A few weeks ago, I went through the Top 10 shows that I should be watching currently on the air (though admittedly one of them is no longer on
the air, and has probably been replaced with The Walking Dead). I
received a lot of great feedback from this article, so I decided to put
together a sequel, because as Hollywood has taught us, nothing makes something
better than adding a sequel!
Since the last write-up was about shows currently on the air, I thought
I’d take an even more embarrassing approach and go through shows that are off
the air that I never gave a chance.
Here they are:
10. The Wire (HBO)
Number of Seasons: 5
Reason I Never Started: I didn’t have HBO when it started, and HBO Go
didn’t exist at the time.
Most Embarrassing Thing About Not Watching: Have you sat through a
conversation with people discussing The
Wire as being the greatest thing since Dante decided to start categorizing
Hell?
Reason I’m Sure I’d Love It: I’m a huge fan of gritty ensemble dramas
and particularly strong writing.
Odds I’ll Ever Give It a Shot: Doubtful-there’s a lot of grittier, more
recent dramas on the air I need to get caught up with.
9. Upstairs, Downstairs (BBC)
Number of Seasons: 5
Reason I Never Started: I wasn’t born yet, which is at least a bit of
an excuse (even though I’d never use it for not seeing a movie)
Most Embarrassing Thing About Not Watching: Glenda Jackson and Jean
Marsh in a television series!
Reason I’m Sure I’d Love It: I’m a huge fan of period dramas, in
particular British ones, and this has become a quintessential BBC classic.
Odds I’ll Ever Give It a Shot: Solid-this is the sort of show I’ll
probably catch eventually, particularly when we get into the OVP’s of the
1970’s and 1980’s and I feel I need to see the great miniseries to stay informed
on all of the acting of those years.
8. My So-Called Life (ABC)
Number of Seasons: 1
Reason I Never Started: Aside from being a child when it was on, I’ve
always been a little bit leery on this one, since it just lasted a season and I
don’t like unresolved cliffhangers (the rumor is the series has one).
Most Embarrassing Thing About Not Watching: This is a reference point
for so many Entertainment Weekly television
critics, and is just another in a long line of quality projects involving
Claire Danes that for some reason I’ve never seen.
Odds I’ll Ever Give it a Shot: Really strong-with only one season,
eventually I’ll just break down and add it to a Netflix queue or something.
7. The Larry Sanders Show (HBO)
Number of Seasons: 6
Reason I Never Started: Again, I was a child when this was on, and we
didn’t have HBO growing up.
Most Embarrassing Thing About Not Watching: Television lists adore this
show, even though it doesn’t get referenced nearly as much any longer, and I
suspect I’d like it better than even Seinfeld.
Odds I’ll Ever Give It a Shot: Weak, to be honest. This is a lot of seasons to invest in a
show that's no longer on, and comedies (even brilliant ones) don’t usually date well after they’re
off the air.
6. The X-Files (FOX)
Number of Seasons: 9
Reason I Never Started: Third show in a row that I was a kid when it
premiered, and reruns/TV on DVD wasn’t what it is now for catching up on a
series, particularly one with such a rich mythology. I did, however, see the 1998 movie.
Most Embarrassing Thing About Not Watching: Because Lost fanatics seem to adore the film,
and that’s enough for me.
Odds I’ll Ever Give it a Shot: Like My
So-Called Life, I suspect that I’m in for an unsatisfying finale, but this
is stronger than some of the other really long-running series on this
list. I think during some winter
in the future I’ll probably just buy the box set and get through all of the
seasons.
5. Freaks and Geeks (NBC)
Number of Seasons: 1
Reason I Never Started: Before I lose all credibility on this site, I
did in fact see 1-2 episodes of this (or at least part of them) and also was a
big fan of Undeclared. That said, I really don’t have an
excuse-I’m part of the reason this isn’t around anymore (hangs head in shame)
Most Embarrassing Thing About Not Watching: I watched Undeclared and yet didn’t give this a
shot?!?
Odds I’ll Ever Give it a Shot: Superb-this is the show on this list I’m
most positive I’ll watch someday.
4. Battlestar Galactica (SyFy)
Number of Seasons: 4
Reason I Never Started: I don’t think my college cable package had the
SyFy channel (anyone who I went to college with can back me up on this), so I’m
going to stick with that, because the shame is starting to get pretty solid in
this Top 5.
Most Embarrassing Thing About Not Watching: An ensemble drama with
strong science fiction elements and massive critical acclaim? That’s the stuff that I seek out daily.
Odds I’ll Ever Give it a Shot: Strong-this is a series like The X-Files that seems like a great
winter project.
3. Friday Night Lights (NBC)
Number of Seasons: 5
Reason I Never Started: You are aware the series is about football,
right?
Most Embarrassing Thing About Not Watching: That the show clearly
transcended the football metaphor, and had career-launching roles for Connie
Britton, Zach Gilford, Taylor Kitsch, and my husband Michael B. Jordan.
Odds I’ll Ever Give it a Shot: I own the first two seasons on DVD, so
pretty good.
2. Twin Peaks (ABC)
Number of Seasons: 2
Reason I Never Started: I was a child.
Most Embarrassing Thing About Not Watching: There is nothing about the
description of this show that doesn’t make me want to watch it. Nothing. If it weren’t for the cultural impact of the number one
choice, this would have made the top slot.
Odds I’ll Ever Give it a Shot: Incredibly strong-it might honestly be
on the Netflix queue already.
1. The Sopranos (HBO)
Number of Seasons: 6
Reason I Never Started: It started when I was in middle school and we
didn’t have HBO, but this is really unforgivable at this point. When I say I haven’t watched this, I
get the same looks I give people when they say they haven’t seen The Godfather or Casablanca.
Most Embarrassing Thing About Not Watching: It's generally considered to be the greatest television series in history?
Odds I’ll Ever Give it a Shot: Those looks will eventually give way to
me watching the full series, I promise.
Those are my Top 10 shows-what are yours? What shows on this list should I give the first
go-through? And what forgotten
series from the 1960’s and 1970’s should I give a shot (television from that
area isn’t as well-documented unless it’s something we’ve all seen like All in the Family or The Twilight Zone)? Share in the comments!
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