Advice on some good Netflix TV shows

[tippy2k2]

Actually watched none of those, what I usually gravitate toward on Netflix is things related to other media, like comic book shows and shows based on games like Sonic SATAM, while sometimes watching an anime or recent animated movie. ould you please inform me tippy, what makes these shows so good and popular?

I have not seen "Attack on Titan" so I'm going off of name recognition there. Everyone on the internet seems to love it and my co-worker loved it.

As to the others...

Firefly: A regular show. Considered by the nerd realm to be one of the best TV Shows created. A Joss Whedon show and his finger prints are all over the show. Snarkiness and humor abound in this western-sci-fi (yeah, that's not a typo...western sci-fi) show about a smuggler ship as it does it thing while avoiding the law and other nasty things in space like a cannibalistic psycho group known as The Reapers. If there's one thing Whedon knows how to do really well, it's a team of characters and he does not disappoint with Firefly as the fires of internet arguments could burn for eternity with people arguing who the best character is. One season long (unfortunate as it leaves some threads loose but it did get a movie later called Serenity that kind of helps) so this would be my big recommendation for you with your criteria as the only thing it misses is Anime.

Trigun: An anime. A "futuristic" western involving a small group of characters. Vash is the primary guy and he is an extreme pacifist and the greatest shooter in the world by far (he uses this skill to stop death to great effect...including shooting people to wound only and literally changing bullet trajectories when others are shooting to make their shots wound rather than kill. There's quite a story here for HOW he can do this...). Lots of humor sprinkled in but it also gets pretty dark and serious as his pacifist nature runs into a force that just won't go down without blood having to be spilled. One self-contained season.

Cowboy Bebop: An anime. Considered by many to be one of the top animes ever. A group of bounty hunters do a number of jobs to keep themselves going with some incredibly deep character development moments. Incredibly cool theme as well as Jazz is used a lot to convey emotion and pace throughout the show. One self-contained season (with a movie put in there as well for some reason...the movie isn't bad but it seems very unnecessary to me)

 

[x EvilErmine x]

Ok well I don't know if you will find them good, but I did:

- Archer
- Fringe
- Breaking Bad
- Dexter

To name a few

 

[trollnystan]

What Vault101 said. Orange Is The New Black is AWESOME. I didn't think I'd like it but after the second episode I was hooked.

I'm obsessed right now its such, a great show

Spoiler: because the charachters

[img/]http://i.imgur.com/skh45u8.gif[/img]

Spoiler: and....representation

[img/]http://i.imgur.com/STmMkLR.gif[/img]

Spoiler: and lesbi-femnism...or....something....

EDIT:http://i.imgur.com/pBbGxiw.gif <-actually that ones probably NSFW

[sub/]I might be obsessed to a slightly unhealthy degree[/sub]

uggghhh I don't even have netlfix eather...

Haha, I know right? Although I must admit I'm not too fond of Alex personally, but then again I think this show does what a lot of shows fail to do; make the characters interesting and not just cookie-cut outs of evil and good, which means even characters you don't like you still kind of DO. Except Pornstache. Pornstache is EVIL and I love to hate him.

EDIT:

Spoiler: HATE. HIM.

 

[gagagaga]

For anime:

I think Madoka Magica and Fate/Zero are on Netflix, aren't they? Those are both great, although FZ's first episode is a slog.

As for live-action, I've heard Orange Is The New Black is good.

 

[Story]

Here's one no one will mention what is actually quite good:
Scooby Doo Mystery Incorporated

Seriously, it's perhaps the best version of Scooby Doo to date with great character development, an over arching plot per episode, and some pretty dark themes. If you are a Scooby Doo loyalist you might not like it because it's so different from other incarnations of the franchise but I was seriously blown away by it.

And here's another not mentioned yet that I can recommend:
Tron: Uprising

It's a computer animated show that was intended as a prequel to Tron: Legacy. I wasn't even a fan of the Tron series before I watched this show and I was now. It has very good characters as well, with great art design, settings, the voices and music in the show are also top notch.

I hope those aren't too obscure, given that they come from two big franchises.

 

[blipblop]

for anime i would recomend baccano great characters intresting story.

dont know your age but if you are a bit younger and missed twin peaks you should check it out

 

[Kenbo Slice]

Watch Twin Peaks. I'm serious, go watch it RIGHT NOW!

 

[LostCrusader]

I will recommend any of the series that were actually developed by Netflix, which will all have the Netflix Original tag. All of them that I have watched have been dramas, which usually isn't my genre, but have been really good compared to anything I have seen on TV.

As far as Anime goes, I will jump on the band wagon with both versions of Full Metal Alchemist (although I will shit a brick if Netflix goes another year without putting up the last season of Brotherhood, I have been waiting for 2 years now I think). Also recommend Samurai Champloo and Archer. I would also toss in Cowboy Beebop, but I don't think the actual show has been on Netflix.

Last tip, don't ever go browsing for something new in the anime section. Every single time I tried looking for something, it would end up being some weird shit with either a ton of fan service garbage or worse.

 

[Vault101]

snip

snip

what? I LOVE alex!

at first I thourght she was just going to be some predatory lesbian and the show wouldn't take her or her relationship with piper seriously at all but....thankfully no ("fucksgiving" is my favorite episode)

Pornctache is easy to dislike but....I actually hate Larry more than I do pornstache (all for the wrong reasons of coarse, but I also can't stand his character archetype in general)

and

[spoiler/]'stache's infactuation with the Latino chic is both disconcerting and kind of sweet...in a twisted way[/spoiler]

then we have dogget, who's just fun to watch because she's so nuts and kind of pathetic

Spoiler: but

that is untill she becomes scary...its interesting because unlike all the other characters they don't really give her a different angle, she's just plain crazy and thats that...

I can't wait for season 2....I can on;y blindly hope it goes in Itunes within the next century, hell I bought a fucking $60 adaptor just for that (for the privilege of watching my shows on my TV)

 

[j0frenzy]

All the Star Trek series are on Netflix. Have fun. I particularly recommend Deep Space Nine.

 

[ChristopherT]

From a quick look at Netflix instant...

Anime
Baka and Test - 13 episode anime about school students being able to do VR battles with other classes to further their own learning tools
Bubblegum Crisis Tokyo 2040 - 26 episodes. Women in combat suits fighting crazed robots
Ouran High school host club - 26 episodes, romantic comedy about a group of rich high school boys who spend their time making rich high school girls feel better

Live Action
Firefly - 14 episode space western
the Tick - 9 episodes - goofy show about superheros
Wilfred - 26 episodes split between 2 seasons - comedy about a guy losing it a bit, so he talks to his neighbor's dog, who, as far as he is concerned, talks back.
Dexter - 12 episode seasons. Each season with its own over arching story. Serial killer who kills serial killers.
the Increasingly poor decisions of Todd Margaret - 12 episode show split between 2 seasons. Comedy about a guy putting his foot in his mouth over and over.
Psych - Seasons are about 16 episodes a peace, 7 or so seasons. I know, shorter was asked for, I just really like the show. Two long time best friends start a fake psychic company and solve murders.
Farscape - 4 seasons 22 episodes each. Again long, but still worth listing. Sci-Fi space show about a pilot ending up on the other side of a worm hole and running with escaped convicts.
Jericho - Season 1 is 22 episodes, season 2 is 7 - show about bombs going off in USA and how a small down deals with it
Heroes - Season 1 is 23 episodes, feel free to stop after the first season. People gain super powers and try to understand what it means, and how to use their powers
Star Trek The Next Generation

 

[Skatologist]

Here's one no one will mention what is actually quite good:
Scooby Doo Mystery Incorporated

Seriously, it's perhaps the best version of Scooby Doo to date with great character development, an over arching plot per episode, and some pretty dark themes. If you are a Scooby Doo loyalist you might not like it because it's so different from other incarnations of the franchise but I was seriously blown away by it.

Actually, I do consider myself a bit of a Scooby fan, mostly from the 80s and 90s programming and specials, but I never really like the original series, I even preferred some of its "knockoffs" to it because the animation was generally better and stories were usually wackier. I have seen some episodes of the show and do enjoy the overarching story and ACTUAL development of the main cast and generally good main plot, but I think I'd prefer to see it on my own rather than drag user. He has said he really enjoys Ed, Edd, and Eddy, although I don't know what he specifically enjoys, I know there are shows that come close to the mark of that shows use of childhood wonder, comedy, ridiculousness, etc.. As for tron, I'll decline for now, mostly because I think I might want to maybe get the films a try 1st, which may be a mistake, but heh, hey came out 1st.

 

[Skatologist]

@ChristopherT, thanks, that style of listing episode # and giving a general overview of the show is great, I checked out Baka and Test with my sis and only watched episode 1, but my sis really recommended me to watch OHSHC because of it's humor, charm, and generally, I really enjoy the concept of the show and have really fallen in love with the character Haruhi, sadly, I have yet to get past episode 4 in over a year long time period, but I may watch it myself this summer.

 

[Flutterguy]

House - first 3 seasons were surprisingly good
Trailer park boys

Everything else I can think of has been said.

 

[sextus the crazy]

]Madoka Magica's on netflix if you haven't seen it yet. It's one of my favorites.

If you haven't seen it already, it's a magical girl show in the same vein as Sailor Moon, but don't let that and the cutesy art fool you. It's a pretty bleak show that's a much darker take on that sub-genre, without it dissolving into mindless violence or shock value. You may not get that from the first few episodes, but just stick with it. It's only 12 episodes, so it's not too long. It's also very popular, especially in Japan, and has a large fanbase, so it might fit in to what you're looking for, but who knows, you guys might hate it for all I know.

Quoted For Truth. It's my favorite show hands down and most likely the best in the genre. It's surprisingly dark as everyone will tell you, but more importantly, It's incredibly well-told. There aren't any loose ends or filler scenes; everything either advances the plot, sets the mood, or adds to character development. In a way because of it, it's able to tell the kind of story that most shows would spend 26 eps or so telling. It's the right combination of really ambitious and well-executed that makes it the best show of 2011 if not this decade so far.

 

[sabercrusader]

Not exactly "short", but still very, very good. Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood. A couple of brothers in a fantasy world that rely on alchemy to perform all sorts of miracles, anything from fixing a table to saving someone's life or building an entire house. It can also be used for fighting, something that the military state is very keen on taking advantage of. It's really good, my favorite anime easily, many of the characters are likable and relatable, and the story is actually well written.

Firefly: Obvious reasons as stated by everyone above. It's actually short too.

Samurai Champloo: Made by the same guy who made Cowboy Bebop (Which I still need to sit down and watch), it's short, action-packed, funny, likable characters, and exudes it's own style that I can really appreciate.

There's plenty more, but those pop into my head first.

 

[trollnystan]

SNIP

To be fair to Alex, I haven't finished season one yet; I was watching it with my sister-in-law but then we didn't see each other for a week or so and she finished it without me =( But I DO have Netflix so I can watch it and season two in leisure. Sucks that you don't =(

Spoiler

But I mean, we the audience knows that she set Piper up, which I think is a shitty thing to have done.

Doggett fascinates me too, and her rants are highly entertaining. I also like Red, especially in more comedic episodes like the chicken episode =D (She also reminds me a little of Bea from the Aussie show Prisoner; she was one of my favs >_>)

OP, just go watch Orange Is The New Black right now, OK?!

 

[Vault101]

SNIP

To be fair to Alex, I haven't finished season one yet; I was watching it with my sister-in-law but then we didn't see each other for a week or so and she finished it without me =( But I DO have Netflix so I can watch it and season two in leisure. Sucks that you don't =(

Spoiler

But I mean, we the audience knows that she set Piper up, which I think is a shitty thing to have done.

I wouldn't put it quite that way

[spoiler/]as far as I understand (and what we know so far) is she did rat out piper to get a lot less time on her sentence, her justification being that someone else would have done it anyway, it was still a shitty thing to do but not quite so malicious, I guess it could be a difference in wording[/spoiler]

other than that I think she really does love piper, despite their relationship being somewhat...turbulent