Only one Guardian?
April 29, 2011 4:52 PM Subscribe
Shows like The Guardian? Definitely…
My wife (big Simon Baker fan) and I just watched all 3 seasons of this show, which we'd just kinda stumbled on with considerable surprise, and have never seen mentioned here on the green, despite all the What-to-Watch? threads I've browsed and added to, so maybe this is wrong place to ask about it. But here goes anyway: We loved it, increasingly so as it progressed; and now we're feeling a bit lost looking for something similar.
We've watched a LOT of flix and series over the years mostly thanks to Netflix, but don't have access to broadcast TV, so we aren't super-clued into, and generally have no patience for, the typical standard-channel stuff, which I guess this show was part of.
The main thing we thought was marvelous about The Guardian was how natural and more or less normal everybody and every situation was: No superheroes, no obvious styling or style-setters, no pin-ups (mostly), no super-cute/super-clever TV-talk and no flawless paragons, and no super-villains or super-crimes either; just a steady flow of quite real-feeling issues and problems, with no sudden fixes or clever twists and, mostly, no over-the-top dramatic outcomes, but still with a few shockers now and then. And by no means always a happy or even very resolved ending to the weekly legal/social crises; just a bunch of humans struggling along with various gifts and definitely mixed-bag personalities and issues in a world that felt like ours, not Hollywood's. And the way the weekly client-crises sometimes interwove with and sometimes didn't matter to the larger plot arches was nicely done, too…
So, anything else out there (on DVD, Netflix, etc.) with a similar clear-eyed, naturalistic but low-profile take on modern life? We've already seen and loved the generally much better and more highly regarded Friday Night Lights, My SoCalled Life, Sopranos, The Wire, and Mad Men, all of which we feel had many of the same qualities. On the other hand, we couldn't get into The West Wing, anything by the Deadwood guy, Gilmour Girls or pretty much any other family/bunch-a-friends-type main-stream popular show. The Guardian seems like an anomaly; was it?
Thanks!
My wife (big Simon Baker fan) and I just watched all 3 seasons of this show, which we'd just kinda stumbled on with considerable surprise, and have never seen mentioned here on the green, despite all the What-to-Watch? threads I've browsed and added to, so maybe this is wrong place to ask about it. But here goes anyway: We loved it, increasingly so as it progressed; and now we're feeling a bit lost looking for something similar.
We've watched a LOT of flix and series over the years mostly thanks to Netflix, but don't have access to broadcast TV, so we aren't super-clued into, and generally have no patience for, the typical standard-channel stuff, which I guess this show was part of.
The main thing we thought was marvelous about The Guardian was how natural and more or less normal everybody and every situation was: No superheroes, no obvious styling or style-setters, no pin-ups (mostly), no super-cute/super-clever TV-talk and no flawless paragons, and no super-villains or super-crimes either; just a steady flow of quite real-feeling issues and problems, with no sudden fixes or clever twists and, mostly, no over-the-top dramatic outcomes, but still with a few shockers now and then. And by no means always a happy or even very resolved ending to the weekly legal/social crises; just a bunch of humans struggling along with various gifts and definitely mixed-bag personalities and issues in a world that felt like ours, not Hollywood's. And the way the weekly client-crises sometimes interwove with and sometimes didn't matter to the larger plot arches was nicely done, too…
So, anything else out there (on DVD, Netflix, etc.) with a similar clear-eyed, naturalistic but low-profile take on modern life? We've already seen and loved the generally much better and more highly regarded Friday Night Lights, My SoCalled Life, Sopranos, The Wire, and Mad Men, all of which we feel had many of the same qualities. On the other hand, we couldn't get into The West Wing, anything by the Deadwood guy, Gilmour Girls or pretty much any other family/bunch-a-friends-type main-stream popular show. The Guardian seems like an anomaly; was it?
Thanks!
Response by poster: Thanks; we've hit up the BBC especially hard over the years, even sending off for region-2 DVDs for stuff that seems unlikely to ever get put out for the States (like the superb Vincent), and have seen and liked many of these, esp. Cracker, Prime Suspect, Trial and R, Waking the D, Gently, Foyle and Intelligence; DaVinci's Inquest seems like it ought to be on our list, too, but we got a bit brought down by it all after a few episodes. But, yeah, nobody does crime for our tastes like the English and cousins; also loved Conviction and Luther, and Branagh's Wallender; will invest in the real thing when it gets a bit cheaper, but couldn't wait for The Killing to come down; loved that until the last episode where absolutely everybody went bad or got the last bit of hope dashed.
The English shows that I ought to have mentioned in this context would be Cold Feet, Ballykissangel, Bob and Rose, and maybe even Gavin &Stacy and Doc Martin. And Rain Shadow and Brides of Christ from Australia. Lots of others but I can't think of titles…
posted by dpcoffin at 7:34 PM on April 29, 2011
The English shows that I ought to have mentioned in this context would be Cold Feet, Ballykissangel, Bob and Rose, and maybe even Gavin &Stacy and Doc Martin. And Rain Shadow and Brides of Christ from Australia. Lots of others but I can't think of titles…
posted by dpcoffin at 7:34 PM on April 29, 2011
Ahh, Vincent, an excellent show that I don't understand not having a longer run. As far as US shows I don't really know of many that fit the bill outside of the HBO stuff, Six Feet Under wasn't mentioned and Rubicon and Walking Dead on AMC although it sounds like these don't exactly fit the bill. I also just realized I didn't include Inspector Morse and the Red Riding Trilogy, but I suspect the Anglophile in you has already discovered that.
posted by Odinhead at 8:29 PM on April 29, 2011
posted by Odinhead at 8:29 PM on April 29, 2011
Response by poster: Thanks again, Odinhead, and you're right, we've seen and generally liked all those except Walking Dead (somehow the fun of zombies completely escapes us; wtf?!?); especially loved Rubicon, and Morse back in the day.
Seems nobody here has ever seen The Guardian. I'm guessing I should rephrase this question and ask again in while. It'll be something like:
OK, once you've seen all the good stuff on TV, what next? IOW, it's not about what's A-List TV (already well covered here), but what's worth exploring in the B+ to C+ lists?
We'll see:)
posted by dpcoffin at 10:24 AM on April 30, 2011
Seems nobody here has ever seen The Guardian. I'm guessing I should rephrase this question and ask again in while. It'll be something like:
OK, once you've seen all the good stuff on TV, what next? IOW, it's not about what's A-List TV (already well covered here), but what's worth exploring in the B+ to C+ lists?
We'll see:)
posted by dpcoffin at 10:24 AM on April 30, 2011
I dont have any other shows to offer you but I wanted to login and mention that I sometimes feel my girlfriend and I were the only people on earth to ever watch this how. I've never seen anyone else mention it either and we both thought it was the best show on TV at the time.
posted by darkpony at 2:23 PM on April 30, 2011
posted by darkpony at 2:23 PM on April 30, 2011
I been a fan of many of the shows you list, especially like Micheal Kitchen's Foyle.
The English shows are such a different animal than the American it's hard to even compare them. One English show I really liked though not in the same vein is Shameless.
As for American TV nothing has ever touched The Wire for me. If I watch a show like Law and Order it seems staged and almost silly by comparison. That said I did get hooked on The Shield. Not nearly as good as The Wire but compelling in its own way.
I thought Six Feet Under was a terrific show, so well acted. Also like AMC's Breaking Bad.
posted by PaulBGoode at 10:33 PM on April 30, 2011
The English shows are such a different animal than the American it's hard to even compare them. One English show I really liked though not in the same vein is Shameless.
As for American TV nothing has ever touched The Wire for me. If I watch a show like Law and Order it seems staged and almost silly by comparison. That said I did get hooked on The Shield. Not nearly as good as The Wire but compelling in its own way.
I thought Six Feet Under was a terrific show, so well acted. Also like AMC's Breaking Bad.
posted by PaulBGoode at 10:33 PM on April 30, 2011
How about Flashpoint? It's a Canadian production about a Strategic Response Unit. I think it fits the 'no super-heroes, no super-villains, no super-crimes' qualification. Most episodes are about ordinary people caught up in situations that have spiraled out of control, not about master-criminals with evil plots.
posted by oh yeah! at 10:06 AM on May 1, 2011
posted by oh yeah! at 10:06 AM on May 1, 2011
Response by poster: Glad we agree, darkpony; we certainly never heard of it either, but it must of had some fans to last three seasons.
And Flashpoint's a good call; i enjoyed the pilot on Netflix, but my wife found it too stressful–too bad.
I guess there's not much room for quiet little shows with good scripts and characters, a social conscience, and no crime.
Thanks, folks.
posted by dpcoffin at 8:44 AM on May 3, 2011
And Flashpoint's a good call; i enjoyed the pilot on Netflix, but my wife found it too stressful–too bad.
I guess there's not much room for quiet little shows with good scripts and characters, a social conscience, and no crime.
Thanks, folks.
posted by dpcoffin at 8:44 AM on May 3, 2011
(I must admit, I'm a Mentalist fan who hasn't gotten around to Netflixing my way through The Guardian yet, so I'm glad that I was close to an answer with Flashpoint.) Have you tried watching The Good Wife yet? It's partly a legal procedural, but, mostly the case-of-the-week plot is secondary to the ongoing character drama. It's not really a take on low-profile modern life, as the ongoing arc has been about political intrigues and electioneering. But Julianna Margulies plays the lead role with a really quiet intensity, so the show manages to get high drama out of really small moments.
posted by oh yeah! at 9:58 PM on May 3, 2011
posted by oh yeah! at 9:58 PM on May 3, 2011
This thread is closed to new comments.
Cracker
Prime Suspect
A Touch of Frost
Intelligence (Canadian)
DaVinci's Inquest (Canadian)
State of Play (BBC Miniseries) not the remade as a Hollywood movie version
Blue Murder
The Last Detective
Trial and Retribution
George Gently
Foyle's War
Midsomer's Murders (kind of campy and lighthearted but enjoyable)
Murphy's Law
Waking the Dead
There's more I would suggest but don't know if these fit your tastes. I'll check back to see if you have any feedback on or have seen any of these shows. Good hunting.
posted by Odinhead at 6:53 PM on April 29, 2011