Where Are Television’s Lost Gems?

ride si sapis

Fringe and Leverage. Both great shows.

FRINGE! I gave up after md way through season 1 but after several friends telling me how amazing it was I started again with season 2 and NOW I am hooked…the stories picked up and instead of stand alone eps which was what I felt with season 1 there is a proper sense of story and direction and I cant wait to find out where this goes. Game of Thrones is also one of the best tv shows atm.

Yeah, but nobody knows what it’s about.:)

There’s too many channels and choices. At a certain point there is too much of a good thing. Stuff gets lost or viewership is spread too thin.

The news seems to be based on a throwaway line from this. Midway down the page. It’s certainly not breaking news, but it at least gives an idea he feels he’s close to an end.

I seem to get hooked on shows that only last one or two seasons.
 
Loved “Now and Again” back in 2000 with Eric Close – it was like a reimagining of the Six Million Dollar Man but with the right mix of humour and action.  Close was also in Dark Skies which was also great.
 
I also loved “Nowhere Man” with Bruce Greenwood – excellent show.
 
Then there was Carnivale as well.
 
All great shows.

Yeah, I just got into FNL’s earlier this year and I’m really enjoying it. The first season was only $20  – and for a 6 disc set that is way cheap here in Australia!

I didn’t get into Veronica Mars till after it was finished too. It has to be one of my all time favorite series. Smart, and witty writing and amazing actors! Kristen Bell especially!

The Shield and Weeds were other series I got into late. Great shows! 

I brought season 1 about 4 months back and so far I have only watched the first ep. Really didn’t draw me in at all. :( 

It was his second starring role – his first was as a gay swimmer.diver in another aussie series. Can’t remember what it was called off the top of my head. But I did enjoy it.

Have to disagree with your take on season 3 – I thought it kept up an amazingly high standard through out its whole run. Sure it has a different feel – but it was great to see her grow as a character.

Although – SPOILERS! - there was a certain death in season 3 that totally pissed me off – and seemed really ramdom. I though it was a waste of a great talent. :(

Great article!

Ok – after checking out near everyones posts – and with so much praising – I think I need to check out Arrested Development and The Wire.

They better not disappoint! ;) 

Thanks for mentioning ‘Nowhere Man.’  That was indeed a terrific show.  In a similar vein was ‘John Doe’.  

Both only lasted a season and ended with a jaw dropping cliffhanger.  These shows are probably why to this day I am reluctant to begin new series with a continuing storyline running through it.  I’m afraid of getting burned again by premature-cancellation.  

My Top ten:
1. Venture Bros.
2. Game of Thrones
3. It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia
4. Homicide Life On The Street
5. The Wire
6. Breaking Bad
7. Oz
8. Angel
9. Gargoyles
10. DS9 (I hated Babylon 5 and am indifferent to all other Treks)

KEEN EDDIE.  Stars the guy from Human Target.  A NY cop gets sent to London to pick up a perp, ends up reassigned to Scotland Yard.  Hilarious wacky crimes and set-ups, with him getting in amazing American one-liners.  “For one thing, pal, we can book you for obstructing justice.”  (To British partner): “You guys got that over here, don’t you?”  Or he gets thrown into an illegal fight club against a bruiser.  “Hey, buddy, I have to warn you, I’m trained by the NYPD in self-defense – POW!”  Only went 13 episodes.  What a loss.

You can’t take the sky from me…

Shows that I’ve enjoyed that failed to find a large enough audience:
Human Target (2009 – 2011) on FOX
CHAOS (2011) on CBS
Rubicon (2010) on AMC
The Unusuals (2009) on ABC
Eyes (2005) on ABC
Cupid (there were two versions, first in ’98, then another in ’09) both on ABC
Vengeance Unlimited (1998) on ABC
Shannon’s Deal (1990-1991) on NBC

Supernatural.

It’s gone off the rails a bit (just a bit though) in recent seasons.  But in its day (and still today in a lot of ways, especially with the introduction of the character Castiel) it was one of the best shows on television.

It’s got some of the funniest episodes I’ve ever seen (which includes most comedy shows), breathtaking plot twists, two of the best lead actors I’ve ever seen (especially Jensen Ackles who sadly gets disregarded as just a pretty face by guys who have never seen him in action) who also happen to play two of the most complex and well written characters on Network television.

Yeah, it’s on the CW, which doesn’t bode well for quality…but it was a WB original back when the WB was still airing stuff like Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and it has a real awesome Joss Whedon or X-Files feel to it. 

So many ideas!

I don’t know if “Sons of Anarchy” counts as  a show very few people watch…but it’s a really good one.  A lot of it rests on the great acting, with Katey Sagal being the BEST female actor on TV right now, bar none.  She rightfully won a Golden Globe for her work. 

I completely agree, for my money SOA is one of the if not the show im looking foward to most. and they always get snubbed by the emmys which is a shame. cant believe no one mentioned this earlier

I lol’d.

Forget those four; THRESHOLD was the best one out there.  Government agency vs. Cthulhu.

‘QI’ is over-rated, and not half as clever as it thinks it is. I’d take ‘Screen Wipe’ or a Boris Johnson hosted, ‘Have I Got News For You’ over it any day of the week.

Oh, and ‘Outnumbered’ is terrible. The thing is, my family (there’s another awful show…) will claim it is brilliant, and then sit there and watch it, and not… laugh… once. Yeh, brilliant stuff.

Nowhere Man, (the American version of) Life On Mars and Carnivale. I miss ‘em all.

 I’m sorry, you feel QI isn’t clever but something Boris Johnson appears in IS? Ok….. Love HIGNFY but I think Ian and Paul throw up at the thought they helped that imbecile get elected. Knowing how it turned out ruins a lot of jokes. And I wasn’t speaking in praise of Outnumbered. I was speaking in praise of Psychoville. Outnumbered is a british sitcom my mother thinks is genius. Whoever above spoke on behalf of Adam Curtis, though, I think people need to be made to watch his work and shut up until they have.  Brilliant stuff.

Did anyone watch The Riches? I believe it was on FX.
It had Eddy Izzard in it. It was great.