Fantaverse's Top 25 Favorite TV Shows Pre-Show

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Geezer
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Re: Fantaverse's Top 25 Favorite TV Shows Pre-Show

Post by Geezer »

Some shows that just missed my cut:

Comedy Central Presents
So Weird
Aqua Teen Hunger Force
All That
Rocko's Modern Life
Hey Arnold
Rugrats
Mythbusters
America's Got Talent
Survivor
Yeah, well, you know, that's just, like, your opinion, man. - The Dude

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undeadmonkey
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Re: Fantaverse's Top 25 Favorite TV Shows Pre-Show

Post by undeadmonkey »

silversurfer19 wrote: I enjoyed the first season of Desperate Houswives, and Helena has insisted on watching every season since, but it's just so stale now, this season is one of the worst, there seems to be no structure, characters are forgotten about or their characteristics are forgotten (obviously due to new writers), but most importantly, they have little to do now, and so keep going over the same stuff (how many boyfriends can Bree have, it's all just so tiresome). Hopefully Helena gives up after this season, I don't think I can take much more of it.

Another that just missed my cut was Walking With Dinosaurs, a great series which recreated the time of dinosaurs with great CGI (for its time) and puppets, all set in a kind of David Attenborough animal documentary style. Very insightful and always interesting.

i agree and i think i've seen parts of walking with dinosaurs, but i'm not sure....

NSpan wrote:5 Influential Shows That Shaped Modern Television (...and Most of My Own Top 25)

Monty Python's Flying Circus (1969)
SNL (1975)
Late Night with David Letterman (1982)
Seinfeld (1989)
The Larry Sanders Show (1992)


i catch SNL and David letterman every once in a while, but i havent seen the others. Haven't even heard of this Larry guy ;). As for Seinfield, i'v seen a few episodes here and there but I"ve never been able to get into it.
Geezer wrote:Some shows that just missed my cut:

Comedy Central Presents
So Weird
Aqua Teen Hunger Force
All That
Rocko's Modern Life
Hey Arnold
Rugrats
Mythbusters
America's Got Talent
Survivor

hah, i remember So Weird, it was pretty good. All That was fun sometimes too.

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silversurfer19
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Re: Fantaverse's Top 25 Favorite TV Shows Pre-Show

Post by silversurfer19 »

I watch Seinfeld from time to time, I think I missed it's global domination by a couple of years and so fell onto the Friends bandwagon which steamrolled all its competition when I was living in the UK. Helena and her brother watched it though and they love it. It's funny now though how much of Larry David I see in Seinfeld's characters.

And interestingly enough we watched Python's Meabning Of Life last night. It was decent, had some very good sketches, but overall just wasn't as consistent as the other Python movies, and the overall structure wasnt as strong either. Felt like a big budget edition of the sketch show. Loved the organ donation and death scenes though.

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numbersix
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Re: Fantaverse's Top 25 Favorite TV Shows Pre-Show

Post by numbersix »

Glad to see the Larry Sanders show finally got every episode released on DVD. Amazing show

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Re: Fantaverse's Top 25 Favorite TV Shows Pre-Show

Post by Buscemi »

Surfer, George is actually based on Larry David. Originally Jason Alexander portrayed George as a Woody Allen-esque intellectual type but after meeting with David while filming Season 2, he reshaped the entire role to make George closer to David and a character was born.
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Re: Fantaverse's Top 25 Favorite TV Shows Pre-Show

Post by silversurfer19 »

Yes, I think George is the closest portrayal, but there are certainly elements of David in pretty much every character, such is his writing style, even Elaine.

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Re: Fantaverse's Top 25 Favorite TV Shows Pre-Show

Post by NSpan »

Top 5 Newer Shows That the Jury is Still Out On

Honorable Mention: Delocated (2008), Number of Seasons Aired: 2- This is an iffy entry because the fate of the show seems to be sealed. Despite being renewed for a third season, I think it was an unfortunate mistake to extend the length of season two's episodes to a full 22-minutes. Season one worked delightfully well in the 11-minute format, and the bizarre premise of the show lent itself to it. Doubling the runtime highlighted the show's weaknesses and mitigated its strengths. I've enjoyed the whole series thus far... but, unless the writing can adapt for the longer format, I don't see it going anywhere.

Onion News Network (2011), Number of Seasons Aired: 1 - Not much to explain here. It's The Onion news. The brand-name releases consistently high-quality material, and this first season was fantastic. Oftentimes, the best part of SNL is the "Weekend Update." So why not just make an entire show based on that? Well, that's what the Daily Show was. Emphasis on "was." While that venture has completely lost touch with its original premise, the Onion is here to fill the void in the world of fake news.

Bob's Burgers (2011), Number of Seasons Aired: 1 - Loren Bouchard is responsible for Dr. Katz, Science Court, Home Movies, Lucy: The Daughter of the Devil, and he consults for The Ricky Gervais Show (which I originally accused of being a blatant Bouchard-ripoff until I realized the connection). When Bob's Burgers was announced, I just assumed I would like it. The cast includes Jon Benjamin (a personal favorite who has finally found mainstream attention after 15+ years of absolutely brilliant voice-over work), and other alumni of Dr. Katz, Flight of the Conchords, and Mr. Show. Honestly, I can't believe this got renewed considering its time-slot next to Seth McFarlane shows. I honestly don't see much of an overlap between the audiences. But I'm thrilled the public is giving it a chance. Season one wasn't amazing, but it certainly showed major potential.

Archer (2009), Number of Seasons Aired: 2 - Even if Jon Benjamin Has a Van tanks (like its predecessor, Important Things with Demetri Martin--on which Benjamin frequently appeared), the actor won't be looking for work any time soon. He seems to be everywhere nowadays. He shines as the voice of secret agent Sterling Archer. The cast is stellar, the animation fits the style of the show, and the writing is--so far--hilarious. I never really watched Adam Reed's old show (Frisky Dingo), but I plan on finally checking it out. The turnaround for Archer's production seems to take forever, but public interest is high and animation has the benefit of characters that don't age (not to mention the fact that the cast can record their parts from virtually anywhere, if needed).

Children's Hospital (2008/10), Number of Seasons Aired: 3ish - Starting as a web-series, Adult Swim repackaged the existing installments and aired it as season one. The webisodes were only about five minutes long each, and they are most effective when watched in multiple sittings. They lose some impact when shown back-to-back. Season two was the first "proper" TV season, and the episodes were doubled in length (clocking in at 11 minutes apiece). This extended format greatly benefited the show and, unlike Delocated, the writing actually seemed more suited for longer episodes. Season two was fantastic, and season three is off to a great start. If they keep it up, this will be become a classic. The creative talent involved in this show is boggling. On-screen, we get members of The State and Human Giant, along with Rob Corddry, Henry Winkler, and Megan Mullally. Behind the camera, Corddry and David Wain (also of The State) collaborate with brilliant directors such as Rob Schrab (the man behind SCUD, The Sarah Silverman Program, and Heat Vision & Jack). Here's hopin' they keep it up.

Louie (2010), Number of Seasons Aired: 2 - What could be considered a major retooling and overhaul of the ill-fated Lucky Louie, the FX series is more fine-tuned but still suffers from some its predecessors problems. Louis C.K. ranks amongst the best stand-ups of all-time, but his penchant for the dark and brooding occasionally overwhelms his more recent creative output. Now, don't get me wrong, I like my comedy DARK. But dark comedy only works if its actually funny. Dark, yes. Cerebral, yes. Funny, usually. Eastbound & Down for example, at times, confused tragedy with comedy. And Louie has teetered on that brink more than once. No matter how one feels about it, I think everyone can agree that the comedian is nonetheless doing something novel with this show. It may succeed, and it may fail. Either way, it's a unique (and intriguing) experiment.
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Re: Fantaverse's Top 25 Favorite TV Shows Pre-Show

Post by undeadmonkey »

I haven't heard of Delocated, Onion News Network, and Bob's Burgers. I haven't seen Louie or Children's Hospital (well i saw one episode once at a hotel and there weren't very many channels, it was really strange). but i have seen a few episodes of Archer and i have to agree, the writing is hilarious!

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Re: Fantaverse's Top 25 Favorite TV Shows Pre-Show

Post by numbersix »

Bob's Burgers isn't bad. Reminds me King of the Hill, in terms of the laughs being light but having a punch because they can be quite socially accurate.

My problem with The Onion news (from the clips I've seen), is that they state the joke early, then continue with the sketch/report and repeat the joke over and over. They basically have a joke headline and make it far too long.

As for Seinfeld, having seen Season 1 recently, I don't think George was ever seen as an intellectual, although like all sitcoms, he did become more OTT and a parody as the series progressed.

Think of the 90's thread, over here Friends was far more popular than Seinfeld, which was basically a cult show.

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Re: Fantaverse's Top 25 Favorite TV Shows Pre-Show

Post by Buscemi »

With The Onion Sports Network (which was The Onion stealing the concept of the more-obscure Sports Pickle and bringing it into the mainstream) gone after just one season, The Onion News Network is probably doomed and won't last much longer.

Also, Important Things With Demeteri Martin actually did well in the ratings for a while (the first season was Comedy Central's highest-rated show that year). Comedy Central constantly shuffling around the second season in favor of reruns of Futurama and the vastly-overrated Tosh.O killed it.
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Re: Fantaverse's Top 25 Favorite TV Shows Pre-Show

Post by NSpan »

Buscemi wrote:With The Onion Sports Network (which was The Onion stealing the concept of the more-obscure Sports Pickle and bringing it into the mainstream) gone after just one season, The Onion News Network is probably doomed and won't last much longer.
Nah. I've seen 'em both, and--frankly--it's apples and oranges. I mean, an ESPN-parody on Comedy Central vs. a high-brow news-satire on IFC? Worlds apart.
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Re: Fantaverse's Top 25 Favorite TV Shows Pre-Show

Post by Chienfantome »

I realize I don't watch much TV when I read your conversations guys !
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englishozzy
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Re: Fantaverse's Top 25 Favorite TV Shows Pre-Show

Post by englishozzy »

how are we going to do this?? Are we sending someone our list or are we just posting ourselves on the day??
"Then telephone for an axe"

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Re: Fantaverse's Top 25 Favorite TV Shows Pre-Show

Post by undeadmonkey »

Either or. You can send them to me, and from all those i receive i will post #25 tonight. but if you guys want, you can post it yourself.

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numbersix
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Re: Fantaverse's Top 25 Favorite TV Shows Pre-Show

Post by numbersix »

Just sent in 25 and 24 to UDM. In case anyone wants to join me, I'm formatting them to incude name, broadcast dates and original network, a youtube link and finally a description.

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