Brent L

Ok, here is the deal. I haven't really kept up with any new sitcoms or other TV shows for the past five or six years. That last show that I was really into was Seinfeld, not counting The Simpsons, Family Guy, and Futurama.

Over the past three weeks, I have went back and watched every episode of Scrubs and bought the Arrested Development DVD set, and I am now a huge fan of both shows, just like most seem to be.

Since I have missed out on both of those two TV shows up to this point, just because I stopped keeping up with TV, I'd just like to know if there are any other quality programs that I have missed out on. If you have something other than a comedy to reccomend, then feel free. From what I've seen of Dead Like Me, I really like that one also, so anything like that would be great also.

I just want to catch up on the quality shows that I've missed out on up to this point. Thanks a lot guys.

nny

The show closest to Scrubs imo, is Gilmore Girls. They're the 2 most consistently good shows on TV. If you want something similar to Seinfeld and AD, I'd go with Curb Your Enthusiasm.

Seeing that you enjoy Futurama and Family Guy, have you checked out Adult Swim's original series? The best imo are Aqua Teen Hunger Force, Home Movies, and Sealab 2021.

das Monkey

Just so we're clear, you want us to list all the quality shows over the past five or six years? Erm ...

How about you start with SportsNight.

das

Decker

Those two are the best sit coms on tv by far. I'd consider Curb Your Enthusiasm third, so if you haven't seen that yet, start buying the sets.

And for a recent show that was totally brilliant and almost completely ignored, keep an eye out for reruns of Andy Richter Controls The Universe. God that was a good show. I miss it

Brent L

nny, I have heard of Gilmore Girls but I thought it was something like Dawson's Creek, etc... I guess I'll check that one out then if you say it's something like Scrubs.

And yes, I forgot to mention that I also watch all of the Adult Swim shows.

das Monkey, you've got it. I want to know about the quality shows from the past five or six years. There couldn't possibly be too many, right?

As for Sports Night, I already have the DVD set of that series, one of my favorites.

I also know about The Sopranos and Six Feet under. I started watching both, but I never stuck with it simply because I want to own the DVD sets for both shows one day. I'll get really into them both at that time.

I plan on buying the CYE sets soon. I've never seen an episode of it, but it looks like something I'd like. I totally forgot about Andy Richter Controls The Universe. I think I watched one episode of it back when it first aired, but didn't follow up on it for some reason, I forget why.

Burnt Alive

Looks like you need to check out Dead Like Me.

MrBob

I would reccomend Rescue Me, and Firefly.

Both shows were of the more dramatic nature, yet both were increadibly funny due to great dialouge between the characters. Like scrubs, both shows did a great job of mixing the drama and the humor.

Roto

I've been seeing a lot of recommendations for Gilmore Girls here lately. I still haven't seen it, but if it's as funny as people say then that's got to be the worst title and promotion any tv show has ever received. I've been under the same preconception Brent has, that it's a teen soap. I was thinking more Party of Five than Dawson's Creek. But I've never really watched any of those shows

WestEndRiot

if you're into British humor...The Office. even if you're unsure about it i'd give it a rent. this was a blind buy after hearing good things from a couple of my friends. amazing comedy. seasons 1 and 2 are out now (or "series" as they call them) and the two specials are out later this month. funny funny shit.

Jeraden

Well I dunno about some of these recommendations. I love Arrested Development and Scrubs also. But I didn't not like Gilmore Girls, Rescue Me (thought it was particularly awful actually), Firefly (mediocre), Adult Swim stuff (tries too hard to be funny and isn't).

If you are looking mostly for comedies, I'd go with Reno 911, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Coupling, Keen Eddie and Greg the Bunny. All of those are available on DVD. I think most share the same type of spontaneous, tongue-in-cheek humor as Arrested Development and Scrubs.

Ted The Bug

Half-hour shows you'd probably like:
Newsradio
Curb Your Enthusiasm
Undeclared
Andy Richter Controls the Universe
Coupling (UK)
Reno 911

Hour-longs you'd probably like:
Wonderfalls
Rescue Me
Karen Sisco

Also, while not being a comedy at all, the show Lost is one of the best hour-longs in years.

djbrown

I'll cheat a bit here (well, okay more than a little bit) and suggest Fawlty Towers. The complete run is out on DVD and reasonably priced.

It's funny as hell though.

Red Dog

I'm catching Gilmore Girls on ABC Family in reruns and I must say that the reputation it has in this forum is well-deserved. The writing and acting is excellent - very funny program. Funnier than any half-hour comedy on network television except for maybe Arrested Development.

Far different show than Party of Five or Dawson's Creek - didn't care for those shows at all.

Red Dog

If you are looking for the funny from the last 5-6 years (that is out on DVD):
Coupling
The O.C.
Gilmore Girls

If you are looking for drama:
Nip/tuck
Oz
The Shield
Law & Order SVU

MrBob

Well if we are going to start recommending Brittish comedys, then "Father Ted" is the funniest damn brittish show ever. Though if you are catholic or deeply religious, then you probably ought to stay the hell away from it though. Other wise it is a Feckin' riot.

Brent L

Thanks for the suggestions guys.

I am already familiar with some of the UK shows, like Spaced, Father Ted, Coupling, and Black Books. All three are quality programs.

tasha99

I really enjoy Arrested Development and Scrubs, too. The other sitcom I've seen recently and liked is Coupling (UK). Curb Your Enthusiasm is okay, but I have to be in a certain mood to think it's funny.

Since lots of people are recommending Britcoms, I'm going to say The Black Adder (series II and III) even though it's an old show. I'm kind of dealing with depression now, but that show is so hilarious it can get me laughing on the crappiest of days.

areacode212

This is a really broad question. Yes, there are way too many to list, plus you have to deal with fluctuating quality between seasons. Not every good show is consistent, not everything that many consider a "quality" show will be to your taste, etc. As it is, I can barely keep up with the good new shows this season. "Catching up" on all the best shows since the late 90s is not exactly an easy task. TV shows are different from movies in that they require investing a lot of time & energy to keep up with--some WAY more than others. And even if you tear through an entire season of a show in, say, a week (which is possible), you can end up missing a lot of the subtlety that goes into each episode.

There are a ton of good recommendations here already, plus it seems a new "What TV shows have you blind bought" thread gets started every week in the DVD forum--take a look at those.

I suggest starting slow--check out something self-contained like Freaks and Geeks, which only lasted 18 episodes, and whose DVD set is extremely loaded, even the "regular" version.

cerulean

Another recommendation for Keen Eddie. I'd also add Monk and The Tick to the list.