These are my favorite shows

Arrested Development - A damn funny show, despite being a bit overrated by die-hard fans. You'll be sad after watching the finale, then rejoice at the news of the series resurrection.

Angel - My favorite show. Vampire with a soul trying to make up for his violent past. The character development on this show is unmatched by anything else I've ever seen. Wesley's development... no other show can compare.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer - More teenager-oriented than Angel, this show defined the genre... even if the quality is all over the place.

Firefly/Serenity - Short-lived, but brilliantly written and acted; however, it was the dynamics of the crew that really sold it for me.

Fringe - Great serialized sci-fi drama. Impressive writing and acting.

Nikita - Great conspiracy triller.

Psych - Fake psychic detective. No, that one. The early seasons are some of the funniest hours of tv I can think of.

Reaper- A slacker finds out his parents sold his soul to the devil. Ray Wise as The Devil is magnifient.

Scrubs - One of my personal favorites. Gets addicting after a while. Just ignore the existence of season 9.

Stargate SG-1 - Despite not being the greatest show ever, I always tuned in for every adventure and even now wish they show would continue.

Supernatural - Damn good horror show. The past few seasons haven't been as good as the earlier ones, but they are still a lot better than most things on tv.

That 70's Show - Great show, but went on one season too long.

 

Can't Believe I forgot Assassination of Jesse James. Damn good Movie.

Prestige as well. And have to throw out The Illusionist to go with it.

 

I'm extremely annoyed that nobody's recommended Community yet.

Because they should. Community fucking rules.

 

Hell yes.

I am so psyched that this series is being resurrected, especially since almost all of the actors in it have gone on to do other things. Getting the cast back together for another season is amazing. This is one of the few shows that I can watch over and over and laugh out loud at. I own all 3 seasons, but I need MOAR!

 

Thanks alot I've never heard of amy of them, definitely going to watch them this week.

 

Vampire Diaries. Comes from a super shitty premise but working within that the writing is very good and it has more of its fair share of clever/funny/heartwarming scenes. Plus, you know, Ian Somerhalder just being awesome.

 

Here's a rough recommendation list:

Live Action

- The first season of Heroes (and maybe the second season, but ignore the rest)
- Community
- The US version of The Office, more-or-less up until Steve Carrell left (if I remember right it's a little hit-or-miss after season four, and after Carrell left I think it just lost its charm completely)
- 30 Rock
- Parks and Recreation
- Firefly
- That 70's Show
- How I Met Your Mother

Cartoons

- Pretty much everything from the DC Animated Universe (save for maybe Static Shock and The Zeta Project, but even those two had some good episodes)
- Young Justice
- Green Lantern: The Animated Series
- Avatar: The Last Airbender (and The Legend of Korra, which despite its numerous problems was still fairly entertaining)
- Star Wars: Clone Wars (the 2003 show, not the more recent CG one, though I'll admit that the newer one has some good moments)
- The Spectacular Spider-Man

Movies

- Blade Runner
- Kingdom of Heaven
- Apocolypse Now
- Moon
- Star Wars
- Superman, Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut
- The Muppet Movie
- Godzilla (1954), The Return of Godzilla, the rest of the Heisei-era Godzilla movies

I probably missed a few, but hopefully everyone else's recs can fill in.

I didn't list anime, as I know there's already a dedicated thread for that.

 

Here are some movies from the top of my list:

Sucker Punch (2011) - Actresses that are kind to the eye, great fight choreography, even greater music that are all rolled into one pure nerdgasm: steampunk-clockwork-zombie-nazis, cyborgs, Helm's Deep siege with air support and finally, samurais with awesome weapons

Zombieland (2011) - A good comedy that rides on the popular zombie apocalypse theme. Remember rule #2: Double Tap.

Watchmen (2009) - Movie adaptation of the comic series. A bit on the long side, but a definite must see.

Stardust (2007) - Movie adaptation of Neil Gaiman's book. A fairy tale/family movie about a young boy turning into a man and accidentally finding his love.

Chaos (2005) - Multiple plot twists that leave you in a permanent WTF? state.

Spy Game (2001) - If you enjoy a good spy thriller (think Robert Ludlum) this one is for you.

Atlantis: The Lost Empire (2001) - A great movie from Disney for Jules Verne and steampunk fans.

Snatch (2000) - A criminal comedy with some of the best British actors.

The Untouchables (1987) - Kevin Costner and Sean Connery put an end to Al Capone's (De Niro) criminal empire.

Megamind (2010) - A parody of a Superhero/super-villain relationship.

V for Vendetta (2005) - Book adaptation. A dystopian vision of Great Britain, think 1984 with a twist, and a Guy (pun intended) with an explosive plot.

The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (2003) - Based on the comic series. Allan Quatermain, Mina Harker, Rodney Skinner - The invisible man,Dr Henry Jekyll /Mr Hyde captain Nemo, Dorian Gray and Tom Sawyer against Moriarty.

Phone Booth (2002) - A random guy picks up a ringing phone in a middle of the street, only to find himself in a trouble...

The Sting (1973) - One of the best con movies.

Swordfish (2001) - A thriller about a hacker who is hired by a block ops cell to rob a bank...

When Harry Met Sally... (1989) - A classic romance comedy.

Dragonheart (1996) - A dragon-slaying knight and his companion - the last dragon - have to face their past deeds.

The Devil's Advocate (1997) - Keanu Reeves as a lawyer who deals with the devil (great show by Al Pacino).

The Wizard of Gore (2007) - A remake of a B-class horror with great plot.

Lord of War (2005) - Nicolas Cage as an arms dealer (fear not, his acting actually fits here).

 

There's been loads of good rec's already, but Dead Like Me and Wonderfalls are fantastic comedies that are well worth your time checking out.

 

Avoid like the PLAGUE. Absolutely one of the worst movies I've ever seen.

 

I don't know. Literally every time I see this title come up it's accompanied by vehement dislike. But I've never seen it myself.

 

@Kalas:
I enjoyed the character played by Travolta, as it is a rare thing, where you have a no quarter, no mercy, achieve your goal at any cost character. I found it refreshing at a time. Besides, the plan for the bank robbery was quite good and well played.

@Red Aviary:
If you were to watch this movie, do not expect much of a plot (although there is, even a good one), the battle scenes are all that matter. Let your inner geek out and just enjoy the ride.

 

Favorite TV-Shows:

How I Met Your Mother: Really great and more importantly funny comedy.

Firefly: Probably the best Sci/Fi series ever made.

Stargate: The first few seasons were good.

Numb3rs: An interesting idea and worth watching if you like math but the later seasons are not nearly as good. It has also the typical crime series problem that murders are not enough so every once in a while somebody tries a massive terrorist attack that gets stopped only seconds before killings thousands.

The Wire: Dark, hopeless and sadly probably even realistic. Here you are not sure who is the bad guy.

House of Lies: Great show about a consultant firm.

Gossip Girl. A guilty pleasure of mine. Like Taure said it is full of beauty and Chuck is probably the one reason I am still watching it.
Btw: Skins is the british version of GG but there are not a lot of similarities.In GG everybody is rich, beautiful and smart and has no real problems (at least in the first seasons). It also plays in a metropolis which caters to them.
Skins is about girls and boys from poor and dysfunctional families living in the British country side. it also focuses a lot more on dugs and alcohol and the bad sides of that.
Ah and Simpsons..



Edit:

Sucker Punch:
I would also recommend it.. Great action scenes and the plot is a lot better than in similar movies.

 

Angel + Buffy: Everyone recommends these for a good reason. Buffy is the one most people enjoyed more. But Angel, I think, became the superior show during its second season. Better overall plots, the characters were still developing (most of Buffy's character started circling around its fourth or fifth season), and the acting I found was better.

24: Fantastic. A lot of my friends knocked the show when it came out, but they never actually sat down and watched a few episodes in a row (a must). Admittedly, season 6 was terrible. Same for the first 15 or so episodes of season 8 (the last). The rest? Excellent. Some great stories, some great characters (David Palmer and Chloe O'Brian are among my favourites ever). It does suffer from needing to suspend your disbelief quite a bit in later seasons, but it is entertaining almost every episode. Seasons 1-5 and 7 are definitely worth the watch. Season 5 would be my standout.

Deadwood: This has been recommended a whole heap on here so I doubt I need to explain it. If you can stand the swearing (the worst I've heard on TV), you will find yourself very interested in Deadwood and its characters.

Kings: The biblical story of David set in a more modern, American-esque world. Only a dozen episodes, but it covers a fair amount of ground. The religion is shown in neither positive nor negative light. It's just there as part of the story. It does feature a sort of Romeo and Juliet love story that bothered some people, but in the realm of the source material it works. Same for why David the character is perhaps the least interesting as he is a bastion of good and doesn't deviate. Everyone around him though is damned interesting.

Alias: Spy show from the early-mid 2000s. Jennifer Garner's acting is... not great for the first handful of episodes, but then it improves and the show gets its footing. Then, it works. Until about two-thirds of the way through the third season. The quality gradually decreases. The fourth season changed the overarching story format into mostly individual episodes which really killed it for a lot of people. But the many episodes in the middle are, again, excellent. The final season was better than the fourth and worth the watch for the final two episodes alone.

Life on Mars (UK version, duh) + Ashes to Ashes: Don't watch the American Life on Mars. It's horrible, even when it imitated scripts near word for word. Basically, a cop hit by a car (or shot, in the sequels instance) and wakes up in the 70s (80s). He/she solves mysteries as he tries to figure out how to get home. Nice culture shock, Gene Hunt (the head honcho in the past) is another excellent character, and both shows don't overstay their welcome. Ashes takes a little longer than Life on Mars to get interesting (maybe three or four episodes), but when it does it's just as good as the original.

Fringe: Again, widely recommended here. Best sci-fi show currently on. Has a few rough spots (worst being the first half of the second season largely because there were barely any mentions of the overarching story). But when the focus is on the overall story, this is brilliant TV.

Boston Legal: Surprised nobody has mentioned this one yet. It's a spin-off of The Practice. A legal dramedy, with an increasing focus on the comedy after the first season. Denny Crane (William Shatner) never fails to entertain. The second season onwards marries the drama and comedy perfectly. Very, very few dull episodes.

Farscape: Perhaps my favourite sci-fi show of all time. An astronaut is sucked into a wormhole to another area of the universe and finds refuge on a living ship full of escaped prisoners. Together, they try to evade the Peacekeepers (human-esque military race) and help each other find a way home. Contains muppets (so not every alien is basically human with a few bits of make-up, something I abhorred when trying to enjoy Star Trek). Humans are actually, legitimately among the weakest races out there (again, something I enjoyed differently from Star Trek). The crew takes awhile to start truly working together and trusting each other. Scorpius, a villain introduced near the end of the first season, is perhaps my all-time favourite. For starters, he actually succeeds. The Scarrens, another military race, are a brilliantly thought out and genuinely intimidating set of villains, too.

First season is a bit here and there in some episodes. I think the 15th episode is where the shows quality suddenly jumps above entertaining and becomes almost universally excellent until the end. The show ended on a cliffhanger, but was one of the few to have a fan-campaign work. A three hour mini-series wraps up the storyline. It was a bit rushed, but still very enjoyable.

The Wire: Only through the first season at the moment (having trouble getting into the second), but the first season was simply excellent TV.

Pillars of the Earth: Epic mini-series set in 12th century England. If you enjoy that era, you'll likely enjoy this. I'm on the fifth (of eight) parts and loving it. The show does skimp on a little on explanations, and has an issue of showing how much time passes between scenes. But it's interesting.

Father Ted + Black Books + Coupling: Excellent British comedy. All three. I've never gotten into IT Crowd, but a lot of people enjoy that too. Quality stuff.

 

Game of Thrones is pretty fucking amazing.

I second (third?) the recommendation for Avatar: The Last Airbender.

 

Picked up a lot from this thread myself, just need to find the time this academic year to get down to watching a lot of recommended series and a couple of films.

That said, going back to the Skins thing, it depends on which iteration you watch.

The US one I've heard was simply terrible and cancelled swiftly after season one finished because of poor ratings and it not really fitting the current... theme? Eh. I was introduced to Skins by an ex (Katie Finch is real, but even bitchier) and found it... Well, it had its moments.

Seasons 1 & 2, aka the first cast was good. That said expect it to throw all the stereotypes at you (drugs, drink and pregnancy all day every day) alongside the usual teen drama but it has a way of pulling you in regarding some situations/characters. After the cast change entering seasons 3 and 4 as well as 5 and 6 respectively, it's up to you. They get worse in terms of plot and acting simply because all the amazing idea's were used up with the first cast, plus you'll notice that every season follows a near identical domino effect of situations, the only challenge is guessing which characters are which in the plot (eg someone gets into deep shit involving cash, couples are all over the place when they look solid).

With that said, it's had a lot of flack and love from both sides. I still go back and watch the first 2 seasons every now and then for a quick laugh or through sheer boredom. They're making a movie that's visiting the cast from all six seasons but it's already missing some of the season one cast and you know it'll suffer because of it (Tony and Michelle).

Just while I'm here as well, I don't know whether it's just me but I never got Big Bang Theory. I watch it and whilst I get most of it, I just can't find it funny. I find Sheldon more annoying than funny but it's all my classmates and friends ever seem to talk about, which in turn gives me fears regarding HIMYM. Still, I'll pick up the boxset off a friend when I can and give it a go.

Edit - Other quick ideas;

UK's Merlin - BBC production with an interesting take on the Arthur/Merlin story, mostly showing them growing up in a servant/master role whilst saving Camelot. Gets better as it goes on due to bigger budgets, but expect weak CGi regarding monsters.

Legend of the Seeker - Short lived adaptation of tone particular book series (the name escapes me) that only had two seasons. It was pretty good for what it was, plus Craig Parker as the main villain is a big plus.

 

I think that everyone should watch "Aguirre, the Wrath of God" at least once in their lives. It's German, so if you don't speak it you'll need subtitles like I did, but goddamn. If I had to choose the movie that had the single most impact on me it was this one. Basiccaly, Aguirre, an insane, near-omnicidal conquistador, is on an expedition in the Amazon. He kills a lot of things.

 

I'll second (more like fifth) the reccomendation for The Wire. It is quite possibly one of the best police procedurals ever made. It doesn't just go into the problems the police face when battling drug epidemics on the street, it stretches to other branches of Baltimore's government and shows how the bad stuff happens and why it doesn't get fixed. Simply amazing.

Fringe: Certainly gets better as time goes on, once the writers stopped browbeating the audience because they're too close minded to accept fantasy as science the series became muc better. The plot also helped bring out the best in some of the actors. Except Joshua Jackson. Never Joshua Jackson.

Sons of Anarchy: A crime drama about bikers and their lives. I don't know how exactly to pin down this show. Suffice it to say it's good.

The Shield: If The Wire is one of the greatest police shows out there The Shield is right there with it. It follows a corrupt group of Strike Team cops as they try to balance doing the right thing and being a necessary evil (as they see it). Vic Mackey is perhaps one of the most compelling protagonists I've watched and it's because the writers don't just cop out and present him as purely one thing or the other, they mix the good with the bad so you have to go past his charm and try to reach your own conclusions. Not standard network fare where everything is forgotten at the end of the season, it's one long rollercoaster ride.

Community: People talk about Arrested Development but Community made me laugh a hell of a lot more. AD always seemed overrated to me. The season finales are especially awesome.

Gossip Girl: Yes I'm on this show too. It suffers from a few problems (arbitrary relationship decisions). But Taure hit the nail on the head it's forty minutes worth of beautiful people in beautiful clothes trying to make their way in the world or fuck each other over (more of the latter). I think the show saves itself from the hell I consign it's brethren because it moves. There are consequences and shit changes (at least at the point in Season 3 I'm at now). If there weren't it wouldn't be half as entertaining to watch these terrible people run around knifing each other. Blake Lively isn't the best of actresses and that Chuck Bass fuck can't stop squinting, but that's one of the benefits of an ensemble cast, it evens out.


Luther: Idris Elba as tortured -but badass- DCI John Luther. Brilliant, cerebral and tense. The second season was not as good as the first but it wasn't bad by any stretch.

Ultraviolet: Not that shitty movie. The British series with Idris Elba (who's also in The Wire, seriously, just watch whatever he's in) about vampires that has a different take on them. The vampires don't show up that often but it explores them and their movements in a much more interesting way than most shows normally do. Instead of angst we get the machinations you would expect from creatures centuries old and with little to no empathy for humans. It's low budget but good.

Rome

Stargate Atlantis:


Battlestar Galactica


The Borgias: Historical drama about various cunts trying to fuck and/or kill each other in medieval Italy

The Tudors; Historical drama about various cunts trying to fuck and/or kill each other in medieval England.

Game of Thrones goes without saying. See above, but with dragons.

The Corner: A miniseries by the people who made The Wire, showing the lives of the average street people in Baltimore.

Sherlock


Mad Men

Movies:

Memento: Thriller about a man who can't make new memories trying to find his wife's killer.

Devil's Advocate: If only for that long ass speech at the end.

Exam: British film about a bunch of people trapped in a room trying to pass an incomprehensible test to get into the world's most powerful company. Things predictably go wrong.

No Country for Old Men


The Informant


Peter Morgan's Tony Blair trilogy with Michael Sheen as Blair: Detailing various periods of his life. The Deal, The Special Relationship, The Queen

The movies about Hannibal Lecter: Red Dragon, Silence of the Lambs, Hannibal.

Game Change: HBO movie about Sarah Palin's rise.

Brick: A hard boiled, noir detective story set in a high school. Better than it sounds.

Glengarry Glen Ross.

Redbelt

 

Battlestar Galactica - Best freaking drama on the planet. It is exciting, funny, extremely well acted and unpredictable. Almost the whole drama takes place on a single ship... and yet it is so amazing. If you have yet to see this, watch it now.

Which also reminds me... I wish NBC had picked up the 17th Precinct written by the who did Battlestar Galactica (and even features Cylon six- the hot blonde, and Baltar). It was described as "Harry Potter for adults." The pilot was quite interesting.

Jericho - Centers on the residents of the fictional town of Jericho, Kansas, in the aftermath of nuclear attacks on 23 major cities in the contiguous United States. Quite realistic, good characters... Just a great post apocalyptic show.

Bones - Typical police drama but has awesome tension between the two main leads. It's a good drama just to sit down and relax to.

Prison Break - I've only watched the first season so far, but it's very entertaining. The main character is too much a genius though.

Breaking Bad - Many DLP members will agree with me. Epic show, very intense and the main character is a complete BADASS.

Avatar, The Last Airbender - Best kid show.

I know I have more. I just wish netflix would list all the shows i've watched.

 

Some Cartoons

Archer-James Bond meets Arrested Development. Freaking Awesome. All the other cartoons. The other cartoons by the creator Adam Reed are also good.

Futurama-Made by Matt Groening(creator of The Simpson). Just finished watching it and it has become one of my mots favorite show.

Bob's Burger- A series about a hamburger joint runned by Bob. Funny as hell.

South Park-Even after 15 seasons, it manages to be awesome

Batman The Animated Series-imo the Best Batman ever.