I realized today that I really want to check out Sons of Anarchy and have been meaning to watch it for quite some time, except I just never did. So, tonight, I'm going to plop down and check out the first episode or two. And in deciding to watch SoA, I thought about all the great shows I recommend to people to check out all the time, and thought I'd share some of my favourites with you.
Breaking Bad
Breaking Bad is one of my all time favourite shows. Bryan Cranston's Walter White goes from mild-mannered, depressed, dying high school chemistry teacher to one bad ass mother. In 3 seasons. It's gruesome and tough to watch at times, but it's superbly written, acted and just works so well on the small screen. The second half of the last season will air this summer, and I really wish it weren't ending, but the show's producer said he always had a finite story to tell, and that the story was always meant to end. I just love it.
The Wire
This is an "oldie" (aka more than a few years since ending) but another one of my all-time favourites. The show is set in Baltimore and each season tackles a different major social issue. The first? The poor and drug use/drug dealers. The second, organized crime and trafficking. The third is an allegory for the war in Iraq, the fourth season, education and how criminals can be made within the school system, and the final season covers the media. All the seasons are expertly interconnected as you can see that poverty begets violence begets ignorance begets corruption.
Homocide: Life on the Streets
This show is the precursor for The Wire and is created by the same team. Based on the novel Homocide: A Year on the Killing Streets this show was on for 7 seasons on NBC and is where Law & Order's Det. Munsch came from. There were even a few cross over episodes between Homocide and Law & Order.
True Blood
I know, most of you have probably already seen True Blood, but it's a great show nonetheless and one that has its moments. This one is a definite guilty pleasure (Eric Northman? Yes please!)
Game of Thrones
Based on my favourite book series of all time, A Song of Ice and Fire, Thrones is the HBO version of the books. Yes, I can find faults in it (but man, I love those books), but overall, the show is fantastic. And the new season starts on Sunday, March 31! Some big, BIG things are coming this season (let's just say I laughed, cried and gasped day in and day out reading book 3 on the subway to work) and I'm really curious to see how they put these things to screen. The acting is great and the casting is pretty spot on.
Also, we have a family portrait from the first GoT exhibit that came through Toronto in 2012.
So, spill it! What's your favourite show to watch?
Printer-friendly version