Even though I try to be an interesting and well-rounded individual I spend a lot of time in front of theTV. Don’t get me wrong – I read a lot and do lots of crafts, but sometimes I just need to watch TV and be entertained that way. Here is a list of the top 10 shows that are always on my Netflix, Amazon and DVR queues.
1. Arrested Development
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By now the cult notoriety of this show has permeated lots of markets and there is a good reason. This show is so funny and meticulously intertwined it’s insane. The humor is sometimes dark – the characters selfish and brooding, but overall the story is about family. Tobias’s one-liners (I think I blue myself) would be enough to keep the show afloat even if the rest of the characters stunk – but they don’t. Each one has been cast and developed so perfectly it’s like watching the most well-planned train wreck ever to happen. (Netflix – new season began May 26th on Netflix)
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2. Bob’s Burgers
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I started watching this show at the beginning of the 3rd season and I’m bummed I didn’t know about it sooner. Bob’s is hilarious. It doesn’t have a consistent plot, but the reoccurring characters and miss guided situations always crack me up. Plus Tina, Bob’s oldest daughter, is the awkward highly sexual female version of Napoleon Dynamite complete with the strange deep voice and socially unacceptable noises. His wife Linda’s enthusiasm mirrors my own and I’ll start singing one of her spoken words songs without skipping a beat. (Fox, Sundays)
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3. Metalocolypse
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I just started watching this Adult Swim show on Netflix. It’s amazing – being a metal poser as The Dude describes me – it really plays off great metal band/fan stereotypes. The riffs and metal scores of Dethklok are really catchy – and it’s embarrassing to admit, but they are. Make sure your closed captioning is turned on or else you’ll miss great lyrics like:
“They’ll have their:
Shiv, check
Pipe, check
Hammer, check
Axe, check
Subject, check
Location, check
Desire, check
Vengeance, check
Hold your breath
And swim and strain
Smell the death
Can’t escape
Blood will cloud
And drift away
Attract the
Murders of mermaids”
Netflix and new season in the works on Cartoon Network’s Adult Swim
One name: Phil Dunphy. The clueless dad in this show really has the best quotable lines and it’s easy to relate to his good-hearted, yet so misguided parenting approach. The gay couple Cam and Mitch are the best example of modern day relationships – supporting, regretting, but in the end loving your partner no matter how insane/weird/embarrassing they really are. Sofia Vargara’s voice is sometimes like nails on a chalkboard, but her accent-based misunderstandings are pretty comical. ABC Tuesdays
When I like to spend hours ripping my own heart out and weeping like an uncontrollable baby I love watching Downton Abbey. The cast is great – the story is unique. I love that it uses historical dates to coincide with the Downton events and calendar. It is always heart-breaking and the grandmother figure takes the cake with her snide and evil quips. Sunday PBS, Amazon Instant Video
Pretty….pretty….pretty good. Larry David makes any situation so awkward and between Curb Your Enthusiasm and Seinfeld I cannot get enough. It’s hysterical to see just how many people hate Larry on Curb, and how his own wife (then ex-wife) have to deal with the tidal wave that is David. Seinfeld of course speaks for itself and it will never ever get old hearing the words “yada, yada, yada…..” or “FESTIVUS FOR THE REST OF US!”
Seth Green, that tiny wise-cracking red head, has the best skit show on TV. Using stop animation and thousands of clay and plastic doll pieces he creates hilarious short skits that fill a 15 minute spot on Adult Swim. There are countless inside and current jokes being fired off rapidly. Often times we have to rewind a clip to hear and see something because it almost squeaked by unnoticed.
No Reservations, The Layover, Parts Unknown, and other CNN segments staring Bourdain are always entertaining. I’ve tried countless of his recommendations when traveling to new cities and I 100% agree that Chicago is the only real city in the US aside from NYC. Although towards the end of NR he became more of a suck-up, giving kudos to the ‘best of the best,’ his smart alleck humor and ‘no-regrets’ decision making habits always make me wish I was his girl-friend from Chicago. Also kudos to the random Zymir episodes.
You know what go ahead – think UGH! “Brianna how could you?!” I love Dog and Beth and Leland and Baby Lyssa. I love that it takes place in Denver and most often in the neighborhoods I grew up in. I love his terrible extension blonde mullet (and Beth’s), but most of all I love when they really do get through to someone who has finally hit rock bottom and signed the camera disclosure documents.
Absolutely the best show, because it is an amazing story. Think of Lord of the Rings as a TV show where Frodo is hot and there’s a lot more backstabbing and gold. Each house trying to claim the Iron Throne as their own has power players that make the hair on your skin rise and your blood boil. My favorite character is ‘the half man’ Tyrion Lanister – because he is the only character to repeatedly slap Geoffery across his face and pride and live to tell about it. It also ensures HBO will continue to make money off me for the foreseeable future.
What are your favorite shows? Do you have any recommendations for me?
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