TV: What's your favorite...

11 years ago

last modified: 11 years ago

Inspired by the cancellation thread I was wondering what you all loved to watch most. Please answer each of these or just one, but please put the category. If your answer is a kids' show, it should be one you've watched as an adult.

1. Favorite All Time Show -- Liked the best. The one that you saved the recordings for, and bought the DVDs and still watch if it happens to be on.

2. Best All Time Show -- Best quality. The one you told everyone they had to watch, but that you shut yourself up alone with so as not to miss a word or expression.

3. Favorite Guilty Pleasure -- Embarrassed to admit. The one you'd never want to miss, but don't bring up lest people judge you.

4. Favorite Show You Only Liked for the Actor(s) -- The not so great show make appointment worthy because you're a fan of the people.

5. Favorite Show You only Liked for the Acting, Writing or Photography -- Not such a great show but with some quality components.

6. Favorite Show to Watch While You're Sick or Unhappy -- Comfort watching, like comfort food. Maybe not the greatest show, but perfect accompaniment to wooly socks and a blankie.

Featured Answer

plllog
Original Author

11 years ago

last modified: 11 years ago

1. My So-Called Life is my all time favorite by the definition I gave. There is so much nuance and layering in what, on the surface, is a teen show.

2. The Wire. Everything was well done. The acting was amazing. The story was intense. The editing was powerful and as well engineered as a carnival ride. It was visually of cinematic quality. The direction tied it all together beautifully. The story read like a five part novel. It was so engrossing that being ripped away when the card came up at the end of an episode was startling and almost painful.

3. It's a genre really. "Reality" shows about other cultures (Hutterites, Gypsies, Amish, etc.). These are usually so cheesy it's obvious when the featured players are doing their own thing and where something "dramatic" was cooked up by the producers. There's more of the latter than the former. Still, even just to hear their accents, and glimpse between the lines at their ways of thinking, and their values, is fascinating. I could never listen to an anthropologist long enough to get it the academic way. Some of these shows are horribly unwatchable, but some of the better ones are my guilty pleasure. :)

4. Extant. I love Goran Visnjic. Halle Berry and Michael O'Neill also. And Grace Gummer. But I doubt I'd have watched any of it if it weren't for Goran Visnjic. He's a fine actor, but it's just that I like him as an actor that brings me in, not his ability. :)

5. Sports Night. Love Aaron Sorkin's writing. The actors were good too. Not enough to keep it on.

6. The Newsroom is one I can rewatch when I'm in pain (more Aaron Sorkin). It's very distracting. :)

[Edited to correct brain cramp.]

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (16)

glenda_al
11 years ago
My favorite of all favorites is National Geographic Life Below Zero
Related Discussions
Another Get to know you thread.
Q
Comments (50)
Name a topic you find controversial. Politics What is your occupation right now? SAHA - stay at home auntie What color are your socks right now? Sandal, no socks. I used to only wear socks from Dec to Feb because my feet were only cold in the dead of winter. Times sure have changed because now I need socks Oct to April and during the coldest months I wear 2 pair at once. What are you listening to right now? A lawn mower outside & the fridge humming inside Can you drive a stick shift? Yes, a high school boyfriend taught me in his brother's car (without permission of the owner!) Last person you spoke to on the phone? One of my sisters How old are you today? 49 for a few more weeks What is your favorite sport to watch on TV? I hate all sports and don't watch any of them willingly. Now if the question was what sports are often shown on the TV in my home the answer would be baseball, golf, basketball & football. What is your favorite drink? Water, Lipton tea Have you ever dyed your hair? I've been paying someone else to dye or highlight it for years. I have never attempted to do it myself. I have helped my sisters dye their hair. Hey, if I mess it up it's not my head! Favorite food? I love many things (fruit, veggies, breads) but if I had to pick a last meal it would be Silician pizza from a specific local place. What is the last movie you watched? Angels & Demons. We were on vacation & it was rainy so we went to a movie, which is a little unusual for us. We might go to see 6-8 movies a year so it's funny that I have a just released movie to name. We have never rented a video for no specific reason. I guess because DH is usually watching sports and I'd rather read. Favorite days of the year? Any sunny, warm day. How do you vent anger? I guess it depends on what is causing the anger...nothing too dramatic but maybe my DH would have another opinion on this. What was your favorite toy as a child? I had one Barbie - this was back in the day you had one doll & multiple clothes. My friends with daughters tell me now-a-days girls will have multiple Barbies. I knew a family with 3 girls and they had 65 Barbies! The Mom said it was because they were rather cheap so for birthday gifts people would just buy them another doll & not just an outfit. And she, the mother, used to spend an hour a week redressing the dolls because she couldn't stand to see a pile of naked Barbies on the floor. To each his own, I guess. What is your favorite season? Summer. Cherries or Blueberries? I will happily indulge in either Do you want your friends to e-mail you back? yes, I hate to sign on and not have any new mail but I detest those FW:FW:FW kind so I'd rather not have anything than those. Living Arrangements? Just DH in a 2 story house When was the last time you cried? Last week but it was a bittersweet kinda cry not a blubbering snot-fest. Don't remember the last BSF. What is on the floor of your closet? Shoes, relatively neatly arranged. And a box of baking soda to absorb stale odors. What did you do last night? Went to a wine tasting party. We all drew a country out of hat and brought wine & appetizer from our country. I had Germany so I bought a Riesling (named Way Kuhl - it was very tasty) and Tilsit cheese, pretzel rolls from Wegman's & German chocolate cake (I cheated and used a box mix for the cake but homemade frosting). What are you most afraid of? Something harmful happening to a family member, global diasters, and snakes (I'm still kinda freaked after opening a recent posting on the other side a week or so ago. Yikes, I was not expecting that...I thought maybe a garden gnome or fountain. But no hard feelings. It's my phobia, not your problem). Favorite dog breed? Never had a dog myself so no favorite. Thru family members I've been exposed to Goldens, Labs & an Australian Cattle dog, which were all very nice dogs. Favorite day of the week? Every day is a good day for a SAHA How many states have you lived in? 4 - Mass, Rhode Island, NJ, Pa Diamonds, pearls, art jewelry or costume? I have little interest in jewelry so 3 years ago when a necklace caught my eye my DH said we should buy it for your anniversary present. Coincidently, it has 13 diamonds and it was my 13th anniversary - it must have been fate. He, in turn, had an ice cream from Cold Stone creamery as his present. Everyone left the mall happy. Fashion or comfort? Comfort, but I don't believe in wearing sweat clothes unless I'm going to, at, or returning from the gym.
...See More
What is your favorite benefit of your smaller home?
Q
Comments (45)
I love the idea of a house that is 'fully lived in' as sister3 says! And 'human scaled'...so much empty space in really big houses. The guest conundrum is funny to listen to...we've been lamenting about not having room for our relatives to stay when they come (usually for at least a week) and I don't think they enjoy the idea of camping that long in a tent, so its always an issue. Last year it rained 9 out of the 10 days my sis and 2 children (who fit the previously mentioned category perfectly)were here! Cramped to say the least! I think I'll not worry so much about trying to make them comfortable in the house (there's talk this year of them borrowing a camper trailer! Hee hee!) Cleaning and maintenance is definately a bonus, but like amanda I find it gets cluttered and the floor gets dirty so darn fast! But a few minutes each morning (well, ideally every morning...)seems to keep things under control. Also, we dont have seperate kitchen, dining and living areas (all one room) so our computer sits amongst it all. We got a 19" monitor so we can watch movies on it, which keeps down the electronic clutter. We even have no trouble with one phone! And heating is a cinch...in fact, right now I'm baking a rhubarb crisp, and the oven is heating the cabin nicely on this rainy, cold day! Not to mention filling it with yummy aroma! The list of benifits just goes on and on...if only people just realized!
...See More
Who's your favorite T.V. chef?
Q
Comments (38)
Oh, how could I forget Sara Moulton, Alton Brown and the 2 Fat Ladies! Sara comes across as sincere, down to earth and neighbor-like. I like her cooking style but not a lot of her recipes. Alton Brown and the Two Fat Ladies have very few recipes I'd want to try, but find the shows very entertaining and often informative. Dotmom, Justin Wilson was at one of the sports shows many many years back and a friend and I went to wander around and of course see his show. Well, as it turned out he had JUST left the show as we got in there and wouldn't be back for about quite a few hours. I thought he'd at least be out signing autographs or something but that wasn't the case. We wandered around and waited. Debated about how long to stay but finally gave up. That close. About the only person I've really wanted to see in person. Thought it would be interesting to talk to him a few minutes if it was allowed. Sadly he's gone, but a few of his shows are on YouTube. The ones I saw on there I remember watching. Justin's measuring salt in his hand, throw in a little extra - just shows it's not a science. I got to the point I could smell something and tell if it needed salt. Some friends laughed at me when I measured with my hand and I said If Justin can do it, so can I and they said yeah right, so I took a measuring spoon and poured it in. 1 teaspoon exactly. He also got me using fresh ground pepper on garlic bread. And it are good, I garontee! I have a couple of his cookbooks. Received them as gifts. Not that I really needed them because I copied down a lot of his recipes that interested me. I still use them as a base for others. I just modify to suit my tastes. As a cook should. And I enjoyed his speech. Sort of a Cajun Norm Crosby. And unlike so many, he poked fun at himself rather than feigning offense at every opportunity. Refreshing. And the Two Fat Ladies were fun to watch. It was so obvious they didn't get along. Not sure how they got paired up. They'd snip at each other occasionally and was entertaining. I also like the way ALton Brown interjects some humor and, like America's Test Kitchen, include some of the science and why, for example, some cookies are soft and some are crunchy. One other I forgot is Nathalie Dupree. Again, the older shows were so far superior to those of today (and Alton & 2FL are old shows IMO)
...See More
Week 108 - Who is your favorite TV chef/cook?
Q
Comments (28)
There is something about a good Jamie Oliver recipe, they are just so easily repeatable. I feel like they are less recipes than inspirations. But honestly I dont have cable and so dont hink i Have seen his show in a very long time. I do see his stuff online though, and I think he is very good with fish and veg. I think Ina's recipes are very rich. I like a few of them, her oven shrimp scampi is a standard, but I think of her mostly as holiday and entertaining. I love Jacques, Alton Brown. Someone should give Mark Bittman a TV Show. Used to love Ming Tsai and but less now as I feel he has gotten more commercial. I like Carla, dont know her last name, she is very tall, she won Top Chef and is now on The Chow. I think she is home food, healthy, vegetable centric, fairly no-nonsense.
...See More
blfenton
11 years ago
1. Favourite all time Show - Anything Star Trek

2. Best all time Show - The West Wing

3. Favourite Guilty Pleasure - When I was younger it was Remington Steele and more recently it was White Collar and of course, anything Star Trek

4. Favourite Show you only liked for the actors - mmm... I'll have to think about that one. I like Motive.

5. Favourite show you only liked for the acting, writing or Photography - Lost.
As an aside I really liked Sports Night as well. First time I saw Peter Krause, Felicity Huffman and Joshua Malina.

6. Favourite Show to Watch when sick or unhappy - I don't think I really have one. If it's on the weekend I'll try to find a Star Wars (lV, V or Vl), Indiana Jones or Star Trek movie. Or a good Golf Game.
PRO
mdln
11 years ago
1. Monday Mornings
blfenton
11 years ago
last modified: 11 years ago
That's the problem with threads like these - people remind you of great shows that you watched and miss. :) Such as Monday Mornings.

And then there was Paper Chase and Harry's Law
matti5
11 years ago
1. Favorite - Seinfeld. I have seen each episode hundreds of times, but still laugh like the first time I watched. The perfect cast, great writing, yada yada yada!

2. Best Show - Sopranos. Brilliant! I miss it!

3. Guilty pleasure - I really hate to admit this :) but I have been watching the Real Housewives series since the beginning. I honestly can't give a good reason why lol

4 and 5. I don't watch a show just for the actors or just the writing. It is a combo of all those things that keeps me watching.

6. Favorite to watch while sick or sad. A toss up between Seinfeld or The Big Bang Theory.
User
11 years ago
1. Favorite All Time Show -- all of the Law and Order shows.

2. Best All Time Show -- Carol Burnett Show.

3. Favorite Guilty Pleasure - Law and Order.

4. Favorite Show You Only Liked for the Actor(s) -- Nothing in particular.

5. Favorite Show You only Liked for the Acting, Writing or Photography -- Writing - Saturday Night Live from the late 1970s

6. Favorite Show to Watch While You're Sick or Unhappy -- i could watch any of Alan Titschmarsh's BBC Gardening shows time and time again. Gardening is always good when I'm down.
gyr_falcon
11 years ago
This is tough! I'm all over the board when it comes to television.

1. Favorite All Time Show(s): More of a type than a single show. Informational stuff: American Masters, documentaries, science and nature (But I don't have any tapings or DVDs)

2. Best All Time Show: MASH

3. Favorite Guilty Pleasure: Running: Survivor Cancelled/ReReReruns: Big Cat Diary

4. Favorite Show You Only Liked for the Actor(s): Running: maybe The Good Wife Cancelled: Nikita

5. Favorite Show You only Liked for the Acting, Writing or Photography: Witchblade Season 1, and 1.5 episodes of Season 2

6. Favorite Comfort Show: Murphy Brown Season 1 is all we get. :( So if I need more episodes of something, maybe West Wing, or whatever looks good in the cabinet.
prairie_rose
11 years ago
1. Favorite All Time Show: Dallas (the original 80's series, not the remake)
1. Best All Time Show: Tonight Show with Johnny Carson
3. Favorite Guilty Pleasure: The OC

4/5 Favorite Because I like the Actor, etc. Nothing comes to mind
1. Favorite Comfort Show: The mini series Lonesome Dove. I've worn out the VHS and DVD and now own it in BlueRay.
susanwv
11 years ago
Favorite show right now is The Blacklist, love it!! All time fave is Alaska, the last Frontier. Guilty pleasure:. Survivor. Others that come to mind are: Gold Rush, The Voice, Life Below Zero, Ice Cold Gold, Antiques Roadshow,
chisue
11 years ago
I don't think DH and I have ever watched a TV program twice. (I did just say I could watch Wolf Hall again. Evidently there have enough *new* shows to watch, almost exclusively via recording PBS or from a DVD.

There may be two or three novels I've read twice...maybe. (I'm shallow. So sue me. I have watched Lion In Winter more than once, but that's a film.)

If there were no new programs, we could go back to The Wire, The Hour, The Sopranos, Mad Men, Doc Martin, The West Wing. We liked Idris Elba so much in The Wire that we picked up Luther and enjoyed that. We enjoyed the Poirot series. We liked the Canadian series, Intelligence. The original Upstairs Downstairs? DH never missed LA Law. We're waiting for the second season of The Americans (spies in the US).

Comfort watching? Midsummer Murders and all of that ilk. DH would watch Rocky & Bullwinkle or any Bug Bunny cartoons. The Muppets!

If I'm sick, I'm much more likely to read a novel than watch anything on TV.
Fun2BHere
11 years ago
1. Favorite All Time Show -- The West Wing

2. Best All Time Show -- The West Wing

3. Favorite Guilty Pleasure -- Grey's Anatomy, Veronica Mars

4. Favorite Show You Only Liked for the Actor(s) -- NCIS: Los Angeles

5. Favorite Show You only Liked for the Acting, Writing or
Photography -- Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip -- Can you tell that I'm an Aaron Sorkin fan?

6. Favorite Show to Watch While You're Sick or Unhappy -- This choice changes depending on how alert I am. If I'm sleepy sick, then I'll watch Design, Inc. or My Little Paris Kitchen. If I want mindlessness, then I'll watch Roswell, Buffy or Angel, guilty pleasures from the past.

7. May I add a category? Favorite Unavailable Show. That show from the past that you would really, really love to have to watch again, but that isn't available anywhere. Mine is Reasonable Doubts with Mark Harmon and Marlee Matlin.
plllog
Original Author
11 years ago
7. Favorite Unavailable Show. That show from the past that you would really, really love to have to watch again, but that isn't available anywhere (no DVD, streaming, etc.).

Fun2BHere, that's a good category! For a long time, my answer would have been Flambards, but then I found it. Still haven't watched it, though. I spent a Summer obsessed by it (one of the rare times the filming was better than the books). I loved Reasonable Doubts. Right now, I'd have to say Bunheads. Season 1 is on Amazon streaming, but not the whole thing.

Speaking of Sorkin, even before I read Fun2BHere's list, I realized that somewhere between my thoughts and my fingers, I'd turned him into David E. Kelley last night. I was thinking about distinctive writers, and I well know the difference between the two (Picket Fences was a runner up but didn't exactly fit any of the categories I'd made). Anyway, I corrected it above.
Chi
11 years ago
This is hard! I don't have specific answers, but my favorite is probably Game of Thrones. It's so well done, and it transports me to another world from the moment the theme music starts. I also really like Downton Abbey for the same reason.
linda_in_iowa
11 years ago
I have two shows that I cannot miss, The Good Wife and Grey's Anatomy. If I am not going to be home when they are on, I set the DVR. Other shows I watch for a couple of months and then lose interest.
marilyn_c
11 years ago
I quit watching tv when I was in jr high, so for many years, I watched only news programs and some PBS....no weekly series. But, I did get interested in one and that was just before it was canceled....The Office.

My guilty pleasure would be King of the Hill.

TV: What's your favorite...

plllog
Original Author

Comments (16)

glenda_al

Related Discussions

blfenton

mdln

blfenton

matti5

User

gyr_falcon

prairie_rose

susanwv

chisue

Fun2BHere

plllog
Original Author

Chi

linda_in_iowa

marilyn_c

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

TV: What's your favorite...

plllogOriginal Author

Comments (16)

Related Discussions

plllogOriginal Author

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

plllog
Original Author

plllog
Original Author