(no subject)

We don't get any watchable channels so we rent DVD sets. Recommendations that might save you some time:

Mr. Show: Season 3 is the great, great one; 1 is quite good; 2 is just watchable; 4 has genuinely great moments but lots of filler and a few excruciatingly bad sketches--much like the Mr. Show movie of a couple years later, Run Ronnie Run

Friends: 1 & 2 are quite good, everything thereafter is great until 9 which is a huge comedown; warning: sentiment gets more cloying as seasons pass

Seinfeld: hits stride in 3 also

Simpsons: ditto, 4 and 5 seem strongest so far

Futurama: great from the start, quality increases with season number

The Office: 1 sublime, 2 harder to watch as depressing elements predominate, short Season 3 ("Christmas Specials") excellent

Curb Your Enthusiasm: fun from the start, maybe getting slightly better as it goes

The Ben Stiller Show: watchable but rarely laugh-inducingly funny, most laughs toward the end of the series; some good parodies for those who remember the period

Murder One: unintentionally hilarious for a while and then gets junk-food good, either that or you inevitably get interested after enough exposure; one season-long murder trial

Law and Order: they released one recent season and are now going through in order; writing seems more consistent in the recent Sam Waterston-led episodes; great show for people who like to argue about Issues

Six Feet Under: 1 is great, especially the "Brenda" plotline; 2 is a terrible comedown; 3 mostly good again

Fawlty Towers: 1 rather fun, 2 is the great one


Avoid:

Deadwood: got halfway through, silly, slander on the past

Dead Like Me: got two episodes in, hopelessly derivative

The L Word: got like four in, dumb and offensive

Carnivale: just terrible