[Closed] As the nights draw in....what digital "box set"?

Parks and recreation
Bosch
Veep
Wife likes Borgen
Dexter

Ray Donovan is excellent. It's a bit of a strange one, I think because of some of the subject matter it can have a bit of a disposable feel but overall it's superb.

Edit: Dexter was my favourite TV until the last season, completely ruined it.

Just started watching Deadwood. At last!!

Ray Donovan is indeed excellent.

The following with Kevin bacon ...intriguing and scary

The Blacklist - not sure if available in the UK but fantastic first two seasons. Hoping it doesn't all go a bit lost in season 3 which is soon to start.

Also first few seasons of boardwalk empire.

I really enjoyed Vikings and black sails, both neither crime or too drama like, just thought I'd keep up the spirit of STW suggestions.

More on topic, I quite like Justified. Also, the shield is great as a less thought provoking one (plus 7 series to go at).

Oh, and Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul if you've not already.

Netflix is well worth it I think for the serials - not big on TV myself but some of the box sets sucker me in for days.

If crime drama is your thing, I'm assuming you've done prison break and the other usual American suspects, the original house of cards is quite good. Look at some of the foreign stuff, Spiral/Enregages is brilliant French crime drama, especially the earlier series. Braquo good too not got more than a few episodes into that though.

Some good old British stuff too, The original tinker tailor soldier spy?

Am I the only person in the world who couldn't get into breaking bad? Just never worked for me.

Hoping it doesn't all go a bit lost in season 3

the ever present threat to a good series. TBH that's what's put me off game of thrones.

BTW how's everything going out there in lumberjack-land? You and yours keeping well?

The Americans
The Bridge (Bron Broen)

Wife likes Borgen

Same here, season 1 was good, but Season 2 is a bit formulaic.

BB done (by me. Not really Mrs Stoner's cup o'tea)
Bridge been and done. Not sure there's any knitted jumper drama we havent completed. Oh, oh, oh, hang on, what about the icelandic one with gandalf/dumbledore in it? any good?

The following and blacklist go on the list then

Blacklist is good (in a bit of a silly James Spader way, rather than serious drama).

Where can one watch Parks & Recreation?

The leftovers - a dark and slightly twisted tale of small town American coming to terms with post rapture breakdown of families antaganised by a weird cult who chain smoke. Christopher eccleston and liv Tyler - well worth a watch

I thought The Following and The Blacklist were bit cheesy, gave up really rather quickly.

"Enregages "

ITYM Engrenages 😉

Caught a late season of that and it was OK. Got the feeling it was passed it's best. Since Im supposed to be working on my french I might start from the beginning again. Although I found the language so thick with slang and vernacular as to be v difficult to follow.

smilies people and TTSS both done. HoC UK done. Alan Clarke Diaries done. Jonathan Meades collection done.

Vikings and Banshee

Deadwood is brilliant, I think you'd enjoy it a lot.

And you'll never look at Lovejoy the same again.

Justified.
It really did sneak under the radar, but utterly fantastic with the best characters. If you like rednecks, white supremacists, dope growers and other criminals.

Bloodlines

Daredevil (better than an Affleck)

I also liked Spiral/Engrenages. All flawed characters without a redeeming one amongst them! Brilliant, gritty, plus you'll get to improve on your, er, vernacular French 🙂 ETA: I see you got there already, earlier seasons are better.

Game of Thrones, gwan, it's highly entertaining pish. Why should you be the [i]only[/i] person not to watch it?

I've also enjoyed Orphan Black.

I think Id rather watch yes minister on you tube than parks and recreation.

Justified may be for me, if not her.

Have clicked buy on S1 of spiral, 8 ep for £10

Season 3 of The Bridge starts in a few weeks IIRC, although minus Martin Rhode.

where?

Season 3 of The Bridge starts in a few weeks IIRC

*hyperventilates*

REALLY!!!???

Showing on this old school thing called a TV. I follow Nordic Noir on FB and they've been playing the teaser TV adverts for a few weeks now....

http://theeurotvplace.com/2015/04/watch-first-trailer-for-the-bridge-bron-broen-season-3/

Channel 4 apparently, not sure exactly when...

If you like crime drama then 'The Wire' really is the king of boxsets, the first series is more than 10 years old now so it's almost a period piece now, but it's fantastic TV, some of the dialogue is hard to follow, the accents are think and the 'street talk' doesn't come with subtitles but if you stick with it its very good.

did the wire years ago. Sorry.

Jordskott; the Killing meets X Files.

And, if you haven't, The Sopranos. Basically ruined telly ever since 🙁

West Wing?

Have you tried Luther?

luther watched. bit meoldramatic.

Missed sopranos. Could try that, but like west wing it must be dated now.

In a totally unrelated to the genres you're after sort of a way, Community. Actual decent American comedy. With Chevy Chase. Different format to each episode, the D&D episodes scattered through the various seasons are particularly great, as is the Law & Order episode.

Have you done Band of Brothers yet, Stoner?

no. not a war tv fan.

Community sounds amusing.

Mentioned before but The West Wing and the Wire 2nd here.

Dr Robot

Me neither, but Band of Brothers is a bit special. It focuses more on the character and relationship development rather than battle scenes. It's very moving.

Dr Robot

Mr Robot?

You thought the story in Bloodline was weak? I have nothing to recommend to you. (The Following is shit btw.)

more on the character and relationship

I'm oot 😉

You thought the story in Bloodline was weak?

IF Sissy Spacek had shown an ounce of spine anytime in the first 3 episodes the story would have collapsed. The characterisation (excluding the matriarch) was pretty good though and carried it.

I'm oot

😆

Oliver Stone's documentary series The Untold History of the United States was excellent. (Really, given some of the shite being considered, I'm worried for you stuck out in the Malverncestershire wilderness for the winter.)

Probably

ITYM Engrenages

I actually looked at that and thought that's not right, it's stw I'd better spell it properly before they get pedantic but I couldn't be arsed.. 😆 I even have a French keyboard on the iPad so there was no excuse really!

But yes on 2 counts, 1-3 eas the best and it's hard work using it to practice following French!

Along a similar vein, film not a box set but I really enjoyed the connection when that came out, should be online now it was a few months ago.

Axe Cop is the next big thing. Watch it before all the cool kids do.

The Strain is rather good

Just finished Hannibal fabulously dark and mixed up but is well worth a watch especially as it has Gilliam Anderson!

Peaky Blinders, This is England and Fargo are all brilliant and are really worth watching. Mr Robot I am watching at the minute and enjoying. Broad City is a left field comedy recommendation.

Fargo if you haven't already.

I'm now being made to watch Castle because True Detective S-2 was too traumatic. Not recommended, even for quite serious fans of Croatian women being sarcastic. 🙂

Oh, and good use of "box set".

At what point can we abandon the term for something which hasn't come in a box since Blockbuster gave up?

Other than the mobile phones, Sopranos hasn't dated. It's outstanding. And the same goes for the suits in the West Wing (a bit like Yes Minister 😉 )

I rewatched Band if Brothers recently, it's a lot more schmaltzy than I remember.

I quite like Suits: I know the world of corporate law isn't the most enticing of premise but it's really well written and funny at times. Plus, the paralegals are really hot

I know the world of corporate law isn't the most enticing of premise

Imagine how terrible a series set in an actual corporate law firm would be.

Episode 1: Deal, Or Different Deal?

It is 11:30pm, on Thursday. In a glass building in the dickish part of London, a pouchy man in his 40s raids the vending machine for Wotsits and a Snickers and then dozes on a 3-hour conference call before telling an unhappy single woman with thinning hair to make some inscrutable changes to a word document called "SPA v28" which, at 700+ pages, has never been read in its entirety by anyone and never will be. The unhappy single woman then passes these instructions to a preternaturally cocky 25 year old man called Benjamin who went to Harrow and is a dick, before going to the toilets for a bit of a cry. Benjamin calls his girlfriend to tell her that his career is more important than their relationship. She understands, and carries on watching House on Netflix.

🙂

It is 11:30pm, on Thursday. In a glass building in the dickish part of London, a pouchy man in his 40s raids the vending machine for Wotsits and a Snickers and then dozes on a 3-hour conference call before telling an unhappy single woman with thinning hair to make some inscrutable changes to a word document called "SPA v28" which, at 700+ pages, has never been read in its entirety by anyone and never will be. The unhappy single woman then passes these instructions to a preternaturally cocky 25 year old man called Benjamin who went to Harrow and is a dick, before going to the toilets for a bit of a cry. Benjamin calls his girlfriend to tell her that his career is more important than their relationship. She understands, and carries on watching House on Netflix.

Sublime!

Dusk till dawn series is worth a watch

wallop - Member
Where can one watch Parks & Recreation?

Hannibal was excellent television. Mads Mikkelsen nailed (and sawed and chopped, and then grilled and lightly sautéed) the character of Hannibal Lecter perfectly. Don't watch whilst eating your dinner. Plus you get Lawrence Fishburne, Gillian Anderson and Hugh Dancy for free. That's not a bad ensemble cast.

Just finished re-watching Generation Kill, which even though it's a bit old (and only really a 6 part mini series) is one of the best and brutal pieces of drama I have ever seen. We badly need a British version about our foreign adventures in hot, sandy places.

I know you mentioned you dislike it but Game of Thrones is so good, will be great to watch over winter just in time for the new series early next year. Band of brothers is also great, as is the Pacific.

I've enjoyed Vikings and Black Sails but neither are crime dramas, Hell on Wheels is a fun watch too - kinda a 'dumbed-down' Deadwood.

Fortitude was quite interesting, though not much really happened. I did enjoy it though - possibly worth a look.

Mr Robot is tremendous. All centred around hacking, a group who are Anonymous in all but name, and a huge focus on realism. They've really done their homework, top stuff.

Orphan Black, lead actress plays half a dozen very different characters, she's incredible. Really enjoying it.

Other good ones we've watched recently: Person of Interest, The Blacklist, all the Marvel / DC outings (SHIELD, Arrow, The Flash, Daredevil, Gotham, Agent Carter (surprisingly good)), Continuum.

Dunno what's available where I'm afraid, that lot's from multiple sources (Sky, Netflix etc).

Most of the good ones have been mentioned.
I think Stoner would really enjoy The Bridge.

I'm doing narcos now, which is about Escobar. Really enjoying it.

Band of Brothers is the best series ever made IMHO. It doesn't sugar coat or glamorize anything, it's dark and savage and will bring a tear to the eye. Does more to remind us that war is really, really shit than anything else I've seen. The interviews with the real guys at the end made me well up 😳

The league on Netflix is very easy watching, and amusing, well for me any way

One you can rattle through quickly, as its only 7 episodes, but is the work of unbridled genius....

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Don't think it's a box set but am I the only one who watches and enjoys "The Last man on earth?"

Available on 'Dave' ([url= http://dave.uktv.co.uk/shows/last-man-on-earth/ ]catch up too[/url]).

Have you watched Six Feet Under? If not do so. Comedy but everyone should watch Silicon Valley, absolutely brilliant and gets better in the second series.

I watched the first episodes of Powers and Wayward pines which both looked mildly interesting, but not enough to make me watch the second episode.

Enjoyed Vikings and in a similar but far less PG vein Spartacus was good.

I thought Dusk Til Dawn was pointless rubbish.

Loved the first two Series of Hannibal but the third was a load of tea cup smashing, oh hang on I'm having a vision, pretentious drivel.

Mr Robot is next on my list when I finally get around to finishing the yawn inducing True Detective 2

As for GoT, DOO EEEETT!!! it's got loads of tits, violent MDK, and dragons, what more do you want?

+1 for Peaky Blinders. Just watched all 3 series back to back. Loved it. Great drama, engaging characters, believable fast paced story lines, well produced and visually impressive. Er..it's great.

thank you all.
Narcos was the one Ive been trying to think of as well.

So on my list goes

Mr Robot
Narcos
Generation Kill
(on top of spiral s1 that Ive already bought and lined up)

In the poss pile goes
Orphan black
Hannibal (if only for reasons of gore)

And on the maybe list
GoT and
Sopranos.

That should keep me going a while. Ta

(and thank you BD. In the painful truth lies so much humour eh? 😉 )

Aw, Generation Kill... Yeah, loved that.

Not quite your demographic (but good for your French) is Les Revenants. Je t'aime...

Battlestar Galactica

Have you done the bridge, stoner? I think you'd enjoy it very much.

Indeed, The Bridge is very good but I fear the central character (bit clumsy, awkward in social situations, difficulty in conveying and understanding emotions) might be a bit close to the bone for the OP.

It is 11:30pm, on Thursday. In a glass building in the dickish part of London, a pouchy man in his 40s raids the vending machine for Wotsits and a Snickers and then dozes on a 3-hour conference call before telling an unhappy single woman with thinning hair to make some inscrutable changes to a word document called "SPA v28" which, at 700+ pages, has never been read in its entirety by anyone and never will be. The unhappy single woman then passes these instructions to a preternaturally cocky 25 year old man called Benjamin who went to Harrow and is a dick, before going to the toilets for a bit of a cry. Benjamin calls his girlfriend to tell her that his career is more important than their relationship. She understands, and carries on watching House on Netflix.

Hahaha a perfect example of why the writing in Suits is so good: It could have been soon boring.**

** I appreciate it has been glammed up and dramatised and bears little resemblance to actual law practice.

In the poss pile goes
Orphan black

Bump it, it's better than that.

I very much enjoyed the bridge.

DD on the other hand found Gorillas in the Mist traumatic to watch.

Bump it, it's better than that.

I just tried it. Got about 2/3 through ep1 and I'm a bit mleh.

Eh, give it three or four at least.

Revenge - young girl's father accused of treason/ then gets bumped in prison by his accusers. She disappears only to return years later to exact revenge on his accusers in all manner of amusing ways.

Orphan black is starting to get a bit silly now....
The Game - BBC one cold war spy - watched on a plane so not 100% sure I remember how it went.
+1 for Peaky Blinders
Hanibal was going great but for some reason even Gillian Anderson couldn't keep me interested in the end.

durhambiker - Member
In a totally unrelated to the genres you're after sort of a way, Community. Actual decent American comedy. With Chevy Chase. Different format to each episode, the D&D episodes scattered through the various seasons are particularly great, as is the Law & Order episode.

Watched Hannibal (liked it, some episodes were hard going but on the whole good stuff) and am just about to watch the last episode of Bloodline season 1.

Acquired Narcos / Generation Kill / Mr Robot for viewing next.

It's a bit schmaltzy in places, and formulaic to a degree

It becomes unbearable somewhere during the second series.