I say “surprising” because, whenever I mention I haven’t seen or watched one of the following, I am always met with equal parts distress, dismay, and disbelief:
10. E.T.
9. FRIENDS
8. STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION
7. THE GOONIES
6. THE BIG BANG THEORY
5. AVATAR
4. THE WEST WING
3. STAR TREK (reboot)
2. STAR WARS EPISODE 1: THE PHANTOM MENAE
1. FERRIS BUELLER’S DAY OFF
The others, I can understand, but Ferris? Sacrilege!
i’ve never seen or watched; 6, 5 & 3.
i’ve seen the last & first episode of the west wing.
and, just because, here’s the only west wing fan vid i’ve seen. set to high school never ends by bowling for soup.
Ok, I hear ya, and I don’t like it when people tell me I “should” see something, but in this case, I’ll do it anyway…
“E.T.” is really a pretty great movie, and there are a lot of clever things about it.
Um…everything else on the list is optional or missable without too much (or any) tragedy, but “E.T.”, man, I dunno, I think you should watch it.
G’day
Just catching up from the past few days.
@ gforce / Gary – so very sorry to hear about your StepMum. Sending warm hugs and healing thoughts your way.
You’ve never seen E.T or Star Trek The Next Generation? And you call yourself a Sci-Fi fan. For Shame, Joe! For shame.
You’ve missed out, not watching The West Wing. Excellent writing, cast, all round great drama.
My flatmate (an SG1 fan) borrowed all 7 seasons of ST:TNG from me, and went through the first 2 seasons in a week. She told me likes it better than SG1, so perhaps you should steer clear 😉
The Goonies? You really can’t go back. Never seen Avatar myself, wish I’d never seen The Phantom Menace. Star Trek reboot – the actors do well, the writers and producers don’t. Can’t stand Big Bang Theory, and Friends just isn’t the kind of thing I go for. I can’t imagine re-watching ET.
How scary, I’ve seen everything on the list but Friends and Avatar. 😀
I wrote too soon. I’ve never seen the Star Trek reboot either.
G’day
Um maaaa..never ever seen Star Trek The Next Generation. Shame…I totally love this show.
The other – meh.
Never seen Avatar either or West Wing. Wish I had never seen some of the others.
@gforce sorry for your loss
Joe i have to be honest i cant believe you have not seen E.T. you have to watch it and why haven’t you watched ST:TNG i guess if the blog does a rewatch it will only be for us for you it will be a first watch. Dont worry about Star Wars ep1 not the best but you gotta see Ferris Buellers day off its a classic.
I am surprised you haven’t see most of these, Joe. Mostly because they were just so hard to avoid.
E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial: It’s a pretty good movie. A bit soppy at the end. It’s probably the first movie to ever make me cry.
Friends: I’ve seen a few episodes by accident over the years but, while there were a few snorkworthy gags, it never appealed to me.
Star Trek: The Next Generation: I’m a big fan. It’s a little hit and miss in the early episodes but by season three it’s more hit than miss. I’ve been thinking about rewatching it. Maybe after we finish watching TOS?
The Goonies: One of my favourites. Now, as an adult, I can appreciate my Mum’s comment about it being, “Too noisy and all the kids were just yelling over each other.” when she took me to see it at the cinema but back then I thought it was fantastic!
The Big Bang Theory: Love it! Having worked with many scientists (plus living with one for 20 years!) and being a nerd myself I love the in-jokes and geek references. Joe, out of everything in your list, I think you’d really enjoy this the most.
Avatar: From a technical point of view I thought this was a massive achievement. I helped set up the motion capture stage at Weta Digital and I worked with a lot of the crew that ended up working on Avatar so I enjoyed that aspect of it. The movie itself was OK but I can’t explain why it made so much money. Has James Cameron ever made a flop?
The West Wing: Never even seen an episode and have no interest in changing that.
Star Trek (reboot): I loved this film! Even my non-Trekkie sci-fi-hating sister enjoyed it.
Star Wars Episode 1: The Phantom Menace: I saw this at a special screening for Lord Of The Rings crew. There was a very awkward silence when the end credits started rolling. A cinema full of people who have dedicated their lives to making movie visual effects (many, I suspect, as a direct result of the influence of Star Wars on their lives) all thinking to themselves, “What the fuck?!?!” Personally, I don’t mind it. I’m not a rabid Star Wars fan so I don’t start foaming at the mouth about the prequels. I’m looking forward to the J.J. Abrams films (see “Star Trek (reboot)” above).
Ferris Bueller’s Day Off: This movie joins Highlander, Heathers, Citizen Kane and American Beauty on my “Most overrated movies of all time” list. Even though I own the DVD (and the DVD of Highlander now that I come to think of it) I don’t understand why this movie is held is such high regard. It’s not much more than your standard ’80s teenage romp.
Avatar and Phantom Menace are not good, so no loss there. Also, the writing in the Star Trek reboot is going to make you cringe, and I mean painfully, so that’s best to avoid. Not to mention the lens flares potentially bringing on seizures.
E.T. really is kind of a landmark though, so it’s worth seeing. Although, I haven’t seen it for quite a while now so I’m not sure how it holds up.
You really should watch TNG, though. It’s still really my favourite Trek, and despite some of the sillier episodes, and the first couple of seasons where it was still trying to find its feet (like SG1), episodes such as “Tapestry” and “The Inner LIght”, are strikingly good, even brilliant. So many great moments. My favourite ST movie ending has to be from Generations, and Picard’s quote about time from this has even been a comfort to me these last few days:
Janet, thank you so much for your thoughts. It’s been a rough few days, but I’m feeling a bit better now.
West Wing is some of the best writing for television I’ve ever seen.
seriously?!! You’ve NEVER watched WEST WING? — I’m sure that must be a violation to your SCREENWRITERS’ Membership! — Before you purchase another book or dvd, GO, get the Complete dvd set and WATCH IT!!
At “the Time”, if IT had been a “REALITY” Show, BUSH Junior would probably NOT have gotten a 2nd Term! [Let alone a 1st!]
BTW, the STAR TREK reboot is worth the escapism for a couple of hours.
I’ve never seen WestWing. But come on now, no STNG? But, Patrick Stewart! Jean-luc! Make it so!
I haven’t seen The West Wing or Ferris Beuller, but it is pretty shocking that you’ve never seen the other shows on that list.
for the love of Beckett, thanks for the wishes! We spent I quiet night at home, I cooked. It was pretty perfect.
I’ve never seen The Goonies or The Phantom Menace, and I’m okay with that. It would be worth your time, though, to watch The West Wing, especially the first three seasons, but the whole series is really good. Sorkin’s writing has an almost musical rhythm to it, since he is a musician and writes his rather wordy scripts in 4/4 time. TWW is in my top five favourite shows of all time. I watched the first season so many times that I can listen to it without watching and still know what’s going on. The walk and talk scenes must have given actors and directors grey hairs. Matching up all those words with where the actors need to be when they say them, trying not to walk into walls while delivering lines, turning corners and more corners and more corners.
Am I selling you on this show or turning you off it? *g*
The acting was good too. 🙂 I miss that show.
No Ferris Bueller? That’s criminal. No ET? How did you survive childhood? However, I might be most shocked that, as a writer, you’ve never seen The West Wing. The dialog alone is amazing.
There you have it, a whole bucket list of possibilities to watch next time you’re sick! 😉
I liked E.T. but not because of the alien. It was fun seeing how kids grew up at that time (my time). Our mom sent us out at breakfast and we did our thing until meal times. Plus, the interaction between the kids reminded me of my actual childhood. Movies like “Goonies” and a newer movie “Super 8” did a great job of recreating the 70’s kid lingo too. Hats off to their writers!
It’s 9 a.m. here and I need a nap already. Not a good sign…..
Wow, except for your #2, hard to believe you haven’t seen any of those. Your loss. All but #2 are really good.
Ça frise la provocation! Faites-vous exprès ou quoi !?! Come on: Big bang theory ! Star Trek reboot !! Ferris Bueller !!! Star Wars !!!! (maybe you are jealous somewhere !!!!!)
I never seen 9, 7, 4…
When ET was released I was 12. One would normally expect a girl who loved horses, puppies, kittens and just about anything that had a high angst or sap quotient to be all over it. Not so much. While grown men were openly sobbing all around us, my cousin and I were having a hard time restraining our giggles because we thought it was so cheesy and ridiculous. Perhaps I would feel differently with the passage of time. But I doubt it.
I LOVE Big Bang – but then I live with 2 computer programmers and a psychologist. It’s almost like watching my own life on the little screen.
I love that you’re getting the same reaction from us as you do in face to face conversations. Well, what’d you expect? 😉
I get the same reaction when I tell people I’ve never seen Jurassic Park(or any of the sequels). I get the opposite reaction, in a sense, when girls learn I’ve seen, and like, The Notebook. It’s a fun little story with a very sweet twist. The acting could be a little better, and there are some areas that could use some tightening up, but all in all it’s a good movie. Plus, I get to stare at Rachel McAdams for an hour and a half. Win/win in my book. 😉
-Mike A.
10. E.T. – In my opinion, no big loss there – very overrated. Too sappy as I recall, and not that interesting (the night I saw it I was having a bad day, so maybe that taints my viewpoint).
9. Friends – Yeah, nothing missed there, except the Smelly Cat song.
8. Star Trek:TNG – I dunno…maybe we can’t be friends anymore…
7. Goonies – Wait…what? Now I know we can’t be friends anymore! 95% of my sense of humor is based on this film. I mean, booty traps! Bullet holes the size of matzah balls! Rocky…Rooaad? I am very disappointed in you. VERY. You must remedy this situation immediately, and when you do (because I have full faith that you will), you must watch it through the eyes of your 12-year old self.
6. Big Bang Theory – Hubby loves this show, but really…watch it without the laugh track and it’s really not that funny.
5. Avatar – Haven’t seen it either, but I hear it’s just a sci fi remake of Pocahontas.
4. The West Wing – I don’t even know what that is.
3. Star Trek:reboot – A decent update of the original, with lots of action and funny moments. Worth a watch if you can get past the lens flares.
2. Star Wars: Episode 1 – Run…run away as fast as you can! I like to pretend that eps 1-3 never really happened.
1. Ferris Bueller’s Day Off – Hmm. I loved this movie at the time. Haven’t seen it in a while, so not sure how it’s held up. However, it’s worth a watch in order to get the remaining 5% of my sense of humor. 😉
das
As for my take on some stuff you haven’t seen:
Ferris Bueller: C’mon, it’s an ’80’s John Hughes movie about teenagers! You almost can’t go wrong. Alan Ruck makes the movie, though.
STTNG: Understandable. Good show, but it takes a level of dedication to trudge through the stinkers to get to the really brilliant episodes. And those episodes really pay off, too, e.g.: “The Inner Light”.
SWE1: Pass. Don’t even bother.
ST(reboot): Meh. It’s ok. Karl Urban is hands down the only reason to see it. He does a masterful job channeling DeForest Kelley. Wear sunglasses when you watch it. All the lens flares are quite distracting.
Goonies: If you do watch it, watch it with the mindset of an 11 year old boy and you’ll absolutely love it. Otherwise, it’s still a good movie, just not as fun.
West Wing: Never saw it. I have a friend who raves about it, but that’s all I know about it.
Big Bang Theory: Never saw it. My mom has started watching it. I hear there are lots of great nerd/geek/sci-fi references in it. I’m still not drawn to it, though.
Avatar: You can pass on that one, too. Everyone raved about the visual effects, and how the movie was made, and yada yada. I don’t see it. Still looked like a Pixar movie to me. And the story sucked.
ET: It’s a great movie. I can’t really add to what’s already been said about it by others here.
Friends: I got into Friends because of great timing. I was heavy into Seinfeld and NBC put it on the same night, making it easy for me to get hooked. Thursday’s were my “night off” from homework for college and I was thoroughly entertained by Chandler’s quick, sarcastic wit and Rachel’s ditzy beauty. Later on, as my opinion of the show evolved and my appreciation for good TV matured, I learned the real stars of the show(and the ones who had the best lines and were acted the best) are Phoebe and Joey. All in all, a really good ensemble cast, though.
One more word on STTNG. If anything, just watch a few episodes to familiarize yourself with the current ST universe at the time, then jump over to ST:Voyager. Voyager was a fantastic show. A kind of return to the real heart of TOS where everything was new. TNG can be quite repetitive with all the Klingon and Romulan Empire political stuff over and over. Voyager had none of that and only dealt with certain races and problems for a short time as they were “just passing by”. A great mechanic for keeping the series fresh, if you ask me(which is another great reason I was sad SGU got cancelled).
-Mike A.
Is it List time? Oh, alright then!
ET, I can understand. Lots of great “family” movies came out around this time. It was a great time growing up, and there was plenty to miss. Looking back at the era, however, has it’s downsides. We all know how terrible the Superman movies look, and I tend to hold Indiana Jones, Star Wars, and lots of other films under the same kind of “Oh, a terrible 80s movie” scrutiny.
ET works better than most of these, but does tend to plod along in places.
Friends. Endlessly repeated, with ludicrous numbers of episodes per day. There’s a channel in the UK (E4) which, for a long long time, pretty much entirely existed for showing about 7 or 8 episodes of Friends a day!!! They then sold Friends to Comedy Central, and .. um.. .. I don’t think I’ve watched anything on that channel, since.
*shrugs*
The first and last seasons are quality sitcom fodder. The first few years trying to discover itself, and figure out what kind of show it was, so trying lots of different things and being fun along the way.. the latter, enjoying the characters until the inevitable end of the show.
The middle few seasons, though, ended up focussing on “the relationship”, and that’s where the shpw kind of petered out for a bit.
Star Trek : The Next Generation. I’ve recently found myself rewatching certain episodes of this show, and an awful lot of them do hold up as great sci-fi episodes. There’s an awful lot of dull “exploration of humanity” episodes, but inbetween the dull stuff there are some fantastically great shows. “Cause and Effect” is still one of my favourite Time-Loop episodes.
I wouldn’t recommend a complete watch, but perhaps if you get people to vote on a couple of episodes from each season, you might end up liking it!
The Goonies, much like ET, came about during that period of “Good.. at the time” movies, but realistically, this one actually holds up really quite well, IMO. If this were done today, as a series, it would work briliantly! A good story, a fun adventure, and not a whole lot of logic-breaking flaws to ruin it. (Although it’s been a while since I watched it.. Don’t hold me to that!!)
Big Bang, I’ve caught about 4 or 5 episodes, and each time I watch, the entire “comedy” seems to hang on the fact that one person is a geek, and the other isn’t. That is the joke.. That is the ONLY joke.. And that joke is run into the ground after about 5 minutes, then casually stomped on, repeatedly, for the remaining 20. The “Geek” Joke is handled as well as Will & Grace’s “Gay” Joke, or Dharma & Greg’s “Free Spirit” Joke. I can’t get into it, and doubt if I ever will.
Avatar – I haven’t seen it, either.. Maybe I should, but I probably won’t. I wonder if it’s on Netflix?.. probably not.. Thousands to choose from, but never seems to have the film you want!
The West Wing – Another one of those “Missed the first episode, never bothered to catch up” shows. This, the oodles of CSI shows that I’ve never watched, as well as other things like LOST and more, have all been shows that started at the time when you either had to actually sit down to watch the show, or you had to set the timer on the VCR! My VCR only had eyes for Star Trek… and I didn’t have a lot of tapes left…
Star Trek Reboot.. I was quite surprised that the reboot worked as well as it did. I was expecting a glorified break in Trek-Logic, but the script actually managed to pull it off quite well. The fact that both old and new trek can co-exist is great. I wonder if New Stargate will be as forgiving…?
Could’ve done without all the bloomin’ LensFlare, though.
Star Wars.. I enjoy the universe of Star Wars, and count C3P0, R2D2, Chewie, Darth Vader et all as some of my favourite characters. I own little models, played with the toys as a child*, (*cough*) and have even started buying the annual Star Wars Lego Advent Calendars.
..
…. Never liked the films, though. Not one of ’em. Rubbishy none-sci-fi boring fairytale stuff.
Ferris Bueller.. Meh.. It’s alright, I suppose.
Say it ain’t so! 0_0
Yeah, advice is usually worth what you pay for it… but you really need to watch Star Trek: The Next Generation, starting w/ season 3 (maybe catch a couple of the earlier recommended examples to get acclimated). By the time you get to the series finale, “All Good Things…” you’ll know how we fans felt when we watched a solitary Eli stargazing at the end of SGU.
And yes, you Need to watch The West Wing. The characters were well developed and nuanced, the story telling crisp, and the quiet zingers superb. Here’s how good it was: I loved it despite the liberal administration’s digs at the political right, and I’m a conservative. That made me a fan of Aaron Sorkin’s writing, and I also enjoyed his next series Studio 60, a behind-the-scenes of SNL-type show. Looks like I need to catch up on his current series, The Newsroom. Has anyone seen it? What do you think?
Haven’t seen Goonies or Ferris Buehler in one sitting, but maybe I should. 🙂 I agree with you, Tam Dixon, about the coming-of-age movies. There’s usually something redeemable about them, because the writer is writing from his or her own life. And yes, love the movie Super 8, with Kyle Chandler from Friday Night Lights playing one of the leads. Good actor with some gravitas, but he never over plays it. I DVRed that movie. Will try to get to it this weekend.
JimFromJersey, you made dinner at home for your wife? You’re a good man. 🙂
I have only seen E.T. and FERRIS BUELLER’S DAY OFF. I think you should watch FERRIS and let us know what you think and if it is still funny today. I think it is and I think Akemi would love it too. And how could you not watch something Steven Spielberg was involved with? He is like one of the greats.
Mike A – You’ve never seen Jurassic Park?? OMG!! (I don’t do sequels hardly ever).
PSA: Anyone in the Langley/Vancouver area with unwanted kittens, there is a “Kitten Roundup” on Saturday the 26th by The Langley Animal Protection Society:
http://www.langleytimes.com/community/267686841.html
Earlier this week at the end of my work meeting we got on the topic of movies and found out that both my manager and division manager had never seen the Princess Bride. My co-workers and I were shocked that neither of them had ever seen the Princess Bride, my division manager had never even heard of it. I told her she was dead to me. I don’t know why I am shocked when people haven’t seen it, I just figure the majority of people have. Love it or hate it, it is so dang quotable.
I have to say I am genuinely surprised that you haven’t seen ST:TNG or Ferris Bueller’s Day Off.
It always cracks me up when people are floored that I never watched Avatar. I just don’t see the appeal of it. Besides I’m a gamer, I see the awesome animations on my games all the time, so it is nothing new for me.
Okay, a quick count shows I have seen or watched 7 out of 10 of those shows.
The ones I missed are:
Friends
Big Bang Theory
West Wing
I’m just not a SitCom person, or a cop show/political drama person either. The last cop show I watched was Barney Miller, and then only occasionally.
Ferris Bueller and Goonies I considered “meh” in the day and only re-watched them recently when my kids wanted to watch them. I still think they’re overrated. E.T. was better, if a little sappy.
Avatar I found to be stunning visually, but disappointing on the story (a blue alien version of Dances With Wolves?) The characters were two dimensional and flat, and I’m not referring to the animation!
I don’t think I need to comment about Star Wars Episode 1, other than to say, “Jar-Jar? Really? REALLY?”
Star Trek TNG was mostly okay, but as Line Noise notes, they have some misses, including a few all too obvious re-treads from the original series. And the reboot is fine for what it is, the first big screen alternate time line reboot.
I’m getting a little tired of reboot fever though. Can’t we do something original? Yes, I know rebooted Stargate is coming, and I’ll probably go see it, but I’m partly fearful we’ll have another Tim Burton Planet of the Apes on our hands.
On travel, I finished my work week in Milan and I have a flight tomorrow morning to Heathrow, overnighting in London, and then back to Chicago on Sunday. It’ll be good to be home.
This trip I met up with Line Noise (waving “Hi!”), I had cavallo in Catania, and last night I had a walk-about and dinner in Monza, so some fun diversions with friends. If the WiFi is any good in London I may try to put up a blog post with pictures.
What I’m finding most fascinating about this thread is the difference of opinion so many people have about these movies & TV shows. F’rinstance, my own opinion of all these…
E.T. – Fantastic movie. A must-see for any sci-fi fan. In some ways “Close Encounters for kids” and in other ways just a really sweet, good story.
Friends – A show that’s really funny (even now) but for me, right on the border of having characters that are too cartoony mixed with characters who are just like people you know. For me, Seinfeld is one of the biggest offenders of that, which is why I hate that show – can’t stand George or Kramer. In Friends, Phoebe is that “right on the border” characters. The rest I found really likable. But if those kinds of shows aren’t your cup of tea, you’re not missing anything by not having seen it.
ST:TNG – I really love this series, but you have to love it for what it is, not what it could be / should have been. The humor, when there at all, is super-nerdy and usually not all that funny. The show takes itself very seriously, which makes it pretty cheesy at times. But I think they told some really great stories during the series’ run. I’d rather watch this than ST:TOS any day of the week.
The Goonies – I kinda liked this movie when it came out, but I’ve never understood the cult appeal of it. Maybe I need to re-watch it. I pretty much can’t stand Martha Plimpton as an actor (I’m sure she’s a wonderful person), so that probably has something to do with it.
Big Bang Theory – The 2 or 3 times I’ve seen a couple minutes of this, I’ve thought it was utterly awful. It’s so “stage-y” like a bunch of bad high school actors are putting on a play for their families. The one super-anal super-nerdy guy who everbody loves? Terrible character in my opinion. So over the top. In real life he’d be on meds for any number of personality disorders. I just think the writing is atrocious. Really awful.
Avatar – Very disappointing James Cameron film. “Soldier in a foreign country goes native”. There, I just explained the entire plot of the film. I think Terminator, T2 and Aliens were such great movies (and I even liked Abyss, although I wouldn’t put it in the same league as the other three), that this was just so boring, story-wise. The one thing I did really enjoy about this movie was how he used 3D tech pretty much just to make the world seem more real & alive. But even the world itself didn’t strike me as too original. It just seemed like he’d been playing World of Warcraft for a couple years before coming up with the world it takes place on.
West Wing – Yeah, I dunno, never got around to seeing it.
ST:Reboot – I really enjoyed this movie. It made me wish there was a Starfleet to go out and join. Some goofy plot mechanics, but I’m totally cool with my sci-fi being more fi than sci.
Phanton Menace – A boring, humorless, mish mosh of lame ideas. Not worthy of the Star Wars title. In fact, the only reason to watch this movie is, as a fan of the original trilogy, so that you can wonder in amazement how anybody let Lucas make this film the way he made it (despite him financing it himself) and THEN to go watch this 70 minute review of the Phantom Menace that is, by comparison, so spot on, interesting and funny…
http://www.slashfilm.com/watch-this-70-minute-video-review-of-star-wars-the-phantom-menace/
Ferris Bueller – I have never liked this movie. I don’t like any of the characters. I don’t care about anything that happens in the film. I think there are a maybe a couple of chuckle-worthy lines and that’s it. Easily my least-favorite John Hughes film, just below Breakfast Club, which I also have never liked. This movie made me pretty much dislike Matthew Broderick as an actor until…well, still, really. I still like him in Wargames, though.
I can understand your dilemma. I have not seen many of the shows on your list. Some I would have lived long and happy if I never had. The Startrek reboot, which I saw at Imax, has left me never to see another Startek ep. again. What I thought was buffoonish in the movie people seem to embrace. In space where it is a precious medium, ships seemed to endless and vast. And why is a brewery like an engine room? enough.
Speaking of NExt Gen. At the time I was a bit of a fan. I lost interest when Jean Luke was in his Borg outfit. I have seen it in reruns and chastised myself for thinking it was entertaining. I guess I was one of the few men who thought Terry Ryan was presented more as a distraction than an asset. (An Erin Grey rip off?)
The only time I saw Avitar was when I was walking in the Thai malls, and it was looped on the electronic stores’ big HD screens.
I do not have cable so I have missed many of the now talked about shows like the Sopranos, Boardwalk Emperor, Madmen etc. The only reason I have seen Big Bang Theory, Game of Thrones and others is because of the improved entertainment systems on international flight and DVDs.
Of those I would recommend if only to understand the pop culture references of today would be FERRIS BUELLER’S DAY OFF, and E.T.
Because of the talk of “Boss”, and I like Kelsey Grammers work as Frasier I bought the 1st season. It was worth a look. It is not a drama; it is a documentary.
Your list of shows/movies not watched reminds me of The Big Bang Theory. Sheldon can’t believe that Amy hasn’t watched “Indiana Jones”. After making her watch it, she didn’t like the movie. Amy explains that if Indiana Jones were not in the movie, the plot would still be intact. the Nazis would still find the Ark of the Covenant, taken it to the island, opened it up and all died. We got a laugh out of that because it’s true! The writers of Big Bang are pretty good.
I understand…. well all but Ferris Bueller, that is gold!!
Chev
@Lou Zucaro – I’m with you on Big Bang Theory. I don’t like the characters at all. Sheldon is stereotypical Aspergers and the AS traits are what people are laughing at not with. My Mum liked it though. She used to get me to explain the geek references to her.
Cheers, Chev
You need to see TNG. It’s my favorite show ever. They really knew how to do an ensemble cast that people loved. Probably the only reason I got into watching Stargate was because, after Enterprise ended, it was the first time in my memory that I didn’t have a Star Trek series to watch and I needed something to fill the void. (Sadly, that void now remains empty. The reboot movies are really good, but once every few years is too infrequent.)
Duptiang — I’m guessing you mean Jeri Ryan? I can’t think of any Star Trek actor named Terry Ryan. And Jeri Ryan was on Voyager, not TNG. Totally different series, like 10 years later.
Although if you haven’t seen Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, I think you might like that one best. It really delved into some dark, gritty stuff, and the characters were a lot more in the shades of grey. (That show is a close second for me.)
I’m shocked you haven’t watched ST:TNG! Don’t you own it and have it in your comprehensive DVD museum? Must watch! 🙂
But the rest, I could take or leave. Definitely avoid Avatar – very beautiful, but terrible storyline and characters.
I’m pretty behind on movies and TV in general, but the ones that seem to make people the most appalled when they find out I haven’t watched are the Disney classics: Little Mermaid, Lion King.
Dude! You don’t know what you’re missing!! (I’ve never watched West Wing either.)
I’ve seen them all and since everyone else is giving you recommendations:
West Wing, and STNG are all must watch for me are must watch for me. I loved the pacing and the stories from WW, and TNG for me defines ST. Of course I grew up watching it like you did TOS. (Side note: favorite Star Trek series is Deep Space 9)
really everything else on your list (except SW:Ep1) are worthy of at least watching once or trying a couple of episodes IMO. Star Trek JJ is a good movie. You should watch it for 2 things. How they dealt with time travel and “canon”. And to watch out for R2D2. Seriously. He’s in the movie. 🙂
Joe, I assume you have Netflix… You need to rectify this horrible problem toot sweet! You have not enjoyed the borg and Q stories in STNG? Or watched ET as a child? Even I succumbed and watched the Big Bang Theory when a cousin that is FAR from a science geek told me I HAD to watch it, and I was immediately hooked! The West Wing had its moments. The list of thigns you have not watched are like the required school reading list of TV for every person living in the Western world.
From your list, I can say I’ve only caught scenes every now and then of Friends, never saw The Goonies, only caught a part of a few episodes of Big Bang Theory, and a few scenes of The West Wing.