In defense of the sanctimonious women's studies set || First feminist blog on the internet

Assistance, Please.

Jill

I need a new show.

The final DVD of Season 4 of The Wire is scheduled to arrive at my apartment on Thursday. After that, I’ll be waiting around for Season 5 to come out before I can NetFlix it. In the meantime, I need something else to keep me occupied. My other TV addiction is LOST, and I still re-watch the first two seasons of The West Wing with some regularity. So anything in that vein is great. I decidedly do not like anything Science Fiction or Fantasy-like — I know this is going to make you all hate me, but I can’t stand Buffy or Battlestar Gallactica. I’m leaning towards The Office or 30 Rock, as those seem to be good, light summer watching. Comedies are good — Curb Your Enthusiasm is an old favorite — but I really can’t stand shows like Everybody Loves Raymond or Monk.

But I am wide open to suggestions. What do you all watch and love?

121 thoughts on Assistance, Please.

  2. Go British, and never look back. A Bit of Fry and Laurie, The Mighty Boosh, Flight of the Conchords (ok, not BBC, but somewhat in the spirit), Quite Interesting, Nevermind the Buzzcocks, Spaced, Shameless, Dark Place (if you’re ok with parody sci-fi/fantasy), and of the Alan Partridge shows, need I go on?

    Speaking of the West Wing, this year’s campaign is shaping up suspiciously similar to the last election on West Wing. Old long-time liberal-ish man-of-integrity Republican senator from a western state against a young relatively inexperienced man-of-the-people Washington-outsider Democrat of colour? Eerie.

  3. I am also an addict of The West Wing and The Wire, and I would strongly recommend Deadwood.

  5. I am crazy hot mad happy for Mad Men. I even have a Mad Men blog (whore alert). Amanda posted about it recently.

    DVD of season 1 comes out July 1, and until then, it’s available via ITunes.

  6. Ocourse The Office and 30 Rock are fantastic. Also you should absolutely check out Arrested Development. I haven’t yet met anyone who’s seen it and not loved it!

  7. I loved The Wire so much that I ordered HBO for a month because I couldn’t wait for the fifth season DVDs to come out. Here are my suggestions:

    Big Love
    Arrested Development
    Extras

    I have Weeds on my queue and I’m looking forward to starting that up.
    Let me know if you watch and like (or dislike) ’em!

  8. i recommend more west wing. it’s still really good, at least until season five, when aaron sorkin left and everything went crappy.
    this is in no way light summer watching, but give twin peaks a shot. i kind of missed the whole thing when it happened the first time around, but it is engrossing and scary and so endearingly strange.
    my friends seem to be currently obsessed with veronica mars, and that one show about high school kids and football, but i don’t understand it. the gilmore girls, though; i’m embarrassed to admit that that one i do understand. it’s like what turk said: they speak so fast, and so true!

  9. weeds is pretty good, dexter is great but a bit more serious.

    definitely pick up the office and definitely check out arrested development if you haven’t already. i plan on watching 30 rock this summer, i keep hearing great things about it.

    that’s all i got.

    BSG and buffy are on my all-time favorite show lists, but since you like the wire i guess i’ll forgive you.

  10. Seconding Fry and Laurie, and also adding their Jeeves and Wooster — it’s hysterical.

    Arrested Development and the Office are also great, but 30 Rock: bleagh. We just watched the first disc, and it was 8 episodes in a row based on the idea that Tina Fey’s character is just plain dumb (and gets saved by the Baldwin every time). Ick.

  12. The Office is a good one for sure.

    You could catch the British version of Life on Mars before the American David E Kelly remake comes out. It has some kind of a sci fi element to it (and not being all the way through the 2nd season myself I’m not sure what the nature of it is), but the premise is ‘modern nice guy policeman gets stuck in a 70s cop show.”

  13. The Wire and Lost are my two favorite shows. fwiw, I also like and recommend:

    Deadwood
    Dexter
    The Office

  14. Yes, Arrested Development if you missed it the first go round.

    Peep Show is hilarious and horribly uncomfortable like Curb Your Enthusiasm, but British. Some people aren’t big Mitchell and Webb fans, but whatever.

    I’ll second Twin Peaks as it’s an all time favorite, though it falls apart midway thought the final season.

  15. You can try Studio60. It’s another Aaron Sorkin show (who wrote West Wing). Sadly, it was only one season, but I thought it was really fabulously done. Sports Night was a 1/2 hour comedy, but was also written by Aaron Sorkin (pre-West Wing).

    Big Love from HBO was good, as was Deadwood (depending on your tolerance for profanity). Also really liked Weeds from Showtime and Rome from HBO.

    I still haven’t tried The Wire, but you’re about the 5th person to recommend it, so I’ll add it to my list.

  16. I’ve never seen any of the shows you listed (except 30 Rock, which I think is pretty funny) so we may have very different ideas about what makes good tv, but here’s my suggestion anyway. I love, love, love Upstairs, Downstairs. There were 5 seasons and about a bagillion episodes, so you wont have a chance to get bored. Netflicks should have them.

  17. I want to second the Dexter recommendation, if you can stomach the gore. It’s one of those rare times when the tv show is much better than the books.

  18. You’ve got terrific taste in television. So I’m sure you will like Big Love, Weeds, 30 Rock, The Office, Veronica Mars, Arrested Development, and How I Met Your Mother. When you feel like something less light and funny, Deadwood is awesome.

  19. The British version of Coupling is hilarious. Joining the chorus in favor of Arrested Development and Dexter, as well. And classic Law & Order is always good entertainment!

  20. I can’t stand the American Office, but I think the British version is great. Extras is another good British comedy.

    I agree with everyone who has recommended Arrested Development.

  21. Also you should absolutely check out Arrested Development. I haven’t yet met anyone who’s seen it and not loved it!

    Yes, I should have mentioned that I am also a big Arrested Development fan. You guys are good.

  22. Oh, and as much as I couldn’t stand the preachiness of the Boondocks comic, the series is a riot. “I don’t mean ‘bitches’ in a derogatory way — just as a general term for women!”

  23. I second 30 Rock and Studio 60 – brilliant, if you like the West Wing, there’s a strong chance you’ll like Studio 60. Not to mention Sorkin’s first show, Sports Night. It’s got a horribly misplaced laugh track due to network meddling, but in my opinion, holds it’s own otherwise.

    I’m also a big fan of Scrubs.

  24. Top Gear! You don’t even have to be that interested in cars, you just have to love geeky British men. It’s so wonderful.

  25. Carnavale was only two seasons, and I was so pissed off that I didn’t get to see what was being planned after the incredibly surprising second season finale, but I’d recommend that. Also, I’ve loved what I’ve seen so far of Breaking Bad on AMC.

  27. (Here goes nothing that will be of interest to Ms. Filipovic)

    Grey’s Anatomy, Private Practice, Desperate Housewives.

    I’m really sad to see that Cashmere Mafia has been cancelled.

  28. (Here goes nothing that will be of interest to Ms. Filipovic)

    Grey’s Anatomy, Private Practice, Desperate Housewives.

    I’m really sad to see that Cashmere Mafia has been cancelled.

    I secretly love Grey’s. And Gossip Girl is my #1 guilty pleasure 🙂

  32. I was in your position, Jill, after I watched season 5 of The Wire on HBO On Demand in one continuous night-morning. I generally only watch television via Netflix DVD, though, so my final replacement candidates were Deadwood and The X-Files.

    Like you, I’ve never liked science fiction, but something about the end of school for me is making me fear I’m going to lose my childlike sense of wonder behind the career desk of adulthood. I guess you could say I Want to Believe.

    A season into the X-Files, and I like it, but I’m not sure I want to watch eight more seasons of it.

    I also think Monk is amazing, and that the Flight of the Conchords is due for some serious backlash, so let’s say I hate it.

  33. “Six Feet Under” is one of the best shows I’ve ever seen, and totally addictive. I watched it over my winter break from school and loved every minute of it.

  35. There’s a Canadian TV comedy called Slings and Arrows, about the backstage life of a Canadian theater company with a focus on Shakespeare.

    It’s too short — only three seasons, and they’re short Canadian seasons – but the writing and acting is wonderful.

  36. The Office. I know this is probably blasphemy, but I like both the British and the US versions. Yes, it is possible to like them both!

    Sports Night and Studio 60 are both excellent. I think Studio 60 was the better of the two, but again I speak heresy…

    Can’t speak highly enough of Coupling. Get it now! And if you’re on Netflix you can get it instantly! (I’m never, ever going to finish my dissertation at this rate…)

    Are you sure you couldn’t make a departure from your anti-sci-fi/fantasy stance? Joss Whedon’s “Firefly” is one of those “OMG I can’t believe I watched the whole thing in one afternoon” kinds of shows.

  37. My vote is for It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia – by the second episode when one character is literally on the fence between pro-choice and anti-choice demonstrators, you’ll either love it or hate it. I love it. It’s funny, mean, and so, so wrong.

  38. The Office – It is hilarious because Michael is such an asshole, and makes you embarrassed on his behalf. But I’d watch the UK-version first (it is only 12 episodes + the christmas special).

    Arrested Development – Can’t be described. Just really absurd and funny.

    Dexter – Dexter is a sociopath with a need to kill. Following the code of his father, he goes after “the bad guys.”

    No sci-fi? That makes a CS-dork like me sad and confused. Is this just about BSG? Then fuck that show, try Firefly or Babylon 5.

    DVDs and Netflix? Why donate money to scum like MPAA when you have an Internet connection?

  40. I think these have been mentioned… but I highly recommend…

    Veronica Mars (freaking amazing)
    How I Met Your Mother (good comedy, also, Doogie!)
    Dead Like Me
    House
    Criminal Minds (my current obsession. OMG this is really a fairly progressive and feminist show. It has three amazing female leads that not only hold their own in a “man’s world” but go above and beyond. If you don’t mind lots of disturbing themes… check it out.)

  41. As others have recommended: Veronica Mars; Dead Like Me; House, and anything else Hugh Laurie and Stephen Fry have ever done.

    But you really, really need to watch Damages, with Glenn Close.

  42. I have to throw in “Saving Grace.” There’s only one season out yet, but it’s fascinating.

  43. Huff, the Hank Azaria psychiatrist dramedy, was one of my favorite, most keenly appreciated shows (well, the first season–which is all that’s on DVD anyway).

    For shows currently on the air, I’ve recently come to the conclusion that Emily Deschanel & David Boreanaz of Bones are the Emma Peel and John Steed of their age. I leave it to you to know whether that’s a recommendation for you or not.

    And if/when the first season of Life, with Damian Lewis and Sarah Shahi, is released on DVD, don’t miss it. It’s really good-and may even have been the best new show last season. It’s returning this year, but yu’ll want to see it from the beginning.

  44. If you like THE WIRE, try THE SHIELD.

    UK shows MI5 and HUSTLE are also superb and well written and feature good performances by attractive actors.

  45. Oh!

    Big Love is also amazing. It has some very real characters (and half the cast of VM) and gives a face to Mormonism and polygamy. It doesn’t try to make it happy and wonderful, you see the husband not treating his wife’s well all the time and there are some hard underlined feminist and gay themes. (There is a slight lesbian love story going on if you look.) I recommend it.

  46. The Office is great, of course. But I’d also recommend The Closer, Bones, (both pretty feminist oriented) and Rescue Me (not very feminist oriented at all, but quite compelling).

  47. If you like the Wire’s use of language and great acting, then you really have to watch Deadwood. I hate westerns, and this show is my second favorite ever, with The Wire being the first.

    (And, as a side note, lots of interesting stuff about traditional masculinity and femininity is often at the edges, or in the center, of Deadwood, just like in The Wire.)

  48. Homicide: Life on the Street

    The first three seasons are the best TV I’ve ever witnessed. The series is based on a book authored by David Simon, creator of The Wire, and it’s considered by many to be the spiritual predecessor to the HBO series (according to Wikipedia).

  49. um…geeze. nearly everything seems to have been covered.
    Def Poetry Jam
    Gilmore Girls.

    I love those.

  50. The Office is hilarious! I just recently started watching 30 Rock, and I’m kicking myself for not watching sooner – it’s fantastic. And ditto on The Closer – it’s well written, well acted, and is centered around a smart, strong woman. The bonus: the very hot Jon Tenney!

  51. Veronica Mars and Weeds are two of my favorites, as well. Veronica Mars is pretty damn brilliant– I think you’d really appreciate it. And Weeds is well… absurd. But fun.

  53. Deadwood, Big Love, Dexter, Weeds, Veronica Mars, and Battlestar Galactica are wonderful.
    Friday Night Lights is great – there’s so much good stuff in that show about masculinity.

  55. Now that I finished Arrested Development (they’re making a movie, yeaaa) I’m going to watch Damages. Haven’t seen an episode yet, only heard that it’s very good…

  57. Six Feet Under, Six Feet Under, Six Feet Under. Seriously, I’m pretty sure it’s the best show ever made. It’s the TV equivalent of great literature. Not exactly light summer watching, but nonetheless incredible.

    I second the other recommendations for Arrested Development (hilarious!) and Big Love (somewhat disturbing). If you have a really, really strong stomach and a really dark sense of humor, you might — might — like Nip/Tuck. I do, but feminist fans of that show are very few and far between.

    And The L Word is good, light watching, if you’re into the soap opera love drama thing.

  58. There are some great suggestions. How about Firefly? It is one of my all time favorites. It seems like sci-fi but it’s really not. It’s about a group of people who are thrown together and become a family and it has some wonderful characters and thoughtful writing. It is funny and sad and poignant and it has real heart. It is set in space but that’s not at all the focus and it’s more like a Western than Sci-fi. I like that one of the leads is a WoC (Gina Torres) who happens to be a big damn hero to my eleven year old daughter. And no aliens, or death rays, etc…

    Deadwood is really good, too. Also a western with fascinating and infuriating characters.

    Of course nothing comes close to the Wire. We watched it until the end and now we are about to start over again at Season 1 and re-watch it. It’s an illness.

  59. If you enjoy science at all, I’d suggest Mythbusters. They build cool stuff to experiment with to try to determine whether certain urban myths/commonly held beliefs are actually true or not. (Confirmed, plausible, or busted.) And they blow stuff up. A lot. 🙂 There is science content and general geekiness, but of the “I do special effects for the movies and can build a remote control/robot x,y,z” variety. Some really fun stuff. 🙂 They recently tackled stuff from the James Bond movies and MacGyver.

    I also might suggest Northern Exposure, if it’s available anywhere. Fairly light stuff about a *very* yuppie city-boy recent grad medical doctor working off a scholarship in backwoods Alaska. Insert usual cast of quirky/whimsical characters and stir. Not ground breaking or earth shattering in any way, but it was fun. 🙂 Unfortunately, I’m not sure if it’s actually available on DVD. 🙁 Didn’t have the cult following of Twin Peaks, although it was from around the same time.

    Hmmmmmm, Fast Lane was total eye/brain candy, but fun. Way, way, WAY undercover police using the stuff they get from busts to set themselves up appropriately for the undercover work they are doing. So undercover that the police department does NOT acknowledge their existence if they are busted by the cops doing their undercover stuff. Lots of fast cars and things blowing up, just enough plot twists to keep me amused, and Peter Fascianelli. Yummy. 🙂

    There, almost of nothing of actual redeeming value. Happy? 😉 You DO realize that your prejudice against Sci-Fi/Fantasy is making this bloody difficult for me, don’t you? 😉

  60. The Closer and Bones — the drama of smart, competent, flawed women.

    The Vicar of Dibley — because no one else has recommended it, surprisingly, and it will make you laugh until you have a hernia.

    Wrong-headedly imperialist and embarrassingly absorbing: The 1984 limited series The Jewel in the Crown.

    The 2002 production of the Forsyte Saga will also provide you with a fix of something that is decidedly not available elsewhere on television.

  63. My roommate and I have made a semester of not doing work and watching TV, so I feel like I’m an expert.

    I’ll second the early suggestion for Life on Mars. Its light on the sci-fi stuff, if you’re not into that. Personally, I’m watching the new Dr. Who and loving it. Just watch a few and tell me you don’t immediately fall for David Tennant.

    If you can stand cartoons, go for the Venture Brothers. Oh, and if you haven’t seen them all yet, please watch Freaks and Geeks.

  64. Agreed on Dexter, hurt my back and basically watched both seasons in three days (on demand is great for somethings) Some how it fit my mood as I stalked my house unable to sit down for any legnth of time.

    Northern Exposure is great (particularly the first couple of seasons) and is on DVD.

    Right now I am trying to catch up on Burn Notice on USA (unfortunately I dont think you can get it in anysort of collection) bonus is new episodes start in a month.

    As for Hugh Laurie watching him go from Bertie Wooster and Black Adder to House is truly impressive.

  65. After reading the list of suggestions, I recommend you turn off your TV, acquire two kittens, make popcorn and watch Kitteh Theater. You’ll love the plot twists, and the character development is unsurpassable in the second season.

  68. Veronica Mars is great- it reminds me of Buffy. And the show is finished so at least you can netflix the whole thing and not have to wait for anymore.

  69. Weeds, Dexter, Big Love, Mad Men, Coupling (the British version, but only seasons 1-3; in season 4 they lost Jeff, and the show suffered). Firefly sounds like sci-fi, but it’s really more western. Although if you don’t like Buffy, maybe you also won’t like Firefly. My latest obsession is Six Feet Under, which is wacky and weird and poignant and thoroughly enjoyable.

  72. I’ve just become addicted to watching tv shows on DVD / online — the first disc of the Wire is actually on it’s way to me; I’ve never seen the show but it seems very popular.

    I definitely second some of the suggestions above, namely Weeds, Big Love, and Friday Night Lights. I’m also loving The Riches right now. Friday Night Lights and The Riches are both available on hulu (www.hulu.com) for free, so no waiting for discs to arrive!

  73. I feel kind of funny because so many people like the same things I do (Six Feet, Veronica Mars, Dexter, Weeds, Extras, Big Love, etc.). Obviously I need to rent The Wire.

    I didn’t see Entourage as I was looking through and I love that show. It took a little warming up to, like many of the shows above. Some might find it offensive, but I’m going out on a limb and saying that it’s so offensive that it comes back around to be not offensive. That happens right?

  74. Okay, since I agree with most of these recommendations and they don’t need repeating, I’ve got one I haven’t seen in here yet.
    I am a total sucker for “Pushing Daisies.”

    It’s really very light (though with a lot of black humor), extraordinarily colorful, and has this wonderful fairy-tale quality to it. And while there’s one fantasy convention in it–there’s a character who touches dead things and brings them back to life, which is pretty central to the plot–beyond that conceit it’s mostly just an adorable, romantic character ensemble show.

    Also, the male lead is one of the prettiest men ever.

  76. Friday Night Lights, might be the best drama I’ve ever seen on a broadcast network, seriously the first season is just beat for beat perfect.

  77. the original BBC “Office” is my 2nd favorite show evar, after the wire. especially from the 2nd season on. (american version is fine too but can’t compare) Extras is great too.

    I’ve really tried but 30 Rock is just not quite rocking me. Decent but nothing special.. Arrested Development works a similar style much better.

  78. I vote for arrested development and the office, both the British and American versions. First British, then American.

  81. I second the suggestion of Homicide. Definitely don’t miss it, Jill. A very different show from The Wire, but it’s also set in Baltimore and involves a number of the same actors and behind-the-scenes folks. Great show so far (I’m in the middle of season three, started watching right after The Wire ended).

  83. Seconding Life on Mars, Weeds, and Dead Like Me (all excellent shows), with the added recommendation of Wonderfalls, which was developed by the same guy that did Dead Like Me.

  84. There’s a Canadian TV comedy called Slings and Arrows, about the backstage life of a Canadian theater company with a focus on Shakespeare.

    It’s too short — only three seasons, and they’re short Canadian seasons – but the writing and acting is wonderful.

    Agree 1000% with this recommendation. I’ve got all three seasons on DVD, if you want to borrow ’em. Also 30 Rock, which is one of the funniest shows on TV.

  86. Arrested Development is great, but you’ll get through that series quickly.

    Since you like The Wire you will LOVE-LOVE-LOVE The Shield. It is great from the pilot. I’m shocked more people haven’t recommended it yet. With people like Forest Whittaker and Glenn Close showing up for seasons, how can you go wrong??

  87. my fave is ugly betty, and i also second both coupling and gilmore girls. i actually have really enjoyed “dirt” every time ive happened to see it. i think courtney cox’s character lucy is really fascinating.

    or you could do what i did recently and rewatch my so-called life, roseanne, and absolutely fabulous.

    did the new amy sherman palladino show starring parker posey ever premier on fox? did it bomb? i saw one ad and then nothing.

  88. Have to agree with Six Feet Under (I wept in the best possible way at the end of the last episode, but maybe that’s just me!)

    Also agree on the British Office, as well as Phoenix Nights & Little Britain & Alan Partridge although the latter are funniest if you know British people / culture and the stereotypes they’re playing on. Also, I don’t know if you can get them on DVD unless you buy them, but the Prime Suspect series with Helen Mirren is awesome.

    When I finish my dissertation I am *treating* myself to the Felicity box set. Don’t hate!!

  90. Outrageous Fortune

    It’s a New Zealand show, and it’s like nothing you’ve seen on TV before, and unbelievably awesome in terms of writing and feminist content. I keep meaning to write a post on Alas promoting it’s brilliance to people who haven’t heard of it.

    It’s a show about a woman raising four teenage children by herself. Her family is one of West Auckland’s notorious petty crime families, but after her husband gets put away, she decides to go straight.

    I am consistently amazed at how well-written, and real it is, and how politically it is prepared to go places television just doesn’t go. It takes money seriously. There’s a transgender character in season one, and her story was genuine. The women are staunch, but realistically so, in the face of real problems.

    It has sex scenes unlike anything else I’ve ever seen on film, not that it’s a show all about sex, but there are enough couples that people are having sex reasonably often. They’re quite explicit, but not in a way that sets up bodies as something to be viewed, but because they show people giving pleasure to each other. It also shows bad sex, sex where women aren’t into it, but when that happens it is shown as a problem – a bad thing.

    It’s funny, sad, powerful and real. I don’t know if it’s available as a Zone 1 DVD, but it is well worth using one of your computer zone resets for.

    I’m a bit of a crazy fan-girl, as you can see.

  91. Yep, 30 rock and The Office for sure. I also want to speak up for “Chuck” which I didn’t see mentioned above. It’s a cute/goofy fish-out-of-water spy show that is pretty funny. One thing I like about it is that it inverts some gendered roles – Chuck is a bit of a damsel in distress, Sarah is his knight in shining armor, and her otherwise macho partner Casey seems to be asexual and into bonsai.

  92. The Catherine Tate Show. Catherine Tate, of course, is now playing the new companion on Doctor Who, Donna Noble. This is her character-based sketch comedy show and it’s fabulous.

  94. so…sadly (or not) i don’t have a tv in cairo. i’ve been having to download various episodes of random crap on those days when i really don’t feel like leaving the air conditioned comfort of my apartment.

    the office is amazing. i have never laughed harder. it is a funny, well written show.

    recently i started watching heroes because i couldn’t think of anything else. and am now addicted.

  95. Nothing new here, but I agree that Six Feet Under and the first season of Veronica Mars are brilliant television.

    Seasons two and three of Veronica Mars are a bit of a let-down – though they have their moments – but really that’s mostly because the entirely of season one is a perfectly-conceived and seamless narrative in which absolutely nothing is superfluous; once the story-line for which the show and the characters were imagined was finished, the superbly poignant back-story played out, the writers really had no place else to go. You have to watch it.

    I also agree that Firefly is fun (though the first few episodes are lackluster), but you probably wouldn’t like it if you detest Buffy. (I do hope you gave Buffy a chance through at least some of Season Two, though – the first season is almost entirely dreadful, and it’s really not until several episodes into the second season that the show really becomes wonderful.)

    I’ve currently gotten my housemates started on the West Wing with me! I don’t think we’ll watch past season four unless they really want to, though.

  96. Outrageous fortune. NZ TV series about a West Auckland crime family that tries to go straight when Dad is put away. You probably can’t Netflix it, but try downloading it. And look out for the Xmas movie – good background stories.

    Am I a bad New Zealander if I haven’t seen Flight of the Conchords?

    Damn, Maia got to OF before me. 🙂

  97. Oh, and I should add that if Gossip Girl is your #1 guilty pleasure, you should probably check out the O.C. – I’ve only watched the first few episodes, but it seems like pretty much the same show (though Blair’s awesomeness is sadly absent, and I miss Kristen Bell’s campy voice-overs).

  98. If you enjoy Curb your Enthusiasm, then as others have said do check out both “I’m Alan Partridge” and The Office. They both work on the same awkward humour level of Curb. I recommend the British version of The Office, but both US and UK versions are great.

    I can recommend a few British shows, mostly comedy: Black Books, Peep Show and Spaced (although you may need to be a tad geeky to really appreciate Spaced). Oh, and Father Ted, although a little knowledge of Irish society might be required…

    For non-sci-fi drama I also want to second Six Feet Under. It can be both terribly depressing and hugely uplifting, it’s (mostly) very well-written and acted. The first two seasons are rock solid quality-wise.

  100. The Wire and Curb are fantastic indeed. I’ve watched every episode and they’re class through and through.

    Some suggestions:

    Deadwood
    Six Feet Under
    Carnivale
    Dexter
    Big Love
    The Office (UK version is the best, though the american version is decent enough)
    OZ

    All but one of these was an HBO series (OK, technically Showtime produced Dexter, but it’s HBO writers and actors, so let’s be real :P), so you can see they make quality time and again.

  101. They may be both off the air, but Arrested Development and Gilmore Girls were quite good. They both had that great witty humor.

    Weeds and The Riches are currently on air, and they are great.

    Let us know what you end up liking!

  102. I love The Shield. It’s uncomfortable. Chiklis makes a corrupt, brutal and racist cop somewhat sympathetic, a prisoner of his unexamined reactions. He’s an amazing actor and Vic Mackey is easy to dislike but difficult to fully hate. The show’s moral center is CCH Pounder, and that alone is reason enough to watch. (It probably says something about me that I identified immediately with Dutch Waagenbach, the self-doubting dork who is also the smartest and most professional detective in the unit.)

    Dexter raises more feminist issues per pound than any other show on TV. There’s a great bit where one female police lieutanant is given the chance to backstab the woman who was promoted over her and who is having relationship problems that interfere with work; she expressly declines to help the boys’ club take down a woman. The show looks at misogyny, masculinity, domestic violence and violation; now one major character is a DV/partner rape survivor and another is a serial killer abduction survivor. They don’t get everything right, but it’s amazing in comparison to what’s out there.

    Deadwood is Shakespeare in the Old West, sometimes self-consciously so. I loved it, but it’s not everyone’s cup of tea. I can be pretentious, and the writers totally failed to find an audience when they ported the same soliloquy-prone dialogue to modern times in John from Cincinnatti.

    Weeds became increasingly strained after a brilliant first season.

  103. DEXTER. If you have not seen Dexter, if ANYONE has not seen Dexter, GO SEE DEXTER. NOW. RENT IT. NETFLIX IT. DOOOO IT.

    Seriously. Favorite show EVERRRRRR. It’s funny, dark, intense, nail biting, and Michael C. Hall is GENIUS. His sister, Deb, is awesome and I think feminists will quite like her. 🙂

  104. I have to agree with some previous recommendations: Homicide is a wonderful show, and as others have said, a real precursor to The Wire. Mad Men is amazingly good, Breaking Bad (also an AMC original show) was excellent, and I really love Bones for its kick-ass, ‘real’ female characters.

    It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia might not be up your alley (though I think it would be if you love Curb Your Enthusiasm), but it’s very funny. If you don’t mind cartoons, The Venture Brothers riffs lovingly on the old ‘adventure cartoons’ genre, and has a few good female characters, though no female leads.

  105. Homicide: Life On The Streets includes some of the best roles for women and for black men that I can recall. Melissa Leo’s character was brilliant, as was Michelle Forbes’ short role later in the series, but the axis always revolved around Andre Braugher as Frank Pembleton and Yaphet Kotto as Al Giardello (not to ignore Clark Johnson and some of the later cast members whose runs were too short and sporadic to grab me in the same way). Years later, I can still remember some of Braugher’s and Kotto’s lines:
    (from memory, more than ten years after the fact)
    G (to Pembleton, who resigned in a fit of righteous pique): Want some coffee? It’s rancid, it’s tepid, I have no cream or sugar … and if that doesn’t make you homesick for Homicide, nothing will.

    G (whose character was biracial, part Sicilian; to I don’t recall who): In Sicily, they buried suicides at the crossroads, where they would be walked over by those who has the strength to go on. There were an uncompomising people. But they made great pasta.

    And, (Spoiler) in the episode with Crossetti’s funeral, the closing image of Pembleton in full dress uniform at attention in defiance of the department’s order (because Crossetti committed suicide), and saluting in white dress gloves, brought tears to my eyes.

  106. I really can’t recomend Doctor Who, and its spin off Torchwood, enough, and wait, this is not a plea from geeks who live in basements.

    Doctor Who & Torchwood are one of the few tv shows with a feminist slant. The female companion of the Doctor is the one who saves the world in every season finale of the show so far–not to mention the few times during the season. Season one & two is a 19 year old shop girl. But season there is black woman who is studying to become a doctor of medicine. Season four is the first time the show has cast an older woman as a companion, shes probably late 30s early 40s. So the casting is not ONLY about sex appeal, it’s about smarts and capability.

    Torchwood has a multicultural cast, with men and women in high powered positions. There’s a lot of sexual innuendo, but the main character is Captain Jack who is bisexual, so it’s mostly humor on his part. The treatment of sexuality is very fluid and dynamic. An individual may have a same sex sexual encounter or not, but the show never seeks to define sexuality in terms of gay or straight–only in interesting relationships and their dynamics.

    Another thing I like about the shows is how they deal with race. Its not treated as a handicap the way it is in much of American television. There are many interracial relationships, but they’re not analyzed to death. They’re just there. Happy and healthy–or not healthy as the case may be. And that’s just the way it is. No one is persecuted. But no one is put on a pedestal either. Again, it’s about each individual relationships dynamics.

    The last thing, that I find particularly meaningful, is the existential atheist philosophy that’s a theme in both series. Evolution is very much promoted, as is the idea that life is about what you make of it. Good or bad. BUT, there are also some “traditionally” Christian values woven into the show which makes for a very fascinating interplay. And those are self sacrifice, atonement, and perfect forgiveness. Both The Doctor and Captain Jack are supernatural type beings and as such are often placed in a christ-like position. HOWEVER, the idea of worshiping anyone because they are godlike or christ-like is a complete anti-thesis of the show. So don’t worry about it being overly religious. It’s more about the ethics of god and how god should be if god was real. It’s just a fascinating conversation in my opinion.

    Oh yeah, there’s lots of explosions and sex too. It’s not all serious!

  107. Way behind here, but since The Office has been mentioned quite a bit, I’ll suggest the following:

    1) Flight of the Conchords – Really odd ball. It’s best if you’re a music fan, but even then it is worth watching.

    2) Dr. Katz – which is completely old school, but surely one of my all time favorite cartoon shows ever.

    I have no idea if either is up for rent on Netflix or whatever.

  110. Nip/Tuck!

    The advertising suggests it’s a glossy, soap-y, glorification of plastic surgery kind of thing — actually it’s not. Definitely a guilty pleasure, but more layers than is immediately obvious.

  111. Brothers & Sisters! Great cast and highly addictive. Sally Field rocks. Good “personal is political” undertones, feminist & gay themes, but not too preachy or heavy-handed.

    Also, as others have said, Northern Exposure is always a must-see.

  112. Can’t believe no one’s said it but, ROME. A thousand times, Rome.

    Also Six Feet Under, Deadwood, and Weeds.

  113. Damages. Season one is on Netflix. I remember thinking that the show would be awful after seeing the posters and trailers but it’s pretty good.

  115. Oh yes. It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia is twisted in such a hilarious way. Even the extras were good on the DVD.

  116. Okay. Nip/Tuck is definitely one of my favorites (albeit filled with sexism) and very addicting. HEROES is amazing. Seriously, kind of Sci fi, but awesome. Scrubs, House, Grey’s Anatomy (some people think that the female characters are 2 dimensional, but I don’t feel that way at all. I didn’t really like Weeds, but Showtimes Bullshit with Penn and Teller is fun and light, and very funny.

  118. I’m glad to see Stephen Fry and Hugh Laurie getting so much respect here.
    30 Rock leaves me as cold as Saturday Night Live, unless it’s a very very old rerun with Father Guido Sarducci. The Fox cartoons actually make me giggle. I get a sort of comfort from MASH reruns, even if I’ve seen them a zillion times, because we have another stupid war going on and not too much has changed since the 4077th medics were telling us that Vietnam sucked by pretending the show was all about Korea. And

    Law and Order

    is a new addiction. Really good scripts, very tight and suspenseful.

  119. Did I miss it, or has nobody mentioned Californication. Once you get over the David Duchovney thing, you’ll realize he’s really pretty good here and it has a bitchin’ feministe in the character of his daughter. The writing is fantastic, almost as good as Gossip Girl, kidding, no wait maybe I’m not – at least Chuck Bass’ lines!

    Also, if you like The Office, check out “The Newsroom” if you can get it on dvd. It is Canadian, the CBC. A Ken Finkelman thing, if you’re familiar with him, he’s damn wicked satire. Journalists love this show.

    Dexter is so great, when is it coming back?

  120. I decidedly do not like anything Science Fiction or Fantasy-like — I know this is going to make you all hate me, but I can’t stand Buffy or Battlestar Gallactica.

    Hey, I’m like you, Jill. And sci-fi-fantasy fandom is so rife among a lot of the bloggers I admire (Theresa N-H, Tigtog, to name two), I feel a bit like a freak sometimes!

    I’ve been having a lot of fun watching Scrubs with my teenage daughter lately. It’s a hoot.

    You could be totally out there and sample an Australian series – like SeaChange or Underbelly.

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