Top Ten Tuesdays - Sept. 13th

 

Based on a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and The Bookish.

Following my first Top Ten Tuesday of favorite funny TV shows, continuing this one with favorite serious TV Shows.

Again these are not in order by favorites.

Top Ten Favorite Drama Shows

1.  The Wonder Years --- Sure, it does have it's dry moments sometimes. Overall it's a unique show, though, with many important themes per episode, lots of truly funny stuff, and I fell in love with the characters. For some reason this show makes me feel forever young when watching. It's like when I listen to the Beach Boys and feel young with the sun in my face and my hair blowing in the wind outside in the sun. The same invigorating sense erupts in me when watching this one. Only four seasons, how tragic. The last bonus, but certainly not the least, is the unbelievably incredible music in every episode. Just wow. I love it, I have hunted down many long-forgotten favorites after watching this one. An older show but a timeless one.

2. Smallville - I started watching this show about nine years ago. I watched each then released DVD set by renting them from Netflix and then going out and purchasing the set. I got my father hooked into the show and he has also become a die-hard fan. For years we talked about the new episodes and watched it together. He always borrows my sets and in fact I have some at his house right now, as he keeps watching them over and over. It is cheesy in some parts and has flaws, but overall I just fell in love with it, mainly the second through fourth season. The first was weaker I thought, and the ending suffered some for various reasons (became less personal, more detached, and several important characters left.) So, while not imperfect, it holds a special place in my heart. My fiance and I have been together three years now and he, also being a fan, has watched the ending with me. A lot of emotions attached to the show and it spurred my interest in the Superman legend, which has continued into books, graphic novels, and the movies since.

3. Picket Fences - While it didn't run many seasons either, I find the show incredible. It sure has cheesy, melodramatic moments - and some boring ones - but overall it was hilariously morbid and I genuinely dug the characters and episode themes. It was so different and really stands out as a new type of thing. Why I really like it so much, hard to say, but it's an older one that I'll keep rewatching.

4.  The Shield - Violent and brutal, this show was powerful, raw, and fabulous. Each show left me hooked for the next with a usual cliffhanger. The characters were a gritty blend of corruption, perversion, and pure intentions gone stray. There's enough subplot in this one to almost get it to the soap opera level. The bleakness was at times broken by a bizarre humor.

5. Without a Trace - Taking it a step farther than just another detective series, sets you inside the mystery each step at a time. The backward glances into what happened let you get to know the character afterword to where its not too impersonal. I also love the main man, Jack, his personality dominates the screen time. Not every ending was pretty, but rarely was it predictable.

6. House - I have fallen behind on the seasons but House owns its own league. He's sarcastic but hilarious, and the drama keeps you drawn in.

7. Dallas - Yes, okay, I admit - cheesy. But I remember growing up with this and my dad and I had this as ur show way before Smallville. Every week we'd watch it and I was too young to understand most of it then. Now I own most of the seasons and love the stuff. I haven't seen the last few again yet so I still need a refresher past season 8.

8. Law N' Order - I've never jumped on all the bandwagon spinoffs besides SVU, but my mother and I used to watch the original together for years. I loved the mystery, tension, and how it was divided - half into police work, half into court drama. Usually they won by choosing intriguing cast personalities.

9. True Blood - The show irritates me so much sometimes, and a few episodes are outright horrible. The first season especially turned me off. That said, I love the books as one of my favorite series, and I also love the show. There's weaknesses, sure, but the great episodes make the bad, cheesy ones worthwhile.

10. Carnivale - Wow, so sad this show died so quickly due to studio politics. Amazing, unique drama greatly enjoyed. Different, exciting, captivating. I've never seen one like this one and I don't see how I could again. Even though it didnt last long, I recommend almost everyone checking it out.