Keith’s post on Battlestar Galactica’s crappy finale got me thinking about the different series I recommend to people on DVD. I used to recommend BSG, but now I don’t as much. Or, if I do, I recommend it with a caveat about my dissatisfaction with how the series ended. So, I took my question to the Clacker team and got more recommendations than there is time to watch them.
Ivey: My vote is for Veronica Mars…. Love that show :)
Carissa: Six Feet Under! Best pilot and series finales ever, and filled with equally as great content in between.
Deb: I nominate Keen Eddie, because most people have never heard of it and they can discover a fun new show … especially now that people know who Mark Valley is and already love him! And of course I agree with Ivey on VM, and there’s always Buffy….
Julia: I’ve found Arrested Development lends really well to DVD marathons because each episode has so many intertwined inside jokes that it almost becomes better that way. If such a thing were even possible.
Ruby: I agree with Julia on Arrested Development. If you’ve never seen 24 before and start watching it on DVD, you literally cannot stop. This is both an endorsement and a warning.
Chuck: I always recommend Better Off Ted to people, and they always seem to like it after watching it. I wish they’d get around to releasing Season 2 on DVD!
Carla: Brett and Carissa recommended Supernatural to me and I caught up watching seasons 1-4. It is probably the first show I recommend now. Depending on the person, Wonderfalls, Firefly and most recently, Vampire Diaries are some others I often list.
An: Actually, I would second the vote for Veronica Mars with a restriction to Season 1.
Ivey: I really feel bad for you guys that don’t like S2/S3 of VM. Really must stink for you.
Julia: I liked Season 2! I was one of the few people who did. (With the exception of one or two episodes.) Season 3, on the other hand… sigh. Just, sigh.
Deb: I agree, I enjoyed all of the seasons. If you’re dissing season three, then you really weren’t paying attention to the awesome relationship between the dean and Veronica. So much fun. Piz, not so much fun.
An: I equate VM with seeing younger, hotter pictures of your significant other. When I started watching S3, I didn’t understand how I missed S1-2, viewed Piz as the hotness, and didn’t comprehend the on-line derision. However, upon watching S1 and S2 (despite warnings I should blind myself first), I discovered the utter awesomeness of the former and the utter meh of the latter. When S3 returned from its winter break, the heroine struck me as a shell of her former self (kind of like Steven Seagal\Mel Gibson today compared with yesterday). So, if you’re a VM virgin, stick to S1. Trust me, you don’t want your friends\mother\dog\rabbi saying I told you so.
Meredith: Alias seasons one and two before things got silly.
Bob: I tend to push shows that people may have missed on some of the premium stations. I always try to get friends and family to check out Deadwood and The Wire. Definitely two of my all time favorite shows.
Brett: Now that the entire series is again available on DVD in the US, I would recommend Farscape. It’s a great show that was never afraid of taking chances. The episodes run the gamut from absurd comedy, to drama, to sci-fi, and the show is filled with great characters, both good and bad.
Michael: I have to go with a series many rave about I have yet to take a gander at … and want to do so hugely. And that series is … The Shield.
Ivey: Eh… Did a Shield Virgin Diary about S1 this summer. Won’t be doing S2 if you catch my drift.
Brett: In looking through the TV on DVD releases for tomorrow I noticed another excellent suggestion. Slings and Arrows. It chronicles the behind the scenes goings on at the New Burbage theatre. It lends itself to recommendation particularly well because so many people have never seen it before. It also doesn’t hurt that it really is a great show. While each season is centered on one Shakespeare play, the show also has a great three season arc. And, to top it all off, it’s totally Canadian.
An: Slings and Arrows is an awesome idea. Paul Gross’ tired hotness? Kids in the Hall‘s Mark McKinney? Double-awesome. Heck, while we’re on the Canadian bandwagon, why not add Forever Knight to the list?
Chuck: I was rearranging my DVD collection and thought maybe Babylon 5 and Absolutely Fabulous should be on the list. B5 because it had a planned 5 year arc that survived a change in the lead and near cancellation at the end of year 4, but it had some great storytelling and memorable characters. That’s where I first fell in love with Mira Furlan. AbFab is just hilarious, very British and has a great cast. US remakes have been attempted but they could never get away with the drinking and drug use on any network — and even HBO couldn’t make it work. A product of its time, but somehow still timeless.
Jen: I think you’re missing a couple: Heroes: Season 1 only. It’s some of the best television I’ve ever seen. Amazing. House. Although like many great shows (Battlestar Galactica and Lost come to mind) have had weak seasons, and House is no exception, it remains overall a solid, solid show that can bear many repeated viewings. I just looked at the list again, and Buffy is missing! Honestly, if I had to go to a desert island with one set of DVDs, I’d take that.
Ivey: I just don’t get the obsession with House. Never have… I think its a solid show, don’t get me wrong. But nothing I’ve seen in the three seasons (1, 2, and 4) I’ve watched (and covered) has left me with any reason to think its one of the best things on TV. What am I missing?
Deb: For a character guy, you are missing so, so much. For a lit. geek like me (English degree!), House is like watching a book — there is so much to love about the complexity of House’s character and every episode is full of symbolism. Plus, it does all this while being funny. I just love it and I’m not even sure I can agree with Jen when she says it has had off seasons. It has had mini-arcs within seasons that I could do without (Chi McBride, cop who puts House is rehab, etc.) but it had remained fun and deep at the same time, every season.
Vote for up to 3 series that you recommend that people watch on DVD if they haven’t ever watched it. Share your reasons for loving your picks in the comments. Do you recommend shows the the Clacker team missed? Share them in the comments too!
Clacked by Carla Day 
on Oct 27, 2010 @ 10:00 EST5EDT
I only recommend BSG to certain people. Same thing with my favorite book Outlander (series) by Diana Gabaldon. Some things are not for everyone.
I watched all of Stargate SG1 this summer and it was great fun. I started out not liking the humor, but by the end had a keen appreciation for it.
Would I like Veronica Mars I wonder?
Farscape is still on my to do list.
I salute you for watching 10 seasons of SG-1 in one summer. I love that show, but I had to force myself to watch seasons 9-10 (solely out of respect for Ben Browder and Claudia Black). It was difficult.
My project this summer was watching all 7 seasons of Star Trek Voyager. Somehow I managed to get through that too.
Now I need some Firefly to cleanse the palate.
I loved Wonderfalls too! Another show I really enjoyed was Dead Like Me. The two seasons of that are worth checking out – especially if you were a fan of Callum Blue on Smallville! I haven’t seen the movie yet. I hope it’s good!
I don’t recommend shows on DVD, I’m a Pirate.
Arrrrr!
Seriously though I recommend Buffy because of the extras and other than that I just ordered “The Larry Sanders Show”.
Oh and as a suggestion far off: “Fawlty Towers”.
My picks where Supernatural, Babylon 5 and Alias, (Veronica Mars as an honorable mention), but the series that i really loved and can watch many times is Dark Angel. Loved that show, is really good, and has a younger Jensen Ackles that made me toon in to Supernatural, the greatest show ever.
Generation Kill
Band of Brothers as well.
Veronica Mars (Seasons 1 and 2)
Freaks & Geeks
Undeclared
Arrested Development (you get so many more inside jokes watching them back to back – I still find things I didn’t find the first 10 times I watched them)
It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia
Veronica Mars season 1 (and 2 if they really enjoyed s1)
Kyle XY Season 1
Coupling (the British version), especially season 3
Another British show by Stephen Moffatt, the mini series Hyde (as in Jekyll &…)
Firefly, in the correct order :P
If they really like Firefly, I’d recommend Journeyman, with the caveat that it was cut short after only 12 episodes
I’d also recommend season 1 of Heroes, but only on the promise that they wouldn’t watch subsequent seasons no matter what.
Keen Eddie is the DVD Series that I loved that I expect very few fans have ever seen. My other choices are pretty standard. Of course, two DVD series that should be in anyones collection are all Seasons of Seinfield and Soporano’s, but they are pricey, and I’m sure were seen by most fans. In my case, we did not have HBO during most of the Soporano’s run–so we would wait until the whole season ran. Rent them, and spend the next several hours watching the season. I still consider it the best overall series I have seen–in spite of the ending. Seinfield was an outanding Comedy series, but we saw the drop off in quality when Larry David left, and Jerry was left without a key partner in production.