STEPHEN FRY

Ooh, Ooh!!! Two more. Burn Notice and Psych.

Sorry for digging out this old thread!

Top 5 TV shows?
Well, these would definitely be...

#1: Monty Pythons Flying Circus

Definitely my number one show and it won't be replaced by something else that easily.
I literally grew up with the show since my father (a fan himself) somehow had the weird idea to show me MPFC when I was just in kindergarten age. I didn't understand everything (also because of language differences) but I already thought this was funny. And I didn't loose interest, I was watching more episodes the older I grew and watched most the movies when I was still a child.
But that's not the only reason "Monty Pythons Flying Circus" is my favourite show.
The whole group is gold - Graham Chapman, Terry Jones, John Cleese, Eric Idle, Terry Gilliam, Michael Palin...I wouldn't want to miss one of them! (and their single carriers are also worth following)
The sketches are classics, others still make me laugh till I cry and the animations by Terry Gilliam are so mindf*cking and unique, I never get tired of them (and influenced my young mind back then).
It's a full package and is still awesome no matter how old the show gets.

#2: South Park

Why South Park?
Because it also influenced my life in certain ways.
I started watching "South Park" in 1999 when it was aired in German TV for the first time (but the dub was terrible so I soon prefered the English version).
I made friends with other fans. And not only friends that I just meet in a chat room once and a while - I still know them and we see each other at least twice a year and it's always a great time I like to look back
But back to topic: "South Park" has an unique animation style, a bunch of great gags, great episodes (my favourite one is "Scott Tenorman must die", Season 5) and a row of nice characters. Okay, some episodes and gags don't work really but that's okay.
What makes South Park also cool is handling controversial topics like religions, cults and politics. And mostly not in a cheap and easy way like others like to do it. That Scientology episode "Trapped in the closet" also belongs to my favourite episodes.

#3: Kalkofes Mattscheibe

Watch out, a German comedy show!
It's a breath of fresh air: a comedian named Oliver Kalkofe wrangles himself into bad German TV show moments and makes fun of them in a creative way. Sometimes it's just funny, sometimes the humour is very nasty but honest and it's almost always great to watch
The show exists since the beginning of the 1990's, the last season was aired in 2008 and I can't wait to see new material. Countless sketches about music shows, reality tv, talk shows, bad commercials, cooking shows etc. exist and Oliver Kalkofe is thanks to a talented make-up and dress team a master of disguise
AND he's one of my favourite comedians who I was lucky to meet one day in 2009.
Unfortunately only a little number of episodes was subtitled in English.
Here's an example: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oJJPjL9ewME

#4: Tohuwabohu

This time it's a comedy show of my neighbouring country Austria.
The title says it all: you think you see about two or three clips per second which don't even match together! Think of a big bunch of actors, singers and star guests who act in countless senseless scenes that only last a few seconds and throw all these scenes together.
I enjoy it so much, I love the Austrian accent and humour and this show belongs to the most mindf*cking things I've seen.
But it makes fun the most when you understand German.
Here's an example: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3tAmCoc6H34

#5: Bernd das Brot

The third German show in a row. I worry about myself.
"Bernd das Brot" (= "Bernd the Bread" ) is actually aimed at children but it also has a lot of adult fans and followers, some even hardcore fans.
The show comes in different forms (like a late night call show, a television shop, a sitcom, as short movies...) and it's generally about a depressed and reserved bread called Bernd who wishes only to be left alone, a female stunt sheep called Chili and a bush (yes: bush) called Briegel who is an unlucky inventer but always optimistic.
Bernd wants nothing to do with television or these two other annoying characters and likes everything that is bland or boring. But - of course - he never gets his peace.
Why this show works to me is because it's a parody of nowadays TV for kids. It shows a different side of childrens television shows and has likeable characters.
Not enough: I got to know the makers. I was once invited to have a walk in their studio in Munich and since then we've stayed in contact. And quite successfully, that's why I was invited to play a role in an episode in 2009 in Berin. I was so happy about this
Speaking of work: thanks to the production team I was able to learn some Visual Effect skills by adding effects to some scenes during a traineeship.
In a few words: I also have my personal reasons but the show is great

Other shows I enjoy: The Simpsons (but not the recent seasons), Blackadder, Mr. Bean, a hell lot of cartoons (He-Man, She-Ra, Ren & Stimpy, BraveStarr, Galaxy Rangers, Saber Rider, Sailor Moon, Azumanga Daioh, Inspector Gadget, Chowder, Aqua Teen Hunger Force...) and some more.

Right now:

Life On Mars
Doctor Who
Brad Meltzer's Decoded
QI
Nova
and as my alternate,
Man v. Food

- Life On Mars (British version)
- Dr Who (with Tennant or Eccleston)
- QI
- Dexter
- Kermode and Mayo (radio but it is filmed so I'm counting it)

Ok first, hello stranger, and next I forgot about Primeval.

oh and we watch "breaking bad", but ... i dunno, i'm prepared to leave it. i think i'm just watching to see what happens, and i pretty much sit through every show thinking "god this is awkward" and "am i going to have a nightmare after this???"

amyl_nitrate said:
Primeval is awesome Tobias. You a fan? ^_^

Yes, but they've only recently aired season 4 over here on BBC America. I'll have to wait for season 5. Oh well, at least the second half of Doctor Who season 6 begins on the 27th so I'll have that to tide me over