Underated TV shows

[Selig]

Like the title says, which shows do you love that don't get the kudos that you think they deserve?
I go for BBC 3's vastly overlooked Ideal. Starring Johnny Vegas as small time dope dealer Moz, it may not be to everyone's taste but I think it's a little gem.
Surreal humour and great characters. Funny and sad in equal measure, the new series starts soon. To get a taster the last two episodes of the previous series is on BBC 2 just about now.
Can I have the money now Mr Controller?









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[Nix]

Like the title says, which shows do you love that don't get the kudos that you think they deserve?
I go for BBC 3's vastly overlooked Ideal. Starring Johnny Vegas as small time dope dealer Moz, it may not be to everyone's taste but I think it's a little gem.
Surreal humour and great characters. Funny and sad in equal measure, the new series starts soon. To get a taster the last two episodes of the previous series is on BBC 2 just about now.
Can I have the money now Mr Controller?

Lmao I love this show... Don't catch it very often though.

 

[Tsquared]

Everybody knows that Sci-Fi has some of the most horrendous series and movies that'll ever grace your television.. but did anyone see "The Lost Room"? Mannnnnn, that was one hell of a good miniseries! I even went out and bought the DVDs, seriously. It had heaps of potential and was EXTREMELY underrated, I was shocked when they didn't go through with a movie at least! I remember after the first time I watched it, I believed the items in my room had secrets powers. Lol.

 

[Washburne]

Freaks and geeks!!!!!

Is that enough characters for you? 😉

 

[Randy Giles]

Just a few:

*Tru Calling - I know it has its hardcore fans who thinks it's perfect, but it's detractors are extremely unfair when it comes to judging this show.

*Privileged - I keep seeing this dismissed as a cheap clone of every other teen drama on The CW but this show is funny, charming, witty, warm, and has a lot of heart.

*Point Pleasant - I don't quite get all the negative feedback this show received...sure it started out a little rocky, and it could have been executed a bit better, but it definitely wasn't as horrible as people would have you believe. It has some important things to say, and the show is good at being subtle. And it got more and more compelling as it went on...this show should have gotten a second season, and I think it could have REALLY taken off creatively.

*The Inside - I still get pissed when people criticize this show and Rachel Nichols' acting based on the first few episodes, when she was portraying the character exactly how she was supposed to. People obviously didn't get it. At all.

*Ghost Whisperer - Too often dismissed as mindless junk appropriate only for silly women and old people. It's actually pretty good, and can be impressively dark sometimes. And each season seems to be better than the previous one.

 

[Fake Shemp]

Ideal is great, (yes have 2 series on dvd) wouldnt say overlooked... over looked tv is stuff i dont watch since i overlooked it, but thats probably the big shows....

^^ Freaks and Geeks love TK ^^

I found the Lost Room boring sorry, maybe it was the miniseriesness of it, i dunno. (but i couldnt help compare what he was doing to what michael was doing at the time, and Michael is Dexter.. NO COMPARISON.... with them being brothers in six feet under beforehand)


how about Drive?

that was really good, and got cancelled off the bat pretty much


im not sure if anything with a release on dvd etc, is overlooked or underrated though, as people must be watching it then....
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*The Inside - I still get pissed when people criticize this show and Rachel Nichols' acting based on the first few episodes, when she was portraying the character exactly how she was supposed to. People obviously didn't get it. At all.

Enjoyed what there was of this... but only for Rachel Nichols

(plus Adam is great in anything)


theres shows every year that get cancelled before or after a season... smith (followed that reluctantly) and cancelled, day break or whatever it was called, adam was in it, lost interest after 2/3 eps... it got cancelled...

there was some pilot this year with carrie-anne moss in, terrible wasnt picked up

then shows like pushing daisies go toodles all too soon *weeps*

 

[Harley]

I agree with Point Pleasant. It could have gone some where pretty cool...especially if all the wishes in the world granted Joss the ability (and desire) to tackle a few episodes himself.

Life as We Know It - I think Randy and I were the only ones who actually watched it. I think it was taken off because of too much sex? But it had really unique direction/production, but that usually doesn't last on tv...

The Black Donnellys - I have no legitimate reason why this was underrated, but I do remember lying awake literally for hours wishing the episodes were longer and imagining what was gonna happen next.

The Dresden Files - I absolutely adore the books, even though the episodes weren't the same. Paul Blackthorne was an absolutely perfect Harry Dresden. This show would probably be my favorite if it had continued.

Animorphs - I think this show was on and then cancelled before I even hit middle school. Shawn Ashmore was super cute and I liked seeing the books in person. The show stuck to them pretty well too.

 

[Airam]

Well, Freaks and Geeks and My So-Called Life I wouldn't say are underrated since both have, long since their premature cancellation, reached cult status and recieved loads of critical acclaim. Still they are worth mentioning because they are both so unbeliavably fabulous!

VERONICA MARS!!!! Seriously... well at least S1 and 2... mostly. I won't fault you if you hate S3... I kinda did... but overall the show (even S3, was legions better than anything else on TV) Critics caught on all along, critics praised the hell out of it (It's one of Joss' very favorite TV shows, he guest starred in one episode even!)... it was just the silly audience that never gave it all that much of a chance... but the fans VM has are almost as loyal and die hard as Buffy fans 🙂

I have to mention Dead Like Me as well... if you'v never seen it or heard of it (It was a Showtime show that started in 2003 and ran only 2 seasons) look it up and rent or buy it IMMEDIATELY, it is so worth it! A follow up movie version actually comes out on Feb 17th!!!

There's more, but those are the most vital ones worth mentioning 🙂

 

[anyatara]

Yeah, I'm in agreement on Veronica Mars!!
It's freaking amazing and I've never met another person (Excluding people online) who's even heard of the show. It's too good for people not to have heard of, I mean seriously. 😉

 

[Revolver]

VM was quite critically acclaimed though, and the people who did watch it almost universally love it, so can you really call it underrated?

 

[CotA]

The Lone Gunmen. Most people I've talked to up here either don't know who they are or didn't even realise they got their own spinoff show. I absoloutely loved this show and was P'd off that it got canned. Jimmy Bond was comedy gold.

 

[Relic]

The Adventures of Brisco County Jr. ............One season was not near enough..........you are remembered fondly.

This show was awesome, I loved it's humor, setting, and characters. It had a prop recycled that saw use in the Firefly series. Fun bit o' trivia there.

Also...

Tour of Duty.

One of the few shows my dad and I watched together often. great cast, sad stories, sometimes over the top, but overall according to my Pop's, very true to the vietnam experience.

 

[Uncle Rory]

Under rated.

The Pretender. So much fun, never found out how it ended.

Star Trek Enterprise. Why did they go and cancel this one?

Tru Calling. Very cool. Best of the next generation of chicks with super powers. Ghost Whisperer and Medium could ever hope to be this good. (Ghost Whisperer only survives cause all the guys want to boink Jennifer whatshernamecantact.)

Space Above And Beyond. Maybe the best ever Sci Fi show. One million spent on each episode. Lasted one season, 24 episodes. Changed my life.

The Prisoner - Ever get a chance to see this short lived series from the 60s, go for it. Like taking LSD, but legal.

Howabout the most OVER RATED.

Dr. House (or is it just called HOUSE) Man, when I am that obnoxious people here get mad. Why would anyone want to watch it?

The above mentioned Ghost Whisperer - Medium and of course the all time absolute worst TV show in the history of "it looks like XXX but it's really a prime time show" (drum roll wait for it) Charmed. Dreck, Fluff, Insipid, Moronic, Nauseating, Infantile, Pedestrian, Unoriginal, Did I say moronic? etc. etc. etc.

Grey's Anatomy - Same as House but more soap opera, less obnoxious Doctor.

The Unmentionably BAD or Boring or OVERSTAYED THEIR WELCOME
American Idol, Who wants to marry a Millionare, Fear Factor, Brothers and Sisters, ER, The Simpsons, The Biggest Loser, Friends, Seinfeld, etc. etc. With the possible exception of the Simpsons all a total waste of time. (Simpsons have just gone on forever and ever and ever and...........

RATED PROGRAMS - Those that absolutely deserve the praise they get / have gotten over the years.

24
Dexter
Prison Break
Any CSI or Law and Order.
Buffy
Angel
Firefly

Uncle Rory

 

[InsaneMystic]

Star Trek Enterprise. Why did they go and cancel this one?

erm... Because it sucked? 😛 (And take this from someone who was a major Trekkie during the golden years of TNG and DS9!)

The Prisoner - Ever get a chance to see this short lived series from the 60s, go for it. Like taking LSD, but legal.

I'm with you on this one. I've ALWAYS wanted to watch it since I first read about it about 15 years ago... unfortunately, it hasn't aired here for literally DECADES.

 

[Harley]

Randy Giles agrees: I didn't know you watched LAWKI! That show was effing great.

Yes you did silly boy. We've talked about it before. That's how I knew.

 

[Selig]

I have to mention Dead Like Me as well... if you'v never seen it or heard of it (It was a Showtime show that started in 2003 and ran only 2 seasons) look it up and rent or buy it IMMEDIATELY, it is so worth it! A follow up movie version actually comes out on Feb 17th!!!

Dead Like Me was a great show as was Wonderfalls, which was even more criminally treated!

 

[Tueuse de Vampires]

Dirt - Come on, I loved that show, why di they alreay cancel it in the middle of the second season? It wasn't really a 'smart' show or anything, but it was very intriguing!

How I Met Your Mother - I know it's getting getting more and more popular, which is good, but in Europe it's still widely unknown. In Germany people don't really like it at all unless they'e seen a couple of episodes in English. This should not be the way it works. I know the German dub sucks and that's probably the reason why Germans don't digg it, but there's ways around that. And this show is just so legen - wait for it - dary!

 

[Uncle Rory]

I totally forgot my most recent fave TV drama. Boston Legal.

This show is absolutely hysterical but at the same time it will go down in history as possibly the most topical program of the Bush era. There was nothing that went on since 9/11 that they didn't comment on, argue about or make fun of.

This is the show that broke William Shatner's typecasting from his Star Trek days. His character Denny Crane is absolutely my favorite character of all time.

This show the diametric opposite of Buffy. Exploitative, sexist, mysoginistic, etc. etc. it has all the ISMs but always giving a balanced view whether it be politics or gender issues. Gays in the military, Beastiality, Abstinence agendas in public schools, the democratic process, cross dressing, mental illness, the War in Iraq, the death penalty etc. etc. etc. there is no topic they don't tackle.

This show is actually a spin off of the previous Legal drama by David Kelley called "The Practice" which was a lot more serious. (Unfortunately only the first season of the Practice is available on DVD - too bad)

In the last season of The Practice James Spader (character Alan Shore)was added to the cast, went on to sue the firm and was defended by William Shatner (Denny Crane) Crane then hires Shore to join his firm and then the show came back as Boston Legal.

Can't recommend this one enough.

Uncle Rory
Trivia - what very very small connection can you find between Boston Legal and Buffy?

 

[Washburne]

VM was quite critically acclaimed though, and the people who did watch it almost universally love it, so can you really call it underrated?

So for a show to be underrated it has to be hated by critics and not have people loving it? Or is there a limit? If just x people loves it it´s underrated but if x people loves it it´s no longer underrated? I just need to get things straight. Is Smallville a underrated show? I doubt the critcs love it. How about a show that the critics loved but no one watched? Is that underrated? Or it has to be both? And can someone please point me in the direction of a page that shows how many viewers a show have/had and how many people actually liked it and what critics thought of it. Freaks and geeks (since that´s the show I brought up) might got some good reviews from critics and the ones that do watch it like it most of the time but from my point of view it´s like this "Most people I talk to have never heard of it or at least not watched it, and it only got 18 freakin´ episodes!" Not even close to the recognition I think it deserves. You might not agree with that´s enough to be called underrated but in my eyes it does. Or maybe I´m just using the word "underrated" wrong and need someone to make things clearer.