<p>While not in the same category (other than being British) as D Abbey, I just finished “Doc Martin”, which I found very enjoyable. Have done all of Madmen and Breaking Bad, loved both. Looking for something new to while away time on the treadmill, so thanks to all for the other suggestions.</p>
<p>Sherlock for sure, new season of Dr. Who just started, we like Pie in the Sky very much, also, Grimm and Bones, to name two network shows. Maybe too political, but John Stewart and Stephen Colbert are both well written.</p>
<p>I am going to watch “Bleak House” from 2005 and then “Little Dorrit.” Possibly Game of Thrones. I don’t have cable but I have netflix and a great public library. I have only watched The Wire and West Wing and Deadwood. I have everything to check out and look forward to watching.</p>
<p>I watched Downton Abbey season 1 in one day and Season 2 in a few…</p>
<p>Coming to Masterpiece Theatre this fall is “Parades End”. Adapted from the Ford Maddox Ford novel, scripted by Tom Stoppard and featuring Benedict Cumberbatch (yummy Sherlock)…it should be fantastic. [New</a> Statesman - Parade’s End: smitten by Benedict Cumberbatch’s amazing mouth](<a href=“http://www.newstatesman.com/culture/culture/2012/08/parades-end-smitten-benedict-cumberbatchs-amazing-mouth]New”>http://www.newstatesman.com/culture/culture/2012/08/parades-end-smitten-benedict-cumberbatchs-amazing-mouth)</p>
<p>missypie, we seem to like the same shows. </p>
<p>For the OP. I just started watching “episodes” on showtime. You can catch up on the first season on demand, and then move right into season two which is happening now. It might be good for both you and hubby. It is a comedy about a British couple who wrote a successful comedy in England, and are brought to California to create a US version of the hit show. It stars Mat LeBlanc of friends fame.</p>
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<p>Gotcha, MOWC. She’s nothing if not predictable. :)</p>
<p>Get a streaming service (Netflix) and appropriate device (AppleTV or some such). Then you can avoid advertising and exercise more control over the content/scheduling. The Netflix streaming inventory is somewhat limited but you can supplement it with iTunes. I’ve watched the complete Mad Men, Sopranos, and Bleak House series on AppleTV or my laptop. If you hunt carefully, you also can find good foreign films, classic films, indie films, etc. In the past week I’ve seen interesting movies from Germany, Slovenia and China that would never appear in local theaters or on cable.</p>
<p>When anyone says that all tv is trash and that there is nothing “intelligent” on, I always think that if someone were to confine themselves to the Romance section of a bookstore and the only book they ever opened was “Twilight” they would probably say that all books are trash. IOW, they just aren’t trying to find the good stuff.</p>
<p>I’ve thought for a while that the caliber of writing, directing and acting on television has been vastly better in recent years than anything I’ve seen in a movie theater. Can anyone who has watched The Soprano’s, Rome, The Wire, Mad Men or Breaking Bad honestly say that they aren’t intelligent or well made? I enthusiastically, second the votes for Friday Night Lights as well.</p>
<p>I’d recommend any of the above to anyone who wants to watch compelling original drama, provided they start at the beginning of each series. For lighter fare, there is the highly entertaining Sherlock (PBS), Modern Family, or 30 Rock. There’s real quality and entertainment to be found on TV if you do a little investigating.</p>
<p>There are some “reality” series that I find intelligent as well as fun and interesting. My favorite might be “Dirty Jobs.” It is fascinating to go to work with all kinds of folks (oyster shuckers, llama farmers, sewer pipe maintenance, etc.) and see them teach the host to do their dirty job. If you are programming your DVR, look for the older episodes; I think they are the best, and reruns of all vintages come up frequently. If you enjoy travel and dark humor, you might like Anthony Bourdain’s “No Reservations.” It has some weak episodes, but the good ones are terrific. The early seasons of “Project Runway” are great.</p>
<p>I enjoy a lot of nonfiction TV. The PBS series “Frontline” carries in-depth, hour-long news documentaries that are the smartest on TV. “American Experience” is another stellar PBS series that covers topics in American history. “Independent Lens” and “POV” air documentaries on all subjects from around the world.</p>
<p>I don’t know what’s on Netflix, but PBS.com has a terrific archive of many of their best shows, and you can stream full episodes for free.</p>
<p>How can BIG BANG THEORY not yet get mentioned?? It will be starting it’s sixth season this fall, and is really funny. It plays off the juxtaposition of four really nerdy physicists from Caltech interacting with a cute, socially adept girl next door. It is very well written, and makes nerdiness seem amusingly quirky, not dweeby. The characters are very realistic, and their social clulessness is endearing!</p>
<p>Justified, Breaking Bad, The Killing (heard it was canceled, but hope it gets picked up somewhere), Homeland, Boardwalk Empire and True Blood. That’s what DH and I watch. True Blood has, IMO, been a bit goofy lately, but we’re invested so we’ll keep watching. DH and I watch TV quite a bit (that’s right, I said it … what are you going to do about it? 
) and we’re always looking for new and interesting shows. We also like some reality TV like Big Brother, Amazing Race, Project Runway and a couple of others I won’t mention because I’m embarrassed that I enjoy them.</p>
<p>West Wing ranks at the very top of tv shows. Studio 60 at the Sunset Strip, at the bottom, in my view. West Wing attempted to be unbiased. Studio 60 was just an attack on anyone of faith. </p>
<p>Will have to try some of these other shows. </p>
<p>Do agree that Amazing Race is one of the best shows on tv.</p>
<p>The characters in Big Bang theory are as realistic as Two and a Half Men, with practically all of the same jokes. It seems like a smart show because there’s big words and halfway obscure science jokes that get shoehorned into every episode.</p>
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<p>I can’t recommend all of these shows enough if you’re looking for some of the best nonfiction TV out there.</p>
<p>I am not looking for anything intelligent, nor I am looking for any top ranked shows. I do not like most academy awarded movies anyway. I am looking strictly for entertainment, even if it is stupid. I cannot find any, except for news for about 10-15 min./day, when it is actually news for me and very very few movies. I am stuck watching oldies, and there are not that many good ones there either. I never just watch TV, except when I am trying to fall asleep (works better than any pill). I do something when TV is on.</p>
<p>I like old science fiction shows, even going back to the 70s, 80s and 90s.</p>
<p>Criminal Minds.</p>
<p>^I do not like anything connected to crime or science fiction, I used to like it, I guess there is an age factor here. Everything got very boring all of a sudden and I cannot make myself watch it.</p>
<p>I enjoyed the Pillars of the Earth series. Some may finds ‘Suits’ and empty show and maybe parts of it are, but I think the interaction between Louis and Harvey is absolutely brilliant!</p>
<p>I’ve been watching the Michael Palin travelogue Pole to Pole in which he travels from the North Pole to the South Pole. It’s free with Amazon Prime on Amazon Instant. Amazon also offers Palin’s Himalaya but it costs. Hard to believe Pole to Pole is 20 years old. I wish they had his Around the World in 80 Days.</p>
<p>Parade’s End, is supposed to be " the thinking persons D- Abbey".
[Parade’s</a> End: Benedict Cumberbatch and Rebecca Hall, interview - Telegraph](<a href=“Parade's End: Benedict Cumberbatch and Rebecca Hall, interview”>Parade's End: Benedict Cumberbatch and Rebecca Hall, interview)</p>