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Reintroducing top 5 dramatic series

This is Us and Million Little Pieces both drive me nuts but are favorites of Ms. Tikk. The dialogue is written from the POV of how many women wish men would talk but simply don't. Which is fine, I suppose, because there's also decades of TV programming (and films) written by men presuming how women thought and talked and never really did. But that doesn't mean I have to enjoy cloying, manipulative (the musical cues are shameless here) plot arcs about personal discovery, and especially when there's hockey on instead.

Of late, I'll recommend Tokyo Vice on HBO. It's only three episodes in but you get the sense that you're in very good hands. Michael Mann directed the premiere and they've followed his tonal cues. It's a noir-ish take on the Japanese crime underworld, with Ansel Elgort playing a self-taught Japanese-speaking crime reporter and Ken Watanabe as a police captain(?) who takes Elgort's character under his wing. It's extremely well crafted and shot.
I'd love to talk to you about your pick for #1 too--I've greatly enjoyed Succession, and it does sometimes surprisingly move me--but I find it so terribly difficult to relate to any of the characters, it'd be tough for me to put it in my top 5. But maybe I'm not viewing it right. For a show to make my top 5, it has to either have a long list of deeply beloved and complicated, but effortlessly believable, characters (Wire, less-so GoT), be groundbreaking in how it tells or what it says (Twin Peaks), or show real character arcs, where experiences you see in the show literally change the characters (Breaking Bad, Sopranos). I thnk your criticism of Sopranos is pretty valid though--I gave it a 2nd time watch, and it was much less-than-remembered, though still enjoyable. For reference, I've watched Twin Peaks (season 1), Breaking Bad, and the Wire at least 3 times all the way through without any similar sense.
 
I don't understand how a top 5 list could exclude "Roots" (especially if a limited one time series like "Station 11" is included) unless we're trying to pick longer running multi-season series that we think the OP hasn't seen.
 
Ah yes. How could we forget Insatiable?
Why not suggest Forged in Fire. The only bullets are shot at blades to test them. My wife warmed up to the series very quickly and I have to record back episodes so she hasn't missed anything. She also likes Bosch, Reacher and the Untouchables. I hardly ever get stuck with a chick flick. Good luck. Still working on the concept that wine is a form of fruit salad.
 
Why not suggest Forged in Fire. The only bullets are shot at blades to test them. My wife warmed up to the series very quickly and I have to record back episodes so she hasn't missed anything. She also likes Bosch, Reacher and the Untouchables. I hardly ever get stuck with a chick flick. Good luck. Still working on the concept that wine is a form of fruit salad.
I liked Reacher quite a bit. The movie was horrible and Tom Cruise was the absolute worst choice to play Jack Reacher but the new series got it right. The actor in the new series is really good and matches up with what the books describe almost perfectly. I look forward to more seasons.
 
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I'd love to talk to you about your pick for #1 too--I've greatly enjoyed Succession, and it does sometimes surprisingly move me--but I find it so terribly difficult to relate to any of the characters, it'd be tough for me to put it in my top 5. But maybe I'm not viewing it right. For a show to make my top 5, it has to either have a long list of deeply beloved and complicated, but effortlessly believable, characters (Wire, less-so GoT), be groundbreaking in how it tells or what it says (Twin Peaks), or show real character arcs, where experiences you see in the show literally change the characters (Breaking Bad, Sopranos). I thnk your criticism of Sopranos is pretty valid though--I gave it a 2nd time watch, and it was much less-than-remembered, though still enjoyable. For reference, I've watched Twin Peaks (season 1), Breaking Bad, and the Wire at least 3 times all the way through without any similar sense.

Anti-Wealth porn. Think of it as nothing more than that. This is very real take (albeit chaotic and over-dramatic) on what it means to be a part of the 1%. It's based off the Murdoch family.

The characters are real as they are to what it means to be in the 1% - quotes like - "does anyone know the price of milk" - let you know just how disjointed these characters from what the 99% have to deal with.

Plus Keiran Culkan gets to say some of the most horrible and funny shit ever uttered on television.
 
Anti-Wealth porn. Think of it as nothing more than that. This is very real take (albeit chaotic and over-dramatic) on what it means to be a part of the 1%. It's based off the Murdoch family.

The characters are real as they are to what it means to be in the 1% - quotes like - "does anyone know the price of milk" - let you know just how disjointed these characters from what the 99% have to deal with.

Plus Keiran Culkan gets to say some of the most horrible and funny shit ever uttered on television.
That's largely how I view it--it's a fantastic "guilty pleasure" type show, and is very witty (and cringey), but it doesn't make my top 5, but I saw that Tikk had it as his #1, and I usually agree w/ that guy, so I was asking.
 
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I liked Reacher quite a bit. The movie was horrible and Tom Cruise was the absolute worst choice to play Jack Reacher but the new series got it right. The actor in the new series is really good and matches up with what the books describe almost perfectly. I look forward to more seasons.
Lee Child, who wrote the novel series, is an Executive Producer on the show and was instrumental in choosing Alan Ritchson to play the lead. Child also has a cameo in the diner on the final episode.
 
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I'd love to talk to you about your pick for #1 too--I've greatly enjoyed Succession, and it does sometimes surprisingly move me--but I find it so terribly difficult to relate to any of the characters, it'd be tough for me to put it in my top 5. But maybe I'm not viewing it right. For a show to make my top 5, it has to either have a long list of deeply beloved and complicated, but effortlessly believable, characters (Wire, less-so GoT), be groundbreaking in how it tells or what it says (Twin Peaks), or show real character arcs, where experiences you see in the show literally change the characters (Breaking Bad, Sopranos). I thnk your criticism of Sopranos is pretty valid though--I gave it a 2nd time watch, and it was much less-than-remembered, though still enjoyable. For reference, I've watched Twin Peaks (season 1), Breaking Bad, and the Wire at least 3 times all the way through without any similar sense.
I get that Succession is inaccessible and there's no one to root for. That latter point was why I never clicked with Seinfeld. I could recognize that it was cleverly written but just didn't empathize with anyone on the show. I could say the same about Succession, but I don't feel like I need to empathize with any of the characters because it's describing a world I don't want to be anywhere near anyway.

But it's brilliantly written and as observationally accurate into the world it's depicting as any show I've seen. There are finance podcasts dedicated to discussing the many inside-baseball issues it raises. Billions, which I also see mentioned here, attempts to depict a similar world but doesn't have a fraction of the insight Succession has. Billions depicts how Hollywood imagines deals get made at that tier, Succession depicts how they are made, with unmatched verisimilitude. Jesse Armstrong first came onto my radar with In the Loop, which has similarly sharp dialogue. But Succession is more than clever cruelty, its plot arcs echo Shakespeare in really smart ways. But never predictably so, either. The show's timeline seems to crawl (countless shows build up to a single shareholders meeting) and the plot turns on events that no other show would imagine trying, but never the tried and true tropes and always true to its world.
 
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Anti-Wealth porn. Think of it as nothing more than that. This is very real take (albeit chaotic and over-dramatic) on what it means to be a part of the 1%. It's based off the Murdoch family.

The characters are real as they are to what it means to be in the 1% - quotes like - "does anyone know the price of milk" - let you know just how disjointed these characters from what the 99% have to deal with.

Plus Keiran Culkan gets to say some of the most horrible and funny shit ever uttered on television.
I think that's a fairly glib characterization, and while they definitely borrow from the Murdoch family, they quite overtly reference other dynastic media families, like the Redstones, Hearsts, Mercers, etc.
 
I get that Succession is inaccessible and there's no one to root for. That latter point was why I never clicked with Seinfeld. I could recognize that it was cleverly written but just didn't empathize with anyone on the show. I could say the same about Succession, but I don't feel like I need to empathize with any of the characters because it's describing a world I don't want to be anywhere near anyway.

But it's brilliantly written and as observationally accurate into the world it's depicting as any show I've seen. There are finance podcasts dedicated to discussing the many inside-baseball issues it raises. Billions, which I also see mentioned here, attempts to depict a similar world but doesn't have a fraction of the insight Succession has. Billions depicts how Hollywood imagines deals get made at that tier, Succession depicts how they are made, with unmatched verisimilitude. Jesse Armstrong first came onto my radar with In the Loop, which has similarly sharp dialogue. But Succession is more than clever cruelty, its plot arcs echo Shakespeare in really smart ways. But never predictably so, either. The show's timeline seems to crawl (countless shows build up to a single shareholders meeting) and the plot turns on events that no other show would imagine trying, but never the tried and true tropes and always true to its world.
convinced me to finally give Succession a shot
 
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I get that Succession is inaccessible and there's no one to root for. That latter point was why I never clicked with Seinfeld. I could recognize that it was cleverly written but just didn't empathize with anyone on the show. I could say the same about Succession, but I don't feel like I need to empathize with any of the characters because it's describing a world I don't want to be anywhere near anyway.

But it's brilliantly written and as observationally accurate into the world it's depicting as any show I've seen. There are finance podcasts dedicated to discussing the many inside-baseball issues it raises. Billions, which I also see mentioned here, attempts to depict a similar world but doesn't have a fraction of the insight Succession has. Billions depicts how Hollywood imagines deals get made at that tier, Succession depicts how they are made, with unmatched verisimilitude. Jesse Armstrong first came onto my radar with In the Loop, which has similarly sharp dialogue. But Succession is more than clever cruelty, its plot arcs echo Shakespeare in really smart ways. But never predictably so, either. The show's timeline seems to crawl (countless shows build up to a single shareholders meeting) and the plot turns on events that no other show would imagine trying, but never the tried and true tropes and always true to its world.

Can you direct me to these podcasts?
 
I pushed Bosch and have introduced it to several friends. I read everything Michael Connelly writes. Try some of his non-Bosch books such as The Poet. Great serial killers.
Any word on when the sequel will be coming out? And will it be on Prime or a different network/service?

We're big fans of Bosch
 
The obvious:
Breaking Bad
Sopranos
The Wire

The not so obvious:
Halt and Catch Fire- because it has the greatest single episode of a drama series ever
Fargo- Because it has the greatest season of a drama series ever (season 2)
 
Does anyone have good suggestions that aren’t shoot ‘em up series? I need something to watch with my wife. I can’t take any more Hallmark Christmas in July, Christmas in the fall, Christmas in the spring, Christmas in New England, etc.. or prairie lady making dishes a kindergartner could make.
Vikings. No guns in that one. My wife loves that show.
 
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Sopranos Season 5
Sopranos Season 2
Sopranos Season 6B
sopranos Season 1
Sopranos Season 4

78e10aa57dfe8fd46ff43041094b64fb.gif
 
This is a great list. I didn't watch Vikings and would slide that outside my top 10 to make room for Mare of Eastown. Limited run, I realize, but really, really good. I would add Homeland and The Americans to just outside my top 10,
Finally catching Mare of Easttown. Evan Peters (young detective brought in on the Erin McMenamin case) nails the Delco accent. As does Siobhan’s initial girlfriend. I’m up to Ep5 - love the name drops (e.g. Riddle (Hospital), Sun Valley, Ridley, Pennell Road, etc). My family has been in that local area for 300+ years.
 
Finally catching Mare of Easttown. Evan Peters (young detective brought in on the Erin McMenamin case) nails the Delco accent. As does Siobhan’s initial girlfriend. I’m up to Ep5 - love the name drops (e.g. Riddle (Hospital), Sun Valley, Ridley, Pennell Road, etc). My family has been in that local area for 300+ years.
How far back do you go? What's your PA story?
 
The obvious:
Breaking Bad
Sopranos
The Wire

The not so obvious:
Halt and Catch Fire- because it has the greatest single episode of a drama series ever
Fargo- Because it has the greatest season of a drama series ever (season 2)
Which halt and catch fire episode?
 
How far back do you go? What's your PA story?
Related to some of the first Swedish settlers, as well as English and Irish later. Most landed near Wilmington and then settled near there in both DE and SE PA - Aston area. I think it goes back to 1660s or so - all the geneaological stuff is with my sister and I haven’t seen it in decades.

If you know Aston, you know Pennell Road and Dutton Mill road. There have been Pennells and Duttons in my family forever. My family almost gave me Dutton as a first name
 
Finally catching Mare of Easttown. Evan Peters (young detective brought in on the Erin McMenamin case) nails the Delco accent. As does Siobhan’s initial girlfriend. I’m up to Ep5 - love the name drops (e.g. Riddle (Hospital), Sun Valley, Ridley, Pennell Road, etc). My family has been in that local area for 300+ years.

My wife and I loved that. Really good show.

My grandparents lived in Glen Riddle; my grandpa died in Riddle Hospital. His family had been in Pottsville/Schuykill for 250-300 years, and my grandma's family had been in Maine, New Hampshire and Quebec since the early 1600s.

I often wonder if I'm related to some of you guys.
 
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My wife and I loved that. Really good show.

My grandparents lived in Glen Riddle; my grandpa died in Riddle Hospital. His family had been in Pottsville/Schuykill for 250-300 years, and my grandma's family had been in Maine, New Hampshire and Quebec since the early 1600s.

I often wonder if I'm related to some of you guys.
Wouldn’t doubt it. I have extended family in Mt Carmel as well, so not too far from your PA stronghold.

 
If any of you guys do the Ancestry dot com thing, and have kin from the Pottsville/Schuykill region, let me know if you have family members with the last names Wentz, Hoffman, Steidle or Skeen.
 
Related to some of the first Swedish settlers, as well as English and Irish later. Most landed near Wilmington and then settled near there in both DE and SE PA - Aston area. I think it goes back to 1660s or so - all the geneaological stuff is with my sister and I haven’t seen it in decades.

If you know Aston, you know Pennell Road and Dutton Mill road. There have been Pennells and Duttons in my family forever. My family almost gave me Dutton as a first name
I must say, I am more partial to Dutton then Chickenman.
 
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