This morning I received a missive from our very own genuinej, apologising for not commenting as much as he used to. The reason for his absence is that his vitriolic messages are normally fuelled by the consumption of vast amounts of alcohol, and he is not imbibing to his usual level because he is currently driving around America; no doubt complaining about their spelling at every opportunity.
But the nights are drawing in and getting colder in the land of the fear free, and both genuinej and the entire population of the USA will be retiring to the comfort of their living rooms. Genuinej will stay amused by getting pissed and nit-picking my grammar; Americans will need TV.
It’s the time of the year when American TV stations roll out their popular series, and I am poised with my torrents ready to steal download them. Brits used to say, with some justification, that our TV was the best in the world. Not any more. The majority of what passes as entertainment on American TV is probably utter shite; but they have also produced some world-class entertainment series (The Sopranos, The Wire, almost anything from HBO).
Here are some of the downloads that will be clogging up my bandwidth over the next few months:
Boardwalk Empire - Martin Scorcese, Steve Buscemi, a gangster tale set in the time of prohibition; what more do you need to know? A sumptuous twelve hour epic from HBO.
Nikita - A secret service trained assassin goes rogue. Yawn, heard that before. But the assassin gone rogue is Maggie Q and she keeps getting into trouble when she is conveniently partially undressed. Pure exploitation, and I love being exploited.
Dexter - Antz put me onto this and it is disturbingly brilliant. Dexter is a blood spatter analyst with the police. That’s his day job; and his hobby is “serial killer”. Yikes! Caught up the with first four series and now series five has started. It’s dark, occasionally funny, and very watchable.
House M.D. - Another Antz recommendation. House is a genius doctor with an appalling bedside manner and significant personal issues. Hugh Laurie is the star and damn he is good in the role. Series seven has just started and you could do worse things with a couple of days of your life than watching the first six series in a single sitting (toilet breaks allowed).
Desperate Housewives - Yes, I know…. But she who must be obeyed likes it and I must admit to enjoying it too. It’s witty and the latest episode featured Teri Hatcher in lingerie. I rest my case.
The Office - How dare those nasty Americans take Ricky Gervais’s masterpiece and produce their own version? Well, Gervais didn’t mind because he was involved in the production, and with Steve Carell in the lead role, it is every bit as cringe inducing as the original. Plus the supporting cast contains more memorable characters than the UK version. Season seven is underway, giggles will ensue.
*Breaking Bad *- Just discovered this and have thirty plus episodes to catch up on. A high-school chemistry teacher discovers he is dying of cancer and turns to manufacturing crystal meth to provide for his family. Doesn’t sound very cheery; but it’s a black, unpredictable comedy and a good example of how some American TV is prepared to push boundaries.
*The Event *- Government conspiracy thriller. Haven’t watched the first episode yet, but it sounds interesting.
American Idol - Just joking.
I think I have a couple of hours a week free after watching that lot, so any other suggestions welcome.
Comments 🔗
2010-09-29| Luy saysWow for someone abroad you’re well up to date on the new shows here in the US. I think you’ve just listed all the shows I watch with the exception of Nikita and Desperate Housewives :)
2010-09-29| Armandina Wyers saysI apologize for the possible off-topic, but i need to ask your guys assistance with something. I just got a brand new computer and have been have been having some troubles with it. For starters I bought the Intel quad core q6300 processor, 3GB or ram, 240GB of hard drive, and a 9800gtx graphics card. Now i’ve installed a few games and nothing seems to work and I keep receiving compatability faults. I tried Starcraft, counterstrike source and was going to try Crysis, but figured I’d rather not with the luck that im getting. Any help with this issue is much appreciated.
2010-09-30| Paul Garrigan saysThanks for the TV update; it is easy to feel out of the loop here in Thailand. I only recenlty found out about, ‘The Wire’. That new show ‘The Event’ sound good. I must see if it is showing on Google:-)
2010-09-30| Antz saysCheers Spike…. there is a couple here I’ve looked at but wasn’t sure whether to download.. err, I mean… wasn’t sure whether I had the time to watch…
2010-09-30| Spike saysLuy, Maggie Q, not a lot of clothing, you know it makes sense.
Armandina,
- Get a Mac.
- Change your name, Armandina is just stupid.
- Stop spamming.
Paul, EZTV is a good source.
Antz, The DVDs will be available to purchase in about a year. Meantime…
2010-09-30| Billy saysThanks for the pointer on Boardwalk Empire, episodes 1 & 2 downloaded at a remarkable 1.4 Mb/sec from Vuze Online TV Services Inc; so fast I almost made a donation.
Great stuff, though to start with I kept expecting Buggsy Malone style pop guns to start going off ..
2010-09-30| Billy saysps Can only agree with your observation that the centre of gravity for the production of drama excellence has moved across the Atlantic. The only thing the Beeb seems able to produce is here-we-go-again period costume drama; they will tell you it is because they don’t get sufficient taxpayer funding … and the answer to that lies in the business model of HBO and the rest … produce great stuff and you can sell it and even make a healthy profit …. and without thousands of functionless overpaid luvvies overseeing the process …
2010-09-30| Wentworth says“The majority of what passes as entertainment on American TV is probably utter shite; but they have also produced some world-class entertainment series”
So true, applies to much of what America produces.
I take it you’ve watched Deadwood and six feet under already?
2010-09-30| Ubonrthai saysAmerican football has begun too. You can download almost all the top NFL and college games at www.tenyardtorrents.com each week. Mondays are my new saturday. Commercial free joy alllll day long.
2010-09-30| Paul Garrigan saysThank you Spike. There does seem to be a lot of interesting stuff on EZTV. I searched for EETV first of all by mistake and that wasn’t so good :-)
2010-09-30| TheSon saysRubicon is alright, if a little slow-paced.
Nikita is dreadful.
Breaking Bad is amazing but we had to stop watching because it was so bleak
You should of course be watching the Daily Show and Colbert Report too, right?
http://www.watchseries-online.com/?s=the+colbert+report&search=
2010-09-30| Spike saysI know Nikita is dreadful, but it’s Maggie Q dreadful…
Of course I should be watching those things; but the link doesn’t work.
2010-09-30| Keyser Soze saysLiving in paradise and all you can think about is American TV… tsk, tsk, tsk…
The boob tube is the bane of western society… It sucks your brains out of your eye sockets and leaves you a blithering idiot…
2010-09-30| Spike saysMore to life than just taking photos and drinking coffee.
But have to give some credit back to the BBC; just watched a documentary called “Secret Iraq”. Chilling stuff.
2010-09-30| TheSon saysOh Mr Soze, What pretentious tosh; how is enjoying some quality television drama different from reading a good book? A shame that you will miss out on some great storytelling thanks to that high-horse you’re riding on.
2010-09-30| Jock saysdon-t they have Americas Got Talent .. yeah right
2010-10-01| Spike saysJock, where have you been? Where are you? We’ve missed you.
2010-10-01| todd sayswhat about 30 rock, how i met your mother, the office, shit my dad days, family guy, entourage, mad men, the cleveland show or ncis?
i’m still waiting for californication, justified and breaking bad to come back…
2010-10-02| Spike saysI know, I know; too many to mention.
2010-10-20| Pepe Le Pew saysThe UK still makes some quality stuff though of late it seems to be targeting the younger audience. Inbetweeners is hilarious, a kind of funny, up to date Grange Hill with more swearing and sexual references. Some great cringe moments a la ‘Office’. Season 3 just finished.
‘Misfits’ from channel 4, again maybe a little teen oriented but I left my teens many many moons ago and love it. Think ‘Smallvile’ with an edge (I hate Smallvile btw!!)Season 2 about to start.
‘Peep Show’ again C4 and not exactly new but brilliant comedy. If you haven’t seen it do!
The US does seem to hit the spot with straight drama though. No one has mentioned ‘Southland’ yet. I recommend it, an up to date NYPD Blue? 1st season just finished.
And finally a guilty pleasure, again from the US and one for the Sci Fi fans. ‘V’. Remember the 80’s version? Well this is…… same same but different. Season 2 now confirmed I believe. Phew because end of S 1 was a cliffhanger!