speaks to Marie’s self-esteem and her relationship with Hank. When Hank is doing well, she is happy about his accomplishments...she always envisioned going to Washington after Hank getting promoted high enough in his job. When Hank is down and out...suspended...injured and her life is reduced to taking care him...while he is being a miserabke SOB...she seeks to fill that emptiness by inventing fake and glamorous lives and getting off on the thrill of stealing. When she is stealing, she is experiencing pain. When Skyler gets pregnant, I am sure she was feeling a little jealous of the attention Skyler was getting, as well as the emptiness of not having kids of her own, leading to her stealing the tiara. Marie’s discontent probably helped drive Hank into his obsessive mode.
Ghost Rider
Footballguy
That has pretty much been my reaction to The Wire every time I have tried. It just bored me every time.
Character flaw, and it was a good plot device in Season 4, as her getting busted at that open house led to Hank asking that cop for help, and then the cop asking Hank for help, which led Hank back into the blue meth case and suspecting Gus, and we all know where that went.
Rove!
Footballguy
Just to add on...major Breaking Bad spoilers
Showing the figurative river of #### that Hank and Marie are made to crawl through shows us how Walt’s actions negatively impacts the lives of the people closest to him. We can see the fruits of Walt’s actions in the terribleness he unleashes. He is a monster. It also helps us to understand how angry Marie and Hank are with the Whites when they learn the truth. We have seen their physical and mental anguish. Hank could work through Marie’s petty theft, but this was much deeper and much more personal.
Showing the figurative river of #### that Hank and Marie are made to crawl through shows us how Walt’s actions negatively impacts the lives of the people closest to him. We can see the fruits of Walt’s actions in the terribleness he unleashes. He is a monster. It also helps us to understand how angry Marie and Hank are with the Whites when they learn the truth. We have seen their physical and mental anguish. Hank could work through Marie’s petty theft, but this was much deeper and much more personal.
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sho nuff
Footballguy
What great shoes are good at (and GOT and Breaking Bad were really good at) is the character arcs. Making you both hate and feel empathy for bad people.
Jesse and Walt, Jaime Lannister...and so on. And it ebbs and flows.
Jesse and Walt, Jaime Lannister...and so on. And it ebbs and flows.
One minute Lannister sucks then he helps and saves Brienne from a Bear and then he is raping his sister next to their son’s corpse. Good times.
rustycolts
Footballguy
If we are including mini series then I would have to go with Band of Brothers hands down.
Some of my favorites are The Killing, China Beach, Boardwalk Empire, Wiseguy and St. Elsewhere. They were all excellent probably none would be considered goats but very entertaining to me.
Some of my favorites are The Killing, China Beach, Boardwalk Empire, Wiseguy and St. Elsewhere. They were all excellent probably none would be considered goats but very entertaining to me.
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TheIronSheik
SUPER ELITE UPPER TIER
Wait. I'm not sure I understand what's wrong with that. Those are two awesome shows.The General said:
The General
Footballguy
Oh hell no, Sheik.Wait. I'm not sure I understand what's wrong with that. Those are two awesome shows.
Psychopav
Help us, Joebi-Wan Brynobi, you're our only ho
That's my take, too.So we're just going to act like BJ and the Bear doesn't deserve to be on this list?!?
It was revolutionary when it happened, though. There had never been anything like it and it laid a bunch of the groundwork for most of the shows listed in the poll.
rockaction
Footballguy
TheIronSheik
SUPER ELITE UPPER TIER
I assumed I was an idiot when I read that. I tried to figure it out for about 5 minutes before I just gave up. Glad I wasn't the only one.
wikkidpissah
Footballguy
It's either Battlestar Galactica on Syfy or Big Sagging Gonads on Discovery
TheIronSheik
SUPER ELITE UPPER TIER
Oooo. I do love that Discovery Show. That's the one with the guy named Tickle, right?
wikkidpissah
Footballguy
And his lady chaffeur/home health aide Cuppy
ETA: My favorite ep was the Cannonball challenge with Gilbert Grapes
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Psychopav
Help us, Joebi-Wan Brynobi, you're our only ho
Salutations, gentlemen. My top choice is Battlestar Galactica on Syfy. My second choice is Breaking Bad, and it is of high enough caliber that I shan't argue with any chap who extols the virtues of Breaking Bad to the extent that they rank it above Battlestar Galactica.
rockaction
Footballguy
Charlie Steiner
Footballguy
I see Dragnet is still tragically misunderstood.
Abrantes
Footballguy
Different strokes and all, but BSG was a massive disappointment for me. Started out amazing (miniseries, "33" and others) and gradually got dumber and dumber. Last season ruined it for me. Exhibit A (or B, along with "Lost") on the dangers of "organically" plotting things as you go, rather than having it planned out beforehand.
The General
Footballguy
Bull Dozier
Footballguy
Hmm. I'm about halfway through and I am losing steam. The only reason I want to continue is to see if there is a payoff in the end (unlike Lost that was a huge disappointment). It seems like the answer is no?
The General
Footballguy
As I thought about it I didn’t see the end or have completely forgotten. Can’t remember why.
I definitely remember really loving the first season so I think I got bored.
One of the shows I became most immersed in, and I’ll likely be roundly mocked since it’s essentially a soap opera, was The Originals.
I caught in on Netflix a couple years ago. I had thrown it on mostly as background while I was working on laptop. I never throw on shows as background that I have a real interest in watching with full attention. I didn’t have much of an interest in The Originals, I’ve kind of grown tired of the vampire/werewolf/zombie stuff over the years and none of it seemed fresh anymore. So I figured why not throw it on, if I miss 3/4 of it, no big deal.
Well, I got into it. Quit watching it while working and saved it for when I could really watch it. Have to admit I loved the show. Thought almost every single character was interesting, fleshed out, and charismatic in many cases. I’m embarrassed to admit some of the responses the show elicited from me. I actually became invested in some of the characters. I thought the acting (though I don’t pretend to have any ability to judge that) was very good from most all the characters.
The supernatural stuff was the least interesting part of the show but it also made the show fun. My only minor quibble was that some of the backstory (back in time) was a bit cheesy at times. Still interesting though.
I caught in on Netflix a couple years ago. I had thrown it on mostly as background while I was working on laptop. I never throw on shows as background that I have a real interest in watching with full attention. I didn’t have much of an interest in The Originals, I’ve kind of grown tired of the vampire/werewolf/zombie stuff over the years and none of it seemed fresh anymore. So I figured why not throw it on, if I miss 3/4 of it, no big deal.
Well, I got into it. Quit watching it while working and saved it for when I could really watch it. Have to admit I loved the show. Thought almost every single character was interesting, fleshed out, and charismatic in many cases. I’m embarrassed to admit some of the responses the show elicited from me. I actually became invested in some of the characters. I thought the acting (though I don’t pretend to have any ability to judge that) was very good from most all the characters.
The supernatural stuff was the least interesting part of the show but it also made the show fun. My only minor quibble was that some of the backstory (back in time) was a bit cheesy at times. Still interesting though.
timschochet
Footballguy
Psychopav
Help us, Joebi-Wan Brynobi, you're our only ho
I think they stuck the landing and I do not think there was a lack of planning and foresight. (still talking about BSG)
