Most often we do it when the kids are asleep, but occasionally we sneak in a spontaneous Sunday session. Only if the kids are not home, of course. Perhaps I slip into something comfortable. Sometimes Hubby gets us a glass of wine to put us in the mood. We dim the lights. He prefers the sofa, I prefer the bed. Sometimes we let the cat stay and watch.
Ah, the anticipation. The intimacy. The addiction. The thrill. The multiple climaxes.
Box-sets.
Preferably from HBO, but we’re open-minded. Here is a rundown of our favorites; the glue that keeps our marriage together:
The Sopranos, HBO, created by David Chase, 6 seasons, 86 episodes
“The Sopranos” revolves around the New Jersey-based Italian-American mobster Tony Soprano (out-of-this-world-acting-his-ass-off James Gandolfini) and the difficulties he faces, as he tries to balance his home life and the criminal organization he heads.
If you are going to watch one box-set in your entire life, let this be it. It is the greatest show ever made. Sure, Tony is a psychopath and a brute but he is also charming, gentle, funny and smart. The dialogue is intelligent (like here) and witty; the casting is PERFECTION (Like here, where wife Carmella has a melt-down over one of his countless affairs).
I don’t have enough words of praise to do this justice. It is awesome. I do have to muster the zest to watch it sometimes; it gets pretty dark.
Six Feet Under, HBO, created by Alan Ball, 5 seasons, 63 episodes
Another dark show with brilliant acting, excellent plot lines and multiple layers is Six Feet Under about the Fischer brothers who inherit the family funeral business. On one level, the show is a conventional family drama, dealing with their interpersonal relationships, which is a haunting (and realistic) mix of loving and dysfunctional. At the same time, the show has an unblinking focus on death, which it explores on personal, religious, and philosophical levels. A-MA-ZING acting by Peter Krause, Michael C. Hall, Rachel Griffiths, Frances Conroy and Lauren Ambrose.
Every episode starts with a death; see a compilation of favorites here.
Breaking Bad, Sony Pictures Television, created by Vince Giligan, 5 seasons, 54 episodes
Breaking Bad is the story of Walter White (convincingly played by Bryan Cranston), a struggling high school chemistry teacher who is diagnosed with inoperable lung cancer. With the aim of securing his family’s financial future before he dies, he turns to a life of crime, producing and selling methamphetamine with a former student and fuck-up, Jesse Pinkman (Aaron Paul). I’m only just done with season 2 and it has been one hell of a ride. Walt’s journey going from protagonist to antagonist – breaking increasingly bad – is keeping me on the edge of my seat. Holy crap; this stuff is as addictive as – well – crack.
Sex and the City, HBO, created by Darren Star, 6 seasons, 94 episodes, 2 baaaad movies
You know how they say “Don’t judge a book by its movie?” Well, SATC is an example of the TV show being better than the book, in this case penned by Candace Bushnell. The show follows the lives of Carrie (columnist and the narrator/lead charcter), Samantha (the wild one), Charlotte (the preppy one) and Miranda (the sarcastic one) who, throughout their different natures and ever-changing sex lives, remain inseparable friends – through thick and thin; sickness and health and a helluva lot of men.
I love the sassy dialogue, they are VERY good at playing with words (“Miranda went out with an over-eater and he over-ate her!”), little puns scattered everywhere, and it is very funny. As we follow our gals’ adventures in tackling woman-, sister- and even motherhood through multiple continuing storylines, we mostly laugh, although we also occasionally cry.
I never got why the fashion of the show was made out to be so influential, and I think they look ridiculous sometime. On the surface it might look like it’s “girls talking about boys while trying on clothes and teasing their hair” but it has real depth to it. It is really an advantage that we follow them over so much time because there is true character development.
Why did they have to make the movies? (Well, ka-ching!) So bad, soo baad.
The Wire, HBO, created by David Simon, 5 seasons, 60 episodes
Each season of The Wire focuses on a different facet of the city of Baltimore. In season one, we hear about the illegal drug trade and the cops, who try to catch them via surveillance (hence, “the wire”) , season two is about the seaport system, season three is about the city government and endless bureaucracy, season four is about the hopelessness of the school system, and season five is about the intricacies of the news media. Hyper-realism, unknown character actors and very well-written plots that inter-weave across the seasons. Yeah. It’s all good.
True Blood, HBO, Created by Alan Ball, 5 seasons, 60 episodes
Apart from having the most awesome opening of any show on television, the series follows Sookie Stackhouse (as over-acted by annoying-as-fuck Anna Paquin) a barmaid living in Louisiana, who can read people’s minds. Her life is turned upside down when the vampire Bill walks into her life after vampires ‘came out of the coffin’ on national television because they can now survive on synthetic blood “True Blood”.
Soon we’re in a mix with all kinds of supernatural creatures and lots and lots of romping. Boy, they sure fuck a lot down there in Louisiana. I’m not really a fan of fantasy but this is entertaining. (Alexander Skaarsgård! Doin’ it!) Amazing acting by Rutina Wesley playing Sookie’s best friend Tara and I looove Nelsan Ellis as Lafayette; gay drugdealer and short-order cook. Nom-nom-nom.
Pride and Prejudice, BBC 1995, 6 episodes
In a whole different genre than all of the above, and because we sometimes need to watch innocence and beauty and a known and safe plot, there is P&P. Adapted from Jane Austen’s 1813 novel, the lovely Jennifer Ehle stars as Elizabeth Bennet and in the role of Mr. Darcy, Colin Firth’s career was launched.
Allow me to quote myself from a previous mention of this show: “Oh, Lord, how things are complicated in Jane Austen’s universe and how the heart yearns. And once we’ve found out that the good one is really the bad one and the bad one is really the sexy-smoldering- wet-shirt-wearing-sisters-honor-saving lord of the biggest castle around: Well, then everything falls into place. LOVE. IT. (Favorite character: Mr. Bingley’s brother in-law, who is either drunk or asleep in EVERY single scene, hahaha. Hilarious!)”
The Office, BBC, created by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant, 2 seasons, 14 episodes
This mockumentary revolves around the day-to-day lives of office employees in the Slough branch of the fictitious Wernham Hogg Paper Company (Company slogan: “Life is Stationary”!).
Regional manager David Brent, painstakingly played by Ricky Gervais, does all he can to be funny and liked and – being not very funny and not very likable – the results are cringeworthy. Oh, he tries so hard and fails so miserably. The other main plot line of the series, come from the charming Tim Canterbury (Martin Freeman), whose relationship with bored receptionist Dawn Tinsley (Lucy Davis) is a major arc in the series. If you can stand the awkwardness, this could be for you.
Mad Men, AMC, created by Matthew Weiner, 6 seasons, 69 episodes
Mad Men is set in the 1960s, at the fictional Sterling Cooper advertising agency on Madison Avenue in New York City. Mad Men is somehow slow-paced and not very plot-driven. Yet it is set in a time where men were men and women had pointy breasts. It is all before there was such a thing as political correctness and it makes for excellent television. The most important reason why I enjoy it, though, is the images. Ah, the visuals. Their clothes, the cocktails, the hair. It is simply dreamy.
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Did we miss any? Please write your recommendations in the field below.
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