It’s been almost two months without cable, and every single night, I find myself either discovering new stuff to do or re-discovering old favorites (did you know that you can watch I Love Lucy in syndication…still?) on plain ol’ over the air TV (see how we made our own antenna here).
Last week, I gave you my guide to all things Hulu (“What to Watch: Hulu“), and you gave me some great shows to check out. I hope you’ll do the same after reading…
(Note: this is for instant streaming, not the DVD deliveries, although we use that, too)
(Note 2: all images are from Netflix.com)
1. Sports Night
No foolin’…Dana Whitaker is pretty much the reason I wanted to become a TV sports producer. I’d already decided on studying broadcast journalism, but watching this show, hearing phrases like “two minutes back” and “can you shave 20 seconds from the Pac 10 story in the 40s?” just made the hairs on my arms stand up.
After my first internship in a sports department (which I loved! just wasn’t for me), I abandoned sports to go into news, and have since abandoned news to go into features. But I still get excited when I see the actors from this show pop up on new hits.
Bonus: Josh Charles, who played Dan, is on Twitter! SQUEEEE! @BaltimoreJosh
2. Ramsay’s Best Restaurant
I freaking LOVE Ramsay. The more mad he gets, the more he swears — the more entertained I am. This series takes him all over the U.K. to find the “best of” in cuisines like Indian, British, Italian and more. My only complaint? I want more episodes!
3. Obsessed
This one is kind of creepy, and you may not want to watch it while eating. But it’s a really interesting look at OCD — sort of a cross between Hoarders and Intervention — and it follows two participants per episode as they get treatment and extreme exposure therapy.
4. The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo
I’m a huge fan of the books (thanks, MomJovi!) and the movies are a really interesting take on the novels. I’m curious to see what you think of this version…
5. The Tudors
OK, to be totally truthful…I’ve only watched a couple of episodes so far. But they’re great! Intense, dark and an interesting way to learn about history (ugh, one of my worst subjects). Just FYI, it is pretty racy, so watch this one after the kiddies are in bed, mmmmkay?
My only complaints about Netflix are the impending price hike, and some connection issues. But those seem to be solved quickly (and we even got a credit once when we lost service for more than a few hours).
What else should I add to my lineup?
About Katy
I used to love me some Sports Nigh. Such a good show. I have never heard of that Ramsay show, but I’m going to have to check it out. He has a show that’s more of a talk show that I’ve seen on BBC that I also enjoyed, but the name is escaping me.
There’s a series called Slings & Arrows that is about a wacky theater group: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0387779/plotsummary. It’s slow going in the first few episodes, then gets really good real quick.
Alicia at Poise in Parma recently posted..ten things this tuesday: PIP’s August CLE Event Round Up
I love Sports Night!!! I basically love anything that Aaron Sorkin does, but Sports Night was the first of his shows I watched, and I kinda wanted to be Dana or Natalie too. Have you ever watched Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip? It was only on for a season, but it’s another favourite of mine from Sorkin.
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Sports Night was such a great show!! I love Brian Krause though
You much (if you haven’t already) watch Mad Men (we just started watching), and also Veronica Mars (one of the best shows EVER – cancelled far too soon). Oh, and everyone recommends Dexter to us. We’ve watched a few seasons and it wasn’t my thing – but apparently I look like Jennifer Carpenter.
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Is Veronica on streaming now? Not that I need it since I own every season since it’s the best.show.ever. But that would be good to know so I can recommend it to the last 40% of the people in my life.
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Mad Men was recently added to Netflix streaming, so you’s GOTS to hit that up. As well as my favorite show evarrrrrr: Pushing Daisies. This show is amazing, and was cancelled WAY before its time (there are 2 seasons available.) It’s super quirky and hilarious and witty (think Gilmore Girls-esque dialogue with more puns and hilarity) and it’s very visually appealing. Highly recommend!
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Sweet Lord, how many shows does Ramsay have? I already watch Hell’s Kitchen, Master Chef, and Kitchen Nightmares. Never even heard of Ramsay’s Best Restaurant.
I noticed The Fighter just landed on Netflix streaming. I haven’t seen that one yet so I’ll probably watch it soon.
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I’ll have to check out Sports Night! We’re debating on cancelling Netflix due to the rate hike, but since we still have it for now, I need to get on it! I heard Mad Men recently started streaming instantly, so I’ve been wanting to check that out, but I have yet to see an episode. This is really embarrassing, but when I just want silly TV, I turn on Army Wives on Instant View. I’m on Season 3 and even though it’s overly dramatic, I love it!
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I really want to watch The Tudors! My best finds on Netflix Instant are Party Down (if you like 30 Rock/Arrested Development you’ll love this!), Heavy, SVU, & Mad Men. Dexter is AMAZING, but not on instant.
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The Tudors is great! I’m a closet dork, love the whole Tudor family history (as twisted as it is). Another period mini series you may enjoy is Rome, it’s fascinating & well done.
My all time favorites show to watch are Arrested Development & LOST, you can’t ever go wrong with them!
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I’ve had The Tudors in my queue all Summer but haven’t found the time to watch it. I love Party Down and Parks and Recreation as well as Hot In Cleveland. Right now I’m trying to watch every episode of X-Files, all 202. Oy.
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I think my beau’s watched about 60 episodes of 24 (which, ironically, is only a little more than 2 days of real time, a la the show’s hour-to-hour ratio).
Personally, my go-tos are:
-British Skins (fantastic show, really loads better than the American smut version)
-SVU
-Lost
-My So-Called Life (yup, watch the whole series. tragically short lived shows…)
-old cartoons when I’m feeling nostalgic (Hey Arnold, what?!)
Forgot that Mad Men was up there…. gotta get on that, and fast!
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Yes, Ramsay is hysterical when he gets pissed, true entertainment right there! We got rid of cable about 8 months ago so these are welcome recommendations!
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I love watching Dexter (we have those DVD’s sent to the house) and my husband is all sorts of Gordon Ramsay crazy. If that guy is on the show..we watch it. Also Mr. Bean is on Netflix and that always gives us a good laugh.
Downton Abbey. It’s a British series with 7 episodes so far set just before the First World War. Follows an upperclass family as well as some of their servants. Sorta like Gosford Park. If you like period dress at all, this show is well known for being meticulous, but I loved it for the plot as much as the look. New series airs in Britain in the fall, PBS here in January, so I’m not sure when it’ll come to netflix, but I think you’ll get sucked into it too.
Been slowly working my way through the new Doctor Who series as well, but then I grew up on the old stuff.
I really like documentaries and one of the best I’ve found is “My Architect”, by the son of Louis Kahn. Not only about architecture, but about searching for a father.
Don’t get me wrong … I looove The Tudors, but as a freak for Tudor history, that’s not the best way to learn it. Sorry, but the nerd in me had to comment on that.
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