Okay, first of all, if you guys remember, to show you how much we appreciate you guys participating in our Scoop posts, we’re picking a commenter from the previous month’s Scoop posts and sending them a little prize! This month, it was Allison from the Snicker’s post a few weeks ago.
We’re sending Allison a Bare Minerals starter kit (just because we love you guys, not sponsored in any way). Congrats, Allison!
My husband and I have quite the DVD collection. Actually, it’s 90% my husband and 10% me–before we met (and really, for awhile after), I rarely bought movies and I NEVER bought TV shows on DVD, but that was one of his things. But the longer we’ve been married, the more I’ve hopped onto the DVD-buying bandwagon and now, for better or worse, I am a participator.
Because of our collection (and my fondness for TV-watching), my friends frequently ask what they should watch next. You know, after they have a baby or are recovering from surgery or during Christmas break or late summer, that bleak period between when The Next Food Network Star ends and the fall shows begin. And honestly, I kind of love picking the perfect show for them based on their personal tastes and what they’re in the mood for and what’s going on in their lives. Comedy? Drama? Dramedy? Gotcha covered.
I have a whole list of shows that I love that are currently still airing new episodes, but for today’s post, I wanted to share shows that are off the air, meaning you can either find the entire thing on DVD or for streaming (like from Netflix or Amazon). Also, for whatever reason, I haven’t included anything that has been off the air for less than a year. You know, just to be arbitrary (kind of like how I just picked 14 shows). Also, I haven’t included anything that would probably be R-rated if it were a movie, but, like any media, you’ll have to use your own discretion.
30 Rock
30 Rock was the first show that I can remember where we were laughing so hard that we had to pause it and rewind it so we could see the things we missed while we were laughing. I could relate to Tina Fey’s character on so many levels–sarcastic and goofy and a little nerdy–and the crazy supporting characters and situations always led to hilarity. It’s not really everyone’s thing, but if you’re in the mood for something a little quirky, this might do it for you.
Arrested Development
Okay, if 30 Rock is a little quirky, Arrested Development is a lot quirky. It’s kind of a love-it-or-hate-it show, and it’s not one you can really watch while you’re surfing Facebook because so many of the funny things are plays on words or puns or recurring jokes. But. Once you watch it (“watch” is a loose term…more like “experience”), you’ll find things creeping into everyday life for years to come. Remember, there’s always money in the banana stand.
Frasier
After each of my babies, I told myself I had the entire series of a TV show to chill out and then I had to get back to real life. With Will, it was How I Met Your Mother, with Meredith it was Gilmore Girls, and with Clark, it was Frasier. I’d watched it on and off for years, and  pretty consistently for the last few years it was on the air, but I’d never watched it start to finish. It was so consistently funny and sweet, one of the last of its kind, and perfect for that post-baby time when you just want to be entertained and you don’t want anything too heavy.
Friends
Friends is Friends–I mean, what can you say? I remember discovering it the first year it was on–I was in 8th grade and it was the episode where Rachel, Phoebe, and Monica are having a pajama party and burning stuff from their old boyfriends and I was laughing out loud, all by myself–kind of a first. For me, it was the first show I watched that was my show, not something my family was watching or my sisters told me I needed to see. And I watched it all the way from that moment when I was 14 to the finale, in a hotel room, married and just graduated from college, right after I found out I was having our first baby.
Happy Endings
Happy Endings didn’t last too long. It started out a little clunky and “I’m trying so hard to be funny,” but once it settled into a good rhythm, it became one of our favorites. It kind of borrows the Friends premise (and refers to that at least once) of single friends living in a big city, but it’s the humor is a little more off the beaten path than Friends.
Newsradio
This was another show that I loved in high school (and I was truly devastated when Phil Hartman was murdered. Also, the show was never the same after he died.) It’s definitely a little more in the old-school comedy classification, but we still pull it out from time to time and are amazed how much we still love (and quote) it. “This one I like, I keep.”
The Office
Aw, man. I remember when The Office was a little struggling mid-season replacement that started right after my oldest was born, before it transformed into one of THE comedies. Sometimes I forget how amazing the first season (just 6 little episodes) was, but really, it was magical from the very beginning.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Okay, so my husband is a big science fiction/fantasy nerd, but I am not. Not really. There are times when I do love something, but those times are fairly few and far between.
My daughter has never been a great sleeper–late nights and early mornings have pretty much been a way of life since she was born 7 years ago. When she was about 9-18 months, she was getting up before 6 every morning. We’d go snuggle on the couch and, in an attempt to not fall back asleep, I’d turn on the TV. There are very few options that early in morning, but one of them was Angel, the Buffy the Vampire spinoff with David Boreanaz (hello, Agent Booth.)
So.
I watched Angel. I got mildly invested. And I decided if we were watching Angel, we should watch Buffy. So my mild investment in Angel turned into a full-blown love of Buffy. It was like Gilmore Girls in a Harry Potter universe. Throw in the nostalgia factor that Buffy and I were exactly the same age, so she graduated from high school the same year I did, and I was sold. Yes, the monsters and special effects were often campy and goofy, but it was never about the special effects (or the monsters), it was about the characters and the stories; the monsters were more metaphorical than anything. And then I got a cat and named it Willow and I officially became one of those girls. Yeah.
Friday Night Lights
My love of all things Friday Night Lights is long-established. Good golly, that show makes me feel things. If you watch Parenthood, you’ll know (Jason Katims is the creator of both of them)–sometimes it’s the big things, but sometimes it’s the little things that blindside you into a weepy mess, like someone convincing someone else to buy a car. If there was ever anything that made me want to love football, this would be it.
Lost
Even though the end was a little rocky for me, the mythology and storytelling and deep human connection of Lost make the whole journey worth it. Kind of. I’m still trying to figure out what happened in the end.
Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip
Apparently I have a thing for sketch comedies and shows about what happens behind the scenes of them. This is like the drama side of the coin of 30 Rock. It (sadly) only lasted one season, but it was smart and captivating and I wish there were more episodes.Â
Chuck
So many of my favorite shows started in the fall of 2007. I don’t know if it’s just because there were so many great shows that came out that year or if it’s because we had a newborn and my husband was in his last semester of school and literally home for, like, 6 hours a day (which he spent sleeping), but I have a lot of fond memories of TV-watching that fall.
We actually recorded Chuck by accident–we were definitely not cool enough for a DVR, so we had an elaborate VCR recording system that went awry and recorded what ended up being one of our favorite shows. The premise is a little goofy–a super-smart nerdy dude has a crisis of confidence after he (unrightfully) gets kicked out of Stanford and is working at the equivalent of a Geek Squad. Through a series of unlikely events, he unknowingly becomes the recipient of all the government’s secrets, thus placing him in danger as well as making him a valuable asset. It’s action-y and sweet and fun and funny.
Gilmore Girls
 I held out on watching Gilmore Girls for so long, but I started just as it was about to end and it kind of became my world–I wished I lived in Stars Hollow. It’s another one that’s great for when you want to invest emotionally in something, but you don’t want something too heavy or dark. You guys know all this–I’ve talked about it before. But if you haven’t watched it yet, you reallyreallyreally should.
Scrubs
Scrubs started the fall after my husband and I got married and I just remember wrapping Christmas presents, those first Christmas presents when we had, like $25 to spend on each other, and laughing at Scrubs. It wasn’t like anything I had every seen; at that time, most comedies were still shot in multi-camera, either in front of a live audience or with a laugh track. So to have this small, intimate, single camera show with an interior monologue running the whole time, something that intertwined comedy and drama in a 30-minute time slot, was completely foreign (and I’ll maintain that even though Scrubs was never a massive hit with audiences, it changed the face of TV comedy). For the record, I don’t actually consider the last season of the show part of the show–most of the original cast was gone and the final episode of Season 8 was one of the most perfect, beautiful endings to a series ever, so I just pretend like there never was a Season 9.
So those are my picks! What are your favorite shows that you think about going back to and watching from the beginning?
Oh the office…my husband and I spent one anniversary right after we had our baby snuggled in bed watching the first two seasons on DVD since we hadn’t seen it yet to get caught up. I think that will forever be one of my favorites for the awesome show and the great memories! Thanks for more to add to our list!
Ok this is great! Because I love all the comedies listed. I like recommendations from people with similar taste to me! Thank you. Fall…. Then winter with it’s -30C ( remember -30C and -40F are the same
Chuck is hands down my favorite show. I am still devastated.
This is my very last post – I swear – but everyone has to watch “The Wonder Years” at least once in their lives with cute little Kevin and Winnie. I’m totally re-watching this while I’m on the treadmill…..
I lied – just one more – “HOUSE”. Come on that show was witty, scary, and great. The ending was even open so I think there should be a come back some day….
Breaking Bad is pretty awesome. And that’s all I will say about that one (but I think you guys knew that, right? Your Valentines were
Oh! And Lie to Me is an old favorite! Super cool premise and the first show my husband and I watched together from start to finish.
I’m having a hard time sticking with breaking bad….it can be s.l.o.w.
Breaking Bad is one of my all-time favorites. EVER. But if I put it on the list, it means it’s not ever comig back and I haven’t come to terms with that!
My favorite TV show of all times was Ed…the bowling alley lawyer. So quirky and full of heart! It’s STILL not on DVD due to some legal stuff with the music, but I’ve kept the VHS tapes from when I taped the episodes off of TV! There are some bootlegged DVDs out there (I think from when it was rerun on Comedy Central), but my husband won’t let me buy them…something about it being illegal 🙂
YES! I loved that show too!!!
Oh wait – what about the “Ghost Whisperer”? really loved that one too
Great list! I’ve only seen parts of Friday Night Lights, but that has been on my list to watch start-to-finish for a while. Gilmore Girls has also been on my list since your last Instagram post about it. My husband and I watched Chuck a few months ago and we are watching Prison Break right now and really like it! It’s always a plus when we can actually agree on what to watch together – that has been hard to come by lately with all my reality shows like Bachelor and So You Think You Can Dance (which he hates), and all of his Top Gear and Mythbusters (which I don’t hate, but I don’t love.) 😉
You have got to check out “Being Erica”. It’s from Canada and was shown on the soap network until the last season. I had to buy them all because they are just so awesome and I want them with me forever. You have to experience this one!
“My so called life” is another one that was just so awesome but it didn’t last long. This is where Claire Danes came out as a young fabulous actress.
“Joan of Arcadia” – I LOVED THIS ONE. And it was ramping up to a really great ending (epic good vs evil fight) and then they just cancelled it right from under me. I will never forgive those fussy pants for doing this to me, um, I mean everyone.
Joan of Arcadia was another one of the those shows that really sneaks up on you! I thought it was a shame they ended it right when it was developing into something epic. I really thought Jason (?) Ritter was a paraplegic he did such a great job.
Another show we watched the same time as “Joan” was “Tru Calling”. That was a binge watcher and it has Zach Galifianakis playing a very serious character unlike his “Hangover” persona.
THE WEST WING is soooo awesome. I started it this summer and haven’t been able to turn it off. Seriously should be your next binge-watching show.
Seinfeld!!! I’ve also been watching old boy meets worlds with my kids and forgot how great that show is! Good luck Charlie is also a really good family show!
Oh, man. I love this post. I’m such a tv junkie too. I do marathons, ya know….Netflix marathons. I could rewatch Parenthood a million times over. I just watched all of Grey’s and already want to watch again. Scrubs = fantastic! My hubby and I both work in the medical field and we freaking loved that show. I also love FNL, Friends, and The Office. I’m watching Gossip Girl right now. Super high school drama, but I’m hooked. And it looks like I need to watch Gilmore Girls! Kate, I think we should be best friends. Wanna move to Vegas? 🙂
Oh my word. How could I have neglected Downton Abbey and Call the Midwife!? Love me some BBC drama.
Obsessed with Gilmore Girls!!! I’m going to try Friday Night Lights out now. Absolutely loved this post and all the comments with other shows people are watching!
I love Frasier, Everybody Loves Raymond, and King of Queens. Rewatching them still makes me laugh.
I guess I have a thing for canceled shows–my all-time favorite is Pushing Daisies. I am still sad that that got cut short. Also I loved Firefly. We’ve re-watched those few episodes that were made before it was canceled several times. I grew up in Orange County so I think Arrested Development is also especially hilarious.
I ALMOST put Pushing Daisies on there, but it’s been so long that I felt like I needed a re-watch first. But we loved it so much when it was on!
I have been binge watching New Girl lately. Can’t wait for season 3 to be on Netflix. I also enjoyed the first few seasons of White Collar but actually haven’t seen the last couple. Flight of the Conchords is a favorite too!
I have a not so secret crush on Zachary Levi (oh Chuck me!). Super talented (voice of Flynn Rider on Tangled) all around good guy. Highly recommend Chuck!
You’ve covered 7.5 favorites here (scrubs is half because even though I love it, I haven’t seen the whole series) so I fully trust you and need to get on it and watch the rest of these. Did you see Perfect Couples? It’s either on Netflix or Hulu. It was short lived like Happy Endings but really funny.
My all time favorite show is Desperate Housewives.
Other top favorites include:
Better Off Ted
Grey’s Anatomy
Everyone Loves Raymond
Malcolm in the Middle
Scrubs
Friends
Frasier
The In-Laws (which sadly only ran one season) “Who are you? Private Convo?”
But I must repeat, Desperate Housewives is my FAVORITE!
I’ve been watching The Wonder Years on Netflix. Takes me back to my adolescent years. Winnie Cooper and Kevin were such a sweet love connection. Such a simple and powerful show.
You have some of my faves on there (Friends and Gilmore Girls) and some I’d like to watch (Friday Night Lights and 30 Rock). Most of my DVD shows are still on – my husband is trying to get me caught up on Person of Interest. I’d also like to get the DVDs and watch Castle and Bones (I love the books Bones is based on, but I’ve never seen the show)
If I were to make a list for you it would have just one show… The West Wing. Best show to ever be on TV
Watching Chuck right now and love it! Add to the list–Frasier, Psych, and Monk–some great TV characters.
Oh, I love Monk!!
Buffy is hands down my all time favorite show. It’s what gets me out of bed and onto the treadmill. Knowing I can watch 45 minutes of guilty pleasure TV without the kids is priceless.
My husband and I have a tradition of watching the entire series of Burn Notice every year. We start after tax season ends every spring. It’s like our reward for surviving (we’re both CPAs).
My husband watched Burn Notice from the beginning and I was a casual watcher, but I always enjoyed it!
Chuck was and still is my favorite show, but whenever I try to rewatch it, I have to stop at the end of season four because the series finale still devastates me.
As for FNL, I have you guys to thank for getting me hooked on the show! I’d been hearing about it for years, but when I found out that one of the characters was awesome enough to have a brownie named after him, I was sold. 🙂 I think I got more emotionally invested in Dillon football games than I ever have in an actual sports game.
Oh my gosh. The finale.
Just finished watching Chuck on Netflix last week. That finale!! Ah!
Totally understand the emotional investment in Dillon football games more than actual sports! 🙂 And I think yall have convinced me to watch Chuck. Never even considered it before.
I have seen and loved most of the shows on your post. You should check out Eureka and Doctor Who. My husband and I loved watching those! Colin Ferguson on Eureka is brilliant. And we LOOOOVED Psych!!!
Eureka! Yes! My husband loves Dr. Who, but I’ve had a hard time getting into it. Which, yes, probably means I should be shunned from polite society. 🙂
I’m in the middle of watching Eureka right now. I am currently in season 4 and holy cow! love the quirkiness and thinking “what are they going to do next?”
I love Veronica Mars!
Ummmm, The West Wing! Have you seen it? I could watch it all again, in fact I think I will! Loved Friday Night Lights, watch Friends on reruns a few nights a week and I STILL laugh out loud!
The West Wing has ALWAYS been on my list and it keeps getting shoved aside. Same with 24. Someday…
I love every one of the shows on here that I have watched…so you’ve convinced me to start watching the rest I haven’t seen yet! I just really wish Friday Night Lights never ended. I binge watched all 5 seasons in 2 weeks and loved every minute of it.
I lovelovelove Friends and own all ten seasons on DVD. I’ve watched the entire series through at least a dozen times. I’m also a huge Buffy fan. I’ve watched both of those shows since I was a teenager. My most recent addition to my top pick shows is Veronica Mars. It totally sucked me in and kept me on the edge of my seat. It’s definitely a dark show, but I still love it.
Veronica Mars has been on our list forever!
You’re my kinda girl since you watched Chuck from the beginning. I watched it from the pilot and it will always be one of my all time faves. But I agree with this commenter, you definitely need to watch VMars. I can tell you’d love it from your other picks.