Jimmy Higgins
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I was wondering about this. You have the best shows, but then you have the best of the best of those shows. I was wondering what other people considered the best seasons, along with those I consider the best I've seen.
Homicide: Life on the Streets - Season One
This is premium cable television programming before it existed. This season of an awesome show centers on plots of many partnerships, but the primary case involved is that of Edena Watson, a small girl found dead in Baltimore. N00b Detective Bayliss teams up with tour de force Detective Pendleton, deals with their difficult transitioning into a partnership as well as the emotional issues with this being Bayliss's first case. It is gritty, real, grueling, and culminates in an absurdly incredible closed box interrogation, which would be one of my offerings for best episode ever. It simply doesn't get better than this. Well, okay, maybe.
True Detective - Season One
OMFG! This was intense and intelligent storytelling. They throw a curve with unbelievable accuracy, the best curves are always the ones you don't see until after you are told you saw it. McConaughey and Harrelson are brilliant, though I'd give a decent edge to McConaughey, a deep undercover cop that pretty much seems to be broken. Unlike Homicide, this hangs around just their characters and a single case. If Homicide Season One has a peer, it is this.
Angel - Season Five
Hard to think of a vampire show being on a list like this, but Angel Season Five had a couple things that intersected that makes Season Five incredible. 1) presumptive cancellation 2) Whedon had two more seasons in mind. This meant a fast forwarding in a single season that provided three seasons of Whedonesque experience. This is the first long season (> 12 episode) on the list, and what I found incredible about this season was that it had one episode (the Lucha Libre one) that seemed just adequate. There was just so much happening, so much exploration, in large part due to the major changes between Season Four and Five. I honestly don't think this belongs along side True Detective and Homicide, but to me it is definitely on the same shelf, just a bit further to the side.
Babylon 5 - Season Four
This had the exact same issue as Angel, cancellation and so much ground to cover. Sadly this was forced through into one season, as having this be seasons 4 and 5 would likely have made it last much longer and be a better overall experience. But the reality is, they were on the hook and the major plot lines needed resolution. And the resolutions were so intelligently dreamt up, addressed, and completely solved with the usual solutions leading to the upcoming problems. Sadly the epic of Season 4 would be the downfall for Season 5, which does end up happening, and was quite a bit weaker for it. Thankfully, Babylon 5 was remastered and released digitally, so this can be re-lived in the higher level of visual quality that a show of this level deserved.
Coupling - Season One
This comedy was different than many. While it managed to have a decent plot regarding the characters, what made this shine was how well the comedy was written. There was often seeds planted earlier that would be used later and such craft isn't all too common in comedy on television. The show was very successful in the UK that it was remade in the US and that version was jettisoned into the sun including all the people involved in the project. But the original UK version was as close to perfect as possible, with each character providing a different comic foil into show.
Band of Brothers
HBO's take on Easy Company based on Steve Ambrose's book on said military group. This is one of the rare looks in WWII (American wise) that isn't a glorification of WWII. Most US projects or films on WWII usually include glory. Band of Brothers wasn't about glory, it was about enduring. One of the rare WWII projects I care to watch. It is gritty, intense, emotional, even accurate to a point. From military training to the end of the war, the series follows the troops in this company, the good and the bad.
Homicide: Life on the Streets - Season One
This is premium cable television programming before it existed. This season of an awesome show centers on plots of many partnerships, but the primary case involved is that of Edena Watson, a small girl found dead in Baltimore. N00b Detective Bayliss teams up with tour de force Detective Pendleton, deals with their difficult transitioning into a partnership as well as the emotional issues with this being Bayliss's first case. It is gritty, real, grueling, and culminates in an absurdly incredible closed box interrogation, which would be one of my offerings for best episode ever. It simply doesn't get better than this. Well, okay, maybe.
True Detective - Season One
OMFG! This was intense and intelligent storytelling. They throw a curve with unbelievable accuracy, the best curves are always the ones you don't see until after you are told you saw it. McConaughey and Harrelson are brilliant, though I'd give a decent edge to McConaughey, a deep undercover cop that pretty much seems to be broken. Unlike Homicide, this hangs around just their characters and a single case. If Homicide Season One has a peer, it is this.
Angel - Season Five
Hard to think of a vampire show being on a list like this, but Angel Season Five had a couple things that intersected that makes Season Five incredible. 1) presumptive cancellation 2) Whedon had two more seasons in mind. This meant a fast forwarding in a single season that provided three seasons of Whedonesque experience. This is the first long season (> 12 episode) on the list, and what I found incredible about this season was that it had one episode (the Lucha Libre one) that seemed just adequate. There was just so much happening, so much exploration, in large part due to the major changes between Season Four and Five. I honestly don't think this belongs along side True Detective and Homicide, but to me it is definitely on the same shelf, just a bit further to the side.
Babylon 5 - Season Four
This had the exact same issue as Angel, cancellation and so much ground to cover. Sadly this was forced through into one season, as having this be seasons 4 and 5 would likely have made it last much longer and be a better overall experience. But the reality is, they were on the hook and the major plot lines needed resolution. And the resolutions were so intelligently dreamt up, addressed, and completely solved with the usual solutions leading to the upcoming problems. Sadly the epic of Season 4 would be the downfall for Season 5, which does end up happening, and was quite a bit weaker for it. Thankfully, Babylon 5 was remastered and released digitally, so this can be re-lived in the higher level of visual quality that a show of this level deserved.
Coupling - Season One
This comedy was different than many. While it managed to have a decent plot regarding the characters, what made this shine was how well the comedy was written. There was often seeds planted earlier that would be used later and such craft isn't all too common in comedy on television. The show was very successful in the UK that it was remade in the US and that version was jettisoned into the sun including all the people involved in the project. But the original UK version was as close to perfect as possible, with each character providing a different comic foil into show.
Band of Brothers
HBO's take on Easy Company based on Steve Ambrose's book on said military group. This is one of the rare looks in WWII (American wise) that isn't a glorification of WWII. Most US projects or films on WWII usually include glory. Band of Brothers wasn't about glory, it was about enduring. One of the rare WWII projects I care to watch. It is gritty, intense, emotional, even accurate to a point. From military training to the end of the war, the series follows the troops in this company, the good and the bad.
