|
Page 1
The Big List
Recommended TV
by Jason Roth
| What |
Why |
| Da Ali G Show The Complete Seasons 1 & 2 |
Sacha Baron Cohen is one of the top, living, comedic masters. His writers deserve credit, too, but his ability to improvise and flawlessly deliver his Candid Camera-esque hidden-camera bits is hilarious and deserving of worship. This is definitely one of those shows you can watch multiple times. Personally, I enjoy seeing that slight, barely noticeable smile on his face when he strikes gold, like when he got Patrick Buchanan to use the term "BLTs" to describe biological weapons. Cohen and his three characters (Ali G, the pseudo rapper, Borat, the Kazakhstan TV correspondent, and Bruno, the gay, Austrian fashion reporter), are as funny and entertaining as the often high-profile buffoons they interview. |
| CSI: Crime Scene Investigation
The Complete First Season
The Complete Second Season
The Complete Third Season
The Complete Fourth Season
The Complete Fifth Season |
This show made me reevaluate my opinion of network TV, at least what it was is capable of at its best. Always interesting, slick as hell, intelligent plots, and rarely wanders away from what it's good at: good, modern, high-tech mystery stories. This original (Las Vegas) version is the best. The DVD extras are cool, too, and make you think you're a goddamn crime expert. |
| Curb Your Enthusiasm The First Four Seasons |
Larry David, co-creator of Seinfeld, can create a comedic premise like no one else (misprinting "Beloved Aunt" in an obituary as "Beloved Cunt"), and he can still incorporate the usual gags (misunderstandings, being at the wrong place at the wrong time, etc.) He is a master of comedy. |
| Penn & Teller: Bullshit!
The Complete First Season
The Complete Second Season
| An investigative news magazine show with a libertarian slant and lots of instances of Penn Jillette using the word "fuck". A good amount of humor, as these guys rip apart various bullshit in modern, American culture, such as environmentalism, ghost-hunters, and diet fads. Occasionally, it can be under-researched, and sometimes, it seems like they're using a chainsaw when a butter knife would have worked (e.g., against astrologers and other mystics), but in those cases, you can just watch the show for its comedy. |
| Seinfeld Limited Edition Gift Set (Seasons 1-3)
Season 4
Seasons 5 & 6 Gift Set |
I waiver between calling this the best sit-com of all time and one of the best. Whatever, it's great, and Jerry Seinfeld and Larry David deserve the bulk of the credit. Now that I own it on DVD, I still watch the damn repeats on TV. |
| Sports Night The Complete Series |
Without exaggeration, Sports Night is one of the greatest half hours of television of all time. More like MASH than Seinfeld in its combination of comedy and drama, it's one of the most inspiring and well-written shows that ever was. Too bad most people have never seen it. Buy this DVD box set now. |
Back to the Big List main page
|
