Since my 'exile' in Purley, I have been unable to watch anything on television due to the fact that the mother-in-law and father-in-law only use it for soap operas, news programmes and sport. Because of this, I have been staying in the bedroom, catching up on television box sets on the computer DVD set-up
So far I have watched:
24 - 1st series
I had seen the odd episode of this before, and I found the MTV quick cutting and split screen effects to be very off-putting, but watching it from the start, it made sense. The gimmick of episodes being played in real time might of worked on television (with the inclusion of adverts), but on DVD it falls flat, with every 60 minute episode actually running about 40 minutes! I know that Gag has recently got this, so I will 'spoiler' this to save ruining it for him
SPOILER:
Apparently the show was initially only commissioned for 13 episodes which covered the kidnapping of the wife and daughter. However, this was then extended for 24 episodes, so while I found the first half of the series to be gripping and very enjoyable, it seemed that once Teri and Kim had been saved, every subsequent episode was a case of 'oh, they have been kidnapped again, phew, they have been saved, on no, they have been kidnapped again, not to worry, they have been saved, blimey, they have been kidnapped again, that's good, they've been saved again etc!
Re-watch value: Chloe has the complete run of this show, and she swears by it. I will sit on the fence for now, and watch the second series at some point before I make up my mind
Charmed - Series 1 - 5
Derivative, sub-Buffy nonsense. It's an enjoyable time waster, but that's all it is - a time waster. There isn't a lot to recommend it, but it passes an hour or two.
Re-watch value: None, but I have got most of the complete collection, so I will finish series 6 and half of series 7, but unless something drastic happens, it'll be charity bound!
Kung Fu - Series 1
This was a real revelation! The original 70's television show with David Carradine was something I wasn't expecting to like, but it was gripping and eminently watchable throughout. I found myself remembering parts that I had seen on the original broadcast. Presented as a Western, it should be everything I dislike about American television, but I thoroughly enjoyed it
Re-watch value: Definitely a keeper. I am now trawling the charity shops, looking a cheap copies of the second and third series'!
Lost - Series 1 - 3
This is wonderful. Am thoroughly enjoying it. It's complex, simplistic, episodic, confusing, mesmerising, puzzling... Yes, it asks more questions than it dreams of answering, but it has become compulsive viewing for me. Sadly I have ground to a halt because although I have the 5th and 6 series ready to go, I have been unable to find any cheap copies of the 4th one yet, so it'll have to take a back seat until someone gives it to my local CEX!
Re-watch value: Yes, without a doubt. It seems to be one of those shows that demands you watch it a number of time to catch all the clues, references and foreshadowing of events to come
The Muppet Show - 1st series
I really wanted to like this, but it seems that the memory lies, and what I used to enjoy as a child has been lost over time. There are still some classic moments (Fozzy Bear's jokes, Statler and Wardorf) but I don't remember Piggy being such an unlikable and violent character - if someone says something she doesn't agree with, the answer is to hit them. Another problem is the use of guest stars - there are a lot of American pop culture figures from the 70's that don't mean much to this 2019 English viewer. I enjoyed Joel Grey, Paul Williams, Peter Ustinov, Bruce Forsythe and Vincent Price, but who are Ruth Buzzi, Jim Nabors, Lena Horne, Avery Schreiber, Ben Vareen and Mummenschantz?
Re-watch value: Sadly, very little. The Muppet show is like Monty Python - for every funny sketch that is well remembered, there are ten more which fall flat. Don't think I will bother with the further series', so it went to the charity shop
Supernatural - 1st series
I know a number of people on the forum love this show, but I just didn't get it. It started off quite enjoyable, but then I found the episodes becoming very 'samey'. A few short months after watching it, I cannot remember anything about the show. Disappointing
Re-watch value: None. Straight back to the charity shop
Ugly Betty - 1st series
A 'fish out of water' show that started off very well, but slipped into well used cliches and situations. I liked it, but found the constant piling of situation upon situation to be unbelievable and contrived. I am unsure whether it is a 'serious' comedy drama, or just a parody of the bad Mexican soap operas that Betty's father constantly watches on television! To top things off, the final episode with no less than 6 end-of-season cliffhangers was very much overkill
Re-watch value: None. If they had only used one or two cliffhangers, I might have been tempted to seek out the second series, but as it is, it went straight to the charity shop
The X-Files - Series 1 - 2
A very 'bitty' show. I tried to watch it when it was first screened, but I didn't get the hype (which was huge at the time). Seeing it now is a bit of a conundrum. Some episodes are very effective, while others are incredibly tedious. I'm finding the 'monster of the week' stories are better than the 'UFO conspiracy' stories which are the basis of the entire concept!
Re-watch value: I really don't know. I am undecided as to whether it's charity shop bound or whether I get the third series and continue with it!
The Young Ones - Series 1 - 2
Time has really not been kind to this show. Nothing dates more than political humour and pop culture/advert references, and this is full of both. I found the first series to be painful, embarrassing and unfunny to watch. The second series, however, is a totally different kettle of fish. That was highly enjoyable, with Rik and Ade having found the 'Richie and Eddie' characters that they would continue to play for the rest of their time together. I would have liked it more if they had got rid of the Alexi Sayle segments tho
Re-watch value: Series one, I very much doubt it. Series two, definitely