TV Shows on DVD via Netflix – Part I
We have watched nearly a dozen shows this way and are currently subscribed to couple more. I had planned on writing on each series as we concluded but I found it better to start watching another show rather than write about the previous one. Anyway, this is my attempt at briefly reviewing some shows that we’ve enjoyed:
Rome
HBO (mini-series)
This part-fictional historical drama is set in the times of Julius Caesar at the height of the Roman Empire. Although it takes liberties with historical fact and often credits two minor characters (central characters in the series) Lucius Vorenus and Titus Pullo, with major events, the political machinations and devious nature of human character makes for great drama. Mark Anthony is not exactly the virtuous man that our history books and Lend Me Your Ears recitals make him out to be but in context, he seems much more plausible. The show not only focuses on the larger political scandals including the assassination of Caesar but also the private lives of the common man that include soldiers and traders.
Historians may find umpteen faults and tear their hair out at anomalies but it makes for excellent television. You find yourself torn between choosing an alleged benevolent dictator over squabbling senators that also allegedly assert the will of the people in one of the world’s first republic. But it is not for the faint-hearted and definitely PG-17 if not R-rated for depiction of nudity and gore. If Rome was any indication, we definitely didn’t live the simple life in days of the yore. It packs a lot in 22 episodes over 2 seasons so be prepared to be overwhelmed.
The West Wing
NBC (1999-2006)
This show must have been the solitary beacon of hope during the Bush year for liberals. Although the multi-Emmy-winning show aired last in 2006, we never watched it live. In brief, the show is based on the behind-the-scenes of the White House with Josiah Barlett (Martin Sheen) as a Democratic President supported ably by his inspired staff. If you think, this is merely another of those political shows with rhetoric and jingoistic bluster, then you are mistaken. Written by Aaron Sorkin (and Lawrence O’Donnell), the show is a quirky comedy that not only highlights the struggles of the most powerful administration in the world but also captures the essence of enormous impact their decisions have on our lives.
The realism and unique style of shooting (talk as you walk through the hallways of the White House) makes it an unique experience especially for a network show. We as viewers get close to all characters which not surprisingly are all inspired by idealism. The woman characters including the first lady are strong and not mere figureheads; other characters are the Press Secretary (and then the Chief of Staff), Deputy National Security Advisor, Congresswomen, political consultants, etc. The male characters are strong yet bumbling and quirky compared to their female counterparts.
One of the strangest coincidence of the final seasons of the show was how much it resembled the soon-to-follow Obama-McCain campaign with a nuclear disaster instead of an economic collapse. The race on the show, of course, was much closer than in reality. Although idealism is sprinkled liberally (pun intended) and there is a clear distinction between the ‘other’ devious party, the show is scripted well and keeps you engrossed. It is like the ray of sunshine in the dark reality of real-world politics. We were genuinely sad we saw the final episode.
Sports Night
ABC (1998-2000)
This little-known show that was abruptly cut short by ABC was recommended on Twitter for being Sorkin’s precursor to The West Wing. The show focuses on the behind-the-scenes (a Sorkin speciality, I guess) of a TV sports show; much like Sports Center (Sorkin attempted it again in Studio 60 on teh Sunset Strip) Sorkin specializes in feel-good TV where all his characters are extremely nice people; might sound unrealistic but it makes us feel good and probably one of the reason why most people watch TV. But all sap and no story or characters, you’ll tire of it pretty quick. Sports Night fortunately walks that fine line but only just. It is not as strong as The West Wing but it holds its own and shows you the early years of Sorkin (in fact, he ditched Sports Night after he started working on The West Wing)
The show again has couple of central characters that include the sports show’s hosts and its producer. The look behind how a television show operates, the occasional goofs, fighting off the network in face of falling ratings, the struggle to show interesting stories vs. stories that people will actually watch. We never actually are introduced to a vast majority of the people working on the show but are given insights on the geeky know-it-all new recruit, the fact-finders, and producers who actually make any television show happen. Largely a comedy, the drama elements are provided by the romantic off-n-on connections between the show’s main anchor and the producer, the two neurotic and nerdy researchers, and the second anchor’s fluctuating relationships with other women not on the show. This show first featured Sorkin’s Walk and Talk speciality that he later employed in The West Wing which is more interesting because of the rapid dialogue delivery laced with sharp humor that you’ll miss if you blink.
This show was cancelled by the network and the final episode managed to sneak in a jab to ABC – Anybody who can’t make money off of Sports Night should get out of the money-making business – which is sad because it was far better than most of the shows we see on TV today. Although we weren’t as enthusiastic about this show as we were for The West Wing, it is definitely worth a watch especially if you are a general sports fan.
More to Follow
Coming up next – Sopranos, The Wire, Six Feet Under, Dexter, Battlestar Galactica, Freaks and Geeks, Firefly, Arrested Development, Lost, and Mad Men.
“TV Shows on DVD via Netflix – Part I” [Short URL: http://www.ipatrix.com/?p=3145] was published Wednesday, December 9th, 2009 at 4:19 pm by Patrix, filed under 9rules, DesiPundit, Television, and tagged as drama, DVD, Netflix, reviews, Television. Both comments and linkbacks are closed.
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Always meant to watch West Wing, but never got to it. Sports Night seems interesting. I’d also recommend Friday Night Lights – very underrated show, IMO. And if anyone’s been in a football mad high school or University / town, they can relate to it. It’s even available on Netflix instant streaming (1st 3 seasons)
Of course, this whole rent a TV show thing can be frustrating if you are one 1 DVD at a time.
8 months ago replyAsh has been a big fan of Friday Night Lights. Somehow I haven’t been into it although I keep wanting to see it. But only so much time :) To enjoy The West Wing, you need to be at least somewhat interested in U.S. politics; makes it much more fun then since it references real-world events and political deals.
And why not up it to at least two at a time if you think you have the time? It is well worth it.
8 months ago replyPost needs some editing. Just FYI.
8 months ago replyI’m sure it does. Email or here in comments is perfectly fine. Shoot.
Update: Fixed a few obvious ones. Reminds me not to rush posting it although I keep tweaking it for far too long. I rather post my first draft and let my readers proof-read me; much quicker that way :)
8 months ago replyGood idea watching TV shows on DVD.
I had never seen 30 Rock, and then i got a DVD for the first season. So hooked was i, that i ended up watching the first two seasons in a single weekend. No ad breaks make it even more enjoyable to watch! This was followed by Dharma and Greg the next weekend!
8 months ago replyI watched some of the shows on Hbo as they were playing and it was agony to wait for the next episode. Sopranos was my fave and best to watch in order, back to back episodes, quite a Mumbai feel and some plot lines were quite comical.
8 months ago replyI would also recommend Weeds if you haven’t seen it though the newer seasons are kinda bakwas!! Dexter lost it’s way but is back to good standards.
Others on that list are hit and miss – Arr Dev hated the docu feel. West wing too much walk-talk , and it was even spoofed on Snl. Lost was terrible in season 3/4. The rest of the series were claimed to be acclaimed by critics but I claim they don’t deserve acclaim!
Amongst the newer comedies, 30 Rock and The Office definitely take the cake. Agree with Aditya about Friday Night Lights – the first season was especially tremendous. We need to start watching episodes on netflix too – have been wanting to watch Rome for quite a while but have not got to it… btw, LOST rocked all seasons if you follow it to the T hehe.
S
8 months ago replyI have been doing this for a while now. Watched LOST (Season 1-4) on Netflix and now started season 5.
Some other good series are “Damages”, “Arrested Development” and “Law and Order”.
Also, do remember to turn on subtitles while watching “The Wire”. It is one of the most amazing series ever made and I felt really bad when I finished all of them.
After reading your review, I have to start “Rome” and “West Wing” soon.
8 months ago replyNo ad breaks and marathon sessions make watching TV on DVD all the more fun. And you can follow the story arc too and not just random episodes.
8 months ago replyWe’ve finished three seasons of Dexter and are not subscribed to Showtime so have to wait until next year for the season that is currently running. But yeah, Season 3 wasn’t as great as the first two which were awesome. We plan on getting to Weeds someday.
And I love The West Wing and Arr.Dev for the same reasons you hate it :) and we don’t let critics decision affect our choices. We can always stop watching a series if it doesn’t interest us.
8 months ago replyAgree about 30 Rock although I was never into The Office (I know); maybe someday after the series ends on TV.
We’ve just started watching Lost and although it is engrossing, it isn’t as gripping as I thought it to be; perhaps too much expectations. And by your capitalization, I assume that’s a spoiler?
Rome was awesome and if you are interested, Tudor is something Ash enjoys too; if you are into historical dramas.
8 months ago replyNever watched Damages and Law & Order is far too episodic to watch consecutively. Frequent change of characters means you can pick it up from any season. Criminal Intent is more fun now coz of its quirky detectives.
The Wire was, by far, the best show I have seen and yeah I agree about the subtitles :) But that’s what makes it so good – original and raw.
8 months ago replyNo no, I don’t recommend Tudors! It’s crap compared to Rome ,but good timepass :)
8 months ago replyI get dizzy watching the shaky, moving camera work. Hence the avoidance of WestWing , Arr Dev . I felt queasy even watching for a few minutes, lolz!! This has meant I avoid Office and Parks-Rec also though I enjoyed the Brit version of Office.
8 months ago replyIf you don’t have a box (with a Netflix streaming functionality such as Roku, Xbox 360) I suggest you get one. Roku is worth it; my friend has one. Many of the recent shows stream in 720p HD quality. I watched the first 3 seasons of Weeds on it, as well as the first 4 seasons of Lost.
Also, why wait till next year for Season 4 of Dexter? This season has been fantastic. Ever heard of Ninjavideo.net? They stream 720p versions of shows on DivX – (PC World have included them in the top sites for TV Shows / movies!).
But I suppose you are obviously going to be the seedha-saadha type and go with the legal route. :)
8 months ago replyEdit: Of course, I stream them on an Xbox 360. But Roku works just as well.
8 months ago replyI just hook up my Mac to our TV (via HDMI) and it does the same job as Roku would albeit a little clumsily. I’m waiting on Netflix to switch to online streaming significantly to justify a dedicated box otherwise it just adds to the clutter near my TV.
I’ve heard of Ninjavideo.net. I just gave me some weird message about allowing complete access to my computer; something beyond what I’ve seen on other streaming sites so I didn’t venture further. So you are saying, it is safe to let it access and install anything it needs?
It is less about seeda-saadha than about getting quality content. Although I admit I prefer it the legal way coz I’ve been cited once (twice shy etc.) but trying too hard and struggling through grainy unreliable streams is just not worth it. Anyway, there are more shows than the time I have to watch them so I choose my battles.
8 months ago replyIt’s safe. It’s a javascript plugin that’s safe. And as long as you have Adblock plus, there are no annoying popups or anything. Every DivX link on that site is quality (you have high quality DivX or 720p HD on select shows). I think with their latest updated plugin there’s a bug (due to DivX player upgrade) even that’s fixed if you follow their Intel Mac specific instructions.
8 months ago replyOk. After lot of installing, uninstalling, logging in & out, it seems to work. Now if I watch episodes 1-4 and the 5th one fails, I’m coming to get you.
8 months ago replyHeh. As always, they come with their caveats. They’re not foolproof, but are better than 95% of the other streaming sites in the sense that you get quality + most of the episodes of the top shows.
I watched the first season of the Mentalist, current seasons of Dexter and Curb on this. Right now watching Fringe.
8 months ago replyDizzy after watching The West Wing? LOL! Then you should definitely stay away from The Bourne Ultimatum, Children of Men, Cloverfield, and The Blair Witch Project, just to name a few :)
8 months ago replyCloverfield takes the cake in this area.
8 months ago replyBourne wasn’t so bad but I skipped the rest of the movies you list. The problem is these shaky movements are so exaggerated, like these people have never seen any actual docu films. Is there a director who says “Guys, this is supposed to have a documentary feel, so the camera man will wear skates and be drunk during the taping.” ?
Well quit everything and watch Weeds. The initial seasons are mind blowing. The latest season was terrible for so many reasons — I mean how to reconcile with a tunnel that smuggles underage girls or 2 ton cocaine ka pahaad!!
8 months ago reply