Brilliant shows you’ve never heard of

Last week, I wrote a column about how much I love Arrested Development. It was in this obscure student publication called Felix, you probably haven’t heard of it. Inspired by this, I decided to write about other, slightly obscure, TV shows that I love. Mainly, because I want more people to talk to (read: quote incessantly at) about them. So, put your eyes roughly 5mm below, and you can see some hidden TV gems. Okay, you can’t see them, but you can see my writing about them…

Archer

I put this first as it’s by the same people who made Arrested Development. This is evident in some of the humour involved and a few of the voices.

The show centres around Stirling Archer, a super-spy at ISIS, and the rest of the office. The first thing you’ll notice is that it’s a cartoon. But wait, don’t turn your head and snort in disgust at me – I’ll admit there is some stigma attached to cartoons, people almost seem to think that they cannot possibly match a live action show. To those I say, that’s your opinion and you’re entitled to it. I then point them to Futurama, a show that makes you cry like a man who’s just been dumped by a girl, while she is simultaneously squeezing lemons and onions in his eye.

The show is just so cleverly done, and the way Archer basically has a conversation while he is on a mission always gets me. Then there are the one-liners that you can quote to your hearts content (yeah, weird, I also thought that expression was ‘till your heart’s content’ but apparently it’s not). My favourite being: “I don’t know if the grade sand, but, course”, said by Archer to his long-suffering servant Woodhouse when ordering him to buy sand, that will later be used to punish him (not in that way).

All of the characters are voiced well and developed. The plots are all brilliantly done, with the humour dropped in and not feeling forced; by that I mean, the irritating way that suggests they came up with a joke then worked a plot around it.

It’s currently in its third season, all being worth a look. Once you start, you’ll end up in the danger zone, trust me. You’ll also get that reference!

The Life and Times of Tim

Another cartoon for you, don’t worry, the next will be live-action I swear.

This really is a great hidden gem of a show. I’m not just saying that because the main protagonist shares my name (and maybe looks a bit like a cartoon version of me?).

Tim, from the show, is a mild-mannered Imperial student. No, wait, sorry, that’s me. The other Tim, is a mild-mannered worker with a desk job at Omnicorp. He always seems to manage to get himself into horrible situations, which usually end up badly for him. People in the show are always misinterpreting what he says, or just misquoting him, making you want to shout at the screen in anger at his mistreatment.

The other characters are all interesting. The Boss (not Rick Ross) is definitely my favourite character. He just always comes out with something funny. Such as the time he called Tim into his office to test him by seeing how he copes under pressure. Rather than a public speaking challenge, he decided to proposition Tim. Rivalling The Boss for favourite character is Tim’s friend Stu. His highlights include convincing Tim that fighting an old man counts as charity as “rather than building a bridge, you’ll be breaking the bridge of an old man’s nose”.

The episodes are split into two different segments. You’ll also notice that the graphics are much cruder than Archer, or other cartoons for that matter. I think that’s what makes it so appealing, in a way. It’s got a sense of homemade fun. It looks and feels like it’s being made by a bunch of people who are doing it because they love making funny sketches, not because they want to make money. With only two seasons to catch up on, before the third comes along, and no exams in sight, you have zero excuses to not watch this show.

Curb Your Enthusiasm

Okay, I know, it’s not the most obscure show ever, but it’s definitely not as famous and popular as it should be. It’s from the creator of Seinfeld, Larry David. The shows centres around a fictionalised version of Larry David and his general trials and tribulations; for Larry, they are a lot, as he can’t help but stick his foot in his mouth.

Curb Your Enthusiasm is typified by featuring one big arc per season that is beautifully woven into the individual stand-alone episode. These episodes feature several plots that all somehow intertwine and join up in a way that will make you howl with laughter.

There are also plenty of seasons to catch up on, so it’s perfect procrastination material. If you want a starting point, episode 8 of Season 3, ‘Krazee-Eyez Killa’, where Larry befriends a rap artist, is my personal favourite episode.