Listen/Watch/Read Pip-Life

:: Binge or Graze? 12 Things You Might Like To Watch (Re-watch?) On TV

April 9, 2015

 

Let’s face it, with the cooler weather starting to settle in, the season of binge watching is upon us. Here’s where I do a little leap of excitement. I love watching telly. I really do. At the moment, however, my viewing is more of a graze. In fact I (usually) only watch a couple of episodes a day, just to keep myself nice.  So virtuous, no?!

Don’t get me wrong, I still like to immerse myself pretty fully in the show I am watching, and I’m only occasionally cheating with another program to mix things up. I’m just finding this slowed down version of telly time is much less stressful and much more satisfying.

While binge watching might actually reduce the impact of the show we are gobbling up as we struggle to speedily see it all, this less fervent ‘grazing’ offers a bit more room to soak up the nuance and detail (and seems to result in heaps less mindless popcorn eating and couch impressions). Phew!

Here’s what I’ve loved watching over the couple of years or so. The choice to binge or graze is totally up to you! (At the moment I am finally watching Homeland. How great is it? So great. Yep).

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Gilmore Girls
Cheese with smarts. I love this show so much and I don’t know how I missed watching it when it was actually on TV! This show is like a quick-witted, fast-talking anti-depressant. The writing is so great, the plots are comforting (and at times confounding) and the fashion is the point-and-laugh type (I mean really, whoever dressed Lorelai Gilmore needs to be given a smack!) There are seven seasons and the first five are the best! I have watched this three times over. That’s how much I love it.

Dexter
Okay. This show is violent. It has a lot of blood and some chain saws and stuff. I don’t like violence on my screen, but there is something cartoony about this show and Dexter’s character is so lovable. Somehow I not only reconciled the whole bloody mess, I actually really relished it. There are 8 seasons to take in. Just remember there is blood.

Lark Rise To Candleford
This is the very opposite of Dexter. A charming English drama, set in the 19th century countryside, chock full of firm English cakes, hot tea and bubbling cauldrons of somesuch. The cast is great, the stories are sweet and it’s the perfect show to cosy down with on a rainy day/week/month. There are 4 comforting seasons. (I love this show. I am going to watch it again!)

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Bloodline
This is a new show (on Netflix) and I spoke about it a week or two ago. I love the tension and the beautiful-yet-menacing scenery and locations. Ben Mendelsohn, Kyle Chandler (coach from Friday Night Lights), Sissy Spacek… How can you go wrong? There’s just one season at the moment (season two is on the way) – 13 episodes make it a good weekend project, I think.

Parenthood
Argh. I love a family drama and this one is made super-great by the at-times-irritating, but always entertaining Braverman family. For me, this show is all about Bonnie Bedelia (Camille), May Whitman (Amber), Sarah Ramos (Haddie) and Max Burkholder (Max) – but there are some BIG names in here too. Parenthood’s finale is one of my favourites ever (apart from Six Feet Under!) Get your eyes on this show. Watch it and weep, peeps. Six seasons. (ALSO Tavi Gevinson shows up at one point! OMG!)

Six Feet Under
I don’t even know what to say about this show, except that if you haven’t watched it, you really should (or even re-watch it, if you have). There’s nothing predictable about Six Feet Under and everything to love about the amazing cast and fantastic writing. Rachel Griffiths is totally frustrating and fabulous. Peter Krause is WAY more interesting than he is in Parenthood. Michael C Hall is a complicated dream. Lauren Ambrose is a gift. Really, the whole cast is crazy-great. I love this show so much and the final episode is the best final ep EVER in the Universe! Five seasons.

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Brothers & Sisters
I watched a tiny bit of this when it was on TV and recently watched all 5 seasons when I was mourning the completion of Parenthood. I am a real Sally Field fan (since The Flying Nun, in fact) but Rachel Griffiths and Calista Flockart are also great in this. Also… you get Rob Lowe. I mean really, who could resist? Granted this show is at times all American in its perspective, but there are lots of relationship dramas that are universal and I especially love watching Kevin Walker find his feet (whilst repeatedly tripping up).  Really ace and moreish.

Tangle
Like a darker, more realistic, less goof-ball version of Offspring, Tangle offers an outstanding cast, heartbreaking but affirming storytelling and an ace Australian backdrop. Kat Stewart, Justine Clarke, Ben Mendelsohn and Catherine McClements are just a few of the stellar actors who make this compelling viewing. Just three seasons, but each episode is a corker.

Luther
Aw man. I was so sad when this show finished. Not only are Idris Elba and Ruth Wilson crazy-good in it (literally), it’s got that great English cop-show sensibility that the Brits do best. Part psychological thriller, part-Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, Luther has a tense edge to it that will leave you breathlessly reaching for you mug of tea. So good. Four seasons to gobble up.

The Killing (Danish version)
The Killing. It’s restrained yet edge-of-your-seat stuff, perhaps typical of the intelligent series coming out of this part of the world. The lead character is impeccably played by Sarah Linden and this is a definite binge-watch because it’s just impossible to turn off.  Four seasons worth of shiver-y, slow-paced goodness.

 

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The Bridge (Danish version)
I loved this even more than The Killing.  Lead character Saga Noren was my homegirl for a while and I think you’ll love her too. Sofia Helin brings this show to life, with a bit of help from the Kim Bodnia’s Martin and some freaking gorgeous Danish/Swedish interiors. Super watchable. Super amazing. Three seasons. Tense. Confusing. Ace.

Sons of Anarchy
Naw. I have such a soft spot for this show, even though it’s jam-packed with fist-fights and porn shoots and guns and drugs. It’s all so unreal that it somehow shifts from shocking to entertaining and the whole heart-of-gold backbone to its drama keeps it on the right side of ‘wrong’ for me. THAT SAID, the final season is pretty awful. It kind of went too far. Still, if you want a rollicking bikey drama with gents of all levels of attractiveness wrestling and boozing their way through the ups and downs of gang life, this is your thing!!!

I actually have a whole heap more that I could add to this list, but I wanted to leave some room for YOUR suggestions. What do you recommend in the graze/binge department of television? Are any of these the kind of thing you’re into?

Share your faves with me?!

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Some other things I liked watching:
Even more Lorelai Gilmore – The Gilmorealong
I Love Liberty – the Liberty Of London TV show
The Bumper List Of Kids Movies – because it’s still the school holidays here!

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34 Comments

  • Reply Sarina March 26, 2017 at 10:04 AM

    Love your TV lists Pip, you put me onto Gilmore Girls and I’ll forever be grateful. But my MOST fave series of all time ever is Sense8. Can’t begin to describe how good this show is on every level.

    • Reply Meet Me At Mikes March 27, 2017 at 7:19 AM

      I am going to look Sense8 up! Thanks for the tip, Sarina! x

  • Reply Carol March 25, 2017 at 10:38 PM

    Let be this entire list. My number one show is Friday Night Lights: Clear Eyes, Full Hearts, Can’t Lose.

  • Reply Lisa March 25, 2017 at 8:29 PM

    Mad About You. Love (LOVE) Helen Hunt in that series. Oh and Paul Reiser! TV Gold.

  • Reply Lucy Kalstrom March 25, 2017 at 8:06 PM

    I love Outsiders, Hap and Leonard, Catastrophe, Billions, Last Man on Earth, Speechless, The Catch and the Last Kingdom. Drool worthy.

  • Reply Julia May 12, 2016 at 10:37 AM

    Pip you must watch Outlander now on Netflix!seriously the best ….based in Scotland….now I want to go there…Sam Heughan what can I say? And Caitriona Balfe….Scottish and Irish actors respectively.time travel,romance,blood and guts …..be prepared with your cuppa close at hand x

  • Reply Amy May 12, 2016 at 5:00 AM

    Outlander. I love the books, and the series is so good!

    I am a massive dork, and rather partial to 1980’s – 90s cozy mystery series, like Murder She Wrote.

    Also love poirot. Sherlock and Elementary

  • Reply Susie May 4, 2016 at 8:48 AM

    Oh my gosh I love the Gilmore Girls sooo much! Larkrise to Candleford too 🙂

    I’m currently re-watching Doctor Who (me and the boyf rewatch the new seasons once a year!), Lost in Austen (so good. SO GOOD!), Winners and Losers (the girl with the red hair, I want her wardrobe!) and Raised by Wolves (written by Caitlin and Caroline Moran, it’s BRILLIANT!)

  • Reply Peta April 16, 2015 at 12:00 PM

    Ohhh. I used to love Gilmore Girls, and more recently – Parenthood!

    My all time fave is Parks and Recreation, followed closely by Pushing Daisies (so perfect if you love cheesy/funny/pretty). If you like Park and Rec, Brooklyn Nine Nine is pretty great too. And when I’m feeling something darker/broodier in *tone* Rectify or Bloodline are both good.

  • Reply Rachael- the bowerbird girl April 12, 2015 at 10:01 PM

    Oh the final ep of parenthood I was so sad. Tangle is excellent Aussie drama. Quality. Friday night lights is probably my fave series so
    Good for SO m many reasons, like helloooo tim riggins! I actually saw taylor kitsch at the ice hockey when I was in NYC – they showed him on the big screen and I squealed. Literally squealed. Carrying on with Tammy Taylor I also love nashville. Now that is a binge show if ever there was one. I loved the wire sheeeeeeeeeet the hazrad of bingeing on the wire is that you end up talking like a drug dealer. And I always loved buffy. Grrr arrrrgh joss whedon is a legend.

  • Reply Isabel April 10, 2015 at 6:03 PM

    Hey Pip!
    I love talking about TV shows. Obviously everyone else does too! You’ve inspired me to re-watch Six Feet Under, I loved it but I watched it about 6 years ago. Definitely time to revisit. I’m trying to go through my top ten ‘Desert Island TV Shows’ on my blog over the next few months (ie if I was stranded on an island with only a DVD player…you know the drill). Number one for me will always be SeaChange (did you watch this ABC show back in the late 90s/early 2000s?) and #2 is The West Wing. Other shows you absolutely have to watch are:
    Breaking Bad
    The Wire
    Cold Feet
    Gavin and Stacey (if you like Gilmore Girls and you like Lark Rise to Candleford, you will LOVE this show. It’s so funny and sweet and just brilliant)
    Pride and Prejudice (BBC version of course)
    The Office (UK version) and Extras

    Also, Homeland is AWESOME. Then there are newer ones that are not quite classics yet but definitely worth checking out.
    The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt
    Catastrophe
    The Americans (about undercover Russian spies living the picket fence life in America, starring Keri Russell from Felicity – it’s excellent)
    Episodes
    The Comeback
    Broad City
    Peep Show

    I could go on but I don’t want to take up too much space in your comments section!
    So nice to hear what shows other people are passionate about. Great post.
    x Isabel

  • Reply Silvana April 10, 2015 at 5:35 PM

    I’ve just been saying to friends how I enjoy watching tv much more than watching movies at the moment. Must get around to watching some of your favourites, like The Killing. Mine are
    House of Cards – how dark can characters get?
    Mad Men – will mourn when the final season ends
    The Americans – Soviet spies in middle America in the early eighties. Keri Russell is fantastic with outfits to match. I wish I had dressed like that in the 80s.
    Broad church – just a great thriller
    Veep- about to watch the next series. Hilarious
    Orange is the new black – just started watching this. So far, so good.

  • Reply Lisa April 9, 2015 at 11:00 PM

    I am watching House of Cards at the moment, lots of American politics, manipulation and scandal. Robin Wright is fantastic.
    I loved Parenthood and Brothers & Sisters too. I also liked Time of Our Lives, a bit sad it finished last year. xxx

  • Reply Carly April 9, 2015 at 8:23 PM

    I love Secret Life of Us, Rush, Felicity, Love My Way, and Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt! Thanks for your recs 🙂

  • Reply Tanya April 9, 2015 at 7:51 PM

    I love the Gilmore Girls and watch the entire series semi regularly. The others on my binge watch are House and the British Hustle – the characters are conmen/woman I love the honour among thieves / can’t cheat an honest person and it’s just so cleverly done. I loved Larkrise to Candleford too so I’ll have to check out some of the others, thanks!

  • Reply Donna Quirke April 9, 2015 at 7:31 PM

    Such a good post and obviously lots of TV addicts out there! I’m halfway through parenthood and hoping the video shop have Season 4 ready to hire this weekend, if not I think I’ll have to try Tangled. A great aussie drama from a few years ago is Love my Way – 2 or 3 seasons with one of the gut wrenching scenes I’ve ever seen!!!

    I’m really into the American version of Shameless – starring Emily Rossum – it is all kinds of wrong in all the right ways. I’ve heard outlander is pretty good also. Also if you like a good cop drama, check out The Wire.

    Thanks for all the suggestions – looking forward to some snuggly winter weekends on the couch.

  • Reply Kat Kalindi Cameron April 9, 2015 at 7:23 PM

    Wow i thought i watched a lot of teev! so glad i’m not alone! My addictions are Vikings, The walking dead (seriously, it’s not really about zombies – it’s more how this motley group got together and how they survive the crazy world and other crazy people!!) Game of thrones, Mad Men (although i wasn’t too happy with the first episode of the last season).
    Broad City is pretty fun, about 2 gals in NY – it’s wacky comedy, but i recommend!! We just got netflix too, so we have binged on House of Cards!

    • Reply Isabel April 10, 2015 at 5:22 PM

      How great is Broad City, Kat? ! It’s hilarious. And House of Cards too…it looks so beautiful with all the blues and greys of Washington. You have good taste in TV shows

  • Reply Carolyn April 9, 2015 at 7:22 PM

    Yes, yes, yes to Luther, The Killing and The Bridge! Idris Elba ….sigh…..!! We’ve just finished watching True Detective – chilling and compelling. Matthew McConaughey is so good! Pride and Prejudice I will happily watch again and again. My so. Has just got into Vikings just as a uni assessment is due! He was raving about it this afternoon. Will have to have a look at it?

  • Reply Reannon April 9, 2015 at 4:10 PM

    These are my picks for you-

    Vikings- hot lead actor, beautiful scenery & captivating storyline
    Outlander- I read the book so had to watch the show. It doesn’t disappoint.
    Sopranos- never,ever gets old
    Californication- David Ducovney is amazing
    United States of Tara- three seasons of awesomeness!

  • Reply Leisa April 9, 2015 at 12:39 PM

    I’m really into Homeland. I’ve watched three seasons. I also really enjoyed all seasons of Fringe. Couldn’t get enough of it. May or may not have watched entire seasons in one day over the Christmas holidays……
    Currently getting into In Treatment with Gabriel Byrne, although sometimes I need a break from it because the problems of his patients AND HIM as a a therapist makes me want to throw something at the screen. 🙂

  • Reply Sharon McKenzie April 9, 2015 at 9:55 AM

    i love Vikings, The Walking Dead and Game of Thrones all highly addictive, complex stories of survival under different circumstances.

    • Reply Reannon @shewhorambles April 9, 2015 at 4:05 PM

      Oh I was going to suggest Vikings too! I super love it. And Outlander too, which has just started back up . Get into them Pip 🙂

  • Reply Ashlea @ Glamour Coastal Living April 9, 2015 at 9:55 AM

    I loved Tangle & Sons of Anarchy…such great series, both had me hooked. I am still upset that there will be no more Offspring. Having major withdrawals, considering watching it all again! 😛

  • Reply Fruitful Fusion April 9, 2015 at 9:21 AM

    I LOVED The Killing, so I have to check out The Bridge! Lark Rise to Candleford is another one to add to my list too! I’m hooked on Vikings, I completely binged on How To Get Away With Murder, I’m working through Scorpion and waiting for the last season of Downton Abbey. Sherlock is my ultimate fave though, so I make do between seasons by watching Elementary!

  • Reply Cindy G. April 9, 2015 at 9:17 AM

    I first started my binge-watching epidemic with “24.” I think I watched 3 seasons in a month so I could get caught up in time for the new season. A student of mine (I teach grade 6) got me hooked on “The Walking Dead,” and I watched 2 1/2 seasons over a week of vacation. Once I got past the zombie gore (the eating and the killing), I fell in love with the show as a character study. Most recently (as in the last 2 weeks), I watched the first 2 seasons of “Orphan Black.” Holy cow… I was glad when I finally finished because I could get back to my life. Hooked from the first episode.

    I haven’t seen “Gilmore Girls,” but it’s on my list. I’ve got “The Killing” on my list, too. I also loved “Lark Rise to Candleford,” (and in a smilar vein, “The Paradise,” which was only 2 seasons, I think, but utterly enjoyable). I started watching “Dexter” after I read the books, and the first 2 seasons were consumed as soon as the DVDs arrived in my mailbox. Same with “6 Feet Under.” Somewhere in my house, I have the first two discs in the “Wonderfalls” series, and I have a feeling that, once I watch it, I’ll have to get sucked into “Pushing Daisies,” too (I watched season 1 on TV, but then missed the rest).

    Thanks for such a great list!

  • Reply Jo @Countrylifeexperiment April 9, 2015 at 8:38 AM

    I’m currently going through Northern Exposure, and loving it. My all time fave is The West Wing. I recently tried to go through Dawsons Creek because I loved it as a teenager. Turns out it is really bad. I didn’t seem to notice at 18, but I couldn’t do it. I persevered until half way through Season 2 and then dropped it.

    • Reply Isabel April 10, 2015 at 5:27 PM

      Hi Jo! I agree – isn’t the West Wing amazing? I analysed this the other day on my blog – wanted to work out why i love it so much. CJ, Toby, Josh, Donna, Sam…such great characters trying to do the best job they can running the US of A! And YES, Dawson’s Creek was the must watch show back in 1999, 2000, 2001. When you’re a teenager you feel like you’re growing up with the characters, but now, it probably just seems dated. I’m worried that if I re-visit I’ll feel the same as you! x

  • Reply Amanda April 9, 2015 at 8:28 AM

    Oh man! I can’t stop watching Vikings!! So addicted, we have to restrict ourselves to two eps a night!!

  • Reply Rebecca April 9, 2015 at 8:25 AM

    I seem to get hooked on shows that get cancelled. Three that have a lot of whimsy and smarts and fun are Wonderfalls, Dead Like Me and Pushing Daisies (all by the same creator, who more recently did Hannibal, but I haven’t seen that). Great female leads, bizarre situations and I just love them.

    Gilmore Girls, West Wing and The OC (for some OTT teen drama) are three shows I can watch from beginning to end semi frequently.

    My most recent binge was on Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, which I adored and tried to ration but then just had to watch all in one go. I’m having some girls over soon to do an UKS marathon and watch it all again.

    • Reply Isabel April 10, 2015 at 5:30 PM

      Oh my gosh, how good is The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt? I just love the actress that plays Kimmy. So funny and such a fresh interesting idea for show. Steve and I watched the whole season in a few days, way too hard to ration. I hope more come out soon! Good old Tina Fey, everything she touches turns to gold I reckon. x

  • Reply Maryke April 9, 2015 at 8:17 AM

    Oh Pip, you’ve done it again. You have saved me from my overnight abyss after I finished Gilmore Girls yesterday. Oh my I loved those two and their little community, and their lovers, and fighters so much. I cannot believe I missed it when it was on TV the first time either. I was going through an anti-american attitude at the time however, and I now realise that perhaps Gilmore Girls was made just to cure that! It is so cheery, and cheesy, and I loved how Lorelai was able to rationalise things, sometimes just with food. I’m totally guilty of that – just with less processed foodstuffs! I’m going out to buy Lark Rise to Candleford today it sounds perfect to snuggle up and watch in bed on the coming wintry days . Thank you Pip x

  • Reply Lynn April 9, 2015 at 7:48 AM

    pretty much gorged on all of the above…and Twin Peaks.
    Currently gorging on The Jinx, which has just finished airing in the U.S. Oh.my.dayz have you Seen it or read about it? I urge you to do both. It feels like it should be a crime drama…but it’s true life. Yikes.

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