New TV for a New TV

Let it be known that I'm not really a TV kinda guy. The missus and the two daughters (when back from Uni) watch plenty between them and my viewing pretty much includes what they happen to be watching when I'm in the room at the same time. Needless to say, I've been bombarded with a lot of shite in my time.

Over the summer, I was in the enviable position of having a bit of surplus cash that needed spending and so my mind turned to getting a new TV. Now as most TV shows are pretty awful, I decided that I'd research all the decent TV series that have been on over the last ten years or so and (along with the new TV) actually buy a load of DVDs to keep me entertained over the long cold evenings this winter. So out went the 19" DMTech that the missus had bought five years ago from Tescos and in came a 32" LED Samsung TV with a built in freeview HD tuner. Further, while researching, blu-ray players caught my eye and so I decided to give one of those a spin as well.

A visit to Currys and a few clicks on Amazon later and I was fully kitted out with the inevitable upgrade and a full library of acclaimed TV series' to get my teeth into. The thing is, my research extended far and wide and I may have gone a bit overboard. Below, I've compiled the twenty TV series that I intend to watch. I reckon I've got enough to last about three years or so. The entire series of The Sopranos I've already watched but felt I had to put it down on the list as it would be conspicuous by its absence. I've also nearly watched all of Cracker and threw that in for the hell of it. I think it's quite a good mix:

1.   Battlestar Galactica - Season #1(Blu-ray)
2.   Band of Brothers - (Blu-ray)
3.   Breaking Bad - Season #1
4.   Cracker - Complete Collection
5.   Deadwood - Complete Collection
6.   Dexter - Seasons #1, #2, #3, #4, #5.
7.   Fringe - Season #1 (Blu-ray)
8.   Game of Thrones - Season #1 (Blu-ray)
9.   Lost - Complete Collection (Blu-ray)
10. Mad Men  - Season #1 (Blu-ray)
11. Oz - Complete Collection
12. Psychoville - Season #1 (Blu-ray)
13. Rome - Complete Collection (Blu-ray)
14. Sherlock - Complete Collection
15. Six Feet Under - Season #1
16. The Sopranos - Complete Collection
17. Treme - Season #1 (Blu-ray)
18. The Walking Dead - Season #1 (Blu-ray)
19. The Wire - Season #1
20. 24  - Season #1

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I know, do you go for Season #1 and see how you enjoy it or do you take the plunge and buy the entire collection? It's a tough call. I'm pretty sure I'm going to enjoy Breaking Bad and, possibly, The Wire but I'm really not sure about some of the others. The Walking Dead is definitely just a bit of fun where I think zombies getting killed in all sorts of ways in HD might be a blast for one season but might become old hat over a few seasons. Game of Thrones has had incredibly good press and I have high hopes for that; especially on the blu-ray version. (I've checked it for picture quality and it's amazing!)

Deadwood, Fringe, Mad Men, Six Feet Under, Treme and 24 were all complete unknowns before I did my research but all, besides Treme, have had almost universally good reviews. Treme, by the makers of The Wire, is a bit of a gamble and was really bought to appease the missus who mentioned she'd might like it when I was doing my research. I'm pretty sure I'll enjoy Oz, Rome and Psychoville. 

Of those I've watched, I'd recommend the entire series of The Sopranos. Season #1 of Dexter was good - if a little far-fetched; the first two episodes of Sherlock are good; Cracker is good as well, if not a little melodramatic in the later stages. Finally, after four episodes of Lost I'm intrigued but the pacing can be a little slow and there do seem to be a LOT of unanswered questions - I just hope it doesn't frustrate. 

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And there you have it. I might do a review of each season just for the fun of it but in my upcoming posts I'd like to write about the six decent poker rooms to play cash game poker around London.