Turbo: Top 5 shows I wish I watched live

Netflix has really changed my life in terms of television. I’m now able to watch shows I never got a chance to watch live. Which also kind of sucks because lots of them were cancelled due to low viewership. So while some shows didn’t last very long - DAMNIT some of them were good.

Now not all of these are available on Netflix anymore (stupid licensing issues), but you can also find them on DVD. So here are some shows you should check out and wish you too had watched live.

5.  Joss Whedon shows

I have to thank BatSTUD for introducing me to this man’s work. I’m lumping them all together because I never saw any of them while they were on TV. I was introduced via the movie Serenity (which Ryan dragged me to literally kicking and screaming) and I followed up with watching all of Firefly. Next up was the entire series’ of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel. The only one I watched live was Dollhouse. There’s been so much written about each of these shows I don’t think there’s much more I can say that hasn’t already been said. If you have avoided any of these shows because you think the premises’ are a bit ridiculous, then all I have to say is get over it and give them an honest chance. There’s lots of heart and comedy and action. If you’ve seen Avengers, just imagine 15 seasons worth of that same kind of storytelling. The man knows how to tell a story. 

Who is Buffy Summers?

4.  Undeclared

This VERY unknown show was the brainchild of an early Judd Apatow. It stars Jay Baruchel, a young Seth Rogan, and a few others you probably will recognize as Apatow regulars. It’s about the first year of college, living in a dorm, meeting new friends, building relationships, and destroying others. It has all the regular comedy of a Judd Apatow story, and just as much heart. Notice how I like comedy and heart? Well they’re great storytelling devices. This show has a ton of both and the characters are relatable and fun to watch. It has a bunch of great guest directors (Jay Chandrasekhar and John Favreau to name a few) and some fun cameos from people like Will Farrell and Ben Stiller. It’s 14 easy-to-watch episodes you can check out over a lazy weekend.  Do yourself a favor and check them out.

Just another day at school

3.  Deadwood

Deadwood changed the way I watched television forever. It introduced me to HBO original programming, and taught me that television can be intense and mind blowing. It was the first show to ever make me scream at the TV at the end of an episode for the simple insult of ending on a cliff hanger. I was never a big fan of westerns, but this show changed all of that. The language they used was beautiful and managed to make the word “cocksucker” sound elegant. It was also the first time I saw a show in which every character had serious flaws, even the good-natured sheriff played by the amazing Timothy Olyphant. But the clincher for me was the character of Al Swearengen played by Ian McShane. His eloquence and grace as a downright dirty scoundrel running a filthy gambling hall/whorehouse kept bringing me back for more. You can’t find it on Netflix and the DVDs are expensive, however find someone selling them on Ebay or if you have HBOGo you can check it out. There’s been rumors for years of a movie followup, but the more time that passes the less likely that seems. But there is zero disappointment in this show and everyone should give it a shot.

What I would give to be on the receiving end of this cheers!

2. Futurama

OK, I may be cheating here because it’s been brought back on Comedy Central, but I don’t really like rules. I never watched its original run because at the time I was in some pretentious anti-animation phase in my life. Then when it was cancelled I felt justified in not having watched it. However after discovering it on Netflix I realized that I was stupid for having ever dismissed it. It has solid comedy and wonderful characters. Its quality also coincided with The Simpsons' dip in entertainment value, which shows that Matt Groening focused all of his attention on Futurama, attempting to build an audience. Sadly it never got popular and once it hit DVD, much like Family Guy, it became a cash cow for the network and their straight to DVD movies were quite successful. These are all very justified reasons for it having come back because the quality of the show is very high. It’s a light show and easy to watch. It’ll make you laugh and will make sense of the many memes created because of the show. Give it a chance if you never have, you won’t regret it.

It's a meme cuz its true.

1.  Arrested Development

This is the one. The show I hate myself for never having watched. The show I get angry at others for never having watched. My brother and his wife used to berate me for never watching it.  I even read up on it without watching it and stupidly mispronounced the name Gob in front of them when once again confronted for not watching it. How stupid I was. One of the best reviews I ever read about it said “It’s the first show ever made for writers”. If you’ve seen a show recently that delves into the realm of being meta, you have this show to thank for it (in a courtroom scene they ask if anyone is wearing any recording devices, and they cut to a wide shot where the boom pole is CLEARLY in the shot, on purpose). They manage to make incest cute and sweet, and as you watch the show you will see what you will consider cameos from some extremely famous faces, but what you’ll have to remember is that when this show was on the air, these people were absolute nobodies. Narrated by the brilliant Ron Howard (when someone makes fun of Michael Cera for being like “Opie” he cuts in and says “That bitch better watch her mouth”) and led by Jason Bateman and Will Arnett, the cast shines in every episode. Jeffery Tambor plays the patriarch of the family, as well as his identical hippy twin, and at no point have I EVER considered them to be the same person, his performance is so solid. If you haven’t heard, all these years later they are finally going to resurrect the show on Netflix and conclude it with a movie. This show knew what it was doing better than any show I’ve seen. I’m begging you to watch it. You will laugh harder than you’ve ever laughed at a TV show and you will hate yourself as I do for not having ever watched it. It might even encourage you to go out and commit some light treason. Watch it, you can thank me later.

The greatest thing you've never seen.