My latest Netflix find is Brotherhood, a series that had three seasons on Showtime. It’s a cross between the Wire and the Sopranos. Like the Wire, it’s set in the urban part of a decaying East Coast city (Providence, RI), and a big part of the plot concerns the corrupt politics of that city and state. Like the Sopranos, some storylines are about white ethnic (Irish, not Italian) gangsters who are losing their turf to new immigrant rivals as well as under pressure from the feds. You can stream the first two seasons, and the third is on two DVDs.
Share any of your Netflix hidden treasures, or anything else, in this open thread. Posting from me is going to be light for the next couple of weeks because I’m taking a break from my artificial blue state life and making my annual pilgrimage to flyover country to get in touch with my real American roots, find out what real people are really thinking, and to detonate a shitload of real fireworks.
master c
there are 2 seasons of a show called Party Down, an LA catering co.
Funny!
Brian R.
Brotherhood is fantastic, and well worth your time. Great acting all around and terrific drama.
Just be ready for the abrupt end — they canceled the series early so it comes to a stop midstream after three seasons.
Sort of like Deadwood, I guess.
stuckinred
When they lost Sony movies last week I cancelled. That being said they have Rocky and Bullwinkle, George Burns and Gracie Allen and Have Gun Will Travel!
Brian R.
Party Down may be the best comedy of the last decade or so.
The first season is amazing, a little drop off in the second when they lost Jane Lynch to “Glee.”
Joy
My latest find was “Sports Night,” an Aaron Sorkin series that only lasted two seasons. Great cast and great dialogue.
boss bitch
Very much into old British drams so I’ve watched Bramwell, Poldark and I’m now watching Middlemarch.
John X.
The BBC shows are a goldmine. The standouts for me are Sherlock, Jekyll, Luther, Doctor Who, Wire in the Blood and Occupation.
Valdivia
not on netflix but watched it recently, via Amazon on demand: London Hospital. BBC production about the emergency hospital for the poor at the beginning of the 20th century. Also BBC: Whitechapel.
On netflix: Luther. Stringer Bell with his brit accent.
Joseph Nobles
I discovered Murneau’s Last Laugh a couple of weeks ago.
Jeremy
“The Good, the Bad, the Weird” – Korean take on Sergio Leone’s classic spaghetti westerns crossed with ‘Raiders Of The Lost Ark”. Great action-adventure.
Valdivia
@7–Wire in the Blood rocks.
I also love Waking the Dead (5 seasons streaming) and MI5.
Kevin
I discovered the hilarious Brit-com The IT Crowd on Netflix. I think it’s still there.
John X.
“The Good, the Bad, the Weird” is excellent. A lot of Korean cinema is incredible.
On Netflix, I can’t recommend Mother highly enough. Dark noir about a mom whose mentally disabled kid is accused of murder. What sets it apart is the sustained strain of black comedy and genuine tension running throughout.
EconWatcher
Mrs. EconWatcher and I are into “Intelligence,” a Canadian TV series about the interactions between Vancouver police, the Canadian equivalent of the CIA, and a drug kingpin who sometimes acts as an informant.
Really smart, well-acted, and good writing. Some of the little sub-themes that the show casually explores are the most interesting. They do a really sophisticated exploration of the difference between police work and intelligence gathering, and show how law enforcement becomes corrupted when the two are mixed (I’ve never seen a TV show tackle a concept this complex so entertainingly and so well.) There’s also a lot about gender and racial politics; the complexities of marriage and divorce; on an on.
As you might gather from the above description, my one criticism of the show is that it sometimes tries to pack in too much. But check it out.
Valdivia
@14 I love that show. From there we watched DaVinci’s Law which has some of the same actors. Highly recommended.
srv
John found Intelligence, which someone here had pointed out awhile ago. Canadian version of The Wire, but focused on the distributors and the gov’t agency trying to break/utilize them. Americans are the bad guys (dea/cia, corporations and distributors).
If you like cops vs robbers, or hitmen vs bosses stuff, watch anything by Johnnie To – many of them are streamed (Exiled, Triad, Election). Awesome Hong Kong flicks. And if you liked The Departed, it is a watered-dumbed-down pale comparison the original, Infernal Affairs (1 & 2 are good, 3 was a waste mostly).
And The Good, The Bad and the Weird is instant now. Korean flick channels Sergio Leone channeling Kurosawa (many of his movies are instant also). Actors did their own stunts, which are pretty amazing.
And a movie that is really good, but really disturbing violence at the start is The Chaser. Korean film based on a true story of a pimp unwittingly chasing a mass murderer looking for one of his missing prostitutes.
boss bitch
Downtown Abbey is fantastic! I believe a new season is coming in 2012.
boss bitch
oh….Doc Martin. Also good.
RSA
I’ve been on a run of English detective series, and just finished watching the last season of A Touch of Frost. (Inspector Alleyn and Inspector Lynley were also fun.)
BudP
Netflix has loads of great old french mobster flicks … Rififi, Le Trou, Touchez pas au grisbi, Casque d’Or, Cercle Rouge.
Plus the newer “Tell no one” is great.
If you still need a reason to despise Ed Rendell… “The Art of the Steal”
Steve S
I live near Providence and remember when they filmed Brotherhood. It’s too bad it only lasted 3 seasons. Interestingly, the inspiration for the Caffey brothers were Whitey and Billy Bulger, the good/bad Massachusetts siblings. Whitey, who was on the FBI’s most wanted list, was arrested yesterday in California after being on the lam for 16 years.
srv
George Gently and another vote for Wire in the Blood!
Also recommend “A Prophet” for those that enjoy mafiaso stories.
stuckinred
BudP
Subtitles?
homerhk
can anything beat Buffy?
BudP
stuckinred
Yes, in french w/ subtitles
Valdivia
srv @21–that film was amazing and you beat me to the rec of George Gently which is now on 3rd season streaming.
Oh and there is also, available only on disc I think a great series with Trevor Eve from Waking the Dead called Heat of the Sun about a Scotland Yard policeman in Nairobi during the colonial period.
Montysano
I recently watched, via Netflix, the documentary “Transcendent Man”, about inventor/engineer Ray Kurzweil. Very interesting.
Not Netflix: Woody Allen’s “Midnight in Paris” is an excellent film for the big screen. If you enjoyed Allen’s visual homages to NYC, you’ll like this. Great eye candy.
Tuttle
It’s a gold mine. I’ve actually gotten hooked on watching iCarly with (and occasionally without) my nephew. It’s a stunningly good show for a kids show. Works on two levels often enough I guess.
Vermillion Pleasure Night, a weird Japanese late-night sketch comedy show, is worth a look. They’ve got some interesting anime as well; Strike Witches is fucking hilarious and Initial D is always fun for us gearheads (not to mention NF’s almost complete collection of Top Gears on streaming).
I’ve watched The Tick live-action series here lately, a couple of really cool French spy-spoofs under the OSS:117 rubric – Lost in Rio and Cairo, Nest of Spies – and Pier Paolo Pasolini’s Trilogy of Life.
They also have an impressive collection of Mystery Science Theater 3000s. If you’re not a fan I recommend starting with Final Sacrifice.
homerhk
BudP – tell no one is a film version of a great book by US author Harlan Coben. The book is kind of trashy – a good airport novel, but the film turns it into something more serious and moving in a typically French way. I love the fact that the leading actor isn’t a Tom Cruise/Brad Pitt lead but more like a William H Macy lead.
Brian R.
The BBC’s modern retelling of Sherlock is amazing.
Only three episodes so far. Still, well worth it.
gene108
Nope. It’s impossible.
Can’t beat someone who gets resurrected, every time she dies.
jon
@Kevin #12, that’s my favorite show of recent years. “It’s a robot! Can we keep it?” episode was wonderful. And who can live without Friendface? Also, too: The Mighty Boosh’s Vince Noir himself makes appearances in the best Goth role since Siouxie Sioux.
I love watching what they call “Steamy Romance” films from the stream. But my favorite movie recently was “Wizard of the Demon Sword” which featured the most awesomest-ish sword fights, bestest dialogue, and least-defensible castle in any movie that ever had Lyle Waggoner in it. Troma was involved, naturally.
Dan
I Like Killing Flies was popular among viewers in my area, according to Netflix, so I gave it a whirl. It’s a documentary about Kenny Shopsin, whose West Village luncheonette refuses to serve parties of more than four. Watch some diners read the seating policy on the outside window- after getting kicked out for (inadvertently) challenging it. Most special, though, are the images of Kenny’s food, the testimonials from his long-time customers and the tidbits of Kenny’s bizarre but compelling wisdom.
Also, agree with Brian R.- The BBC Sherlock is awesome.
MomSense
Love Doc Martin, Intelligence, Downtown Abbey. Got completely sucked into MI-5 or Spooks.
Slings and Arrows is wonderful and I’m just starting on Sherlock.
Wag
Original Pink Panther cartoons on Netflix. Hundreds of them. All worth a view.
Now if they coud just put up the Peter Sellers origninal Pink Panther movies….
BudP
homerhk
It is refreshing to see real looking faces in movies from time to time. I get weirded out in an uncanny valley kind of way by some American films (Nick Cage?)
urizon
I recently discovered that Richard Lester directed a film adaptation of G.M. Fraser’s Royal Flash. Malcolm McDowell plays Flashman, with Oliver Reed (of all people) as Otto Von Bismark. It also has Allan Bates, Alastair Sim, Joss Ackland and Britt Ekland. Apparently, this is the film Fraser did right after he filmed the huge hit(s) The Three/Four Musketeers.
For those who are unaware of Fraser’s Flashman novels, there are few better books for reading on the beach:
Sound like anyone we know?
jon
@Brian #29, it will be interesting to see Sherlock and Watson as Smaug and Bilbo next Christmas.
Ad if my description of “Wizard of the Demon Sword” didn’t make you want to seek it out it, you can watch it in under ten minutes thanks to the miracle of the YouTube. Also, the sword is actually a knife. Sorry for the spoiler.
UncommonSense
If you haven’t seen “MI-5,” you must start watching it immediately. The entire nine-season run is available for streaming.
Scribe9
These are all movies:
ALTERED: Low-budget horror film from Eduardo Suarez of “Blair Witch Project” fame. A group of alien abductees turn the tables and abduct one of the aliens, with horrifying results. Really creepy.
ANTIBODIES: A German serial killer movie in the vein of “Silence of the Lambs,” but with a villain who makes Hannibal Lecter look like a cartoon and an obsessed cop who makes Jodie Foster’s character look like, well, a movie star pretending to be an obsessed cop. Not for the easily disturbed.
SEVENTH MOON: Another very effective low-budget horror film by Suarez, set and filmed in China, starring Amy Smart.
THE ECLIPSE: low-key Irish film directed and co-written by Irish playwright Conor McPherson. A sad, touching drama about a platonic affair between a disillusioned middle-aged widower and a well-known writer — with a ghost story on top of it. Sounds like an odd combination, but it works beautifully and it’s quintessentially Irish.
BLACK DEATH: British indie director Christopher Smith’s deromanticized, violent mediaeval drama is sort of a much darker, grittily realistic “Wicker Man.” Through the bloodshed emerges a thoughtful, morally troubling meditation on the consequences of basing your life around faith and superstition. (Hey, contemporary relevance!)
Brian R.
It’s always been midway in my queue. That good, huh? Can you compare it to something domestic I might have seen?
Chris
At the moment, I’m juggling between four different shows and can’t add anything else on. But I’d been intrigued by “Intelligence” before and all the endorsements here have confirmed my interest, so it just got bumped into first place on the “need to watch” list. Thanks people.
Raenelle
My latest–Justified (with Timothy Oliphant) and Pillars of the Earth.
I’ll never forget my first discovery on Netflex though (first, and best)–Firefly.
Captain Haddock
Pulling – a British comedy. Absolutely hilarious.
Poopyman
OK, not entertainment related, really, but since it’s Open Thread, DKos Elections Morning Digest has this tidbit that I found interesting:
Chris
@ homerhk –
Yes, Firefly, by the same guy. I’m still pissed off about the cancellation and probably will be until I’m well into my nineties.
MikeTheZ
Via MSNBC.com
ppcli
Valdivia at 15:
It’s “Da Vinci’s Inquest”, not “Da Vinci’s Law”, (Da Vinci is a coroner) but yes, it is a great show. Nicholas Campbell is one of those compelling actors who I would watch in anything.
p.a.
As a Providence native,let me just say, ‘decaying’? Eat shit. Providence isn’t decaying. It’s decayed. Get your facts straight. But seriously, if fictional TV mob stories interest you, read The Prince of Providence by Mike Stanton. True story of Pvd’s 2-time mayor, who lost the 1st time after he was accused of torturing (lit cigarette) and beating up (with police help) his ex-wife’s boyfriend, and left the 2nd time for fed prison under the RICO corruption law. One of my favorite lines of all time comes from this book. Reputed mobster Bobo Marrapese, upon being acquitted of murder (baseball batted a teenager who cut him off in traffic) “I’m so happy I could burn down a church!”
That 7-of-9 show ‘Body of Evidence’ is set in Philly but shot in Providence.
Not bad for a city that can boast of major internet actors Duncan Black and Josh Marshall! See you at NetNat next year! I might be able to put you onto some restaurants not on the Chamber of Commerce list!
Also google the movie “It’s a Complex World”, available online, possibly clips on youtube. On the ‘tube, also try ‘The Young Adults’.
Poopyman
Oh, and speaking of birthdays,
HAPPY BIRTHDAY CLARENCE THOMAS!
Now go away or we shall taunt you again.
MomSense
@Brian
Much better than domestic shows. Have to say that the first episode could be a good domestic cop show–but keep watching because they get much better.
Lots of tension with Americans and with changes that are taking place because of the Global War on Terror. I never really understood the issues around all the camera surveillance in London until watching this show.
Valdivia
I am loving this thread not just because I see so many like-minded Spooks/MI-5 fans but because I am now populating my queue with very cool stuff!
@47 totally hhis, my bad it is Inquest. Not enough caffeine earlier!
Athenae
Luther and Wire in the Blood are both kickass. I also watched all five seasons of Weeds in about a week and a half because damn, that show’s awesome.
Doc Martin started to piss me off. Will-they, won’t-they shows do that to me after a while, like, just work out your shit or break up like goddamn grownups.
I’ve seen every newsroom show ever made, Joy, and Sports Night is the only one that ever got the dynamic exactly right. I love Dana like she’s my child.
A.
Just Some Fuckhead
Nevermind.
Nemesis
Streaming Netflix sucks. Although I watched a facinating documentary last night called: “The Art of the Steal”. Its about the worlds most significant private treasure trove of modern art residing in Philly and the efforts of some rw ers to pry the collection away from the deceased owners estate and bring the collection “to the people” i.e turn the collection into commerce, which is decidedly against the original owners wishes. Otherwise Netflix sucks.
p.a.
It was not under the radar, it actually got a lot of press, and it may be dated, but younger anglophiles here might not be aware of AbFab. I still laugh my ass off. Same can be said of Twin Peaks- lots of press, decent ratings, but maybe something younger people don’t know about. Has John ever done a questionnaire here? I’d be interested in the demographics.
DaddyJ
I can’t recommend Tremé highly enough, and am looking forward to the second season on Netflix. Great characters, great music. I’ve never seen a TV show capture a time and a place so well, showing how the good of a culture and the bad are inextricable.
I’m slowly working my way through The Wire but have to do it in dribs and drabs, as my wife thinks the ridiculously overblown swearing is silly. It must be a cable thing: if it’s an adult cable drama, you must get your f-bomb at least once every two minutes. I think the show is fantastic, but have to admit the writers have some artificial “statement” they are trying to make about language: just last night I watched the episode in which two detectives examine a crime scene saying nothing but “f-ck, f——ck, f-cking f—-ck.” Amusing, but borderline shark-jumping. Or maybe I’m wrong and everybody in Baltimore talks just like that.
Deb T
And now for something entirely different – not British for one thing. I am so into westerns this summer. I watched all of “Have Gun Will Travel” on Netflix streaming. Then I started on “The Virginian” – even if the stories don’t thrill you the outdoor shoots are great, and there’s one episode starring Lee Marvin and directed by Sam Fuller that is as good as many a film I’ve seen. I’ve also watched Laramie, but had to watch some of it in bits and pieces on You Tube.
Also, on the 60ies TV theme – the series Checkmate. Love those guest stars – a lot of old stage actors and aging actresses (that is over 30). And of course, The Fugitive — you can see the whole run via Netflix.
I watched all of Firefly (not unlike a western) several years ago on Hulu! I wonder if you still can. I had to get the movie (can’t remember the title) from Netflix though.
Suzan
Collision a 5 part BBC production. Started watching and ended up half the night to finish. At first you can’t think what would be so compelling but it is a great mystery, or rather series of mysteries. Loved it.
May I also say, what a great thread! Not that I don’t hang on every word you all say :) but this and the ones about books are standouts.
gttim
Love when they stream stuff, because I can watch entire seasons very easily. Just finished Bones, up to where it has been released on DVD. Watched Angel start to finish- and there may not be anything funnier than Spike fighting the muppet Angel. Law & Order SUV.
For British stuff, everyone must watch Coupling. Two episodes into Pulling, which has some potential. Wish they would stream Life on Mars!
Highest police procedural ratings go to Blue Murder and Rebus. I did not get into MI-5, but loved these two. Great characters! Not streamed but worth messing with the discs for.
Brendan
For a gritty crime drama fix, you could do worse than the NYC kidnapping-gone-wrong caper, “Hell’s Gate”.
stuckinred
DaddyJ
It’s called “realism”. Watch Generation Kill by Simon and Burns.
Judas Escargot
Funny to talk about the RI mob on the day they finally caught Whitey (at 81).
Don’t laugh, but I finally got around to Firefly (Amazon VOD, the Netflix picture quality on that one was terrible for some reason) so I’m watching that for the very first time. Ended up watching the first 5 back-to-back for most of Saturday evening.
handsmile
DebT and other Firefly fans:
“Serenity” is the title of the Firefly-based film; it was released in 2005.
Spolier alert: As an effort to resolve several plot lines, be prepared for some sadness at the film’s conclusion.
Not to mention how it re-opens the wound of bitterness that such a marvelous program was prematurely cancelled.
slag
I checked out MI-5 on a recommendation…way too violent. It was like the Monty Python of spy shows–went big in places where it should have gone small. Whatever happened to British subtlety?
All my tv/movies come from TDS and PBS these days. In the theatres: Midnight in Paris. So charming!
Also, does anyone have a tv/computer monitor brand that they particularly recommend? Is there even a difference between televisions and monitors anymore? Only needs to connect to Mac laptop and Wii. No cable or tv reception required.
TR
The word you’re looking for to describe that scene is “brilliant.”
John
Brian R @41
MI-5 is like a well written/acted 24. However, for me MI-5 keeps the intensity up for the entire episode. It also does not rely on one agent(Bauer) to solve the problem, everyone is involved. I have seen 8 seasons now and if 9 is out will get it too.
Riggsveda
Not really so “hidden”, but a treasure nonetheless, I watched The Cook, The Thief, His Wife, and Her Lover on Netflix last weekend. This was the first time I’d seen it since the 80s, and it still blows me away…maybe moreso, since now I understand Greenaway’s attack on the reactionary Reagan and Thatcher governments inherent in the film, and seeing it in HD instead of on a VHS tape just made the visual virtuosity of the scenes explode.
sal
TV – Stargate SGU – not really in the same vein as the original, darker & more character oriented.
Babylon 5 – took a while to start liking this show, but cool escapism.
Movies – Tapeheads. Not available on DVD afaik, but is on streaming. Great ’80’s comedy with some bite.
MazeDancer
Sports Night is splendid. Lucky you if you have all that delicious writing ahead of you to enjoy. Ditto Treme. Both have acting equal to the words.
Other rec’s:
Indie Type Movies you might have missed:
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
Stage Beauty
Playing by Heart
Wilde
Laurel Canyon
Arranged
Upbeat & Riveting Arty Documentaries:
Young@Heart
Show Business: The Road to Broadway
Helvetica
It Might Get Loud
The Player (Not upbeat, and an oldie fiction but might as well be a docu-drama about Hollywood)
Upstairs/Downstairs-y British Series:
The Forsyte Saga
The House of Elliott
The Buccaneers
BGinCHI
Sean Bean in “Black Death.”
Great medieval plague story with great plot and characters. Much better than you’d think possible for something like this.
eastriver
The Masterpiece Theater Sherlock Holmes should not be missed. (Be sure to preface your search with Masterpiece Theater to find it.)
I would highly recommend you watch it on either Blu-ray, or streamed on an iPad or good quality computer screen.
Thanks for all the great recs.
eastriver
Oh, and I have to disagree STRONGLY with BGinCHI on Black Death. It sucks all kinds of intergalactic space cock.
psycholinguist
the Trailer Park boys is the funniest shit I have ever seen. Available for streaming.
slag
@70 Thanks for the great list! I’ll be using it.
befuggled
Not only does MI-5/Spooks not rely on one agent, they will periodically kill off or otherwise remove agents. I tried not to watch the damn thing, but my wife loves the show and sucked me in.
catclub
I am not a netflix user, but would recommend Ikiru
by Kurosawa.
It is not a samurai movie.
Steeplejack
@urizon:
I haven’t seen the movie since it first came out (and maybe one other time on cable years ago), but it’s not that good. And I say that as a fan of the Flashman novels and a big fan of Richard Lester. His two Musketeers films are great, and A Hard Day’s Night is a masterpiece.
The Flashman movie just never quite caught fire. Lots of acting talent, good production values, but meh. Sometimes it happens.
Teak 111
Breaking Bad
Mad Men
Nurse Jackie
Rome
Big Love
deadwood
bad dad
The original 1981 BBC 6-parter for “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy” is available. Better than the movie since they aren’t rushing through the story.
Season One of Archer. Archer is right up there with Party Down (RIP), Community, and Parks and Rec (seasons one and two available) as the funniest thing on television over the last few years. Watch with captioning if you can. You don’t want to miss a thing. Do not tell me “I would prefer not to.” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8BMsDJrjZHY
In anticipation of tonight’s Season 2 debut, season one of Louie is now streaming. Add it to list in the last paragraph then add a dose of igry, cringeworthy middle-aged truth to it. Sometimes the episodes are hard to get through, (I’m thinking of the bully episode), but they are well worth it.
Red Dwarf, is another BBC Sci-fi comedy about Dave Lister, the last human alive after being kept in stasis for 3,000,000 years. His only companions are a hologram of his obnoxious roommate,Rimmer; Cat, a hip humanoid that has somehow evolved from Lister’s pet cat over the three million years without the benefit of generations of procreation; and various iterations of Holly, the ships onboard computer.
It seemed a lot funnier to me when I was 17, but it’s still fun to get your nerd on with it.
Get in the entire run of Party Down while you can. If I remember right, I don’t think the Starz contract with Netflix is being renewed. Cole Landry’s Draft Day is a masterpiece.
Steeplejack
@srv:
Second the recommendation on the Johnnie To movies. I saw two of them on cable a few months ago. Very violent, but worth it because they’re several cuts above the usual.
I also recommend Tsui Hark’s Time and Tide (2000), another odd, lyrical Hong Kong action flick. Seems to be out of print, but it shows up occasionally on Sundance or IFC.
Chris
@ Sal –
Could’ve been good – but lots of wasted opportunities. Ditto “The Event,” both sci-fi shows that were just canceled. Ah, well.
Steeplejack
People, it’s Downton Abbey, not Downtown Abbey. Pet peeve, because I get at least one person a week at the store asking for the latter. A couple of years ago at Christmas it was that great World War II British detective series Foley’s War. Grr.
negative 1
Kevin
@Jon #32: I have but one thing to say.
“My tits are on fire.”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qv_8SqM4upo
catclub
Bad Dad @ 80
Red Dwarf: “But who will clean up the mess?”
Also: “Nureek, ratoot, hununga.”
I am pleased that it is a family treasure for my family.
Miracle Max
“The Last Enemy,” five part series about total information awareness in the U.K. Starring that young Sherlock guy, Benedict Cumberbatch-something-or-other. Also ‘Sons of Anarchy,’ a white-trash Sopranos. Starring Katey Sagal as den-mother of a hoodlum biker gang with a handful of redeeming qualities, and Ron Perlman (Hellboy, Beauty and the Beast) as gang leader. First two seasons stream on Netflix, third is on Amazon Instant videols ($20).
KyCole
Love MI-5 and Sherlock, as well as many others mentioned. Kind of skimmed the comments and didn’t see if anyone talked about Survivors. I really enjoyed that one- 99% of earth’s population dies of a new strain of flu. Also loved Bleak House and all the other BBC costume dramas.
Joseph Nobles
@DaddyJ:
NOOOO! The crime scene/”Fuck” sequence is one of the greatest scenes ever in The Wire. Especially the landlord guy watching them bemusedly until they work it out.
KyCole
Just watched “The Last Enemy”. It was great. I’m kind of ashamed to admit that I also watched 3 seasons of Hoarders and one of “Parking Wars”.
eastriver
Read the Red Dwarf books, don’t watch the not-as-funny TV show. A kind suggestion.
Valdivia
@ 70–Forsyte Saga is just amazing. I love love love Damian Lewis who was absolutely evil in that series. I will never forgive NBC for cancelling his show Life. He is my not-so-secret actor crush, only made worse when I dated a man who is his twin last summer. Yum! (I know TMI)
Like @60 I also rec Rebus, and if you people have not seen Wallander with Kenneth Branagh you are missing a gem.
bad dad
@91 – fair enough, I’m sure you are right. The same would go for the Hitchhiker books as well. But, damn if that doesn’t smell like hipster. I take it you live on the Brooklyn side of the East River?
I KEED. Thanks for the suggestion.
Sentient Puddle
@bad dad: Archer was what I was going to come in here saying. Recently recommended to me by a friend, and I don’t think I’ve laughed as hard at anything since Arrested Development.
JoyousMN
Recommending Intelligence. I know others have too, but wanted to reiterate how good it is.
Hus and I just got through season one. Great cliffhanger at the end, glad we didn’t have to wait months to find out what happened.
I like that the characters are so nebulous. Not standard good guy/bad guy. In fact, I’m still not sure about some of them. Dialog keeps you on your toes, fast and furious and hints are dropped without being explicitly pointed out, so you have to think. (god, I love that in a show)
Looking forward to finishing this. How is it that a show like this is killed after 2 seasons, while stupidity lingers year after year…rhetorical question, I know the answer.
vanya
“Brotherhood” was very good, and seemingly got no promotional push from Showtime or anyone else. Was never talked about, never even reviewed anywhere that I ever noticed. Yet shows like “Two and a half men” can’t be killed.
catclub
Joyous MN :
You mean Dancing with the Stars and Who wants to be a Millionaire are not enought for you? Elitist!
Tom
Couple of Play Nows:
Detour: A ’40s noir cult classic.
Who Is Harry Nilsson And Why Is Everybody Talking About Him?: A great doc by the same people who did The U.S. v. John Lennon.
bad dad
@ 91 – I take it that you make your beer milkshakes with PBR then?
Sorry. Too late to add to previous. All in good fun.
MazeDancer
Loving everyone’s thoughts and comments, and thanks to all, but is referring to each other as numbers instead of names the new Balloon-Juice protocol? Or is this because the “reply” button sometimes doesn’t work?
People seem to be referring to each other as a comment number, not as name. I know John Cole and many others detest nested comments, so it’s hard enough to “converse” with others. But connecting by name seems so much more respectful and personal than numbers. More community building.
If people love the convenience of numbers, couldn’t those at least go after the name? Hit reply, or type @name. And add comment number in parenthesis or something.
Am I being too old school in liking people being people, not numbers?
inthewoods
I’d recommend the series “Friday Night Lights” – it’s been a terrific series that is on the final season this year.
Terrific writing and acting, and football is really completely secondary to the show.
MomSense
I don’t remember who said AbFab–but I love, love, love.
They make me feel like the best parent ever!
DaddyJ
@stuckinred and Joseph Nobles and TR: like I said, I was amused by that scene. But “realism”? Nah. That’s my problem with it, it’s so over-the-top it stops being realistic, unlike every other aspect of Simon’s productions.
For example, there’s a scene early on in Tremé in which Creighton Bernette and wife are dining at Janette’s restaurant. “Don’t ask me about my f-ing house,” she says to them, loudly. Would a restaurant owner use language like that, to casual acquaintances, in a room full of customers? It rings false to me. Which is why it irritates me, because there’s so much honesty in these shows otherwise.
Kathy
Inspector Lewis, George Gently, Judge John Deed, the Sherlock Holmes series starring Jeremy Brett (priceless and ageless), Bramwell….Actually anything British is usually wonderful. Also, love Audrey Tatou films and anything by Pedro Almodovar.
p.a.
Criminally still not on DVD: Frank’s Place. I bought the combo DVD/VHS player just to be able to watch my tapes of Frank’s Place.
Chris G
We just finished up an ITV dramedy called “Monday Monday” which is just a sweet little harmless show and is streaming on Netflix.
Also currently streaming is a short-lived, very funny ABC sitcom called “Better Off Ted.” I recently found “Thriller,” an early-60s B&W anthology series hosted by Boris Karloff that’s enjoyably melodramatic.
I don’t think anyone’s mentioned “Jekyll,” but everyone should watch it. It’s amazing. As is “That Mitchell & Webb Look,” but for very different reasons.
I concur with all of the MI-5 recommendations.
Not streaming, but fun, is “New Tricks” about a squad of retired police detectives who consult on cold cases.
Ruckus
Have been enjoying Mercy. Hospital nurse story with main character having been a nurse in Iraq. The medicine story is secondary to the personal issues and there might be a little too much stereotyping for some but well done.
TC
Cracker – The British series with Robbie Coltrane.
Touching Evil – Same lead actor that’s in Wire in the Blood.
eastriver
bad dad @91
yeah, kinda. but not BK.
trollhattan
Seconds on “MI5” and “Trailer Park Boys.” FWIW the first was called “Spooks” in its original Brit form and I suspect it was edited a bit for American viewing (fitting in a 60-minute slot with ad breaks). Anyhoo, it needs to be consumed in sequence, not scattershot like I’ve tried (variously on PBS and BBCA) because their story arcs follow the typical very short BBC seasons and lead character come and go with alarming frequency while certain story elements span seasons. I prefer watching it on PBS without commercial breaks, so Netflix would be a good way to go.
“Trailer Park Boys” is…I’m not sure how to describe–maybe a cross between The Office and Napolean Dynamite set in Canada? It’s screamingly funny, and I wonder how the Nova Scotia Tourism Council feels about it?
My also, too, is “Rescue Me.” Some of the best writing, acting and ensemble work of the last decade, sadly headed into its final season. Why hasn’t Callie Thorne harvested a basket of Emmys for her work?
A reel of just the firehouse chatter could cause untold coronaries.
Sentient Puddle
@MazeDancer: The reply button is busted, so that’s why everybody’s doing numbers. I hate it as much as you do, but we make due with what we have.
splittee
on netflix instant, ‘Big Man Japan’ is brilliant- a christopher guest-esque mockumentary/satire of japanese ultra-man-style superheros. Very accessible even to people unfamiliar with all of those things and utterly hilarious.
check the trailer to get a completely misleading idea of what the movie is like (it’s much more like what i described above with a little of this thrown in):
http://youtu.be/ozRYgw6Nlpk
boss bitch
LOL!!! you are so right. I knew that. Just can’t get it in my head.
______________________________________________________________
someone mentioned the IT Crowd – hated it. Watch 2-3 episodes and was done. ack.
sfbevster
Slings and Arrows. Really. I know nothing about Canada or the theater, but this show always has at least one laugh-out-loud moment per episode. Freaks and Geeks, also too, but you probably all knew that.
The Fat Kate Middleton
Concur with so many of you – this is a great thread. I’m printing it out as I write. Has anybody recommend “Damages” yet, with Glenn Close. Instant stream available – I’m afraid first time I watched turned into a six hour marathon sessionl. Could. Not. Stop. Company showed up near the end of the session – too bad. They just had to wait.
buckyblue
I second the Weeds first five seasons. Loved the snark on suburban America that was so prevalent before the show became mainly about, well, weed.
The Fat Kate Middleton
Concur with so many of you – this is a great thread. I’m printing it out as I write. Has anybody recommended “Damages” yet, with Glenn Close? Instant stream is available – I’m afraid first time I watched it turned into a six hour marathon viewing session. Could. Not. Stop. Guests showed up near the end of the session – too bad. They just had to wait.
Steeplejack
@MazeDancer:
If you want to make the effort, you can roll your own Reply function with this:
Replace NUMBER with the actual number of the comment (visible when you mouse over the Link button; this one is 2643495). Replace PERSON’S NAME with, er, the person’s name.
The Fat Kate Middleton
So sorry about the double post. Have no idea how it happened.
MazeDancer
@SentientPuddle (#110)
Thanks for heads up about broken reply button. Wondered if that was the trigger. Admire everyon’s inventiveness. And thankful numbers aren’t suddenly the next cool i- thing.
Comrade Luke
The League.
Hilarious.
TIA
MazeDancer
@Steeplejack:
Thanks for jerryrig @reply tip. It worked. (Though had to get off iPad where I couldn’t edit you into earlier comment.)
And to compensate for my multi protocol posts, will add these movie suggestions:
– The Station Master (good for Peter Drinklage withdrawal as GoT ends)
– Cairo Time (More Patricia Clarkson)
– Pirate Radio (Long live Rock ‘n Roll!!!!)
– Lars and the Real Girl (For the 3 people who haven’t seen it)
djork
Classic scene, in my opinion. Gotta love Bunk.
daveNYC
I’ll third Archer (I think Cole mentioned it a few weeks back), and throw Reaper in too.
Eric k
I’m late to the threads sorry fir duplicates:
If you like Brotherhood check out The State Within, a BBC miniseries also starring Jason Isaacs.
The House of Cards Triology is great, and you can watch the original now in anticipation of the direct to Netflix remake coming next year.
The BBC miniseries version of State of Play, the Criwemovie was ok but the story works better at longer length, and anything with Bill Nighy is worth seeing, it seems to come and go from watch instantly, so need to catch it when it is available
Same with Prime Suspect, they seem to come and go
sock puppet
Damages is very good. Generation Kill is top shelf. The IT Crowd is hilarious. And the “fuck” scene from The Wire is pure genius. Brotherhood? Not so much. Cheap attempt at something like The Wire, but just a bunch of Boston cliches migrated to Providence.
Amanda
FANTASTIC THREAD
Could not agree more on the greatness of Damian Lewis and “Life” and much of the PBS/BBC recs, including Forsyth Saga, as well as my beloved Sports Night…
Speaking of — several BBC miniseries that no one has mentioned yet that I really liked:
(1) State of Play — Hollywood made a movie of this with Russell Crowe but not even the fabulous Hellen Mirren could save it, imo. The miniseries is sublime. Political intrigue/scandal and incredibly realistic view of a modern newsroom, helmed by editor Bill Nighy at his snarky best.
(2) The State Within — Sharon Gless channels Dick Cheney and Donald Rumsfeld as a hyper hawkish US Defense Secretary going up against the British Ambassador to the US after a horrific terrorist attack on a British Air flight from WDC to London. (Netflix streaming)
(3) Prime Suspect — Helen Mirren invented the modern police drama and the imperfect female cop prototype. There are 7 films in this series, they are all amazing. She won multiple Emmy’s for this role.
Thank you for all the great recommendations!!
Oh and in case you’re in the mood for 1980s nostalgia, all the seasons of “Cagney and Lacey” are on Netflix streaming as well as TVLand.com — a groundbreaking show about 2 female police detectives in NYC. Sharon Gless and Tyne Daly are incredible, along with a great supporting cast.
TK-421
For a time, the old Mission: Impossible series was available for streaming. I tried watching an episode last night, but NetFlix told me it was no longer available. That either means NetFlix Instant was having a problem (VERY possible), or it’s now only available on DVD.
philly71
Intelligence was solid. Brotherhood Solid and both ended with the same fate.
All the recommendations here are solid.
I would add:
New Battlestar Galactica (Could stop hitting next, even at 4AM)
Archer
Arrested Development
Vlad
“Terribly Happy” is on instant, and it’s an awesome movie. Pitch-black comedy from Denmark, very close to “Fargo” in feel and tone.
Nylund
Its actually called The Station Agent (for anyone trying to find it).
Tom Hilton
@sfbevster: Yes yes YES to Slings & Arrows. Hilarious and brutal and, at times, oddly moving. Each season they do a different Shakespeare play, and the season’s plot (sort of) mirrors that of the play.
For pure Canadian sitcom fun, I recommend Corner Gas. It’s been described as the Seinfeld of rural Canada, which captures some of it, but it’s much funnier than that sounds. Much of the humor is very language-focused (grammar jokes! lots of them!), and the writing is very sharp and distinctive. (Brent, describing his father’s homebrew: “This tastes like someone beat a skunk to death with a salmon.”)
gttim
#98 – @Tom
Who Is Harry Nilsson And Why Is Everybody Talking About Him?
An incredible artist and an excellent documentary of his life!
Darkrose
I adore Jason Isaacs, and I wanted to like Brotherhood so badly…but I just couldn’t watch it after a while. It was like the Sopranos without the black humor; just unrelenting grimness centered on a bunch of thoroughly unlikeable people.
I definitely second the rec for The State Within. Jason was brilliant, as was Ben Daniels.
DaddyJ
@djork:
Absatively! Bunk is da bomb, as is Antoine in Tremé. I wish one could bottle Wendell Pierce’s voice.
kilgore trout
That Mitchell and Webb Look
funny sketch comedy from bbc.
Arachnae
The Lost Room, a scifi channel miniseries. Spooky alternate reality stuff as objects from a motel room that no longer exists in OUR reality take on strange powers and those that know about them (aka Collectors) want them badly. It seemed like a six hour preview for a potential series and if so, too bad they didn’t give it a go; the premise was intriguing.
CatHairEverywhere
MI-5 is great. It’s different than other shows of this genre in that no character is ever safe. MI-5 is very willing to kill off main characters.
I watched several episodes of Better Off Ted a few days ago, and plan to watch the rest when I have time. Offbeat, sort of Arrested Development-type humor. (but not as good as Arrested Development)
CatHairEverywhere
Archer is great.
Cmm
FYI coming soon to Netflix streaming (like in July)…the new Season of Torchwood (will be appearing as it airs because of the deal with Starz)…the 3 previous seasons are also available if you want to catch up but the new season is designed to be able to jump on without previous knowledge. Ditto if you want to check out Doctor Who without going back all 5 seasons, the 5th series just came on streaming and was something of a reboot, with it deliberately designed to be a jumping on place for new viewers…check out season 5 then if you like go back to the first 4 of the new series. There is even a smattering of classic Who available for sampling in instant if you get really daring with it.
Also coming in July,I’ve heard…the first three seasons of Mad Men plus all the Trek series.