TV Shows you gotta watch Part I

I am not a big fan of shows like CSI, LAW & ORDER, NCIS, and the likes. I just don't find the reward I would like as much as with other shows. If I am going to invest an hour of my time  (because I don't invest in 30 minute shows, regardless of the content) I want to benefit from that investment.

It's quite the opposite for other people who prefer non-serialized drama. But I don't watch TV for the sake of watching TV (aside from sundays because sundays were created for tv surfing). Through the years I have followed only a handful of shows from start to finish and wanted to share them with y'all. So here goes the list of TV shows you gotta watch!


BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER

Creator: Joss Whedon, master genius

Starring: Sarah Michelle Gellar, Alysson Hannigan, Nicholas Brendon, James Marsters, Anthony Steward Head, and Charisma Carpenter (seasons 1-3)

Supporting Cast: Amber Benson, Seth Green, Eliza Dushku, David Boreanaz, Emma Caulfield, Kristine Sutherland, Juliet Landau, Harry Groener, Marc Blucas, D.B. Woodside, and Clare Kramer as Glory.

Reasons I love to watch: So Buffy the Vampire Slayer the movie was a really big hit in my house when it first came out and we rented it regularly. When it was announced that the movie would be turned into a TV show, we were ecstatic. Not my parents though as weren't really allowed to watch that much TV especially not at that time with that content. But eventually they subsided and were allowed to follow the series. My mom even started watching it for a while. What really got me from the beginning was, beside SMG, the writing. If you want true wit and wisdom, watch this show. It is funny as hell and so relatable. The writers did not shy from the issues that truly impacted their viewers: teens. A lot of critics only stopped at the surface and judged the extreme violence of the show. There was so much more to it then just that. They explored everything from bullying, divorce, homosexuality, rape, murder, and everything in between. No stone was left unturned and the casting is PERFECT!

Look out for: Kristine Sutherland as Joyce Summers and Emma Caulfield as the hysterical Anya. Also, the show has created two excellent episodes that were rewarded with Emmy's: the terrifying "Hush" where Sunnydale is plunged into silence and attacked by frigging creepy bald thingys. Ugh. And the brilliant extended musical episode "Once more with Feeling". I could watch those two on REPEAT. Suffice to say that many of the cast members have become international stars.

LOST

Creator: J.J Abrams, Jeffrey Lieber, and Damon Lindelof.

Starring: Matthew Fox, Evangeline Lily, Jorge Garcia, Josh Holloway, Terry O'Quinn, Naveen Andrews, Yunjin Kim, Daniel Dae Kim, Henry Ian Cusack, and Dominic Monaghan

Supporting Cast: Ian Somerhalder, Maggie Grace, Harold Perrineau, Malcom David Kelley, Emilie de Ravin, Michelle Rodriguez, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, Cynthia Watros, Elizabeth Mitchell, Michael Emerson, Nestor Carbonell, Mira Furlan, Jeff Fahey, Ken Leung, Rebecca Mader, Zuleikha Robinson, Tania Raymonde, L. Scott Caldwell, Sam Anderson, Alan Dale, Sonya Walger, John Terry, and Mark Pellegrino as Jacob.

Reasons I love to watch: Did you read the names off the casting list? The acting in this series is SUPERB. Evangeline Lily can really say she made Canada proud with the talent chops she was blessed with. If you don't believe me, watch episode 3X06 "I Do". When Kate starts crying and Jack says :" Kate, god damn it, run!" makes my skin crawl and the hair on my arms rise. It is just THAT brilliant. The twists and turns that happen along the way are incredibly satisfying and the fun really is connecting the dots between events and characters and sometimes both. Although the ending is slightly dissapointing from a storyline perspective, the wrapping up of the characters if flawless. If you truly want to know why awards shows exist, watch the talent that these actors display episode after episode.

Look out for: The love story between Desmond (Cusack) and Penny (Walger). The conflict between Ben (Emerson) and Widmore (Dale). The love square between Jack, Kate, Sawyer, and Juliet (Fox, Lily, Holloway, and Mitchell respectivaly). Every scene including Hurley (Garcia). Too much to list, this show is about capturing moments, and relishing the present.

THE 4400

Creator: René Ecchevaria and Scott Peters

Starring: Joel Gretsch, Jacqueline Mckenzie, Mahershalalhashbaz Ali, Patrick Flueger, Conchita Campbell, Chad Faust, and Laura Allen.

Supporting Cast: Kaj-Erik Eriksen, Brooke Nevin, Peter Coyote, Samantha Ferris, Karina Lombard, Megalyn Echikunwoke, Jenni Baird, Summer Glau, and Billy Campbell as Jordan Collier

Reasons I love to watch: Well what really got me attracted to this show was the pricing. They were selling the entire seires for 60.00$. I had to buy it. I had also read somewhere that Summer Glau (Firefly, Serenity, Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, The Cape) had a recurring role which can never be bad as she turns every character into solid gold. Seriously. The original mini-series (now being called season 1) is to die for. Everything about it is well-paced until the shocking finale where we find out where the 4400 were taken to and who are the "abducters". The cast was relatively unknown to me besides Gretsch, Glau and Campbell (Billy) so it was fun to watch these characters grow on screen without associating them with another character as I did with Gretsch who plays Father Landry in "V".

Look out for: Joel Gretsch as NTAC agent Tom Baldwin. He is being way underused in this season of "V" and it is refreshing to see him in the spotlight in The 4400. Also check out the episode "Tiny Machines". You won't wonder where Stephenie Meyers gets her ideas from anymore.

NOS ÉTÉS (summers of our lives)

Creator: Anne Boyer, Michel d'Astous

Which is stronger: History or the
human heart?

Starring: Jean-François Pichette, Julie LeBreton, Karyne Lemieux, Sébastien Huberdeau, Pierre-Luc Brillant, Marc-André Grondin, Sarah-Jeanne Labrosse, Marie-Chantal Perron, Fanny Malette, Isabelle Cyr, Mario Jean, and Jessica Malka

Supporting Cast: Noémie Yelle, Isabelle Blais, David Lahaye, Francis Ducharme, Maude Laurendeau, and David Boutin

Reasons I love to watch: This show is featured on Illico sur Demande (the Quebec equivalent to Rogers on Demand) and I am a big fan of serialized dramas stretched over seasons. I like investment as stated before. And liking Quebec series more then I love food, I decided to give this show a shot. Wow. I love period pieces and this one stretches over three generations of two families. One poor, one rich. Their lives and their legacies are depicted through the ages as the families learn to love, grieve, and cherish the special moments spent at the Desrochers House. The acting is superior to none and the cast boasts the likes of veteran artists such as Pichette, Perron, and Louise Portal as Laure-Lou Meunier. This show is available in english and I highly recommend it. A true raw depiction of families at war. Just disregard the poor choice of title they chose. Summers of our Lives...ugh.

Look out for: Fanny Mallette as Nora Manning and Maude Laurendeau as her daughter, Anaïs Manning. Both give stellar performances as a mother and daughter who simply cannot stand each other.

Other notable series that are worth watching and that I shall discuss in another related post:

HEROES

AVEUX

DEAD LIKE ME

LANCE & COMPTE

FIREFLY

Candles are out,

Eleven's Ink