Genvid & Dies Gaudii Forums

So, I am trying the Netflix trial on my PS3. I am looking for interesting things to sample. So, does anyone have any recommendations? In general I like scifi and fantasy. I do like fun family stuff. Oh, I also really love documentaries and history. Comedies are fun, but I don't like things like South Park and Family Guy, I do like things like Futurama and Excel Saga.

You can also get an idea what anime I like by clicking the banner in my signature. It will link you to myanimelist.

-Godzilla movies
-Gamera movies
-Mystery Science Theater 3000

Just to list a few. I'll think of more later, once I regain clarity.

They have MST3K on the streaming!? Oh WOW! I will have to rewatch that. The tapes are getting mighty threadbare. A friend and myself are planning on going to a con and on one day cosplay as Joel and Mike, and the other as Pearl and son.

That's awesome that you and your friends are cosplaying as the MST3K characters! Hope that goes well for ya.

Death Note. Ignore the fandom for one moment and give it a watch.

Okay, I'm looking at InstantWatcher since NetFlix won't show me what they have because I don't pay for streaming. I'm going off what they say NetFlix has.

Stuff I've watched personally and liked:
Bleach
Blood+
Death Note
FLCL
Samurai Champloo
Trinity Blood
Witchblade
Discworld: Wyrd Sisters
Cry-Baby
Earth Girls are Easy
All of Eddie Izzard's comedy shows
All of George Carlin's stand-up routines
Trainspotting
American Pimp
The Virgin Suicides
Gypsy 83
A Clockwork Orange
Death Becomes Her
Repo! The Genetic Opera
Serenity(assuming I find Firefly)
Sliding Doors
Snow White: A Tale of Terror
30 Rock
Angel(if you've seen Buffy)
Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations
Archer
Bizarre Foods
Black Adder
Buffy the Vampire Slayer(TV)
Chapelle's Show
Charmed
Dirty Jobs
Doc Martin
Doctor Who(specifically, the ones marked as seasons 1-5, and The Waters of Mars. That's the new stuff.)
Drawn Together
Hercules the Legendary Journeys
The Kids in the Hall
Married with Children
Sliders
Torchwood(you can watch it without watching the new Doctor Who without affecting most of the plot. MOST.)
Top Gear
X-Men
X-Men Evolution
Xena: Warrior Princess

Stuff other people say is good:
Afro Samurai
Clannad
Fruits Basket
Ghost in the Shell
Ouran High School Host club
Princess Tutu
XXXHolic
Chasing Amy
Clerks
Boondock Saints
Caligula
The Lion in Winter
24(the TV series)
Arrested Development
Battlestar Galactica(the new one)
Bones
Damages
Dark Shadows(in preparation for the movie coming out)
Eureka
The Guild
The IT Crowd
Lost
Mad Men
Downton Abbey
Sherlock
My So-Called Life
Nip/Tuck
The Office (UK)
Parks and Recreation
Skins(UK)
The Tudors
Twin Peaks(but only season 1)
Weeds

And depending on how you feel about watching horrible movies for comedic value:
Barb Wire
Caged Heat
Hercules in New York

Thanks for the long list, but would you mind giving just a few of your top recommendations? That long of a list without any other information feels like it is a checklist and doesn't really make it easy for me to research everything.

I have seen several shows you mentioned, but I would like your recommendations. Though I am good on Doctor Who viewing, I do have the Doctor as my icon after all (for our mutual love of celery).

Take Fruits Basket off that list and we're golden. lol

I admit, the fandom had turned me off from it when I had been originally interested in the premise.

Same thing happened to me with Naruto. I did eventually watch the canon half of the first series before i decided that the anime was not for me.

Ewww... MOST OVERRATED MOVIE EVER.


BTW, Death Wish 3>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>Boondock Saints

You MUST watch Buffy the Vampire Slayer (the TV show, not the movie it's based on) and then its spin-off show, Angel.

YOU MUST.

Season 1 is hit-and-miss for me, but by the middle of season 2, things pick up tremendously. The show only gets better with every season, as opposed to some shows that deteriorate as they go on.

Also: Battlestar Galactica (the 2004 re-make) is a must-see, as is its spin-off prequel show, Caprica.

Edit: about Death Note...I watched it during the summer of 2007 around when it first came out. I got to, like, maybe 10 episodes before the finale...and I just couldn't take it anymore.

Spoiler alert in case anyone cares?







Basically, I *hated* how the story jumped ahead a bunch of years, and frakking Mello or whatever, I hated him so much, such a weird guy, random personality quirks that don't contribute to characters....bleh. I also became really jaded over how each episode was about two geniuses figuring out each other's plan before the other makes a move. It just became so ridiculous after a while, and I couldn't find it in me to actually finish the show after the 10-year jump.







That's all. =3

Oh! Don't forget to check out Highlander and Highlander: The Series as well! Avoid the live action sequels at all costs.

Yeah, sorry about that. It was late at night for me, and I'd planned on paring it down a bit but fell asleep. I didn't notice your icon was the Doctor because I'm not that far along in the Classic series yet. (Just started with Pertwee this week!)

It's going to be hard to whittle it down because I've watched that much TV, especially in the last 8 years. I've managed to cut it down to about a third of what it was.

Stuff I will outright beg people to watch:

Death Note-- Like Yen said, ignore the fandom and watch the show. You're basically watching it to see people attempting to outsmart each other for 37 episodes.
Witchblade-- It's related to the comic only as far as the Witchblade itself. If you can get past the rampant fanservice, it's an amazing show about a woman's love for her daughter. The ending made me cry.
Cry-Baby-- If you've never watched a John Waters film in your life, start with this one or the original Hairspray.
Trainspotting-- It's a screwed up movie about a bunch of heroin addicts in the UK. Not the same as Requiem for a Dream.
A Clockwork Orange-- Good introductory movie to Stanley Kubrick. The important thing to remember is that it's really dark satire.
Death Becomes Her-- For me, it's just a good movie, especially if you like watching Meryl Streep do comedies.
Snow White: A Tale of Terror-- This was probably the first truly dark take on Snow White, with Sigourney Weaver as her stepmother. It's intended to come across as a dark fantasy/thriller sort of thing.
Archer-- The animation style looks just like Frisky Dingo from Adult Swim, but the story itself is much funnier. Contains several actors from Arrested Develpment.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer(TV)-- The best vampire show on TV since the original Dark Shadows.
Angel(if you've seen Buffy)-- Well, it's the companion series. Quite a few things happen between the two shows if you pay close attention.
X-Men-- Every subsequent adaptation of the X-Men comic has yet to top the original animated series in my eyes.

If you have any questions, feel free to ask.

Well, the fandom always kept me from trying it out, but I saw it listed on netflix, closed my curtains, locked the doors, and gave it a watch.

But yeah, yaoi fangirls kill EVERYTHING

@John
Alright, I will give Buffy a second chance. I watched the movie, and enjoyed it for all its fun B movieness. I then watched the first season of the show, but didn't care for Buffy's characterization in it, even if it was closer than what was originally intended. I will give season 2 a shot to change my mind.

I've seen all of Battlestar Galactica (my father insisted being a big fan of both the original and the new), but only the first ep of Caprica. So that goes on the list.

Thanks for the recs.

@Gojira
I will make sure to check out at least Highlander itself. Thanks.

@Raven
It is cool. I actually do appreciate the long list and I'll look into them as time goes on, but it was a bit too big to watch in one month to decide if I want to keep Netflix.

Witchblade looks interesting, and if I can deal with Highschool of the Dead than I should be good for the fanservice. I think I might try Cry-Baby as well. At least for first round picks.

I've seen Death Becomes Her. Tis a great movie. If it weren't for the fact that I had already seen it, I would have loved you for introducing me to it. Does that make sense?

X-Men was awesome. I did watch it, but that was when I was little. So a rewatch is in order.

Thanks for narrowing it down to your top recs

@Yen
Amen to that! There is nothing wrong with a little yaoi, yuri or het, but taking it to extremes ruins it for everyone.

I think it's wrong all together to change a character's sexuality based on your own preferences, and thats why Yaoi fangirls bother me. I also think they pervert everything.

See, I just ignore those groups and enjoy the show.

Oohhhhhh, well if you actually liked the movie, then the TV show probably isn't for you. =/ Which is really hard for me to say since I'm such a hardcore Buffy guy, haha. (Actually, I prefer the spin-off "Angel," but Buffy is definitely up there for me.) The TV series does poke fun at the B-movie genre, but it takes things to a higher level than seen in season 1. And like I said, season 2 doesn't really pick up until the middle of the season (you'll know when), but it seems like you're at least willing to give the whole second season a shot.

And although I like Buffy as a character, I can see why other people don't. In these cases, I tell people to not watch the show for Buffy herself, but for the supporting cast. It's very much an ensemble show.

Eh. It's just fantasies, don't know what many people get so upset about.

Besides, it's cool to pervert everything. (the writer of this comment feels very targeted)



You ignore the yaoi fangirls?

Pretty easily too.

Doesn't look like that sometimes.

I never actually expected you to watch all of them, especially since some of my original recs are 100+ episode TV series.

If you wind up keeping the NetFlix streaming, be warned that NetFlix won't tell you when they're removing something. You're going to have to Google for one of the fan-run sites that keep track of that.

Glad you like Death Becomes Her, and I totally get what you mean. I think it's extremely underrated.

I agree with John's recommendation of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel, but admittedly it's not for everyone. In some cases, I think it may be one of those "you had to be there" kind of shows. I'm not sure if I'd love it as much if I didn't grow up watching it.

Other recommendations:

- Firefly and Serenity (space western): By the same writer and director of Buffy and Angel, but I think you would like it even if you didn't like the others. It has a great cast of characters, good writing, and an interesting plot. Too bad it's only fourteen episodes long. =/ The film is also good, though, and it ties up some loose ends.

- Psych (drama-comedy): About a young man who uses the very acute observational skills that his father taught him to pass as a psychic helping the police solve crimes. This show is so fun to watch. Seriously, give it a try - I doubt you'll regret it.

- Sherlock (crime drama): I don't know if this would be of interest to you, but it's one of my favorites, so I have to mention it. :p It's basically a modern day retelling of Sherlock Holmes, and it translates surprisingly well. In my opinion, it maintains a great balance of drama, mystery, and comedy. Benedict Cumberbatch plays the main character perfectly.

- Supernatural (supernatural/horror/drama): One of my favorite shows. It's about two young men who hunt ghosts and supernatural entities while trying to discover the truth behind the mystery of their mother's death. It's pretty dramatic, but it also has a lot of great comedic moments. It has some very strong character development, and I think it'd be hard to not feel a little attached to the characters after a while.

If I think of any others, I'll add them in a later post.

Thanks for the recommendations celestial.

I've been a fan of Firefly since I saw the original airing on TV. Psych is also something I enjoy when I am in the mood for it. Sadly, Sherlock has been ruined for me by a friend. But, Supernatural sounds interesting.

You're welcome.



That's too bad. How did your friend ruin it?

When she likes a show she obsesses about it constantly. Every topic she turns back to it. She keeps talking about how X character is the Y ever. She basically kept trying to force it on me so much that I want nothing to do with it right now. I probably will see it someday, but on my own terms.

Oh, okay. Yeah, I get that. That's happened to me before a couple of times, too.