Just going to leave this up here as a reminder: I didn't really "forget" some of these wonderful suggestions made below (love the interaction on this post). As noted, this is just the first of a few, or many, similar lists. I just wanted to get the ball rolling. I mean, you think I'm going to forget "Counterpart" after getting a hernia carrying it all those years? Come on, people. More faith.
OK, more lists soon and more of my responses to columns -- just got sidetracked a bit. Will respond asap.
I’m not sure what I’m going to do for a rewatch if it all goes to hell. Maybe I’ll acquiesce and finally watch all the rom coms I haven’t watched. My usual fare is not lighthearted. For example, I just started a Wallander (UK) rewatch. One of the broodiest of detectives.
My folks and I are almost halfway done with Justified (we're up to 4 actors from Band of Brothers guesting or recurring; no spoilers over whether there are any more!), and then I guess we'll watch Justified: City Primeval. Slow Horses, since Season 4 premieres in August. I might have to do a Leverage (and Leverage: Redemption) watch just to see 100+ episodes of the bad guys losing.
Tim, Tim, Tim, you’re a tonic. I’m the sort who never likes to look back, but seeing your all-time lists, of which I’ve really only checked out more recent ones (i.e. after you recommended them), maybe I should shift back in time. Anyway, thanks.
I'm shifting back in time right now! Thanks, Andres. Next list coming soon (but not numerical!). I thin summer is a good time to get in the way back machine, even if we don't go back that far.
Thank you everyone for contributing to this post! I've got lots of cool contenders for the next best- all-engrossing escape from the bloody nightmare of watching and experiencing "The Fall of the Republic." I think this really is a momentous time in our history and we should all be writing down what we think and feel to inform subsequent generations of our perspectives (I've become a history buff:).
Yes, very good idea! My poison to tune out the world is cozy mysteries on Acorn TV. Yes, I just recently re-upped. I went a few months without it, trying to save money, but I just missed it.
My #1 recommendation on Acorn TV is an older British mystery series called Foyle's War. I think it originally aired on PBS in 2002. It's about a police detective who solves crimes in England ... smack during WWII. I feel like that's the headspace where I need to be. It stars Michael Kitchen and his stalwart calmness amid strife and high emotions is such a salve to watch. Like there are scenes where excitable people are going off yelling at him, and he says NOTHING. He just does his job. Each episode is 90 minutes. It's episodic with a few character serial arcs. I am in Season 2. That is my suggestion for British detective fans.
I'm probably also going to re-watch all the Jane Austen movies, too. I own them all and they are so good. Pride and Prejudice, Persuasion, Emma, Sense and Sensibility.
I was absolutely with you until you got to Jane Austen. If I was King, I would outlaw any adaption of Austen for a period of 30 years. How many versions (that constantly rip each other off) of Pride and Prejudice do we need, unless, of course there are Zombies? The Emma. with Anya Taylor-Joy was interesting but these stories have just been done to death.
I want a moratorium on Austen adaptations because I'd love to see what someone does with one of these classic stories when they're coming at it with fresh eyes and not just grabbing stuff from the other thirty adaptations done in the last couple of decades...
What can I say. I love those films. I wasn't asking for 10 new adaptations. I am saying THE EXISTING FILMS bring me comfort during this difficult time.
Have you seen the Anya Taylor-Joy Emma.? It's interesting and she manages to do the unexpected in every thing she does. The critics savaged Dakota Johnson's Persuasion but there were some neat elements to it.
I love great story telling and I love chances taken with sacred material — even if they fail, the ideas behind them are almost always interesting...
Yes, I love the new adaptation of Emma. I felt people were too negative about the Netflix version of Persuasion although I enjoyed the 1995 version more. Incidentally, Amanda Root was on an episode I just watched of Foyle's War. It all comes full circle.
I recently saw David Simon announce that the music rights have been worked out for Homicide: Life on the Streets, so it could be streaming soon, FINALLY. I will rewatch the hell out of that one.
The thing about watching (the original) Utopia via Amazon is that significant bits are apparently missing. I recommend the first season blu ray if you can still obtain it.
Although it clocks in at a mere two seasons, a big thumbs up for Fleabag. Some of the funniest, yet most disturbing television available. Another clear winner would be The Thick of It; the perfect vehicle to mirror the current state of political insanity now on display in the UK and here.
I have watched nearly everything on your lists (as a looooong time reader/fan, how could I have not?) except Utopia and Black Mirror. My life has been so depressing (and like Tim's involved a ridiculous amount of moving crap around) so I have been desperately trying to find a suitable distraction and have been thinking of re-watching Patriot lately because, well, "art saves lives." Things are getting a bit better personally (although yeah, the end of democracy is vastly disturbing) but on my way to Patriot, I happened upon Mindhunter which I really enjoyed. I was wowed by the direction and cinematography and then realized, duh, DAVID FINCHER. Also the acting and writing are superb too. Only two seasons though. Actually I've tried to get into Peaky Blinders twice and for the life of me can't figure out why I can't. Maybe third time's the charm? I am definitely up for a long re-watch of one or more of the Top Five. Maybe Mad Men too, it so resonated with me--I worked for a big ad agency in the late sixties, I got pregnant but unlike Peggy, got married (unhappily), and ruined my career trajectory. Damn, hindsight can be quite painful. Keep those suggestions coming, Tim!
There's a bleakness here but I feel you. I'm glad you found some visual comfort during the hard times. Patriot is so life affirmingly good. Like, oh, right, forgot -- people CAN be geniuses. That's a good place to land.
As for Peaky Blinders, Suzanne, I think maybe -- just guessing based on your tastes -- you felt like I did originally which was, OK, this is really good, but it's not like TOP TIER. And things can be over the top etc., but what I found is that it just grows and grows. That criminal world is intriguing. I felt like Cillian Murphy as Tommy Shelby was a lot like Jon Hamm's Don Draper. So that was a great connective tissue. I just considered Peaky Blinders as super addictive, very, very good television that maybe doesn't get into that prestige arena. But boy can they tell a story on that show.
Love Mindhunter. Should have been more.
And British Utopia is something I go back to personally to motivate me to do my own work.
Hope you are feeling better soon. Keep the lighthouse in sight, as we say.
Re: Patriot, it's not so much the life affirming aspects of it for me (but it's also true that it is ultimately), but the sublime execution of it which I found thrilling and inspiring. As we've all discussed before, every aspect of it, writing, directing, acting, casting, cinematography, editing, etc., was as good as it gets. Great works of art, which I consider Patriot to be, uplift me like nothing else. It is one of my favorite shows ever. . . I will definitely give Peaky Binders another try, I was so impressed with Cillian Murphy in Oppenheimer, he's a very compelling actor. . . I can't wait to get into British Utopia, based on your and Mark's recommendation. . . I am feeling better, thanks. Life is settling down a bit and while there are challenges ahead, I feel like my head is at least above water now. I'm looking forward to being done with moving stuff around in a few weeks! I know you can relate :)
Just going to leave this up here as a reminder: I didn't really "forget" some of these wonderful suggestions made below (love the interaction on this post). As noted, this is just the first of a few, or many, similar lists. I just wanted to get the ball rolling. I mean, you think I'm going to forget "Counterpart" after getting a hernia carrying it all those years? Come on, people. More faith.
OK, more lists soon and more of my responses to columns -- just got sidetracked a bit. Will respond asap.
I also just took the numbering system off! Now it's just bullets so that there's no perceived better order.
I would never accuse a #1 fan of forgetting! Love to your mother!
I’m not sure what I’m going to do for a rewatch if it all goes to hell. Maybe I’ll acquiesce and finally watch all the rom coms I haven’t watched. My usual fare is not lighthearted. For example, I just started a Wallander (UK) rewatch. One of the broodiest of detectives.
My folks and I are almost halfway done with Justified (we're up to 4 actors from Band of Brothers guesting or recurring; no spoilers over whether there are any more!), and then I guess we'll watch Justified: City Primeval. Slow Horses, since Season 4 premieres in August. I might have to do a Leverage (and Leverage: Redemption) watch just to see 100+ episodes of the bad guys losing.
Laughed a lot at the Leverage line. I tried Justified: City Primeval and....ugh, could not. But do love Justified.
Slow Horses always of course!
The leftovers shouldn't be left over :D
True.
It will all come out soon though (but yes, Leftovers on the next list)
Tim, Tim, Tim, you’re a tonic. I’m the sort who never likes to look back, but seeing your all-time lists, of which I’ve really only checked out more recent ones (i.e. after you recommended them), maybe I should shift back in time. Anyway, thanks.
I'm shifting back in time right now! Thanks, Andres. Next list coming soon (but not numerical!). I thin summer is a good time to get in the way back machine, even if we don't go back that far.
Another show that lifts my spirits is The Detectorists.
Always!
Oh yeah...
Thank you everyone for contributing to this post! I've got lots of cool contenders for the next best- all-engrossing escape from the bloody nightmare of watching and experiencing "The Fall of the Republic." I think this really is a momentous time in our history and we should all be writing down what we think and feel to inform subsequent generations of our perspectives (I've become a history buff:).
I'm interested in how we don't learn from history and what that says about people. Other than, you know, we live in a really dumb country.
Hey, just saw Slow Horses is back for S4 on 9/4...
Excited to watch.
Dude I should comfort watch SH. So funny.
We should all comfort watch SH, both Dudes and Dudettes!
For some science fiction fare, I’ve been rewatching Battlestar Galáctica on Amazon. I forgot how good it was. I’m appreciating it even more now.
This is one of my partner's favorite shows and I loved it too and would rewatch in an instant. Will definitely be on the next list.
Katee Sackoff's Starbuck is worth the price of admission alone!
Yes, very good idea! My poison to tune out the world is cozy mysteries on Acorn TV. Yes, I just recently re-upped. I went a few months without it, trying to save money, but I just missed it.
My #1 recommendation on Acorn TV is an older British mystery series called Foyle's War. I think it originally aired on PBS in 2002. It's about a police detective who solves crimes in England ... smack during WWII. I feel like that's the headspace where I need to be. It stars Michael Kitchen and his stalwart calmness amid strife and high emotions is such a salve to watch. Like there are scenes where excitable people are going off yelling at him, and he says NOTHING. He just does his job. Each episode is 90 minutes. It's episodic with a few character serial arcs. I am in Season 2. That is my suggestion for British detective fans.
I'm probably also going to re-watch all the Jane Austen movies, too. I own them all and they are so good. Pride and Prejudice, Persuasion, Emma, Sense and Sensibility.
Have always wanted to get on the Foyle's War thing so maybe now is a good time.
I was absolutely with you until you got to Jane Austen. If I was King, I would outlaw any adaption of Austen for a period of 30 years. How many versions (that constantly rip each other off) of Pride and Prejudice do we need, unless, of course there are Zombies? The Emma. with Anya Taylor-Joy was interesting but these stories have just been done to death.
I want a moratorium on Austen adaptations because I'd love to see what someone does with one of these classic stories when they're coming at it with fresh eyes and not just grabbing stuff from the other thirty adaptations done in the last couple of decades...
What can I say. I love those films. I wasn't asking for 10 new adaptations. I am saying THE EXISTING FILMS bring me comfort during this difficult time.
Have you seen the Anya Taylor-Joy Emma.? It's interesting and she manages to do the unexpected in every thing she does. The critics savaged Dakota Johnson's Persuasion but there were some neat elements to it.
I love great story telling and I love chances taken with sacred material — even if they fail, the ideas behind them are almost always interesting...
Yes, I love the new adaptation of Emma. I felt people were too negative about the Netflix version of Persuasion although I enjoyed the 1995 version more. Incidentally, Amanda Root was on an episode I just watched of Foyle's War. It all comes full circle.
I recently saw David Simon announce that the music rights have been worked out for Homicide: Life on the Streets, so it could be streaming soon, FINALLY. I will rewatch the hell out of that one.
I have never seen it! Hope it appears soon.
Homicide is one of the all time greats of broadcast TV for sure. Was really on the edge of pushing change that eventually TV to be a LOT better.
I know it went only two seasons, but I am looking forward to watching Rome again.
Loved Rome. Titus Pullo was everyman!
oh that's a really good suggestion! But will you be depressed when you get to the end of S2 and know that it ended too soon?
Yes. Again.
The thing about watching (the original) Utopia via Amazon is that significant bits are apparently missing. I recommend the first season blu ray if you can still obtain it.
Oh, damn. Now I need the full version. Why did they cut if there's no commercials? Strange.
Sorry I missed your reply, Tim.
It’s my understanding that all of the cut content implied violence against kids.
Thanks for the tip
Although it clocks in at a mere two seasons, a big thumbs up for Fleabag. Some of the funniest, yet most disturbing television available. Another clear winner would be The Thick of It; the perfect vehicle to mirror the current state of political insanity now on display in the UK and here.
Fleabag will definitely appear in my comedy list....
I hope Dexter also appears on that list...
...in my opinion, one of the greatest black comedies ever on television.
But then, there might be something wrong with me.
Dexter on point is hilarious.
I like my comedy black as my soul...
I'll take a double
Fleabag is epically great.
Oh. Hell. Yes.
Yes, but do you feel fine?
...and you forgot Deadwood.
A later list. I'm still pissed they stopped at 3 because Milch wanted to make the surfer show. Oh well.
Yeah and John from Cincinnati was no cocksucking Deadwood...
In fact, John from Cincinnati "sucked cock by choice."
I don't know Butchie instead.
I have watched nearly everything on your lists (as a looooong time reader/fan, how could I have not?) except Utopia and Black Mirror. My life has been so depressing (and like Tim's involved a ridiculous amount of moving crap around) so I have been desperately trying to find a suitable distraction and have been thinking of re-watching Patriot lately because, well, "art saves lives." Things are getting a bit better personally (although yeah, the end of democracy is vastly disturbing) but on my way to Patriot, I happened upon Mindhunter which I really enjoyed. I was wowed by the direction and cinematography and then realized, duh, DAVID FINCHER. Also the acting and writing are superb too. Only two seasons though. Actually I've tried to get into Peaky Blinders twice and for the life of me can't figure out why I can't. Maybe third time's the charm? I am definitely up for a long re-watch of one or more of the Top Five. Maybe Mad Men too, it so resonated with me--I worked for a big ad agency in the late sixties, I got pregnant but unlike Peggy, got married (unhappily), and ruined my career trajectory. Damn, hindsight can be quite painful. Keep those suggestions coming, Tim!
There's a bleakness here but I feel you. I'm glad you found some visual comfort during the hard times. Patriot is so life affirmingly good. Like, oh, right, forgot -- people CAN be geniuses. That's a good place to land.
As for Peaky Blinders, Suzanne, I think maybe -- just guessing based on your tastes -- you felt like I did originally which was, OK, this is really good, but it's not like TOP TIER. And things can be over the top etc., but what I found is that it just grows and grows. That criminal world is intriguing. I felt like Cillian Murphy as Tommy Shelby was a lot like Jon Hamm's Don Draper. So that was a great connective tissue. I just considered Peaky Blinders as super addictive, very, very good television that maybe doesn't get into that prestige arena. But boy can they tell a story on that show.
Love Mindhunter. Should have been more.
And British Utopia is something I go back to personally to motivate me to do my own work.
Hope you are feeling better soon. Keep the lighthouse in sight, as we say.
Re: Patriot, it's not so much the life affirming aspects of it for me (but it's also true that it is ultimately), but the sublime execution of it which I found thrilling and inspiring. As we've all discussed before, every aspect of it, writing, directing, acting, casting, cinematography, editing, etc., was as good as it gets. Great works of art, which I consider Patriot to be, uplift me like nothing else. It is one of my favorite shows ever. . . I will definitely give Peaky Binders another try, I was so impressed with Cillian Murphy in Oppenheimer, he's a very compelling actor. . . I can't wait to get into British Utopia, based on your and Mark's recommendation. . . I am feeling better, thanks. Life is settling down a bit and while there are challenges ahead, I feel like my head is at least above water now. I'm looking forward to being done with moving stuff around in a few weeks! I know you can relate :)
All too well.
Loved Mindhunter too!
YES! Mindhunter was brilliant. It's too bad Fincher decided he wanted to do other stuff and Netflix got tired of paying to make it...
Loved Anna Torv's character, especially after associating her so strongly with Fringe for so many years (another great escapist show).
I thought that may be why there were only two seasons. I would have loved more!
Utopia (UK Version) is da dope azz shiz.
I will definitely check it out, I've noticed we are simpatico in our particular appreciation of great tv.
Yes we are, we seem to be in violent agreement on a lot of this stuff!