Pimp Your Show!

[tzikeh]

Your mission, should you choose to accept it: pimp me the shows you're watching which I'm not! Why should I be watching your choices? Why are they worth my time? How will they hold my attention? Try not to spoil too much, if you can. (And even if your choices have been running a while, no worries -- I can get my hands on previous seasons. *g*)

I am currently watching:

Old:
House; Dexter; How I Met Your Mother; Heroes; Real Time With Bill Maher; Scrubs (when it returns); The Wire (when it returns); Battlestar Galactica (when it returns).

New:
Pushing Daisies; Reaper; Chuck (though I'm giving it maybe one or two more episodes before it goes bye-bye).

I tune in from time to time:
Law & Order; Law & Order: SVU; Extreme Makeover: Home Edition; Inside the Actors Studio; What Not to Wear; It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia.

Gave up on (AKA please don't pimp):
My Name is Earl; Law & Order: CI; The Simpsons; Family Guy; NCIS, Psych.

P.S.: "GUH!", while a plus, is not sufficient pimping. *g*

ETA: Shows do *not* have to be U.S. only.

Comments

[12-12-12.livejournal.com]

You're already watching my favorite show (*G*) but I have two others to pimp: Psych and Ugly Betty. I've only seen a few eps of each, myself, but my friends-list has assured me that they're well worth watching.

I've written up my reactions to the pilots (and only the pilots, if you're spoiler-phobic) of both shows here (http://12-12-12.livejournal.com/27519.html#cutid1).

[misspamela.livejournal.com]

You're watching all of my shows, I think! Do you do reality TV at all? Can I sell you on Project Runway?

[misspamela.livejournal.com]

Duh, you do What Not to Wear! You would LOVE PR or Tim Gunn's Guide to Style!

I will go ahead an pimp if you haven't watched it!

[tzikeh.livejournal.com]

Oh, phoo - I forgot to put "Psych" on my "given up on". Though I might download last season to see if it's worth my time again. I just feel like there's so little character growth.

Ugly Betty I hear good things about, but for some reason I just can't bring myself to watch it. Hm.

[tzikeh.livejournal.com]

I'm really not all that much into reality tv, especially not the kind where people are mean, judges are involved, etc. So... I don't know, maybe I'd watch an episode and see.

The only reality tv I watch is the stuff where either people help one another, or it's not about being cruel. Amazing Race, EM:Home Edition, and What Not to Wear (which is mostly used for me as a shopping guide - what should I look for in terms of my body type, is there a hair style out there I might like, etc).

[carla-scribbles.livejournal.com]

Criminal Minds -- lo, a procedural that doesn't make me want to throw my laptop across the room! matociquala does a far better job of pimping it than I could, but in the meantime I shall just point out that it is such an unbelievable relief to be watching Yet Another Cop Drama in which all the main characters actually act as smart as we're supposed to believe they are.

Well, that, and curvy blonde hacker-geeks and the sex gods who platonically adore them.

[reginagiraffe]

I would give Blood Ties a try. Smart scripts, well-acted, a heroine who's *real*, a vampire who doesn't vamp. It's about a bazillion times better than Moonlight. Currently it's on Lifetime at 11pm on Fridays.

[amy_vic.livejournal.com]

I think you should give The Unit (http://www.cbs.com/primetime/the_unit/) a try. It's a military thriller/drama, with a good dash of Alias thrown in. (But not the super-confusing Rambaldi prophecy junk; just the spying and nifty undercover costumes and blending in within any situation stuff.) Plus, the whole thing is based on a true-life book (http://www.amazon.com/Inside-Delta-Force-Americas-Counterterrorist/dp/0385339364/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/103-3532589-8732605?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1192490547&sr=8-1), and the author is the creator and writer of the show.

(Also? Hot men, sometimes in uniform. GUH. *g*)

[kimberlyfdr.livejournal.com]

You're not watching SGA and that would be the one I'd pimp at the moment. It's funny, dramatic, character-driven, makes fun of itself at times, and has great writing (for the most part).

Also, it's written/produced/directed/acted by people who are fans in the sense that they pay attention to the small details that we as fans pay attention to. Try out some of the past seasons' DVD commentaries for support of this fact.

And the actors themselves...yeah, you can adore them as much as the characters they play because they put love and enjoyment into making this program and it shows. Anytime you put John Sheppard (who is canonically queer, whether by Martin Gero's doing or Joe Flanigan's doing, or possibly both) and Rodney McKay (who is awesome because David Hewlett is awesome) into a room together, you know you're gonna have fun.

[delle.livejournal.com]

Criminal Minds! Yes! The characters ARE actually smart (usually; I will still gripe about the first season ep where the schizonphenic catches Reed and the-girl-whose-name-I-forget by surprise). I'm sorry Mandy Patankin has chosen to step aside, but it's a well-written show with pretty actors and smart characters.

Which leads to MY personal pimp: Numb3rs. Geeky-math-genius (who is really REALLY cute, esp. when scruffy) assists his FBI older brother (who is also Rob Morrow! how can you beat that?) in solving crimes. Again, the characters are really smart. But they're not infalible, and math doesn't always solve everything, and you have a really good family dynamic between the brothers and their dad (Judd Hirsch!)

Friday nights. 10pm PST/9pm CST

will, use my Charlie (math geek) icon, please igore the text and focus on the pretty

[ratcreature]

Avatar the Last Airbender! I didn't want to like it, because the style is kind of anime/manga like, which isn't my thing, but I read an xover with it, was intrigued, checked out the series, and it turned out really cool.

I like the mythology and universe a lot and the characters are great, with complex motivations, and there's character development with no black and white distinctions between the sides in the war, and there are factions and conflicts within the cultures too, e.g. the Fire Nation "villains" aren't monolithic, or all equally in favor of the war, and you get where they are coming from. And there's lots of humor to and action. (It's not so good for the GUH! though.)

[klia.livejournal.com]

trelkez is already pimping it, but I'll go ahead and mention Life, Wed. on NBC (I think 9pm Central). Damien Lewis from Band of Brothers stars as a cop wrongly accused/convicted of, and incarcerated for 12 years (most in solitary) for, murders he didn't commit. Now, he's out, has successfully sued for his job back, and received an unspecified (i.e. $$$$$$) settlement for what he was put through; he's also a bit on the odd side. Adam Arkin is his financial advisor (they met in prison); Sarah Shahi is his partner; Robin Weigert is his boss.

Ironically, this was the show whose promos made me cringe and turned me completely off (still do, actually, so disregard any you may have seen!), but my TiVo overruled me and recorded the pilot anyway (yay auto-record Wish Lists!), and I finally watched it just to see exactly how awful it was, and ended up liking it. DL and AA are fantastic, and have a very interesting friendship.

[klia.livejournal.com]

Anytime you put John Sheppard (who is canonically queer, whether by Martin Gero's doing or Joe Flanigan's doing, or possibly both)

Sheppard is canonically queer? I must've missed that, somehow.

[tzikeh.livejournal.com]

I was gonna say...

[yahtzee63.livejournal.com]

"Mad Men" is Sopranos-tough, Far-From-Heaven stylish, Homicide-smart and dead damn sexy all at once, not to mention providing some of the best acting and most brilliant art direction on TV.

"Brothers & Sisters" is more gently amusing than groundbreaking in all respects save one: The gay brother has relationships portrayed with the same level of time, attention, individuality, sensuality and wit as any of the straight relationships. For that reason alone, I'm surprised more fannish types don't tune in.

[trascendenza]

Life! Life and Pushing Daisies are my new favorites. Life is very subtle and quiet, but has a lot to offer. I adore the protagonist--if you've seen Brimstone, he reminds me a bit of Zeke Stone, or if you've seen Touching Evil he also reminds me of Creegan. I'd recommend it to anyone who liked either of those shows. It's hard to explain what I love so much about this show--maybe that I feel like it doesn't try to hit you over the head with anything. And the actors really, really breathe the characters to life on-screen.

All current episodes are up here: http://www.nbc.com/Life/video/episodes.shtml

[kimberlyfdr.livejournal.com]

I said queer, remember, not gay. There's a difference.

[anoel.livejournal.com]

The Office (US) definitely. Hilarious, smart and character driven with lots of relatable characters if only in their little quirks. I caution on judging based only on S1 as S2 takes on a much different tone and is a lot funnier and lovable. I also recommend Ugly Betty as it has a lot of diverse, lovable and fun characters you can't help but love from the *nice* to the *mean*. It can be cracktastic, it has cool visual effects and funny lines and looks at a variety of different subjects. And it has a great mystery under the surface and lots of great twists. Friday Night Lights is just brilliant, emotional, interesting, high quality television. It's not really about football but about the town and the people in it and all their hangups while it explores characters and relationships and breaks your heart many times. Plus it has so many awesome female characters and lots of eye candy. I loved the pilot of Dirty Sexy Money which is funny with a darker edge and entertaining in exploring a rich family and how a more normal guy tries to deal with them. The following eps aren't as good but it's worth checking out to see if you like it. Also there's a murder mystery that's giving it some forward momentum and a priest who's a *bad* guy (but hilarious). 30 Rock takes some time to get good but it's a really funny show that Tina Fey writes and acts in and keeps the main characters awesome. There are many varying quirky secondary characters are well and some smart jokes in there (especially later).

I'll leave it at that. And YAY The Wire!! God, I love that show.

[kimberlyfdr.livejournal.com]

John Sheppard is not straight. He may not have come out yet, but he's not straight. He's a canonically queer character (I didn't say gay, which is the difference) He's cool with his friends dating other men, he's not cool with Rodney making any progress with any women in a ten mile vicinity, and though the Stargate writers (in the 10 years of SG1 or the 4 years of SGA) don't make a big deal to state it, they also aren't closed off towards any sexuality. It's one of the things I like about them, the actors (Tori, for example, thought her character and Teyla had something going on since Season 1) and the writers (Martin Gero specifically), they're open towards it.

[klia.livejournal.com]

But there's a difference between saying a character is canonically queer, and that he *reads* queer.

[kimberlyfdr.livejournal.com]

Sorry, I should have said John Sheppard reads queer...in big blaring letters;) The lines that he is given and the way Joe delivers them (Tao of Rodney, Sunday, First Strike as some examples) puts into question more than support of the theory "if he were a straight character."

[carla-scribbles.livejournal.com]

I will absolutely second the Mad Men rec. God, I don't know why I didn't think of that, seeing as it's my current obsession and all.

*facepalm*

[klia.livejournal.com]

Well, to be fair, though, that sort of dialogue is being given to lots and lots of straight characters these days. Like, there's a running thing on Boston Legal between Alan and Denny that's queer as hell, but they're not canonically queer, and never will be. I just think dancing on the edge of queer has become the "cool" thing for writers to do, and has been for the past few years, and it's found its way into the majority of shows I watch.

[brak666.livejournal.com]

Ugly Betty is awesome. It's a great show about family and love, and it's hysterically funny. Plus Betty's neqhew is the cutest thing ever.

[cathexys.livejournal.com]

BnS is my almost guilty pleasure..I tuned in for Rob Lowe and stayed for all the rest.

Tzikeh, can we pimp non-US shows? I'm counting down the days for Spooks/MI5 to return, and if you haven't tried it, I think it's one of the better shows on TV right now...