TV Draft (Round 1) [draft]

We normally do this all at once, but we’re going to drag it our over a week and see how it works. Expect Round 2 tomorrow.

We’re drafting TV Series from the last decade (I (Y) originally said from 2000 on, but there was too much complaining).

5 rounds. Rule is that the show has to have started in the year 1999 or afterward. Show can be completed, or ongoing. Dr. Horrible’s Singalong Blog does not count.

Order is Grimbil, SN, LD, E, N8, Y.

LD: excellent idea. Let’s get this party started.

E: Let’s get this party started quickly. Right? I’m in.

Grimbil:

1) There has been some good TV in the Aughts, what with the rise of HBO’s series, and more recently, Showtime. But it’s another cable channel that has set the bar at a new level. Starting with a miniseries, the Sci Fi Channel’s Battlestar Galactica has reminded us just how good science fiction can be. From the very first episode, it grabs hold and doesn’t let up. Ok, so the last season and a half have been a little slow at times…but I can forgive them. BSG follows in the footsteps of the science fiction masters Clarke, Asimov, Heinlein and others…..you watch the episodes and you walk away contemplating current events. Issues on politics and sociology, religion and war, all are fair game and BSG isn’t afraid to tackle the toughest issues. How many other TV shows manage to discuss the Iraq war like the second season of BSG? Battlestar Galactica is true science fiction in the classic sense.

Fantastic writing, innovative audio/video techniques, great special effects and inspired acting. Hands down the best show of the decade, we might as well stop now.

SN: 2) Alright, I gotta pick The Sopranos. The series had everything…except for a satisfying ending. Nonetheless, the characters, drama and humor make it my number one.

LD:3) The West Wing.

Nah, just fucking with E. I mean, can you imagine the aneurysm he must have suffered after seeing his pick stolen?

No, I’m going to take

3) Arrested DevelopmentMy favorite show of all time. It was clever, it was bitter, and it was funnier than anything before or since. It’s almost astonishing how clever and how layered the show is. If you were to take any other sitcom in the history of television, the Hot Cops joke would have been turned into one awful episode that was comprised entirely of gay jokes. Arrested Development going for the slow-burn and paying the joke off over and over again….well, that was the difference.

I miss the show so much, but I’m glad it ended when it did. It doesn’t need to come back. Also, it clearly had an influence on 30 Rock, for which I am eternally grateful.

E: 4) WEST WINGI can’t think of a show that was better in both an episodic sense, but still with grander story arcs. No show had better characterization and a better ensemble, or a more masturbatory wish fulfillment like subject than having a president that is both very competent and gives a shit, this show takes it. The set was the most expensive in NBC history, the stories were intelligent, the backstories were fully developed it was just amazing. My vote for Josiah Bartlet!

Grimbil: I think I’m going to have to put West Wing on my list of shows to watch, if only so I complain to E how bad it is.

E: Grimbil, if you watch The West Wing (at least the first two seasons) and don’t love it, then you are a terrorist.

Grimbil: I’m just waiting for someone to pick 24…..

SN: Had i replied to the guilty pleasure email last week (sorry) i probably would have picked 24. Lets see how long its on the board.

Y: Wait, is 24 still on the air?

N8: 5) Coupling (2000-2004).A show that exemplifies how dramatically superior British humor is than the American version. I’ve gushed about this show on the blog before, but the gist is that it’s a Friend-style format which is actually sharp and funny and adult and for once doesn’t speak to its audience as though they have been comedically lobotomized by the standard American entertainment fare. Netflix it and you will thank me.

Y: 6) The WireIt’s a huge shame this is still available. This show is amazing. I could write for days, and still not scratch the surface. Move this to the top of your “to watch list” immediately.

LD: No idea on Coupling, and I can’t comment on The Wire yet. However, thanks to E’s excellent birthday gift, I’ll be able to do so in the near future.

There’s Round 1. Kid Nation is still available.