Entertain my Dad: Suggest Puzzletastic TV on DVD

July 16, 2009 8:48 PM

Help me entertain my father! I need TV-on-DVD recommendations, preferably built around solving things - crime, mysteries, puzzles, world crises, etc.

We've just finished up six of the seven seasons of Mission: Impossible, and I'd like to get more tv series that involve puzzles/heists/conning/mysteries or other fun plot-driving play-along-at-home tv series. I just netflixed Hu$tle for him, but I'm going to run out of options soon!

Current TV he likes in this arena: Leverage, Monk, Psych
Past TV he liked: Due South, Get Smart, Perry Mason, M:I, Twin Peaks (the first season), Police Squad!
TV I loved and he thought was too silly: Pushing Daisies

Technology, con jobs, humor, spies, wittiness are all pluses!

Help me hive mind!

posted by julen to media & arts (32 comments total)

Mythbusters comes to mind.
posted by chrisalbon at 8:49 PM on July 16

Law and Order sounds perfect.
posted by chrisalbon at 8:50 PM on July 16

The Wire and Life on Mars (UK)
posted by cowbellemoo at 8:56 PM on July 16

Inspector Gadget
posted by Frasermoo at 8:56 PM on July 16

A left-field suggestion: Veronica Mars. Teen Twin-Peaks.
posted by Paragon at 9:00 PM on July 16 [1 favorite has favorites]

The first few seasons of Alias were pretty decent, if a little soapy. I'd also like to think an older person with a mystery bent would like Veronica Mars but high-school-drama/PI-procedural might have zero appeal.
posted by cowbellemoo at 9:02 PM on July 16

Ian McShane in Lovejoy....capers and mysteries galore

The Unit...world crisis solving
posted by legotech at 9:09 PM on July 16

NCIS and Bones
posted by eleanna at 9:18 PM on July 16

Criminal Minds.
posted by kro at 9:18 PM on July 16

'Lie to me', and 'Numbers' are some crime solving shows that are really interesting, one involves a human lie detector that's also very witty, and the other uses a genius mathematician who really thinks outside the box. Both are done VERY WELL in my opinion, i couldn't recommend them more. Also he might like 'House MD'.
posted by unsurmountable at 9:21 PM on July 16

The Inspector Morse series.
posted by ocherdraco at 9:32 PM on July 16

Seconding Lovejoy. Did he ever watch Columbo back in the day? I believe the first season of The Mentalist will be out on DVD soon, which he may like if he has not seen it.
posted by gudrun at 9:47 PM on July 16

Seconding Inspector Morse. If he likes Morse, he may also like Inspector Lewis

If brit mysteries work for him here are some others I'd highly suggest:

Foyles War, British Police procedural set in WW2 Hastings. Great acting, sets, themes etc.. The first two season show enough clues on screen for you to figure it out before they do. Other seasons are also good, but less play-along-at-home.

Midsomer Murders, a modern take on the classic english village murder mystery.

The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (Jeremy Brett versions only); Jeremy Brett is the best, most accurate Holmes ever. The production values are good, the stories are faithful to the original stories (and sometimes come off as melodramatic), and there's lots of variety.

Others to check out, but never quite clicked with me:

Touch of Frost, Inspector Lynley Mysteries, Poirot.
posted by gofargogo at 10:05 PM on July 16

Come on, guys! MacGyver!
posted by litterateur at 10:29 PM on July 16

Columbo
Matlock
Murder She Wrote
posted by invisible ink at 11:16 PM on July 16

Technology, con jobs, humor, spies, wittiness are all pluses!
Has no one said it yet? Burn Notice probably has you covered on all bases. Not so much the tricksiness/plot twisting you'll find in Hustle/Leverage but still good fun.
posted by juv3nal at 12:44 AM on July 17 [1 favorite has favorites]

Also, for a blast to the past, possibly the Avengers?
posted by juv3nal at 1:02 AM on July 17

Seconding the UK version of Life On Mars, and maybe hinting at The Prisoner.
posted by FarOutFreak at 3:44 AM on July 17

Does it have to be TV series? Because it sounds like he'd love all of David Mamet's heist/con-job movies: "House of Games," "The Spanish Prisoner," "Heist," et al.
posted by jbickers at 4:16 AM on July 17

I think Jonathan Creek would be perfect.

More of a long shot: Chuck. It is less puzzle-based but it is a witty spy show.
posted by ninebelow at 4:50 AM on July 17

David Mamet produced "The Unit".
posted by cda at 4:56 AM on July 17

If he liked Get Smart, try Robert Vaughn in The Man from U.N.C.L.E., Patrick McGoohan in Danger Man, Secret Agent, and The Prisoner.

From the UK, check out Alan Davies in Jonathan Creek, Robson Green in Touching Evil 1 - 3, and Robbie Coltrane in Cracker .
posted by plokent at 5:15 AM on July 17

History Detectives on PBS? Not fiction, but still entertaining.
posted by SuperSquirrel at 6:25 AM on July 17

Nthing Murder She Wrote, Veronica Mars, and Law & Order SVU
posted by firei at 6:48 AM on July 17

House MD

Agatha Christie's Poirot series - so many to choose from, and they are all about the puzzle
posted by mmw at 6:57 AM on July 17

Nthing Columbo, preferably the original 1970s run of the series. Even though the clothes, cars and scenery is quite dated, Lt. Columbo's investigative technique is not. Still just as fascinating 30-some years later.
posted by Oriole Adams at 7:25 AM on July 17

My parents love The Closer and Homicide: Life on the Streets..
posted by lunasol at 7:29 AM on July 17

I love Cadfael. (Derek Jacobi as monk who also happens to be a master sleuth in a community where "mysterious crimes" seem to be the order of the day)
posted by Eumachia L F at 7:43 AM on July 17

Seconding House and Criminal Minds.
posted by alona at 10:13 AM on July 17

Awesome! He loved Columbo (and would totally watch them again!) and watches Mythbusters and History Detectives already, so you guys are totally on the right track. He's not a big fan of most police procedurals, for some reason - there needs to be some kind of oddball twist, so I'll put them towards the back of the list.

I tried to show him Burn Notice already, but the netflix DVDs didn't work in the fancy, more expensive DVD player I gave them, but later worked fine in my cheapo old DVD/VCR player. Go figure!

I went ahead and marked as best answers the ones I'm moving to the top of the netflix queue. MacGuyver! I would never have thought of that in particular, but its genius.
posted by julen at 11:37 PM on July 17

I highly recommend:
Castle (2009) - crime-solving, fast paced, witty dialog, funny
Murphy's Law (2003) - under-cover cop, gritty, realistic
posted by jayne at 12:28 PM on July 18

This thread's probably a cold case (ha ha), but I found it because we just finished catching up with Castle and now I need another fix.

Castle has to have some of the absolute best hardboiled-but-believable banter I've ever seen. And it's a real original premise, with plenty of oddball cases. So I strongly recommend it.
posted by Netzapper at 2:38 AM on October 28