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The Shows You Must Watch Before You Die (and the Ones to Avoid)

By Mindy Monez, TWoP | Thursday, August 27, 2009, 4:14 PM


Bradley Whitford and Rob Lowe
Mitchell Haddad/NBC

In the wake of Ted Kennedy's sad passing, some particularly interesting factoids are emerging about the senator's final days. Namely, that along with quality time spent with his family and friends, he also chose to spend his final days watching every single episode of "24" on DVD. A sound decision -- albeit perhaps an odd one considering all the political assassinations that occur on the show -- since "24" is one of the most consistently entertaining (minus a bum season or two) and compelling series of the past decade, if not ever. Which got us thinking about the shows we'd recommend that the average person with a terminal illness watch for the first time before they pass away, and the shows they should most definitely not their waste precious hours on.

 

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Do Watch:

"The West Wing"

This brilliant, delightful, optimistic melodrama had very high highs ("Two Cathedrals") and lows ("The Stackhouse Filibuster") that are still better than most shows' best episodes.

 

"Buffy the Vampire Slayer"
We can't think of a more enjoyable form of escapism than "Buffy," and though its final season is looked down upon, the series wrapped up with a satisfying conclusion that wouldn't leave a person disappointed on their death bed.

 

Watch a full episode from the first season of "Buffy":

 

 

"Freaks & Geeks"
There weren't a lot of episodes but you're not going to find more quality in such a scant quantity than this high school series set in the early '80s that was funny, touching and sweetly painful all at once.

 

"The Office" (UK)
At only 14 episodes, the original "Office" series starring Ricky Gervais ended perfectly and is one of best things ever created for the television medium. If you're looking for sitcom to watch before you go, this is the one.

 

"Lost"
If your prognosis leaves you alive until next May's guaranteed-to-be-mind-blowing series conclusion, this crazy ride of a show will get your pulse (and mind) racing one last time.

 

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Don't Watch:

"Sex and the City"
Besides its constant vapidity, everything that was mindlessly enjoyable about this series vanished in its later seasons. This is the shining textbook example of how not to write enduring characters and really not worth sitting through in the final analysis.

 

"Battlestar Galactica"
A beautifully genius show... until the end, which wasn't just disappointing, it was absurd. So much so that it's best to avoid this altogether if you want any resolution in this life.

 

Watch the series finale of "BSG":

 

"Heroes"
If you don't have a lot of time left, don't let the decent first season hook you into suffering the following two. Even you have too much to live for.

 

"The Sopranos"
Critically acclaimed, well-acted, thrilling (when it wasn't boring, that is) and groundbreaking television, its open-to-interpretation ending will just frustrate you. It's not worth going there if you can only see one more series.

 

"Grey's Anatomy"
Another example of a show that started out well and just went from good to bad to worse to nearly unwatchable over the course of five seasons. Let's just say we wouldn't prescribe it on DVD to the person without time to spare.

 

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Talk About It: Which shows would you choose to spend your dying days watching?

 

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