No Right Answer: Best TV Drama Ever

Strazdas

Robots will replace your job
May 28, 2011
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Robot Number V said:
No, see, that's what I'm trying to tell you. You really didn't watch enough of the show to make any solid judgements. I can guarantee you that you misunderstood what was happening. There is a part of the show (might be after the third episode) where the main character straight up says that he does not want treatment, because of the likelihood that he would just end up dying anyway. He tells his family that he believes treatment would only draw out his death, so that he would slowly grow more pathetic and weak before finally dying anyway.

Seriously. You are misunderstanding the show. This is probably because you only saw 3 episodes of it. I'm not saying you should go watch it or anything, that's entirely up to you. But as of right now, you have not seen enough of the show to really talk about it.
I agree that judging whole show based on 3 episodes is unfair, hence why i mentioned that my knowledge comes from only those 3 episodes which is where i base my opinion and it may be completely incorrect.
Ill probably watch it eventually, but i got plenty of shows to watch before that. Currently watching Xena of all things hehe. Im the kind of guy that once i start i finish the show hence why i stuck thouh the Wire, of which i think second season was the best. I had plenty of experincesthat started off badly and then got really good (my favourite TV show of all time - babylon 5 - was looking bad till around half a season in).

P.S. this is the THIRD time capcha gives me exact same image in 2 days. the image reads: My spot.
i think its trying to tell me something.
 

Nazulu

They will not take our Fluids
Jun 5, 2008
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Heh, I was thinking about what TV drama's really sucked me in, and it's only Full Metal Alchemist that made me suffer wondering what was going to happen next. You can imagine when they played episode 50 on Adult Swim without saying 'to be continued' at the end had me in shock.
 

Polarity27

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Jul 28, 2008
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Robot Number V said:
Well, Chris officially knows nothing about television. Here are all of his horrible mistakes, in list form:

1. Compared Dexter to Breaking Bad.
2. Said that Dexter was BETTER than Breaking Bad.
3. Said that Breaking Bad was about drugs or health care. (DEFINITELY not health care)
4. (All three of you did this one) Not even MENTIONING the MOTHER. FUCKING. WIRE.

Seriously, I can't stress this enough:

[HEADING=3]OBVIOUSLY THE WIRE. Come ON, guys![/HEADING]

PS: Dexter only had 3 good seasons, since season 3 was utter crap. Even season 2 was iffy.
Seriously, THIS. To not mention The Wire at all, and to put Dexter over it just astonishes me. Also not mentioning Justified baffles me. Both shows gave us nuanced characters, tight writing, an incredible sense of place (so much so with The Wire that I fell in love with its dysfunctional but fascinating Baltimore and moved here), characters who aren't all rich and Hollywood-pretty, refusing to go down the predictable path of cop hero vs. criminal villain but locating the motivations of both solely in the milieu in which they were born and raised, product of the institutions and the history around them. Both defy the expectation of making their hillbillies laughable stereotypes (Justified) and making their inner-city criminals monstrous and beyond redemption *or* pathetic but noble victims of The Man (The Wire). IMO season 4 of The Wire blows just about anything else that's ever been on television out of the water-- the seasons before it were great, too, and the issues important but both the command performances of all the young actors and the expose of the mess of US schools post-No Child Left Behind Act is a thing every American should see.
 

LiMaSaRe

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Mar 6, 2012
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I'm guessing The Sopranos weren't a side because that would have removed the possibility for debate?
 

Malfy

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Jul 16, 2010
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The wrong answer is Dexter. Didn't like that show, period.

If Game of Thrones continues to be awesome, it would eventually surpass The Wire for me. I'm also digging House of Cards US version as well.
 

themyrmidon

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Sep 28, 2009
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manitoublack said:
I've just re-watched Battlestar Galactica and have to say that it'd still be my top pic. Yes it's Sci-Fi but as a Space Opera/Drama it's almost without peers. It's still holding up very well 10 years on. It has a great cast, excellent character development, very high production values, intriguing and well developed plot/lore and probably the best sound score ever recorded for TV. Yes it only got 4 seasons, but that meant it didn't over stay its welcome, something I get the feeling Dexter and definitely SG1 did. Get on Youtube and search for 'All along the Watchtower BSG' and tell me it doesn't get you in the mood to watch it all again.

I enjoyed Caprica more than most I suspect, and was disappointed to see it only get 1 season.
I just started rewatching BSG today for the 4th time, the first in several years. Despite all the other good TV that's come out, BSG still has to be my #1, the absolute gold standard. Maybe Sons of Anarchy will pass it next year, Game of Thrones probably will eventually, but until then there is no better example of a show handling multiple themes, characters, storylines, and rising above what was expected of it. I'll even defend the ending, since it had a 9/10 difficulty to attempt and hit a lot of good notes, even with some bad assumptions.

As much as I do like Breaking Bad it is far from the pedestal many place it on, and far from perfect, as a few people here call it. A lot of it comes from personal preference, I like shows with larger casts and multiple moving plot pieces. I also can't help but think that the development, flow, and message of the story is comparable to one of the crappy high school English novels they make you read, just on steroids.

Of shows that aired in 2013 I'd put Spartacus, Person of Interest, Sons of Anarchy, Fringe, and Game of Thrones over Breaking Bad. Two of those shows also ended in 2013 (Spartacus, Fringe), and I think both of their endings were not only better, but had a higher difficulty since one was tied by more characters, historical accuracy, and a potential (here's hoping) sequel spinoff, and the other one jumped 25 years into the future and had to tie so many disconnected story lines together from the previous 4 seasons.
 

Barciad

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Apr 23, 2008
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Neither, it's the Wire.
The depth, scope, creativity, complexity and narrative thrust of the show mark it out nothing short of sublime. Put simply, it portrays the decay of American civil society in a manner that would make the likes of Dickens and Tolstoy look on in envy. Anyone that hasn't seen it should watch it now. For those that have "you come at the king, you best not miss."
 

MetallicaRulez0

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Aug 27, 2008
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Dexter is a fantastic show, with (mostly) good stories, twists, and interesting writing. I can even forgive the horrific final season and finale. The first seasons were that good.

It's still not even in the same ballpark as Breaking Bad. Nothing is. No show has ever been as fascinating, daring, and gripping as Breaking Bad was for EVERY. SINGLE. EPISODE. There isn't a bad episode in the whole run. Go ahead, watch them. I'll wait.
 

ActionDan

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Jun 29, 2009
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I think the West Wing should have a had a look-in. It might not have been too popular, and being about the White house and American politics it did leave a lot of the world guessing whats going on, but even though because of that (being from the UK I fitted into the category) it's an amazing show. The amount of care and thought that went into the series regarding the characters, story lines, environments and just everything about it was simply amazing.
 

T8B95

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Jul 8, 2010
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RedDeadFred said:
Dexter doesn't even stand a chance here. There are better TV dramas that should have been up there instead. Breaking Bad still tops them all though IMO. It just would have been a closer fight.
I'm guessing they had an unwritten rule of "NO HBO SHOWS". Because then it would be just unfair. Nothing on basic cable can stand up to HBO's top lineup.

The Wire is the obvious one, and I'm glad to see Game of Thrones getting love too. Personally, I would also like to throw Boardwalk Empire and the Sopranos into the ring for contention, even if I'm not crazy about the Sopranos.