Ready to start a new series, what should I start?

[Danoz]

Here are some of my favorite shows:

DS9
nuBSG
Lost
Babylon 5
Firefly

I enjoyed all of these very much. Based on this, what shows would you recommend? I'm looking for a new Netflix series to delve into. I've never seen Farscape or any Stargates episodes... Never seen Buffy, Angel or Heroes. Was pretty young when the X-Files was on, so I haven't seen a majority of them. Your suggestions don't have to be science fiction (or I would have posted this there). Hell, it could even be a comedy series (I may even just get season one of 30 Rock and be done with it). Oh, it could also be a sweet miniseries (some of these look pretty interesting).

Any ideas are greatly appreciated . Oh and I've seen the Sopranos and the Shield. Enjoyed both every much. Either way, I'm looking for a quality of show with a lot of buy-in and commitment that pays off... I can't stand shows with great potential that flutter away with no direction and leave you hanging... (part of the reason I tend to wait for DVD releases than be disappointed by cancellations these days)

 

[Holdfast]

TV topic... off to TV&M

 

[Aragorn]

You're going to get a lot of responses that completely ignore what you posted where they're just going to tell you what they like.

Since four of the five shows you listed as being favorites take place in space, it seems limiting to offer suggestions. You say it doesn't have to be sci fi, but how much dissection can be made? Can DS9, Babylon 5 and Lost suggest you like long story arcs?

You may like the first season of Heroes. It's a fun ride even if you can fill in all the blanks well before they're filled out for you.

Maybe you could try From the Earth to the Moon or Band of Brothers. Short commitment with a planned beginning and ending.

You like The Shield, so maybe you'd like 24. Each season is self-contained so when you think it's starting to suck, you can bail.

 

[nevermore]

Oh and I've seen the Sopranos and the Shield. Enjoyed both every much. Either way, I'm looking for a quality of show with a lot of buy-in and commitment that pays off... I can't stand shows with great potential that flutter away with no direction and leave you hanging... (part of the reason I tend to wait for DVD releases than be disappointed by cancellations these days)

The Wire.

 

[Temis the Vorta]

For sci fi: Farscape. Stargate SG-1 is also worthwhile for the first several seasons. Heroes S1 is great and if the characters and premise grab ya, it's worth sticking with even tho S2 and S3 so far are not on the same level.

The X-Files is a must-see for you someday, but do like I did: ask for recommendations for the best or essential arc episodes so you can skip the junk. Nine seasons is too much to watch in its entirity.

Chuck is semi-sci-fi, but mainly it's well made, funny and a lot of fun. Reaper is good if you like very zany humor.

And: have you seen TOS? If not, there's your next series. Even the bad episodes are entertaining or at least will give you cultural knowledge essential to TrekBBS.

Non-sci-fi: Deadwood, Dexter and Breaking Bad. And 24, but you might want to skip S6.

 

[sidious618]

Carnivale and The Wire seem look good suggestions judging from what you like. Supernatural may interest you as well but I'm not positive.

 

[DeafPoet]

The X-Files is a must-see for you someday, but do like I did: ask for recommendations for the best or essential arc episodes so you can skip the junk. Nine seasons is too much to watch in its entirity.

I've always felt like I needed to see The X-Files because I feel like my geek cred is worth nothing unless I have. Yet to this day I've seen nary an episode.

The problem is, when I dive into a series, I'm a completist. Is X-Files good enough to make me wanna watch nine seasons and two feature films?

 

[Temis the Vorta]

Is X-Files good enough to make me wanna watch nine seasons and two feature films?

It's good enough to watch about 75% of the episodes and half of the feature films. But if you have to watch 100% or nothing, no, don't put yourself through it. Having to watch a hundred monster of the week episodes is enough to put anyone in a padded cell.

 

[DeafPoet]

^

I'm a Trek fan. I know how to sit through episodes about villains I don't care about and will never see again.

 

[sidious618]

I've always felt like I needed to see The X-Files because I feel like my geek cred is worth nothing unless I have. Yet to this day I've seen nary an episode.

The problem is, when I dive into a series, I'm a completist. Is X-Files good enough to make me wanna watch nine seasons and two feature films?

YES! X-Files is a great show. It has some clunkers but I fondly remember when I was in my junior year of high school, a tough year for me, and I watched the whole show. I recall tearing up during the finale not just because it was sad but also because it was like the end of an era for me.

I've rewatched some episodes about seven times by this point. After typing this I feel like watching one!

If you have any questions about the show drop me a PM.

 

[Temis the Vorta]

^

I'm a Trek fan. I know how to sit through episodes about villains I don't care about and will never see again.

X-Files's MOTW episodes are worse than all Trek's reset button episodes put together. Plus all of VOY's technobabble saves. They are truly deadly.

The other aggravating factor is the way the alien-invasion mytharc draaaaagggsss oooouuutttt foreeeeever...Bees? What's this crap about bees? And some dweeby kid who plays chess. And there are five kinds of aliens now, all fighting each other. Mulder's sister is alive and dead and alive and dead (I lost track). Talk about padding!

 

[DeafPoet]

^

I'm a Trek fan. I know how to sit through episodes about villains I don't care about and will never see again.

X-Files's MOTW episodes are worse than all Trek's reset button episodes put together. Plus all of VOY's technobabble saves. They are truly deadly.

Shit, that's saying something

Well I'll check it out but I'll do some research first.

 

[sidious618]

X-Files's MOTW episodes are worse than all Trek's reset button episodes put together. Plus all of VOY's technobabble saves. They are truly deadly.

What? I've never heard this opinion from a fan of the show before.

Almost all of the X-Files fans loved the MotW episodes, especially during the first six seasons.

 

[Mike Farley]

I thought most of what were considered standout episodes were MOTWs?

 

[Ben Sisko3]

Farscape
Carnivale
MillenniuM
Oz
Jericho
Supernatural
Deadwood
Spaced
Six Feet Under

 

[sidious618]

I thought most of what were considered standout episodes were MOTWs?

They were. I'm a big conspiracy fan so I liked those episodes the best but the MotWs were always fan and are regarded by the fanbase as the best episodes of the show.

 

[firehawk12]

Heroes Season 1. Just pretend the show ends there.

 

[TrekGuide.com]

You have listed some of my favorite shows.

I would definitely add "Stargate SG-1" and "Heroes" to the list.

However, the best-written show I've seen in the past 10 years is "Medium," about a woman who sees ghosts and has dreams about future and past events. (It is the same premise as "Ghost Whisperer," but infinitely better executed.) It is mostly episodic, but at the end of every episode, I've thought, "That was well worth an hour of my life," which I haven't thought since the first five seasons of "SG-1" or the last five seasons of "DS9."

I also am a fan of "The Dead Zone," created by DS9 producer Michael Piller. Like "Medium," it was a very well written show with good stories every week.

Some of my favorite non-sci-fi shows -- if you're into violent cop shows -- include "The Shield," "24," and "Prison Break," all of which are action-packed, suspenseful, but also have ongoing story arcs.

 

[nevermore]

^

I'm a Trek fan. I know how to sit through episodes about villains I don't care about and will never see again.

X-Files's MOTW episodes are worse than all Trek's reset button episodes put together. Plus all of VOY's technobabble saves. They are truly deadly.

No, not even close.

The other aggravating factor is the way the alien-invasion mytharc draaaaagggsss oooouuutttt foreeeeever...Bees? What's this crap about bees? And some dweeby kid who plays chess. And there are five kinds of aliens now, all fighting each other. Mulder's sister is alive and dead and alive and dead (I lost track). Talk about padding!

It's actually not that complicated. At all.

In answer to the question, X-Files is well worth watching at least through the 7th season. I did not personally care for the last two seasons, because they brought in "replacement" characters who I found either annoying, uninteresting, bland or all of the above. The Mytharc does get a bit bumpy at some points, but it's no where near as confounding as Temis makes it out to be (at least not until the aforementioned last two seasons, when they tried to stretch it out beyond the logical end), and the MOTW episodes are 90% very, very entertaining as stand-alones.

 

[Mistral]

You want a show with an investment factor? try SOAP. It's a spoof of soap operas, and among the many gems it contained there is a young Billy Crystal as one of tvs first openly gay characters, a tribute to The Exorcist and some of the funniest send-ups and one-liners I have ever heard.

Farscape requires $ and time but is worth it.