Great TV Shows You May
Have Missed
March 2013
A good TV show is like a comfortable old pair of sneakers, an ancient sweater, or a warm winter blanket. The best TV shows become a part of our lives and we find ourselves reorganizing our lives to make sure we don't miss our weekly date with our chosen escapist fantasy. The best shows of all can become a close friend or a member of our extended family and we grieve for them when they end their run or are cancelled due to low ratings. Here at the Paramus Public Library, we love to talk television and share the diamonds in the rough that we find while exploring the dark, unexplored corners of cable television. Below you will find a short list of some (but not all) of our favorite television shows.
Absolutely Fabulous (BBC)
Hysterical, hysterical, hysterical! In a good way. This British comedy has been around since mid-1990's, and has remained popular with anyone who loves irreverent and politically incorrect humor.Follow the hilarious adventures of two 1960's London groupies who never really stopped boozing and drugging although they tend to keep jobs, run companies and families. Edina and Patsy act more like men and they have no plans to change. All those around them try to keep a sense of humor while they tend to the collateral damage inflicted by the pair. Many famous Brit actors star and guest star, including Jennifer Saunders, Joanna Lumley, Julia Sawalha and pop singers Lulu and Marianne Faithful! I thought it would repel me, but I have loved this since the first episode. (Patti Gandolfini)
America's Test Kitchen (PBS)
Learn the secrets of making the best pancakes, roasts, brownies, and more at home. Test Kitchen staff members experiment with recipes until they hit on the perfect formulation, then share it with you in detailed, foolproof instructions. Each episode also includes recommendations for the best kitchen equipment and ingredients. This show is like Consumer Reports meets the Food Network. (Hanna Blatt)
Arrested Development (Fox)
This comedic series is a mockumentary that follows the Bluth family when their patriarch, played by Jeffery Tambor is imprisoned and the middle son, played by Jason Bateman tries to help fix everything. There is no end to the problems that arise for this quirky family. After many letters from the fans over the past seven years the cast will be coming together for one more season that will air this coming May on Netflix. (Rebecca Karpoff)
Big Bang Theory (CBS)
At work, physicists Leonard Hofstadter and Sheldon Cooper and their geek pals, Howard Wolowitz and Rajesh Koothrappali, conquer the cosmos. At home, real life - from dating to driving - conquers them. (Patti Gandolfini)
Boomtown (NBC)
This show gives the viewer the opportunity to view a criminal investigation from various points of view such as the police, lawyers, reporters, victims, witnesses and criminals. (Marianne Duggan)
Breaking Bad (AMC)
When high school chemistry teacher Walter White learns he has terminal cancer, he makes the unusual decision to use his remaining days to cook meth and build a nest egg for his family. From this odd premise springs television’s most compelling drama. What is most amazing about the show is that it avoids the moral heavy handedness that you might expect given the subject matter. Instead we are shown a world (probably more accurate than most cop dramas) where there are no true good guys or bad, but that everyone gets the opportunity to be the hero and the villain. Breaking Bad is a must watch for anyone that feels they have seen everything. (Matthew Mitchel)
Doc Martin (Independent British TV)
A weird and pompous London surgeon, Martin Ellingham is forced to give up surgery after he develops an aversion to blood. Now a doctor of general medicine in a picturesque Cornish fishing village filled with quirky characters, Doc Martin offends everyone in town right away. As time goes by they discover what he lacks in bedside manner he more than makes up for in diagnostic skills and heart. Funny and beautiful to see. Starring Martin Clunes. (Patti Gandolfini)
Downton Abbey (PBS Masterpiece Classic)
Tells the story of the Earl and Countess of Grantham and their daughters and household staff as they negotiate the early years of the twentieth century. Events such as the sinking of the Titanic (the potential heir to the Grantham title drowns at sea), women’s suffrage (Lady Edith shocks her father by writing a letter to the editor in support), and the struggle for Irish independence (Lady Sybil’s husband is a freedom fighter) all have an impact on the lives of the various characters. (Dorothy Fleishman)
The Duchess of Duke Street (BBC)
Loosely based on the real-life career of Rosa Lewis, who was rumored to be a favorite of Edward, the Prince of Wales and, with this notoriety and her extensive cooking abilities, elevated her station quickly from servant, to renowned cook to proprietrix of the upper-class Bentinck Hotel. The adventures and trials of “the Duchess” showcase the pitfalls of being trapped between upstairs and downstairs culture in the London of 1900 to 1924. A must for Downtown Abbey fans who especially thrill to the dinner scenes – food you’ve only dreamed about. (Patti Gandolfini)
Friday Night Lights (NBC)
Based on the best-selling book and the best-selling movie. The trials and tribulations of small town Texas football players, their friends, family,and coaching staff. (Sharon Kalman)
Hell on Wheels (AMC)
Drama. Heartache. Revenge. This AMC American Western series has it all. It centers around the eclectic group of people who are helping build the first transcontinental railroad, otherwise known as "hell on wheels." With a mix of laborers, prostitutes and mercenaries, this series will hold you in suspense, and make you cheer for both the good guys and bad guys alike. (Alexa Soto)
Homeland (Showtime)
This series follows Carrie Mathison, of the CIA, as she tries to stop another terrorist attack. Into the mix comes Brody, a returning Iraq War veteran, who was held a prisoner for over 10 years in Iraq. Carrie feels he may have been turned, but has he? (Marianne Duggan)
Justified (FX)
Based on Elmore Leonard’s “Fire in the Hole”, Justified tells the story of U.S. Marshall Raylan Givens whose been exiled to the hinterlands of Kentucky for the controversial, but justified, shooting of a Miami gangster. Part of Raylan’s new jurisdiction includes his birthplace, the backwater mining community of Harlan County; an area filled with pot growers, oxy sellers, and Hill Billy gangsters. Not happy about finding himself back in the home he thought he escaped, Raylan finds himself facing many ghosts as he attempts to bring justice to an area where the outlaws have taken over. (Matthew Mitchel)
Lark Rise to Candleford (BBC)
ABSOLUTELY FABULOUS fans will be happy to see Julia Sawalha, Edina's long-suffering daughter, as a late 19th century woman running a British post office in the small market town of Candleford. When she hires her niece Laura from Lark Rise to work in her post office, the contrast between the two communities becomes evident-- Lark Rise, a poor hamlet holding onto the past, and Candleford, bustling into the future. You get a taste of what life was like before the clock came to the big tower in town and people began to wear watches. Notable is Laura's father, played by Brendan Coyle, or John Bates in DOWNTON ABBEY, Dawn French from many British comedies and Linda Bassett from another Brit series, Rosemary and Thyme. (Patti Gandolfini)
MI-5 (BBC)
The missions of MI-5, the UK's domestic intelligence organization, are portrayed. The series follows the work of a group of MI5 officers based at the service's Thames House headquarters, in a highly secure suite of offices known as The Grid. (Sharon Kalman)
My So-Called Life (ABC)
While this series only aired for one season in 1994 teens today can still relate to the drama that Angela and her friends deal with-- from drugs and drinking, to coming out to their friends and family, homelessness, and falling in love. This was Clare Danes big break on TV that lead her to roles such as Juliet in Baz Luhrmann’s Romeo + Juliet and the lead character in the popular Showtime series Homeland. (Rebecca Karpoff)
Northern Exposure (CBS)
A New York doctor has to work in Alaska in order to pay back Government student loans. He is like an alien from out of space among the local inhabitants. The premise is not original but you can lose yourself in Alaska’s natural wonders while becoming part of a small remote community. There are many funny moments as the doctor learns the local code of behavior and falls in love against his will with the place and with the gorgeous Maggie O'Connell. (Hanna Blatt)
Nurse Jackie (Showtime)
Jackie Peyton, Edie Falco's new character, makes you forget all about Carmella from the Sopranos, except she's now finally having an illicit affair with Father Phil (Paul Schultz) from the Sopranos - yes, he's in this too. She's a pharmaceutical addict who's also smart enough to keep her job as head nurse in the ER, but like all addicts, she slips up a bit. Her friends and colleagues are all lovable/hatable people, just like in real life. Watch Nurse Jackie dis the new doctor! Nurses must love this show. (Patti Gandolfini)
Rocky & Bullwinkle & Friends (ABC)
Rocky & Bullwinkle, an animated television series that ran from 1959 to 1964, is a cult classic. For those unfamiliar with “moose and squirrel”, the series was structured as a variety show, with the main feature being the adventures of Bullwinkle J. Moose and Rocket “Rocky” J. Squirrel who live in the fictional town of Frostbite Falls, Minnesota, which was based on the real life city of International Falls, Minnesota. The main adversaries in most of their adventures were the Russian-like spies Boris Badenov (a pun on Boris Godunov) and Natasha Fatale (a pun on femme fatale). It has been described as a well-written radio show with pictures. Loved by adults and children alike. (Donna Perkosky)
Shameless (Showtime)
A dramedy lead by William H. Macy based on the BBC series of the same name is now airing its third season on Showtime. The Gallagher family might be down on their luck but that doesn’t keep them down. They will do anything to get away with everything, they are shameless. (Rebecca Karpoff)
The Sopranos (HBO)
If my cousin had not been in it, I never would have watched it and I would have missed a lot. The first three seasons especially showcase brilliant writing in my mind. NJ is seen at its most violent, with lots of bad words and naked women PLUS brilliant acting and storytelling. If nothing else, watch it to ID the North Jersey locations. See why James Gandolfini (Tony) and Edie Falco (Carmella) became American pop culture icons and "badda bing" became a buzzword. (Patti Gandolfini)
Upstairs, Downstairs (the BBC original)
The original is still the greatest. I must admit I refused to watch much of the first season of Downton Abbey to remain true to my all-time favorite TV series. I did give in and now see the value of both series. It follows the fortunes of the Bellamy family from 1905 to 1930 and their servants: Jean Marsh stars downstairs and she reprised her role in the "new" Upstairs/Downstairs which ran last year on PBS, a disappointment. (Patti Gandolfini)
The Walking Dead (AMC)
When an arrest goes seriously wrong, Officer Rick Grimes awakens from a coma in an empty hospital. The world he knew is gone and what remains is a nightmarish landscape of rotting zombies and a dwindling number of survivors. Rick returns home to discover that his wife and son are gone, but with no evidence they are dead, he journeys out into the apocalypse; low on bullets, but high on hope. The Walking Dead is one of those shows that is not easy to categorize. The inclusion of zombies would imply that you are getting a horror show (and the show can be quite horrific), but The Walking Dead is actually more about the characters and how they choose to cope with their new reality. In the end, The Walking Dead is one of the most compelling dramas that TV has to offer and, if you can stomach the gruesome content, definitely worth watching. (Matthew Mitchel)
Wilfred (FX)
After a failed suicide attempt, neurotic ex-lawyer/shut-in Ryan agrees to take care of his beautiful neighbor’s dog for the day, only to find himself spending the afternoon with a foul-mouthed, chain-smoking Australian in a dog suit. While Wilfred appears to be a dog to everyone else, Ryan is left wondering if he has lost his mind as Wilfred sets about trying to repair (or is it destroy) Ryan’s life. Wilfred can be quite crude, but for those folks not bothered by risqué humor, the show can be quite funny in a “I can’t believe they did that on tv” sort of way. (Matthew Mitchel)
Suggestions from the Paramus Library Staff
Alexa Soto
Sr. Library Assistant, Youth Services Dept.
Donna Perkosky
Public Relations & Adult Programming Coordinator
Dorothy Fleishman
Sr. Reference Librarian
Hanna Blatt
Sr. Reference Librarian
Marianne Duggan
Supervisor of Adult/Technical Services
Matthew Mitchel
Outreach Services Coordinator
Patti Gandolfini
Sr. Library Assistant
Rebecca Karpoff
Youth/Adult Services Librarian
Sharon Kalman
Supervisor, Youth Services Dept.
