Pleasantly Surprised: Shows That Were Better Than You Expected

[DittyDotDot]

So, I've put off delving into S8 of Doctor Who for quite some time...I just haven't been all that enamored by Steven Moffat's vision for the show. It's a big, loud grand adventure, but it just feels like the heart and soul of the show has been missing for a while now.

 

Anyway, I forgot to reorder my Netflix disk queue and guess what arrived in my mailbox the other day? Now, I'm only one episode into S8, but I was surprised how much I enjoyed the new Doctor quite a bit. I like him being older and Scots--therefore allowed to complain--and I like the dynamic between he and Clara.

 

Now, will my renewed interest hold up over time?

[islandgal140]

I'm all late and wrong but The Office US. Watched the Office UK donkey's years ago and loved it and tried an episode of the US version but found it so different from the original that I couldn't warm up to it. This fall it appeared on Netflix and I decided to give it another try and I fell in love. I have been doing some serious binge watching and am already on the final season. I thought I would stop enjoying once Carrell left but my enjoyment hasn't lessened in the least. My favorite character by far is Dwight and I find him superior to his UK counterpart Gareth who was a bit of a gross sickly creep to me. Dear Gawd, Dwight's fake fire drill had tears streaming down my face. You know it is a sitcom when Dwight not only doesn't get charged with some kind of crime but he doesn't even get fired.

 

I found US Jim slightly annoying on occasion though but I loved US Pam but I can't say I am a huge Jim/Pam fan though. They are just a'ight. In fact no couple really rang my chime although I thought Erin (though cloyingly annoying) and Pete were cute. I will say that the US version did make it easier to understand way Michael Scott had the position he had - he was a good salesman but that maybe due to the US having more episodes. I never understood why David Brent got as far as he did. I guess I was meant to assume the same thing? 

[ByTor]

I hated, hated, HATED (did I mention hated?) the Originals on Vampire Diaries.  As such, I am shocked at how much I am enjoying their spin-off (just got through season 1 on Netflix)!  Further shocking, as much as I despised Elijah, something I have expressed more than once on the boards, is how much I love him now.  In fact, he is IMO the best part of The Originals.

[ParadoxLost]

Thought of one.  I remember seeing the movie From Dusk til Dawn way back when.  I never considered watching the TV version, but I caught a marathon of season 1 when they were getting ready to start season 2.  Its actually pretty good.

 

The network is also worth looking at to see what is on every once in a while.  Its in that new network stage where they have an actual POV before they go generic and change their programming to all reality with age.  Its a lot of cult 70's/80s sci-fi, action/adventure, and horror that you don't find on other channels.

[Kromm]

From this season (generally a bad TV season) I had zero to no expectations for "Limitless" and it's turned out to be a total gem. Clever, quite wickedly funny at times, and following a procedural formula... but only SORT of.  More like using the procedural formula to deliver this kind of multi-spectrum show that's just as much sci-fi, conspiracy show, and comedy, all rolled into one.

[callie lee 29]

Chrisley Knows Best. I know it's 4 seasons in, but I really didn't think I would like it. I REALLY didn't think I would like the actual family. Beyond being hysterical, they seem like a rather nice, loving family.

[Sandman87]

I was pleasantly surprised by the Tremors TV series. The writing was decent, there was a plenty of humor, the characters were mostly likable, and the critters were interesting. I liked the premise that El Blanco was considered a member of a protected species, so that everyone had to learn to live with him. And the tourists. And the scientists. And the environmentalists. And the government wildlife people. And the bad guys with an interest in him. And...

[Princess Sparkle]

I've got to throw iZombie in here.  I hadn't realized that Rob Thomas was behind it, so I initially ignored the show, because I thought a zombie show on the CW would be stupid.  However, once it showed up on Netflix a few weeks ago, I ended up watching it on a whim and binged on the whole series in 2 days.  It's a really funny, smart show with charismatic characters.  

[ParadoxLost]

I really didn't care for the movie Limitless. The pilot of Limitless was meh.  But I caught the last two episodes and they were kind of quirky in a way that made me decide to give it another chance.  Not sure what is out of the norm yet though.

[Kromm]

I really didn't care for the movie Limitless. The pilot of Limitless was meh.  But I caught the last two episodes and they were kind of quirky in a way that made me decide to give it another chance.  Not sure what is out of the norm yet though.

Go back and find the middle episodes on demand or CBS.com or wherever. The show's gotten really wickedly entertaining, but really even from Episode 2 it was at least fairly good.

[Craphole Island]

Vampire Diaries and Arrow are two that fall into this category for me. I rarely watch the CW anymore, so I never watched them initially when they were airing, but I liked a lot of the actors in those shows so I was just like "might as well try". I couldn't believe how entertaining and addicting I found Vampire Diaries. I watched the first 3 seasons on Netflix so fast. Now, then I stopped though....but not because I didn't like it anymore. I just never picked up on it. I think the 4th season wasn't on Netflix yet. So I've seen the first like 7 episodes of season 4 but for some reason never continued. That actually happened with Arrow too. I watched the first two seasons but haven't kept up since then. But now because of anything bad! I just haven't. Too much TV that I watch.

 

But my biggest one is Happy Endings. I actually saw like 10 episodes randomly because it was on after Modern Family which at the time I loved. But, I just found it not very funny and kind of try-hard. But a friend of mine whose taste I trust told me I would love it. On her recommendation, I decided to buy the first season and second season because they were super cheap and OMG, did I fall in love. I'm obsessed with it and seriously sad it only lasted 3 seasons. But just like with Friends and Seinfeld, I can now relate almost any situation to a Happy Endings episode. And I will follow that cast ANYWHERE. Specifically Eliza Coupe and Damon Wayans Jr, both of whom I now love for life.

[bmasters9]

I recently purchased the repackaged CBS full-series release of a hit 1993-2004 NBC comedy called Frasier starring Kelsey Grammer, and just took the green flag on it last night. I finished one disc of it last night, and I don't know exactly how to explain why, but Frasier is indeed better than I thought it was going to be (also, IMO, it is far better than its parent show Cheers: I have two seasons' worth of that one [1982-1984], and while Cheers has had its moments, on the whole, Cheers was not that funny, at least to me). 

[Kromm]

11 years on and you'd never seen any episodes? Wow.

[bmasters9]

11 years on and you'd never seen any episodes? Wow.

You are absolutely right-- I had never really seen any. It is the same as Barney Miller-- I had seen only parts of episodes (maybe even a full one) before, and had not really seen it in-depth before, so I didn't know whether it was any good or not. For some reason, however, my purchase of Barney Miller paid off handsomely. 

[Shannon L.]

 

I recently purchased the repackaged CBS full-series release of a hit 1993-2004 NBC comedy called Frasier starring Kelsey Grammer, and just took the green flag on it last night. I finished one disc of it last night, and I don't know exactly how to explain why, but Frasier is indeed better than I thought it was going to be (also, IMO, it is far better than its parent show Cheers: I have two seasons' worth of that one [1982-1984], and while Cheers has had its moments, on the whole, Cheers was not that funny, at least to me).

The first few seasons contain some of my favorite Christmas episodes of any comedy I've ever watched. 

[bmasters9]

The first few seasons contain some of my favorite Christmas episodes of any comedy I've ever watched. 

I'll be looking forward to them! You've convinced me. 

[Miss Dee]

I recently purchased the repackaged CBS full-series release of a hit 1993-2004 NBC comedy called Frasier starring Kelsey Grammer, and just took the green flag on it last night. I finished one disc of it last night, and I don't know exactly how to explain why, but Frasier is indeed better than I thought it was going to be (also, IMO, it is far better than its parent show Cheers: I have two seasons' worth of that one [1982-1984], and while Cheers has had its moments, on the whole, Cheers was not that funny, at least to me).

Oh my God, how wonderful to have 11 seasons of it and be able to experience it all for the first time! I envy you. We bought all 11 seasons as well and my husband had never seen it. Suffice to say, the screams of laughter I sometimes hear emanating from other rooms convinces me it was a good purchase!

[Chaos Theory]

Any CBS that I genuinely like kinds falls into this category for me. Life in Peices, Mom, Limitless. For whatever reason I tend to get bored off CBS show pretty quick but these are the exception.

Also this season of Blacklist and Blacklist in general is better then I expected. It is by no means s genious show but it is fun empty thriller action.

[Irlandesa]

Go back and find the middle episodes on demand or CBS.com or wherever. The show's gotten really wickedly entertaining, but really even from Episode 2 it was at least fairly good.

I agree.  I was surprised by the complete shift in tone from the pilot to the second episode but boy did it work for the series. 

 

 (also, IMO, it is far better than its parent show Cheers: I have two seasons' worth of that one [1982-1984], and while Cheers has had its moments, on the whole, Cheers was not that funny, at least to me). 

I liked the early seasons of Cheers but overall, I preferred Frasier.  It made me laugh more.  You have a lot of good stuff to look forward to.  In fact, I recently watched some of the later season shows and I remember thinking the quality had dropped in the later seasons when they first aired but I found myself laughing quite a bit more than I thought I would.  That surprised me.

[Haleth]

Omigosh, the Frasier radio murder mystery episode.  That is a classic!

[Irlandesa]

Omigosh, the Frasier radio murder mystery episode.  That is a classic!

That show did farce like nobody's business.  You could tell many of its TPTB had their roots in theater. 

 

There was the aforementioned Ham Radio, The Two Mrs. Cranes and the Ski Lodge to just name a few.

[Hybridcookie]

Jessica Jones for me. After Daredevil, which I thought was awful and boring, I didn't want to get my hopes up too much, but I'm just on the final episode and I love it, tied with Sense8 as my favourite show of the year

[ganesh]

I didn't know it was released yet. Good times.

 

My friend would call this thread: _______ is better than it has any right to be. 

[bmasters9]

Bumping this up: I purchased the whole of Mannix (1967-75 CBS detective series w/Mike Connors) through Amazon Marketplace, and violent though it has the reputation for being (Mannix getting into a fistfight, getting shot, et al.), the show has been incredibly promising entertainment-wise; I'm halfway through the lone Intertect season (the first one), and very much looking forward to when Mannix works on his own, with Peggy Fair (the late Gail Fisher) helping him. 

BTW, here it is on one of my DVD shelves between MTM (first three seasons), and Simon & Simon (first four). Also included on this shelf is seasons 6-8, and the final (12th) season, of original-recipe Hawaii Five-O.

Edited June 22, 2016 by bmasters9
Grammar

[Chaos Theory]

I know we are only two episodes in and only because they double aired the premier but I think I will enjoy Animal Kingdom.  

[bmasters9]

To add on to what I said about Mannix: I saw the first season's worth through (the one where Joe Mannix worked for Intertect), and while it was good, the series has really picked up, IMO, in the second season's worth (1968-69), with Joe working on his own at 17 Paseo Verde, and his secretary Peggy (Gail Fisher) helping out where she can. I've been really enjoying the second season's worth, and I'm 6 outings away from finishing it and moving on to the third one (1969-70).

[Haleth]

I had tried to watch Black Sails when it first started and didn't make it through the first episode, but with Outlander done and nothing else worth watching this summer I decided to give it another try.  Holy moley, that is one great show!  Fantastic mix of historical and fictional characters, wonderful writing for complex characters, great action, and all those gorgeous ships!  I'm finding it difficult to not speed through all the episodes.  It's definitely worth a look if you are an Outlander or Game of Thrones fan.

[Winter Rose]

I feel the same way about Black Sails. Truth be told, POTC wore me down on pirates. But perusing on demand for Starz, it caught my brother's eye and since it was between seasons for whatever other shows I watched, I feigned an interest. S1 was admittedly a struggle for me and I didn't even want to watch after that but my brother insisted I watch S2, that it was worth it, so I did and... he was right. It didn't just improve from S1, I think it's currently one of the best written shows on TV. But the sad thing is, I never would've heard of it if it wasn't for a random search of the on demand selection.

[Irlandesa]

I had a similar experience with Black Sails.  A pirate show didn't really interest me. And given that it was produced by Michael Bay didn't exactly inspire me with confidence that it'd be full of nuanced characters and solid storytelling. Plus, I didn't have Starz so I gave it zero consideration.

But then something was revealed in the second season that got a lot of chatter online. T

Spoiler

hat being the main character having been romantically involved with the late husband of his confidante.

It got me intrigued enough to watch the first two seasons available On Demand during a preview weekend. The first season was kind of meh so I did some fast forwarding to fit in the two seasons into a weekend. (My time was tight because I had also done the first eight episodes of Outlander but that didn't do anything for me.)  Thankfully, the first season was short and the leap in quality between the first and second season was huge.  Three kept it going.  I'm really impressed with its ability to tell a story over the course of a season and have it propelled by and affect its characters in ways that I feel are "in character."

[Archery]

Also on Starz, a show called "Survivor's Remorse," about a basketball player who gets drafted to the NBA, and his family.  I kept seeing the ads for it before and after Outlander S1, and I decided to watch only because it made a reference to street names that made it clear that the family was from Dorchester (a part of Boston).  I'm not a huge basketball fan (LeBron James is an executive producer), and I was sick of POC series always having to do with drugs, guns, and prison.  Survivor's Remorse is hilarious. It defies some stereotypes and plays off of others intentionally.  I definitely wouldn't watch it with my mom in the room, but it's really surprisingly good. 

[amensisterfriend]

Somehow I've become addicted to reruns of an old mystery series called Diagnosis Murder. As a lifelong Murder She Wrote addict, this probably isn't too much of a surprise, but I'd figured it would be too dated and painfully cheesy for me to enjoy. But, honestly, I kind of adore it---it's charming, warm, funny, engaging and with surprisingly well defined and likable characters. Even the whodunits themselves are better than I'd expected, though my standards in that area are admittedly pretty low by now :) 

[Rick Kitchen]

Didn't Diagnosis Murder and Murder She Wrote do a crossover one episode?

[Irlandesa]

11 hours ago, amensisterfriend said:

Somehow I've become addicted to reruns of an old mystery series called Diagnosis Murder. As a lifelong Murder She Wrote addict, this probably isn't too much of a surprise, but I'd figured it would be too dated and painfully cheesy for me to enjoy. But, honestly, I kind of adore it---it's charming, warm, funny, engaging and with surprisingly well defined and likable characters. Even the whodunits themselves are better than I'd expected, though my standards in that area are admittedly pretty low by now :) 

About a year or so ago I watched this whole series and I loved most of it.  That last season was a bit odd, though.  I think the only characters who were in every episode were the doctor and his son. (So Van Dyke Sr. and Jr.) And they had more appearances by other family members while Victoria Rowell and the Jesse character were somewhat sidelined.  That said, I do wish we could see the movies they made.

4 hours ago, Rick Kitchen said:

Didn't Diagnosis Murder and Murder She Wrote do a crossover one episode?

I can't seem to find a record of it and I don't remember seeing it.  I did find a perhaps homage with the episode "Write, She Murdered."  And there's a fanfic out there. 

Murder She Wrote did a crossover with Magnum P.I. And Andy Griffith played his Matlock character on Diagnosis Murder. There were other cameos.  Some played actual characters they played while others played representations of those characters.

[bmasters9]

9 hours ago, Irlandesa said:

Murder She Wrote did a crossover with Magnum P.I. And Andy Griffith played his Matlock character on Diagnosis Murder. There were other cameos.  Some played actual characters they played while others played representations of those characters.

And Mike Connors played his Mannix character in a fourth-season episode called "Hard-Boiled Murder," Feb. 13, 1997 (crossing over from a fourth-season Mannix outing called "Little Girl Lost," IIRC); a two-minute clip of that is on the first-season Mannix DVD as a bonus.

[MaryMitch]

3 hours ago, bmasters9 said:

And Mike Connors played his Mannix character in a fourth-season episode called "Hard-Boiled Murder," Feb. 13, 1997 (crossing over from a fourth-season Mannix outing called "Little Girl Lost," IIRC); a two-minute clip of that is on the first-season Mannix DVD as a bonus.

That was a really cool episode; they had 4 actors from the original Mannix episode - Mike Connors, Julie Adams, Beverly Garland, and Pernell Roberts (in his last TV appearance). The only weak spot was the actress they got to play the daughter; I wish they could have gotten the original actress, Dawn Lyn, who was a great little actress but apparently isn't acting any more.

[amaranta]

I was looking for some innocuous lunchtime TV, came across Reba and thought "why the hell not?"  Nope, not even close to being a great show, but I will say it can be a good one.  I've seen about two weeks of shows now, coming in somewhere in the middle (I think.)  The guy who played Van has made me laugh a few times, as has the occasional weirdness from Barbara Jean.  As for Reba M., I thought she would be horrible, but she has decent timing and delivery. 

I knew I liked it when they skewered the trope of people talking in the living room not being overheard by others in the kitchen and skewered it well.

I can't even claim to be ashamed, because I'm actually not.  It's cute.

Edited July 30, 2016 by amaranta
typo

[atomationage]

Reba was a surprisingly good show.  I also liked her Malibu Country series, where Lily Tomlin played her mother.  I think Reba McEntire is a very likeable person. 

[ABay]

I don't like children. I have stopped watching shows because they had children in them. American TV seems incapable of employing child actors who can enunciate  and of creating child characters who are not gooey and precious or obnoxious and in need of a slap. And yet I really enjoyed Stranger Things on Netflix, and liked all of the children and teens. I have  a doctor's appointment next week...

[Raja]

Reaching way back into the day when the Lou Grant drama was spun off of The Mary Tyler Moore Show was suprising how well the transition went

[festivus]

Just finished watching the 1st season of Brooklyn 99. This show is so much better than I expected it to be. I never thought it would be bad or anything but I thought it would just be your typical sitcom. I love the fact that Jake is not a stupid man-child, he's just a man-child. Man-child characters I have no problem with, but I don't like stupid mean ones. Jake is actually smart and he's good at his job. I also love that Boyle may be uncool and that they do make him the butt of their jokes sometimes but not in a mean spirited way. You can tell that the squad loves him. I also thought at first that I wouldn't like Rosa because I hated the mean girl character of April on Parks and Recreation but they didn't make Rosa nasty like they did April. So yeah this show does remind me of Parks & Rec but they avoided some of the things I don't like about that show. Best thing is I still have 2 more seasons to look forward to and a new one starting soon!

[DearEvette]

12 hours ago, festivus said:

Just finished watching the 1st season of Brooklyn 99. This show is so much better than I expected it to be. I never thought it would be bad or anything but I thought it would just be your typical sitcom. I love the fact that Jake is not a stupid man-child, he's just a man-child. Man-child characters I have no problem with, but I don't like stupid mean ones. Jake is actually smart and he's good at his job. I also love that Boyle may be uncool and that they do make him the butt of their jokes sometimes but not in a mean spirited way. You can tell that the squad loves him. I also thought at first that I wouldn't like Rosa because I hated the mean girl character of April on Parks and Recreation but they didn't make Rosa nasty like they did April. So yeah this show does remind me of Parks & Rec but they avoided some of the things I don't like about that show. Best thing is I still have 2 more seasons to look forward to and a new one starting soon!

So much this!  I felt the same way about B99.  I actually watched the first ep and was like "eh."  But then I think I was bored one day and decided to catch a  few more and I was completely hooked.  Andre Braugher's captain Holt is the best, most awesome deadpan character ever!  And I absolutely love how each season they have a couple of recurring theme episodes

Spoiler

(there's always a Doug Jeudy/Pontiac Bandit episode and there is always a Halloween Competition episode).

  and this most recent season was the best yet.

[festivus]

Well I can't read your spoiler yet but I can agree that Andre Braugher is awesome. He and Terry Crews were the only actors I knew going into the show but I love all the characters and actors now. 

[atomationage]

4 minutes ago, festivus said:

I can agree that Andre Braugher is awesome.

IKR.  I watched the first episode, and I think one more later.  I just can't stand Andy Samberg.  I don't know why anyone from SNL ever gets a series or movie or anything.  IMO that show hasn't been funny for decades. 

[DearEvette]

1 hour ago, atomationage said:

IKR.  I watched the first episode, and I think one more later.  I just can't stand Andy Samberg.  I don't know why anyone from SNL ever gets a series or movie or anything.  IMO that show hasn't been funny for decades. 

Andy Samberg was the reason I was 'eh' after the first episode.  The pilot actually played into all my fears about him being juvenile and this being a show full of stupid bro-dude humor.  But it really, really isn't.  He is rather endearing in the show, I love @festivus' characterization of him and the show because while he is a man-child, but it is only sometimes and it hits just the right tone of being a little goofy but not being obnoxious.  It is tempered by the fact that the show is clear that Jake is a really good cop underneath it all.   And the ensemble cast is perfect with each other.

[LydiaMoon1]

35 minutes ago, DearEvette said:

Andy Samberg was the reason I was 'eh' after the first episode.  The pilot actually played into all my fears about him being juvenile and this being a show full of stupid bro-dude humor.  But it really, really isn't.  He is rather endearing in the show,

I second this.  I wasn't an Adam Samburg fan either and I'm definitely not a fan of dude-bro humor, but he does manage to be quite endearing on this show.  Sure Jake is a man-child sometimes, but he's a good cop, a good friend and a good colleague. Plus, the ensemble is awesome together, Andre Braugher is the greatest, and there's always Scully and Hitchcock.

[festivus]

I only know Andy Samburg from Dick in a Box (which yes I did find hilarious) so I didn't really have any preconceived notions on him as an actor or a comedian. But yeah, he does some silly man-child stuff which as I said before on its own doesn't bother me at all but I wouldn't like a whole show full of it. It's not like that at all though and like has been said Jake is fairly sweet and he's a good friend. But the best thing for me is that he's a good cop and good at his job. That's why I had to post here in the pleasantly surprised thread! 

[Princess Sparkle]

I am almost embarrassed to admit this, but I have to put the show Baby Daddy in here. It was on at the nail salon the other day, and I thought I was going to be bored out of my mind.  Turns out it was a cute, totally charming, funny show. It also didn't hurt that the guy playing Danny is hot like fire. 

[atomationage]

Baby Daddy is definitely a guilty pleasure for me also.   I don't watch it week by week.  I'm still on season 4.   I wait until I'm in the mood and watch a bunch of them.  The show is very stupid, but I like the cast.  IMO, it's okay for the yukky stuff to be stupid, if it's entertaining.

I liked that show Happyland the year before last for the same reason.  I think everyone hated it.

Edited September 22, 2016 by atomationage

[zxy556575]

Whoa. Five seasons of a show I've never heard of? So.Much.TV.

I added it to my Netflix queue on your recommendations. :)

[DearEvette]

I had no interest at all in watching Survivor's Remorse.  Not in my wheelhouse and I had so many pre-connceived notions about it.  But it was on at my sister's house and I started watching it and man, it it sharp, funny and very well written.  I love the actors and the characters.  I love the lesbian sister isn't written broadly or problematic at all.  She is just presented as a full realized person.  I also love that her name is Mary Charles and they call her M-Chuck.  I actually broke down and got the free 30-day trial that comes with my Amazon Prime for Starz so I could finish watching it.  LOL.