OT: Anything Outside Basketball (games, tv series, books and etc.)

[TTP]

I'm also shocked that The Sopranos hasn't been mentioned here. My top 4 of all time would be:

1) The Wire
2) The Sopranos
3) Game of Thrones
4) Breaking Bad

However, if you're really into Game of Thrones after season 1, I'd recommend stopping and reading the books first (they're excellent). That was how I approached it, and it was helpful while reading to have the visual of the characters from the TV show in my head.

Survivor and Big Brother are excellent as well if you're into strategy games, though obviously very different types of shows than those I listed. Don't judge them as merely reality TV shows - they're much more intelligent than they appear.

[Unbreakable99]

The Sopranos started the who anti-hero character. Having a bad guy who people root for. That's how you get characters like Vic Mackey in the Shield.

[sixers hoops]

I'm also shocked that The Sopranos hasn't been mentioned here. My top 4 of all time would be:

1) The Wire
2) The Sopranos
3) Game of Thrones
4) Breaking Bad

However, if you're really into Game of Thrones after season 1, I'd recommend stopping and reading the books first (they're excellent). That was how I approached it, and it was helpful while reading to have the visual of the characters from the TV show in my head.

Survivor and Big Brother are excellent as well if you're into strategy games, though obviously very different types of shows than those I listed. Don't judge them as merely reality TV shows - they're much more intelligent than they appear.

For me it's:

1) Sopranos
2) Game of Thrones
3) Breaking Bad
4) Dexter
5) The Wire

Wasn't as big a wire fan as everyone else.

Also really like:
-Walking Dead
-Shameless
-Boardwalk Empire
-Better Call Saul
-Deadwood
-The Killing (2 seasons)
-Homeland (Had 2 or 3 really good seasons)
-Penny Dreadful (if you like monster themes)
-Narcos

[eagereyez]

GoT has been on a slow decline since season 1. There are already too many cringe moments for me to put it ahead of Breaking Bad or The Wire.

[rzzzzz]

agree on the Wire, which lends creedence to the less cohesive, but most satisfactory ensemble Treme.
agree on Breaking Bad, and am pleased with the writing and acting of the dichotomous Better Call Saul.

probably too much to expect the Twin Peaks reboot to come anywhere close to the original, which admittedly lost focus and intensity after Lynch was forced to reveal the killer. but still think what his reworking of Mulholland Dr., after ABC pulled the plug on the pilot, is the most astounding rebound in cinema history.

50th anniversary of zeitgeist dependent, but still mindf***ing The Prisoner.

[LongLiveHinkie]

OP asked for not the "typical shows" so I left out Breaking Bad, The Wire, etc, figuring he'd have seen them.

The Wire is about drug dealers, not drug traffickers. They also don't show us how the drugs are made, and I'm glad they didn't waste a season on some heroin lab. Season 2 is missing many of the best characters in the show: Stringer, Omar, Brody, Avon. McNulty is the only one that made season 2 bearable for me.

I think The Wire benefits from rose tinted glasses, because it probably was the GOAT when it came out, but its been surpassed by Breaking Bad imo.

Breaking Bad is definitely GOAT and Better Call Saul is well on its way to becoming one of the best spin offs of all time.

Breaking Bad isn't better than the Wire. Come on. The last season of Breaking Bad became more fake. Letting Jessie live was dumb. That was so fake. It was a very good show but not GOAT level like the Wire.

Breaking Bad was never supposed to be realistic. It was about a high school teacher who became a drug kingpin. That in itself is over the top. It's a totally different type of show from The Wire. The Wire was supposed to be gritty and hit home with realism. Breaking Bad wasn't.

And for the record, The Wire season 5 was totally fake if you judge it to scale. A detective stages crime scenes to make people think there's a fake serial killer? Season 5 was pretty sub-par for The Wire's standards, and the whole newspaper angle was a total bore. Breaking Bad never had that magnitude of a drop-off as The Wire did in season 5, especially since The Wire was a show intended to be realistic and season 5 was laughably far-fetched and over the top.

[Cheatergriffin]

I'm also shocked that The Sopranos hasn't been mentioned here. My top 4 of all time would be:

1) The Wire
2) The Sopranos
3) Game of Thrones
4) Breaking Bad

However, if you're really into Game of Thrones after season 1, I'd recommend stopping and reading the books first (they're excellent). That was how I approached it, and it was helpful while reading to have the visual of the characters from the TV show in my head.

Survivor and Big Brother are excellent as well if you're into strategy games, though obviously very different types of shows than those I listed. Don't judge them as merely reality TV shows - they're much more intelligent than they appear.

Like mentioned before i gave OP shows that are not always brought up. Loved Sopranos i make it a point to rewatch that at least once a year. People hate on the ending, but the clues are all there. Im in the minority, but once ive rewatched it i have come to love the ending.

Would love to see a prequel with sopranos like better call saul is to breaking bad. Junior and tonys father in the 60's-70' would be awesome.

Better call saul is getting reaally really good.

Top 5. Sopranos,GOT,wire,breaking bad are my main stays. 5th spot is up for debate.

The band of brothers series is extremely interesting as well, but didnt list because its only 1 season for each plot.

My others id put high up are true detective season 1 (dont watch season 2), loving fargo (just started season 2), dexter until last season or 2, westworld had a very good first season, vikings, better call saul.

Theres other good ones too but best ive seen. I really want a sopranos prequel tho :-/

[eagereyez]

Nah. Season 2 is the most important season. It is very relevant to the story. The Wire is the goat. Season 2 shows how the drugs gets into Baltimore. Do you think drugs just show up on their own in Baltimore? Someone has to bring them in.

The Wire is about drug dealers, not drug traffickers. They also don't show us how the drugs are made, and I'm glad they didn't waste a season on some heroin lab. Season 2 is missing many of the best characters in the show: Stringer, Omar, Brody, Avon. McNulty is the only one that made season 2 bearable for me.

I think The Wire benefits from rose tinted glasses, because it probably was the GOAT when it came out, but its been surpassed by Breaking Bad imo.

The Wire is not about drug dealers or drug traffickers. It's a show that examines society and the flaws that plague various institutions and the effects they have on different people. The drug trade (and the street) is merely one of the areas examined.

Oh come on. The drug trade makes up 90% of the plot of the show. The Wire isn't an exposé into the crumbling shipping industry or the role of money in politics. These are all ancillary themes that aren't central to the plot. And it's the plot, the characters, and the actors that make the show succeed. If it doesn't succeed in those qualities then it's just another bad show trying too hard to be deep.

Season 2 does nothing to move the plot forward. Interrupting the story to show us season 2 is like Vince Gilligan deciding to throw a random season of Better Call Saul in the middle of Breaking Bad. It ruins continuity and takes you out of the immersion. Only once the show is over do you really appreciate it (if you liked it at all, which I didn't). It would have been better as an epilogue.

[sixers hoops]

I'm also shocked that The Sopranos hasn't been mentioned here. My top 4 of all time would be:

1) The Wire
2) The Sopranos
3) Game of Thrones
4) Breaking Bad

However, if you're really into Game of Thrones after season 1, I'd recommend stopping and reading the books first (they're excellent). That was how I approached it, and it was helpful while reading to have the visual of the characters from the TV show in my head.

Survivor and Big Brother are excellent as well if you're into strategy games, though obviously very different types of shows than those I listed. Don't judge them as merely reality TV shows - they're much more intelligent than they appear.

Like mentioned before i gave OP shows that are not always brought up. Loved Sopranos i make it a point to rewatch that at least once a year. People hate on the ending, but the clues are all there. Im in the minority, but once ive rewatched it i have come to love the ending.

Would love to see a prequel with sopranos like better call saul is to breaking bad. Junior and tonys father in the 60's-70' would be awesome.

Better call saul is getting reaally really good.

Top 5. Sopranos,GOT,wire,breaking bad are my main stays. 5th spot is up for debate.

The band of brothers series is extremely interesting as well, but didnt list because its only 1 season for each plot.

My others id put high up are true detective season 1 (dont watch season 2), loving fargo (just started season 2), dexter until last season or 2, westworld had a very good first season, vikings, better call saul.

Theres other good ones too but best ive seen. I really want a sopranos prequel tho :-/

I hear good things about Vikings.

Dexter definitely fell off at the end, but I just love that show.

[eagereyez]

I'm also shocked that The Sopranos hasn't been mentioned here. My top 4 of all time would be:

1) The Wire
2) The Sopranos
3) Game of Thrones
4) Breaking Bad

However, if you're really into Game of Thrones after season 1, I'd recommend stopping and reading the books first (they're excellent). That was how I approached it, and it was helpful while reading to have the visual of the characters from the TV show in my head.

Survivor and Big Brother are excellent as well if you're into strategy games, though obviously very different types of shows than those I listed. Don't judge them as merely reality TV shows - they're much more intelligent than they appear.

Like mentioned before i gave OP shows that are not always brought up. Loved Sopranos i make it a point to rewatch that at least once a year. People hate on the ending, but the clues are all there. Im in the minority, but once ive rewatched it i have come to love the ending.

Would love to see a prequel with sopranos like better call saul is to breaking bad. Junior and tonys father in the 60's-70' would be awesome.

Better call saul is getting reaally really good.

Top 5. Sopranos,GOT,wire,breaking bad are my main stays. 5th spot is up for debate.

The band of brothers series is extremely interesting as well, but didnt list because its only 1 season for each plot.

My others id put high up are true detective season 1 (dont watch season 2), loving fargo (just started season 2), dexter until last season or 2, westworld had a very good first season, vikings, better call saul.

Theres other good ones too but best ive seen. I really want a sopranos prequel tho :-/

I hear good things about Vikings.

Dexter definitely fell off at the end, but I just love that show.

I loved the first few seasons of Vikings. It's like Game of Thrones except it cuts straight to the good stuff (sex and violence). The last season was really bad though. Same thing for Dexter. Started off amazing then was very mediocre at the end.

Also I can't believe I forgot to add Westworld to my list. That show is great too.

[LongLiveHinkie]

Vikings definitely fell off. It got a little too hokey for me and lost its way IMO. If you haven't seen it, I can't really explain why without spoiling it.

[CoreyGallagher]

This is the perfect thread to use spoiler tags.

[sixers hoops]

This is the perfect thread to use spoiler tags.

Yeah. Someone earlier wrote that they saw up to the point where "they killed his wife," in a thread discussing tv show recommendations. Lol

[UptownPhilly]

Netflix

Sons of Anarchy
Dead Set (British Zombie show)
Zoo (First season)
One Punch Man
Attack on Titan
30 Rock
The Get Down

[76ciology]

Stranger things is really good.

Narcos was good until Pablo Escobar died. Spoiler alert LOL

America Crime Story (OJ simpson) with John Travolta and Cuba Gooding Jr was good

I dont find Altered Carbon to be good. I find it to be repetitive.

Currently watching “Billions”, im enjoying it so far.

Not TV series..
I didnt enjoy the Black Panther. I find it to be a trying hard mature version of lion king with some injection of superhero theme. Another big movie that disappoint me was the latest star wars.

Greatest Showman (Hugh Jackman), was really good. Never thought I’d enjoy a musical.

[JojoSlimbiid]

I've never watched a single piece of Star Trek related material...however I watched Discovery and was entertained.

[Cheatergriffin]

The Sopranos is in a league of its own. To the many people who hate the ending, rewatch and pay attention to key details. Its all there.

[WMDman]

the flash

[ivysixer2000]

Reading this thread makes me want to watch The Wire, never seen it actually.

My top 5 are:

1. Sopranos
2. Dexter
3. Game of thrones
4. Shameless
5. Big Bang Theory - I know it doesn't belong on this list, but it makes me laugh lol.

I also watch Big Brother and Survivor, don't know why but I like them also. How the Universe Works, Space's Deepest Secrets, and Naked and Afraid are always recorded by me. There are alot of good shows on TV so I don't get enough time to watch them all, but The Wire is on the list now.

[gdog2004]

Homeland. All day.