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Winds of Winter

gunnarthor

By gunnarthor
in The Sports Bar

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TheLeviathan All-Star

TheLeviathan

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I have not had the privilege of watching The Wire yet, but it's on my list to get to.  For me the top five shows I've seen would be:

 

1) GOT 

2) Breaking Bad

3) Better Call Saul

4) Deadwood

5) The Shield

 

If I could splice shows apart I'd have The Simpsons for their first 10 years, Fargo's first two seasons, Parks and Rec, early 24, and X-files in the mix.  I like The Expanse but it never sank it's claws into me.  It's solid, but it's nowhere near any of these shows.

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Mr. Brooks Cedar Rapids Kernels

Mr. Brooks

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I have not had the privilege of watching The Wire yet, but it's on my list to get to. For me the top five shows I've seen would be:

 

1) GOT

2) Breaking Bad

3) Better Call Saul

4) Deadwood

5) The Shield

 

If I could splice shows apart I'd have The Simpsons for their first 10 years, Fargo's first two seasons, Parks and Rec, early 24, and X-files in the mix. I like The Expanse but it never sank it's claws into me. It's solid, but it's nowhere near any of these shows.

Seeing that you have The Shield in your top 5, I can practically guarantee that you'll love The Wire.

The Wire has everything that makes The Shield great, except on steroids. Super gritty, intense, real, nothing sugar coated.

It doesn't have a single stand out actor like Michael Chiklis, but it makes up for it with an excellent ensemble cast.

Most of it is based on real street life, as it was written/show run by a long time Baltimore crime beat reporter.

Probably what makes it great though, and what separates it from The Shield is that it doesn't take sides. It portrays the police POV and the criminal POV equally neutrally, portraying neither as "good" or "bad".

 

EDIT: Michael Kenneth Williams as Omar might be that one stand out character. He steals every scene he's in.

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Brock Beauchamp GOAT

Brock Beauchamp

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I'll have to check out Battlestar Galactica, I've never seen it.

Later on, Battlestar gets a bit lost in the weeds but when it’s going well, it’s absolutely stellar.

 

And it has what is maybe the finest first episode of a TV show in history (the first episode of the ongoing series, not the mini-series).

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Brock Beauchamp GOAT

Brock Beauchamp

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Seeing that you have The Shield in your top 5, I can practically guarantee that you'll love The Wire.

The Wire has everything that makes The Shield great, except on steroids. Super gritty, intense, real, nothing sugar coated.

It doesn't have a single stand out actor like Michael Chiklis, but it makes up for it with an excellent ensemble cast.

Most of it is based on real street life, as it was written/show run by a long time Baltimore crime beat reporter.

Probably what makes it great though, and what separates it from The Shield is that it doesn't take sides. It portrays the police POV and the criminal POV equally neutrally, portraying neither as "good" or "bad".

 

EDIT: Michael Kenneth Williams as Omar might be that one stand out character. He steals every scene he's in.

Agreed. Watch the first five minutes of The Wire and you won’t stop until you’re done. Such a great intro.
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PseudoSABR Cedar Rapids Kernels

PseudoSABR

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Later on, Battlestar gets a bit lost in the weeds but when it’s going well, it’s absolutely stellar.

And it has what is maybe the finest first episode of a TV show in history (the first episode of the ongoing series, not the mini-series).

That episode is the definition of a ticking clock.

 

I don't have any problem with where the show ended up, but they sure dragged it on in convoluted ways, and lost part of the elegance of the ending.  I did like some of the character relationships during that season, though.   

 

They should have ended it with another miniseries, or limited it to three seasons.

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Brock Beauchamp GOAT

Brock Beauchamp

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I don't have any problem with where the show ended up, but the sure dragged it on in convoluted ways, and lost part of the elegance of the ending.  I did like some of the character relationships during that season, though.   

 

They should have ended it with another miniseries, or limited it to three seasons.

Agreed. Unlike many others, I enjoyed the ending but season three was a slog.

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gunnarthor All-Star

gunnarthor

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Started rewatching from episode 1 a couple weeks ago. Four episodes into season 3 so far (I can't do the whole wait a week between episodes bit, so trying to time it to catch up a day or two before the finale).
After nearly two years of not watching it, I had forgotten just how good it is. And, there are so many characters and storylines and call backs, that it is just as interesting during an encore viewing.
I usually can't decide between GOT and Breaking Bad for my top spot all time, but upon a refresher, I think it's definitely GOT.

1) GOT
2) Breaking Bad
3) The Americans
4) Sopranos
5) The Wire
6) The Shield
7) Oz
8) Fargo
9) Columbo
10) Shameless
11) Peaky Blinders
12) Deadwood

Notes:

Doesn't include sitcoms, or shows I consider miniseries, like Band of Brothers and Sherlock.

Dexter just missed, it ran too long, would have been high on the list through 4 seasons.

Better Call Saul should probably be there somewhere, probably will be before it's done, such a great show.

Firefly, Freaks and Geeks, and Twin Peaks are excellent shows that would have been in there somewhere if not for idiot networks not realizing what they had.

True Detective just missed, season 2 was just too awful, it had to be punished.

Season 2 also hurts Fargo, not awful like True Detective, but would have been higher with just seasons 1 and 3.

Homeland seasons 1 and 2 were almost good enough to make up for the rest... almost.

Mr. Robot probably just missed. Really good, smart show. But, sometimes tries to be too smart, gets bogged down at times.

Westworld is the most overrated thing I've ever seen, wouldn't make it if I went to 100.

Black Mirror absolutely should be on there, not sure how I missed it, go ahead and slot it around 8-11 range somewhere.

Narcos probably just missed, maybe. Pre Pablo death it was great. The story really needed to end there, IMO.

House of Cards would have been there, if not for Spacey getting tossed and ruining any ending they had planned.

Rome and West Wing are two shows that could have made it with a little tighter writing and editing. Both were great shows, but sometimes I found myself checking my watch during slower episodes.

Let me know if I missed any.

Um, dude. You missed the greatest show of all-time. Chuck.

 

I generally don't like a lot of the shows you listed but agree on Westworld. And GOT and Americans are certainly great. ER's first, what 10 seasons?, were fantastic. It went on too long but is pretty much the best hospital drama ever. Dr. Who has been kicking around for 50 years. It's certainly not a top 10 show but Sports Night was a really strong show that didn't get enough rope but it's two seasons are certainly worth checking out, especially if you liked The West Wing. Lastly, Buffy, the Vampire Slayer deserve some honorable mention type.

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Brock Beauchamp GOAT

Brock Beauchamp

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Heavy hitting premiere. I thought they might blow this season, so far away from source material. (Though there was a bit of wishfulment.)

Honestly, the further they've moved from the source material, the more I've enjoyed the show.

 

Martin can't resist hundreds of pages of masturbation. The show is much tighter and fulfilling.

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PseudoSABR Cedar Rapids Kernels

PseudoSABR

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Honestly, the further they've moved from the source material, the more I've enjoyed the show.

 

Martin can't resist hundreds of pages of masturbation. The show is much tighter and fulfilling.

I don't disagree. It's just a lot to entrust to the producers/writers (non-source). That there was source material assuaged, if foolishly, much of my worries about convolution/direction. But given the book-readers here and elsewhere, maybe, the show is better in the hands of the two HBO guys; they seem smart (if sentimental); I watch inside the episode too)

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Vanimal46 MVP

Vanimal46

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Maybe I'm missing something. It was a fine filler episode that they needed to set up for later. Nothing really mind blowing IMO.

 

The scene with Jon and Dany riding dragons and him showing her his favorite hunting spot was kind of cheesy to me. I get why they showed it, so we can see their relationship grow.

 

It's going to be interesting to see how Jon processes who he really is in the next episode.

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Mike Sixel Cooperstown

Mike Sixel

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Maybe I'm missing something. It was a fine filler episode that they needed to set up for later. Nothing really mind blowing IMO.

The scene with Jon and Dany riding dragons and him showing her his favorite hunting spot was kind of cheesy to me. I get why they showed it, so we can see their relationship grow.

It's going to be interesting to see how Jon processes who he really is in the next episode.

 

that was my least favorite scene.....the rest of the scenes were much more about character, which is what this show is best at. IMO.

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gunnarthor All-Star

gunnarthor

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Maybe I'm missing something. It was a fine filler episode that they needed to set up for later. Nothing really mind blowing IMO.

The scene with Jon and Dany riding dragons and him showing her his favorite hunting spot was kind of cheesy to me. I get why they showed it, so we can see their relationship grow.

It's going to be interesting to see how Jon processes who he really is in the next episode.

Agreed, this was a filler episode. Hoping tonight's show is much better.

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Vanimal46 MVP

Vanimal46

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Is a great show when it concentrates on character. Like last night.

 

I anticipate much death next week.

Winterfell is going to get destroyed next week. But miraculously(!) Bran, Jon, and Dany will escape to King's Landing when it looks like all hope is lost. That's my guess at least.

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