Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with TV and Shows

Barchester Chronicles?

pilibeen — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 10:52:21 -0800

Any recommendations for smart TV comedy which'll suit my taste? I feel like I've run out of great TV comedy, and am resorting to rewatching old series. Do you have any new (or old) suggestions? Netflix is failing me.

Here's my list of shows I've absolutely loved:
The Thick of It
Spaced
Arrested Development
Peep Show
Fawlty Towers
Mr. Show
Dr. Katz
Freaks & Geeks
Always Sunny in Philadelphia
The Office, UK
Extras (minus special)

Stuff I've liked, not loved:
Northern Exposure
Curb Your Enthusiasm
The Office, US
Shameless

I feel like there're probably some other British gems I've missed, and definitely some older shows I should track down. I'll try anything though - any ideas to suit my taste?

Thanks!

How can I watch videos in black and white on my computer?

siclik — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 09:40:15 -0800

How can I watch videos on my computer in black and white? I was wondering if there is any way in which I can watch videos on my computer in black and white. Ideally, I'd like to avoid converting all of the videos to black and white. Is there a program that I can play them in that will just discard all of the color information?

I feel it would give the videos a timeless feel. It would also put focus on the dialogue and exaggerate the expressions.

Typical things said on Japanese shows?

Xere — Sun, 01 Feb 2009 19:23:56 -0800

What are some of the typical things said on Japanese variety shows? Preferably cheesy and/or cavity-inducing sweet? My class group and I are doing a video project for our Japanese class. Now, it just so happens that my group consists of the rare breed of Japanese-language student - the kind that doesn't know much about Japanese pop culture or anime. Help!

We already have the main stuff together, so this isn't really "Do my homework for me" stuff. I think. We do skits that revolve around certain situations: How much is this? Why yes, I was at the hospital yesterday and I also bought a skirt at the next-door department store.

The transition videos (spliced in between the main stuff) is where we're trying to jam in the typical sayings. So far, includes the usual cheese: "Welcome to the so-and-so show! Blahblah CHECK THIS OUT!" (person points energetically at camera, camera zooms in) I'm hoping to borrow equally cheesy lines from Japanese shows. A direct translation could work, but is that what they'd say in Japan?

The video project is going to be predictably bad, as classroom video projects usually go. So my group figured we'd make it as bad as possible, with cringe-inducing cheesiness. Or does this even exist in Japanese pop culture?

Recommendations of shows, Youtubery, etc would be great. I've been trawling through Google and Youtube, but I don't know what terms to look for. "Cheesy Japanese shows" doesn't work, obviously.

Thanks!!

Help! I lost 24!

angiewriter — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 07:20:48 -0800

What are some good sites where I can view episodes of TV shows online? I lost the recording of last night's episodes of 24 I had on my DVR and want to try and catch up before tonight's 2 hours. Thanks!

Alternative to ABC's Hopkins?

chrisalbon — Sat, 02 Aug 2008 09:03:21 -0800

Other Shows / Documentaries Like ABC's Hopkins? I wife is a medical students and every week enjoys watching ABC's Hopkins. The final episode of Hopkins airs next week.

I was wondering if the Hivemind could suggest other medical-reality shows similar to Hopkins she could watch. Preferably on Netflix (we do not have cable and watch Hopkins online).

Thanks in advance!

Recommend me some Australian and Canadian comedy!

NucleophilicAttack — Sun, 29 Jun 2008 16:00:15 -0800

Similar to this thread, please recommend some Canadian and Australian comedy! I've seen so far Kids in the Hall, Little Mosque on the Prairie, and Corner Gas from Canada, and The Chaser's War on Everything from Australia. I have similar tastes as the previous poster.

Cheers!

How do I create a TV schedule based on a topic?

bristolcat — Wed, 16 Jan 2008 08:44:59 -0800

How do I create a TV schedule based on a topic? I'd like to create a TV schedule, preferably delivered via RSS feed, that sorts through upcoming shows by topic.

For example, maybe I want to catch shows that have a green or conservation theme. Is there something that would tell me that such-and-such environmental expert is going to be on Oprah or that Al Gore is going to appear on the Late Show? Maybe a home building show on HGTV is going to have a special on how to build green.

This is just one topic I'm interested in. What I'd like to know is if it's possible and how to do it. Or is there already some fancy Web 2.0 widget out there doing this already?

Thanks in advance!

Boston Legal

yugolplex — Mon, 04 Jun 2007 15:11:22 -0800

Is it necessary to have watched "The Practice" to fully understand "Boston Legal"? I am interested in watching a new show, and have decided to purchase The "Boston Legal" complete first season DVD set. I understand that BL is a spin-off of "The Practice" TV Show, so I was wondering if it is it necessary or important to have watched "The Practice" to fully understand BL?

I've got the summer tv blues

pinky — Mon, 28 May 2007 15:01:54 -0800

Do good what-to-watch TV blogs or webpages exist? I'd love to maximize the usefulness of my DVR, now that all the finales have happened and nothing new is recording. The weekly tv calendar in Entertainment Weekly is a good start, but not nearly enough.

(and "get out more" is not a viable answer!)

How to search for tv show content via internet

allthewhile — Thu, 19 Oct 2006 15:59:27 -0800

Is there a way to search upcoming television shows for topics? For example, I would like to know if there are any upcoming television shows about the Black Plague. Short of getting a tivo, is there a way to do this via the internet? All of the tvguide search sites that I've come across only seem to search the title, and not the show description. Thanks!

Ringtone, Law & Order SVU, Metropcs?? Does this not exist??

seeminglyshy — Wed, 11 Oct 2006 08:47:10 -0800

Law & Order SVU ringtone (Metropcs) Die hard Law and Order SVU watcher chiming in.

I'm not one for fancy-smancy ringtones, but I would love to have the SVU ringtone for my nokia 6255i. Problem is, I've switched over to Metropcs - they dont offer it.
Scoured the net to see if there were any sites that offered it - no such luck.

Can anyone point me in the right direction?
(my only alternative at this point would be The Fray's "How to Save a Life" since it conjures up images of the season premiere, *I know, I've got it baaad*) - if I could find that one for Metropcs I'd be one happy gal.

Need more TV shows to download. Recommendations please!

BigBrownBear — Mon, 31 Jul 2006 14:45:32 -0800

Need more TV shows to download. Recommendations please! Shows we like: Entourage, Lost, 24, Arrested Development, Footballers' Wives, The Sopranos, Curb Your Enthusiam, Coupling, Weeds, Monk, Desperate Housewives, I'm Alan Partridge, The Dead Zone, Ali G.

Where/how can I watch Jeremy Piven's Journey of a Lifetime?

nitsuj — Fri, 28 Jul 2006 10:10:15 -0800

Where/how can I watch Jeremy Piven's Journey of a Lifetime? It premiered on April 1, 2006. Discovery's website has a schedule saying it's playing on August 29th and 30th on Discovery HD, but I don't have that channel. I can't find anywhere that would have it on DVD. I can't even find a torrent for it (though I'd be up for paying for it if there's a legal way to do it). I can't find any reference of it on the regular Discovery or Travel Channel websites (both of which have been advertising the show).

Any ideas of how I can see this show?

Internetaholic needs help remembering TV show schedules.

damnjezebel — Sat, 10 Dec 2005 15:09:16 -0800

This thread inspired my question: does anyone know of a tivo-like app that can alert me when my favorite shows come on? I know konfabulator has a widget that will show your favorite CHANNELS, but I'd like something that will look out for my favorite SHOWS (like, when CSI shows up on different channels). The only thing I can liken it to would be tivo - I could not only select my favorite shows, but select my favorite actors, directors, topics, etc.

Oh yeah, and in a perfect world, I'd be alerted via a little popup window by my task bar when a show is coming on in X minutes (because I get a TAD engrossed in my work and don't remember when something comes on until it's either almost over or was on hours ago).

Anyone know something remotely like this? And am I crazy for wanting all this stuff?

Has 'Spooks' jumped the shark?

matildaben — Mon, 14 Mar 2005 10:06:54 -0800

WTF is happening to the tv show known as MI-5 here in the States and as Spooks in the UK? Spoilers inside if you haven't yet seen season 3, especially episode 10 'The Suffering of Strangers'. Why would a TV show spend all of its third season getting rid of all three of the central characters from its first two seasons? At least there was some long lead-up to the idea that Tom might want to get out of the service, but the whole thing with Zoe being exposed was out of the blue, and then the way they finished off Danny (just as he was getting really interesting) was totally senseless and gratuitious. Has there been some kind of behind-the-scenes dispute between the producers and the actors? Has the show jumped the shark? I don't really know where to go to read media gossip, especially not for a UK-produced show. In my opinion, this is one of the best shows around (what 24 would be if it were actually good), and I'd hate to think of it being stolen out from under me.