Hello everyone...

Just curious to know what TV shows people are currently watching or what their old time favorite shows might be and if your collecting influences your watching or vice versa?

I have a short list at the moment, in no particular order...

Psych

The Walking Dead

Buffy the Vampire Slayer

The Honeymooners

Most shows on the History Channel

I would throw in ESPN and HGTV when nothing else is on TV and I need some noise...

No order:

Big Bang Theory, new and reruns

Seinfeld reruns

Game of Thrones

Lucifer

Major Crimes

Old game shows on Buzzr TV channel

Haven't been watching much on TV, prefer DVDs when I have the time.

Currently watching:
The Goldbergs
The Big Bang Theory

Always will watch:
Scrubs
Gilmore Girls (Not the horrible 4 episode Netflix revival -that mess is best forgotten)
Cheers
Star Trek Deep Space Nine then the other series
Downton Abbey

quote:

Originally posted by MarcG:
Hello everyone...

Just curious to know what TV shows people are currently watching or what their old time favorite shows might be and if your collecting influences your watching or vice versa?

I have a short list at the moment, in no particular order...

Psych

The Walking Dead

Buffy the Vampire Slayer

The Honeymooners

Most shows on the History Channel

I would throw in ESPN and HGTV when nothing else is on TV and I need some noise...

I forgot to add to my list...

Death in Paradise

quote:

Originally posted by MarcG:

I forgot to add to my list...

Death in Paradise

That's a fun show, and if you like that one, might I suggest Brokenwood Mysteries and Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries.

I didn't think to put them and Death in Paradise down because I can't get those shows on TV. I only found them on DVD.

quote:

Originally posted by Raven:

quote:

Originally posted by MarcG:

I forgot to add to my list...

Death in Paradise

That's a fun show, and if you like that one, might I suggest Brokenwood Mysteries and Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries.

I didn't think to put them and Death in Paradise down because I can't get those shows on TV. I only found them on DVD.

I caught the show on TV awhile back and I was hooked... it is a really good show.

I'm currently into Sherlock, Outlander, Orphan Black, Poldark, Peaky Blinders, and The Walking Dead.

My all-time favorite are The Honeymooners, All in the Family, Twilight Zone, Star Trek (TOS), and Buffy.

Current shows that I watch are Suits, Archer, Game of Thrones, The Walking Dead, Orphan Black, Legion, and normally a one/two day binge watch of the Netflix Marvel stuff.

I haven't bought any of The Walking Dead, Orphan Black or Archer trading cards yet, or other collectables. I enjoy them but the cards haven't hooked my interest yet. I once had quite a large action figure collection but haven't really kept up with recent stuff so these shows haven't really affected that. I suppose when it comes to the Netflix Marvel shows, I am quite interested in the Marvel Legends figures announced for Daredevil, Elektra, Punisher and Jessica Jones and will likely buy most if I come across them once released.

I have bought autograph cards relating to Suits though - autographs of the Suits cast members that came from The Spirit and Fringe sets. Game of Thrones - I have a few t-shirts. The card sets are quite well done but I have bought about four boxes across all seasons and have been fairly selective with autographs. They have been great fun, and will pick up some of the S6 cards in all likelihood.

I was very obsessed with LOST back in the day and it's still the most dominant trading card collection that I have. I had some of the McFarlane figures too, and I went to London Film and Comic Con to meet Dominic Monaghan (Charlie) last year. I met Laurie Holden (Andrea) from The Walking Dead while there as well, so I suppose that's one thing for The Walking Dead.

Buffy and Angel were also major parts of my collecting habits when I was younger. I preferred Angel as a show, with its darker tone and (in my opinion) better supporting characters (I didn't particularly like Angel himself though!) I had A LOT of those action figures from MAC and DST, and have most in storage. I used to customise them as well. Angel was the first trading card property I collected, and is responsible for my collecting of autographs too. I have the inkworks autograph cards of seven out of the ten main cast members, but have largely sold the rest. I never really managed Buffy because so many of those sets had been and gone before I began collecting in the mid 00s, and the Rittenhouse stuff at the moment, while the news and pictures of sketches etc interest me, haven't convinced me to part with any money.

I have fond memories of Futurama, Dead Like Me, Scrubs and Eureka, and going further back I recall watching Farscape and Roswell (along with Buffy) on BBC2 back in the day. I have bought some of the Eureka cards, and have specifically picked up autograph cards from the Dead Like Me actors that have signed for Smallville and Stargate Atlantis.

Most current shows I watch now are on Netflix - Stranger Things, Daredevil and other Marvel shows, OITNB, House of Cards, The OA.

Non Netflix are Game of thrones, Walking Dead, Big Bang, Grey's Anatomy, No Offense, Happy Valley, Last Tango in Halifax, The 100, Orphan Black and Sherlock.

My favourite all time is The X-Files. Other favourites are Buffy, Battlestar Galactica, Friends, Farscape, ER, La Femme Nikita, Heroes and LOST.

I have card collections on X-Files, Buffy, BSG, Farscape, Heroes and LOST from my older finished shows. Current shows I have some cards on Orphan Black, Walking Dead and Game Of Thrones, but I'm not a big card collector anymore.

I do love collecting Funko Pops and it's great to see them make some of these older shows like LOST, that have just been released. Too bad Pops weren't around when some of these shows were current because there would have been so many different variations and characters made from these shows.

I hear friends/colleagues/people on forums going on about the latest shows (like Shelock, Stranger Things or whatever) and I just can't be bothered with it, I don't know how people find the time when there is so much choice. I prefer to watch a movie when I can.
That isn't to say I haven't binge watched in the past...

I see comedies in a different league so I'll separate them, there are lots I'll watch like Friends or Big Bang but I'm not going to mention everything. The favourites:
- Peep Show (painfully funny)
- The Simpsons (up to season 9 made this show a classic despite inevitably declining later years)
- Absolutely Fabulous

As for 'proper shows', the only recent things watched would be
- The Walking Dead
- The Fall
- Game of Thrones (only got up to season 2 and need to continue)
- CSI: Las Vegas (currently watching from the beginning with my Mrs)

My all time favourites:
- The X-Files (not sure a better male & female lead will ever be cast)
- Star Trek: TNG (I like all Trek, but the main cast here raise the bar)
- Battlestar Galactica Reboot

Top of the list though are:
- Columbo
I never tire of Peter Falk's performance, with his ad-libs and deliberate deviations from script to annoy his co-stars into a better performance. I love how old they are too, just a different and slower kind of television.

- The Sopranos
People don't talk about it anymore and people who haven't seen it hear what it's about and seem very reluctant to give it a go. People don't seem to realise we wouldn't have the comparatively mediocre, all the rage Game of Thrones, and the like, if it wasn't for The Sopranos paving the way all those years ago.
I've run through it about 4 times now, and it's very addictive. James Gandolfini's acting cannot be adequately described to do it justice, I struggle to think of anyone much better in anything, including films.


Of course they have influenced my trading card collection and I have some Simpsons autos, a Walking Dead relic card, bits and bobs for Trek (promos, a couple of base, sketches, convention autos on cards) but I have the most for The X-Files and went after pretty much everything bar the base cards and I still hunt for bits because it's all mostly dirt cheap these days. Didn't collect the Sopranos cards but did get the auto blanks all the main cast didn't sign when Inkworks went bust + a Gandolfini Pop Century auto.

My fave shows, not in order!

Law and Order Criminal Intent
Law and Order Special Victims Unit
CSI (all of them)
Impact Wrestling
True crime dramas

quote:

Originally posted by Raven:
...
I do know that I liked Department S when it broadcast briefly here. I have looked for it on DVD, but I never found one that could play in the US region. I'd love to get it since about all I remember well is Peter Wyngarde and his turned up sleeves...

'Department S' is a fantastic show, a real hidden gem of 1960s TV.

@Raven, it's not on DVD in the US, but the UK Blu-ray set states it's region free and it's available very cheaply through Amazon USA.

Thanks WOMBLE, a good thread to resurrect. Hopefully we will get some lesser known suggestions this time around.

I have seen that Amazon DVD on sale, but its Blu-Ray and I never upgraded from plain old DVD, so that's why I didn't pick it up before. I have also seen a show called "Jason King" up in DVD, but again its not available in my region. I gather this was a series that came after Department S, but I don't believe I ever caught it here so not sure if that one was any good. Some of the 60's and 70's British shows I like, but many I just never got into. For example I couldn't get into The Prisoner and the attraction of all Dr. Whos elude me.

Here's a list of what I think are some good, what are for me, foreign TV shows that I've been watching. The first batch have not made it out of Series 1 and I hope that at least the newer ones will continue . . .

Chasing Shadows
Loch Ness
Queens of Mystery
Vienna Blood
My Life Is Murder

Then there was Whitechapel, very weird but interesting over several seasons.

The Brokenwood Mysteries, good for a long while, but fell off for me in the latest series, and Shakespeare and Hathaway that really disappointed in Season 3, but was fairly amusing in 1 and 2.

Death in Paradise is a favorite of mine and I like the new Inspector, so I hope that comes back soon.

I've always been buying a lot of DVDs from the BBC, even more so this year. So you see my pattern, I'll leave you to it.

'Jason King' was a spin-off from 'Department S', it features Peter Wyngarde again as Jason King. Unfortunately it was very cheaply made and nowhere near the quality of 'Department S', Peter Wyngarde makes it watchable though.

@Raven, sounds like you enjoy the detectives. You'll probably like the following UK shows if they are on any channels you get:

Agatha Christie's Poirot (David Suchet)
Sherlock Holmes (Jeremy Brett)
Endevour (Shaun Evans)

I have been watching the original Twilight Zone over the last 18 months, it's a great show but it is tricky to recommend as it varies wildly from show to show.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: WOMBLE,

A few of the original TZ episodes were quite creepy and still effective today, but some of it was very preachy and then there were tearjerkers too. You get a mixed bag with this type of show.

Just the other day I caught an Alfred Hitchcock Hour episode on youtube that I remembered scared the heck out of me at a young age. It's called An Unlocked Window. If you have never seen it, it may remind you of more recent pictures. Watch the original 1965 hour version with Dana Wynter. It was remade as a Hitchcock 30 minute reboot in 1985 with Annette O'Toole, also on youtube now, but that one is nowhere as good.

It has lost some of its power because of its age and the fact that we have seen this same set up done afterwards, but that first episode was iconic in its day and you can still see why it was unsettling. Worth a look if you missed it and its free.

Lots of shows I can still just about remember watching from the 60s and 70s. For anyone who likes 'gritty' detective series, they should try and track down any episodes of 'Callan' starring Edward Woodward. This was a long, long time before he was the original 'Equaliser' but there were suggestions the two were linked.

Back at the tail end of the 60s, Peter Cushing put in an excellent performance as Sherlock Holmes with Nigel Stock as his trusty Doctor Watson. The dear old BBC always excelled at this sort of thing.

I was watching "Conan" tonight, flipping over as he was interviewing Melissa Villasenor, whom I consider one of the new kids on "SNL" though the upcoming season may be her fourth and she may be in her 30's. They were talking about "The Little Rascals," a series of short films from the 1930's about neighborhood kids. It reminded me of my early TV viewing around 1971. Shows like "The Flying Nun" and "I Dream of Jeannie" had just ended their runs but were starting to be re-run on weekday afternoons around the time I got out of school. Repackaged episodes of "The Little Rascals" were on but that was a little dated for me. I watched whatever my parents liked too so I caught a lot of TV in the 70's.

I still like "The Bob Newhart Show," a sitcom about a psychologist and his wife. As X noted about "Columbo," it was more of low-key show tailored to Bob Newhart's comedy style with a subtlety that might be lost on some of today's viewers. His 80's show, "Newhart," was good too and it ended with perhaps the greatest series finale of all time. I also like "The Odd Couple" from the 70's. That recent redo with Matthew Perry was actually not bad even if it didn't last long.

One of my all-time favorites is "The Rockford Files" with James Garner as an ex-convict who uses his con man skills as a private detective. All these shows were well-written and well-acted with a lot of talented guest stars that were well-cast.

These days, I tend to watch collectible-oriented shows like "American Pickers," "Collector's Call," and "Antiques Roadshow" (the British and American versions). There are hardly ever any cards shown but it's interesting to see all the different stuff. Other than that, I record a mix of science shows (things about animals like dinosaurs, weird fish, etc.) and stay up for late night talk (Colbert and Seth Myers mostly but also some Kimmel, Fallon, and Corden).

Like Raven, I catch "Seinfeld" re-runs sometimes and even stop at a few old game shows on the odd channels in the cable wilderness. I still like "$10,000 Pyramid" with Dick Clark from the 70's. You would have had to have lived during that time to recognize many of the celebrities. Some of them were on hit shows at the time while others were on short-lived ones but well-known from the stage along with a mix of comedians and singers. It's great to see them again.

And again like X, I really like that "Battlestar Galactica" remake from the 2000's. The first one was flashy and kind of goofy that ended with a retooling about the ship finding Earth. The new one was more realistic and complex and it had one of the coolest space battles ever that ended with a battlestar ramming into a Cylon base ship. I want to see that again.

I watch reruns of "30 Rock" on Peacock and wonder if "Spenser For Hire" from the 80's is on somewhere.

And yeah, X, "The Sopranos" was a great show. One of the writer/producers from "The Rockford Files," David Chase was behind that. Some people won't watch it because it's more adult-oriented with the language, violence, some nudity and other situations but it really was about well-developed characters in a more realistic, modern mob family setting.

Jess