You know those late nights when you sit in front of your computer screens and wonder what to watch when Game of Thrones or The Flash or Pretty Little Liars is on season break… yeah, we’ve been in the exact same situation too at some point. What gets us through the long season breaks between our favorite series is the modern phenomenon that’s “binge watching”! Thanks to the internet, we can watch (and re-watch) marathons of our favorite shows online.
Here are the top seven TV series to marathon when you’re all out of new episodes!
1. FRIENDS – At the peak of its popularity in the mid-1990s, Friends was influencing not just sitcom, but hair fashion too. Jennifer Aniston’s chin-hugging bob – known as the “Rachel do” – became the must-have cut for women worldwide. That character, Rachel, was one of six latte-swilling young New Yorkers who helped Friends redefine the kind of relationships that could form the heart of a US sitcom. Despite its traditional studio-audience format, it reinvigorated the genre for America’s next generation. It even changed the way viewers spoke – the trademark inflection in the show’s dialogue was so catchy. And, with 52 million viewers, the last episode of Friends in 2004 remains the fourth most-watched series finale in US TV history. Each and every episode of Friends is a laugh riot, filled with quirky yet relatable characters.
2. The Simpsons – Aside from having a reasonable claim to being, at its peak, the greatest sitcom of all time, The Simpsons sparked a revolution in animated comedy. Suddenly, self-respecting grown-ups took cartoons seriously. Matt Groening’s creation paved the way for Family Guy, South Park, King of the Hill, Beavis & Butt-head, Groening’s own Futurama and more. It would take an encyclopaedia to catalogue The Simpsons’ brilliance (and indeed one exists online at www.snpp.com) but I think its single defining quality is elasticity. As Groening and others have observed, animated characters are more flexible than real-life actors. Homer Simpson is at one level an utterly convincing and rounded portrayal of the average middle-aged white American male. Yet he has also been into space, climbed Mount Springfield, played guitar with the Rolling Stones, met the Queen and had 1,001 other fantastic and surreal experiences without that ever denting his essential realism. Plus, chin-stroking comedy analysis aside, series 4-8 of The Simpsons came about as close to perfection as sitcom scripts have come.
3. The Office – We laughed, we cried, but throughout this show, we never wanted it to end because the connection with all the characters was so real. Michael Scott may be one of the most brilliant characters ever invented – his awkward yet hysterical persona form a comedy that makes you love him – and don’t forget Pam and Jim, the couple that showed us that above all love never fails. The show has no laugh track. You can laugh anytime you want. You find yourself really caring for characters that are also just sort of a joke in themselves. They also do a wonderful job of making “the little things” like a coworker relationship seem so monumental. In the end, this show revealed to us how to see the greatness in small ordinary things like an office, and we will forever be grateful for that.
4. Modern Family – This one is an on-going wonder still, on a break before season 7 hits TV screens. But we recommend you watch the Seasons 1 – 6 all over again, if only for the hilarious perfection that is Phil Dunphy. A family that is as close as it gets, manages to find itself in laugh out loud yet very real life situations. Flamboyant gays, loud Latinos, over-achieving geniuses, and adorable dads – this show really has it all.
5. Pretty Little Liars – As all PLL loyalists would know, the show is episodes away from a five year leap. Watch it right from the start to make sense of the whole A mess, before we finally find out the ultimate truth at the end of this season. Also, the Liars have an A-mazing sense of style each, which can serve as brilliant fashion inspiration for Fall.
6. Sex and the City – Let Carrie, Samantha, Charlotte and Miranda sweep you off your feet in a whirlwind of gorgeous shoes, unbelievably chic labels and the never-ending search for love! With undertones of deep running friendships, this show is timeless, and can be watched any number of times!
7. Fawlty Towers – Basil Fawlty is an inept and slightly out-of-his-head English hotel manager, who is tortured by “that annoying section of the general public who insist on staying at hotels.” Fawlty is constantly berated by his wife, and his efforts are continually hampered by their Spanish waiter, Manuel. Set in a 1970s Torquay Hotel, Fawlty Towers is one of the finest farcical situation comedies British television has ever seen.
Happy Viewing!
