I’m going to have to get Breaking Bad, havent seen it.

+1 Bodies, an absolute masterpiece, by miles the best UK drama of the last 10yrs. Dark and twisted and very very naughty.

Person of Interest, I can’t stop watching it!

The shield is fabbydoo.

Deadwood is the only thing that’s come close to The Wire for me.

Got bored of Breaking Bad.. seemed a bit contrived.. every episode seemed to end with a very coincidental set of circumstances which left the chemistry teacher with the exact ingredients/supplies to get out of whatever situation they were in.. got bored halfway through season 2.

Really? People rate the Wire that much? I got 3/4 of the way through the first episode of series one and switched it off. Incredibly dull. If you all promise it gets better I might give it a try again.

West Wing on the other hand…

Breaking Bad is good, goes through a bit of a low in Season 3 but picks back up again.

Assumming you’ve watched BSG and Game of Thrones

Generation Kill is great, only 6 episodes though

Homeland was good, Series 2 is on air now in the States

I’ve heard good things about the Sons of Anarchy I might try it next

I’m hooked on Justified at the minute – not normally a “series” fan, I get bored and stop watching, but this has really grabbed me for some reason. Watched series 3 on channel 5, but now watching series 1 & 2 on DVD and I’ll watch 3 again after. Then it’ll be series 4 time 🙂

And it’s got the best them tune ever 🙂

[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yT2i2UylxJ0&feature=related[/video]

Helios – Member

Really? People rate the Wire that much? I got 3/4 of the way through the first episode of series one and switched it off. Incredibly dull. If you all promise it gets better I might give it a try again.

It does, I gave up after E1 a few times before I got it. It’s a slow burner, like reading a book, rather than a typical TV series.

cynic-al – Member

Helios – Member

Really? People rate the Wire that much? I got 3/4 of the way through the first episode of series one and switched it off. Incredibly dull. If you all promise it gets better I might give it a try again.

It does, I gave up after E1 a few times before I got it. It’s a slow burner, like reading a book, rather than a typical TV series.

Agree with this too, I watched the first 4 episodes, didn’t really get it, then re-watched them and it all started making more sense, you really need to give it a go, it is honestly the best thing that has ever been made for TV. Others are good, but the wire was great!

Like Helios, I only got so far through series one and found it boring. A mate has lent me the full collection too! I’ll start watching it again now the nights are closing in.

Breaking Bad is just awesome.

I started it straight after finishing The Wire.

Now waiting for the 2nd half of the final season to begin next summer 🙁

Firefly is worth digging out too, even if it’s just to feel that “why on earth did they cancel this!” moment when you realise that it could have been a really good, long running series.

I watched the first series of The Wire on strong painkillers after surgery. Had no idea what was going on, had to watch it all again.

The Wire = Best TV ever made (no space ships category)
Battlestar Galactica also = Best TV ever made (space ships category)

I have also enjoyed recently:

Spiral (French crime thing v graphic)
Prisoners of War (Israeli thing Homeland was based on but WAY WAY better)
Twin Peaks (although gets a bit silly towards the end, and even now 20 years after it came out, I’m still not sure I quite get it. But thats a good thing)
Game of Thrones

and on the recommendation of somebody on here am working my way through Tour of Duty again, the first series, before they let chicks be in it which ruined it. Takes me back to my teenage years when I couldn’t decide if I was in love with Sergeant Anderson or Lieutenant Goldman, and settled on both. More for the (straight ladies) if you can get past all the shooting and references to “Charlie” which didn’t mean cocaine, there are some great shower scenes.

I’ve watched about 8 episodes of BSG (or gafraktica as my wife calls it) and haven’t found it particularly interesting.
At what point was it supposed to hook me in?

I gave up on BSG after the first dvd thing. I just didn’t get that there was anything going on beyond average scifi. Same with Game of Thrones (4 eps). Ditto Homeland.

I need to re-watch Twin Peaks also. I don’t think you can ever “get” everything in Lynch stuff.

Wire demands you really focus on what’s going on – esp the first series.

Season 5 of sons of anarchy is really warming up now!

Following the last BSG threads I accidentally rewatched the miniseries. Now, months later, just starting series 3.

If it hadn’t hooked you by Ep 8, it wasn’t going to.

cynic-al – Member

I gave up on BSG after the first dvd thing. I just didn’t get that there was anything going on beyond average scifi. Same with Game of Thrones (4 eps). Ditto Homeland.

I was the same after 4 eps of Game of Thrones. It’s worth pursuing imo. Season 2 was absolutely superb

For those that gave up on the Wire, you need to get to episode 7 or 8 of the first series before it starts to click. It’s just such a different feeling to usual US tv dramas that it takes a while to click. Each episode has a really loose feel to it, and there’s often no obvious story arc or beginning, middle and end to each episode. It needs to be considered over the entire series, or even entire run, for it to make sense.

This is what actually ruins normal television for you once you’ve watched The Wire. It’s such a unique, fresh approach that means normal formulaic tv just doesn’t cut the mustard afterwards and finding something to fill the void is a real challenge.

mcboo – Member
Spooks and Downton Abbey. British TV is so much to be proud of.

really? because every US drama here pisses all over those 2, shadow line and red riding, misfits too are something to be proud of, but they are rare gems, a lot of the good US stuff features uk talent but we just cant match the long running american shows

as for the OP

sopranos is the only thing that comes close for engaging story and characters

next up BSG (scifi can be captivating drama!, ronald d moore!!)
the shield (antihero heaven)
deadwood (best for sweariest former antiques rogue)
justified (olyphant and goggins, what names!)
twin peaks (without this i doubt these other shows would exist)
breaking bad (can get a bit ott but still brilliant)
game of thrones (books are still better)
dexter (i havent watched the last series as it got too sad)
walking dead (if the next season follows the comics its gonna be grim)
homeland (has potential)
sons of anarchy (cheesey but fun)
DS9 (ronald d moore ftw!)
oz (great cast and characters, nazis vs irish vs mafia vs hsipanic vs spoken word artists vs adebesi!)
x-files (ran for too long but still awesome)
carnivale (axed to soon|)
firefly + serenity (whhhyyyy did you end it????)
band of brothers (a classic)
arrested development (not drama but too good to ignore)
west wing (if only real life was this perfect)
mad men (slow but well done)
spartacus (for the jubblies)
supernatural (good soundtrack bromance)
buffy ! (the scooby gang)
entourage (celeb life imitating art imitating life)

at the moment im watching fringe, up to series 3 and very hooked, its a modern xfiles and the 5th and final season is just about to air in the states

The Shield.

Don’t watch “The Walking Dead”, it’s like a “how not to” of the zombie apocalypse and really irritating.

The Wire is a terrible addiction. I feel your pain. I have nothing more to add. I’ve done that Sopranos shit. People tell me the new thing is Breaking Bad, but I’m just trying to find a source. They say it was on tv, they say they will bring it in to work on dvd, but they never do.

Cheers for all the suggestions, I finished the Wire at the weekend – the best TV show I’ve watched.
I’m almost tempted to start again from the beginning to see what I missed the first time around.

any one into books ????

Not heard of it – what channel is it on?

😆

Sorry… 🙂

errr, yes, don’t read enough though. recently got the new Stella Rimington, very good, she’s got right back on form in the last few. Just about to start Robert Harris’ fear index, have Cloud Atlas kicking about glaring at me from the bedside table as well. Also feels a while since the last Jeff Lindsay too…

Has no one said 24!

How about 24. Not in the league of the Wire but if you get into it there is enough to keep you going until this time next year.

24 hour news– you never know when they going to ‘break’ a new story

Nobody mentioned Oz yet…
Nothing has got close to it for me.

24 hour news– you never know when they going to ‘break’ a new story

Nah, I hate the structure of that show. Its nearly all just “Previously on…”.