cdollaz

Arrested Development

tbird2340

One of my favorite series ever.. I've gone through that series at least 3 times so far..

T-bone22

Your tastes look similar to mine... you definitely want to check out Breaking Bad. Trust me.

FatTony

Weeds sucks, I wouldn't watch it. I went into it expecting a satire about mundane suburban life and the failed "War on Drugs" but instead got a largely unfunny show with a plot driven almost entirely by characters' bad decisions (and the plot gets increasingly absurd with each passing season, and not absurd in a good way). As I wrote in one of my rants about the show in the Season 5 thread: "The premise of this show had promise but was sadly stuck with a bunch of hack writers who fucked it up. Hard."

With all that said, the first season is ok. Not great though.

If you haven't seen it yet, I'd strongly recommend 30 Rock. Very similar sense of humor. I really like Better Off Ted too (which features Portia de Rossi). Also, I know they don't fit your "at least 1 full season" criteria, but new comedies you should watch if you haven't already: Community and Modern Family. All are single-camera comedies and very funny.

twikoff

weeds use to be good
went downhill
i recommend watching it till it starts to suck and then jumping off
cant remember when it went to hell... but at least the first couple seasons were good

twikoff

oh yea.. add this one to my list of recommendations too

DJariya

Californication is about a 40-something year old writer who smokes, drinks, curses like a sailor and bangs every piece of hot ass that he meets. The only thing that sucks about it is his bratty daughter and his annoying schlub of a friend.

twikoff

his annoying schlub of a friend has his funny parts though

Pistol Pete

Rome - highly recommended
Big Love - good character-driven show

celmendo

Another vote for Breaking Bad!
Alias too.

JasonF

Rome is just a spectacular and epic HBO original series that ran two seasons. It basically covers the fall of the Republic and the rise of the Empire through the eyes of some of the great historical figures of the time, as well as through the eyes of two common soldiers. 110% recommended.

Carnivale is another great HBO series, but it's probably not for everyone. Set during the Depression, it's about a travelling carnival that is caught up in an epic battle between good and evil. It has an almost David Lynch-esque feel to it (although I say that as someone who is not particularly a fan of Lynch and so probably doesn't know his works well enough to be making that comparison). The only downside to it is that it ran for two seasons out of an intended six, so while you do get a complete and satisfying story, it is very obviously only the first part of a larger story.

Homicide: If you like the Wire, you should like this. It's by David Simon and Barry Levinson -- this is where Simon cut his teeth on television before he went on to do the Wire. Like the Wire, it's based on Simon's experiences covering the police in Baltimore; as the name implies, it's about the Homicide division of the Baltimore Police Department. It's got a very similar feel to the Wire, although this aired on NBC in the nineties so, while it's certainly gritty and realistic, it's not quite as gritty as the Wire was. Highly, highly recommended, particularly if you like the Wire.

Edit: When I started typing this post, neither Rome nor Carnivale had been mentioned yet. That'll teach me to get distracted in the middle of posting! Also, I meant to include Big Love, which is just an intense family drama in the vein of Six Feet Under (with a dash of Sopranos thrown in) about a family that happens to be practicing members of a Mormon offshoot that practices polygamy. Much of the conflict in the series comes from the fact that the main characters are trying to straddle the two worlds and don't quite fit in to either.

stopgap

Charmed.

Just kidding.

A lot of good suggestions but will support the 'Breaking Bad' proponents. New season coming soon too.

Also, even though Firelfly didn't make it to a second season, substitute season two with the eventual movie and it satisfies your requirement.

Eric D.

Breaking Bad
Rome
Homicide: Life on the Street

And to echo others, stay away from Weeds. The first two seasons are watchable but after that everything falls apart.

stopgap

I really wanted to get into Weeds but I couldn't finish the first season. I really tried to like it too.

dhmac

Well, if you want to get in on a promising new show at the ground floor...

Caprica (aka the prequel to Battlestar Galactica that just started airing)

0073735963

I've had plenty of great rec's from fellow members and I will vote for Deadwood and Breaking Bad. Just finished the first season of BB myself, can't wait for S2 on DVD in March. I have really enjoyed the Big Bang Theory and am currently almost done with S2...I've flown through those.

Barry Woodward

Angel
Buffy The Vampire Slayer
Curb Your Enthusiasm
Dead Like Me
How I Met Your Mother
Pushing Daisies
Spaced
Sports Night
Trailer Park Boys
Twin Peaks
Veronica Mars
The West Wing

One season wonders that are worth you time and don't really leave you hanging (think of them as miniseries):

The Adventures Of Brisco County Jr.
Firefly/Serenity
Freaks And Geeks
The Lost Room (actual miniseries)
The Middleman
My So-Called Life
Profit
Studio 60 On The Sunset Strip
Undeclared
Wonderfalls

DJariya

My question to the OP is Are you looking for serialized shows to watch from the very beginning? I mean there is plenty of current shows on TV to watch live right now, especially Thursday's and Monday's. From September to May, I think there is more than enough stuff to watch on the networks and cable to fill your spare time.

tbird2340

I did watch Rome.. I forgot that one too.. Great friggin series.. Wish it was longer then two seasons!

No, I hate waiting week to week.. Shows are SOOOO much better when you can watch them back to back to back.. That's why I wanted something that if it wasn't complete it has at least 2 full seasons.

Yes, I love serialized shows.. I still keep up with the current stuff (The Office, Survivor, 30 Rock, It's Always Sunny, etc) but like I said earlier I love the ability to watch w/out breaks..

If Homicide: Life on the Street is seriously anywhere near as good as The Wire I am supper pumped... I seen it was 7 seasons! WOW! The only thing I fear is how old it is.. Sometimes I don't care for how aged everything is.. That's the main reason I couldn't watch Twin Peaks but I think that is older.

I'm actually watching episode 1 of Breaking Bad now..

skacore

If you've seen The Wire, you are required to watch The Corner (HBO Miniseries).

Check out "Wire In The Blood" from the UK. You can't go wrong with X-Files or Millennium either.

Prison Break gets a little goofy, but it's fun.

Brotherhood was probably the best series Showtime ever produced.

Underbelly is pretty good, kind of Australia's answer to The Wire (but a little more exploitive.).

Research shows outside of the US/Canada. I recently found a show from New Zealand called "The Cult" that was actually very good. It was what Lost would have been like if they didn't have a huge budget.

blued888

+1. It may not be the best but it's a fun show.

tbird2340

Yea.. It is a solid series (forgot that one too hehe)..

The movie was good to that filled in parts from the final season.

Jimmy James

It may be a bit premature to include this since your 2 season rule may be 2 seasons available on DVD, but Sons of Anarchy has been terrific so far. I imagine its second season DVD set will be released later this year. As an alternative, FX may air a marathon of some sort leading up to season 3.

I'm glad somebody mentioned Veronica Mars. The last season was the worst, but what came before that was absolutely fantastic.

Jericho is well worth watching in my eyes.

I watched the US version of Touching Evil after discovering Jeffrey Donovan on Burn Notice by catching it on Universal HD. I'm not sure if it's available on DVD, but check it out if it is.

Dirty Sexy Money is honestly not written all that well, but the cast and acting make it worthwhile. That show's cast was really quite superb in my book.

tommyp007

Highly recommend Big Love.

B.A.

Hell yes - the wife and I are finishing up S2 right now. It is an awesome mix of "The A-Team" and "MacGuyver", only better than both ever were.