Toronto Mike'd: The Official Toronto Mike Podcast - Toronto Mike'd #32

Episode Date: April 11, 2013

Brother Ryan joins Mike to go through their top 10 television shows of all--time. It gets rather intense!

Welcome to the 32nd episode of Toronto Mic'd, a weekly podcast about anything and everything, often of a distinctly Toronto flavour. I'm Mike from TorontoMic.com. Joining me is my brother Ryan from Fantasy Sports Hookup. And hosting this audio file are the good people at Core Fusion. What up, Ryan? What's going on mike how you doing on this beautiful rainy day this is like a rogue episode this is the bastard child of toronto mike the episode that never should have been sounds about right to me sounds like it might be a winner though the way you're uh

referring to it there I kind of like that it's a selling point in my opinion well listen you can never have enough good content in the Toronto Mike franchise so this will be a welcome episode Rosie doesn't know this is happening

so we're just going to pretend like it never happened just pretend she had her second illness or something but yes I appreciate you letting me do this. This is really fun. The first time I got to do Toronto Mike,

so I'm excited to do it a second time. You were episode 27. That's actually what people call me at work. Episode 27 because it's just so popular. And this is 32. Believe it or not, 32. Believe it or not, I'm walking on 32. Greatest American hero.

That's my favorite show Hey don't blow Don't Come on don't ruin our thunder here We were excited about our World Series Championship season What do you mean we were? We still are The season started about a week and a half ago Thank you very much

That's what I want to talk about So we Well Admit it much. Well, that's what I want to talk about. So, we uh... Past tense. You worried me a bit. Well, admit it. There's a little... We've changed our expectations, no? No, not me. Not even a little bit. Can you elaborate? We're off to a... We're off to a, what?

2-5-5? Okay. 7 games. How many games do we play a year, Mike? 162. So, really... About 5% then. Okay. So, why would anyone look at 5% of anything and say jump the gun or worry? Only because it's the only 5% we have. If we were a competitive team last year and we got off to the same start, I think it would be different. Of course, being the person who hosts and is a part of my weekly sports podcast, when I did the day show, well, about a month before the season started,

well, about a month before the season started, I very clearly indicated that there was really no way in the world we could start the season off with anything but disappointment because the hype was just a little bit too much going into the season. And I think that hype, that overhype, may have weighed a little bit on these guys in the clubhouse who still have to gel. Let's also remember this. Dickey's had one poor start and then one horrible start.

Correct. Okay. Dickey, this is his first and then one horrible start. Correct. Okay. Dickey, this is his first and second time ever pitching off of this mound. As far as pitchers go, when they go to a new team, you always want to give them about four to five to six games before you really start judging about how they're going to do. It's a brand new field. Okay, fine.

Because when Roger Clemens came to town, he didn't need five or six starts. No, he didn't. He just needed a lot of HGH and other... Hey now. You're not worried about Dickey. First of all, on the show, I actually thought Dickey

would be probably our second best starter. I was blown away yesterday by Moro's start. Very disappointing because he had a good first start. And what I find with the Jays pitching staff right now, and it's very clear in the first seven games, is that no one except for Hap in that one performance has failed their groove whatsoever.

So if the starting pitching is mediocre right now after seven big games, in the bats, the middle of the lineup has been pretty quiet, right? You just said the starting pitching is mediocre. That sentence seven big games. In the bats, the middle of the lineup has been pretty quiet, right? You just said the starting pitching is mediocre. That sentence is kind of rough. I said after seven games. Yeah, but the problem is...

Well, what's our ERA? What's our team ERA? Okay, Dickey in his first game ended up giving up four earned runs in like six plus innings, which is not a good start, but not a horrible start. And he got rocked in his second game, obviously,

in that 13-0 debacle. But Morrow had a good first start and had a horrible second start. Yeah, I agree. And then we have one twice. And then our next three pitchers, two of them have only pitched once. And Josh Johnson didn't even do that bad. I know, but I'm actually just... And then you have Happ, who had a great...

As a number five guy, had a great first game. I'm just wondering aloud if we need to adjust our expectations. No. No, we don't. So we're if we need to adjust our expectations no no we don't so we're still world series team in my opinion in the middle of this season we will be hitting we will have already have hidden our stride and i think we're going to see a couple of very long winning not very long but a couple of lengthy winning streaks and i didn't expect it all to i didn't expect any of this to happen in april here's what i'm saying and i and this is this has been recorded well

before the season started so you can't prove me wrong on this i didn't expect any of this to happen in April. Here's what I'm saying. And this has been recorded well before the season started, so you can't prove me wrong on this. I didn't expect a good start to the J season this year. This is kind of what I'm seeing. You're off to a 2-5 start. I figured we'd be a below 500 team in the first 10 games, yes. So 3-4 then is what you're saying. You know, pretty much.

You know, whatever. You call it 2-5 or 3-5. Because we had those were all home games. Those first six were home games. That's fine. But we ended up playing Detroit, who looks like a pretty damn good team. They are. We know they are. Cabrera came out of his shell in the last game That's fine. But we ended up playing Detroit, who looks like a pretty damn good team. They are.

We know they are. Cabrera came out of his shell in the last game we won. Yeah, but that was in Detroit, right? You're talking about Cleveland and Boston. And Boston's not a horrible... Yeah, but we didn't play Detroit at home, right? No, we didn't play Detroit at home. But I'm just saying,

we didn't do well against Detroit in the game that Moro started yesterday. Yeah, just one game, yeah. Yeah, and I'm saying that in that game specifically. Let me take that game away. We're 2-4. We're not 2-5. Each game that you look at right now,

in only seven games, you're magnifying everything. Why do we care about Dickey's bad start in that one start? Here's your problem. Of course, seven games does not a season make. But not even a trend. It doesn't even make a trend.

But it is definitely a potential start of a trend here's what you got to look at it is it though the only way you get out of the gates I don't know three and eight is if you start two and five like you

can get to three and eight from two and five because we got off to a very poor start two and five now what happens in the next week or two essentially going to determine whether we get

off to an actual poor start or not as how many I don't I don't I don't think. How many games does it take to say it's a start? I don't think that after seven games, you can say anybody got off to a poor start because I don't think you've even started yet, to be honest with you. That's my opinion on that.

I know, and my point is, you need your poor two and five start, right? Because the fact is, two and five is underwhelming. That is a building block. If we don't turn a corner now and we do another week of this or two weeks of this, you will turn around and see we are 5-15.

If there were not reasons for this, I'd be worried. But there are reasons why we are 2-5. Yeah, the reasons are starting pitching is not as strong as it was supposed to be and the bats in the middle of the lineup are not hitting. Or you could also talk about the fact that we've only had Batista in four of our seven games.

Okay, he missed three. No, that's true. You know that. And in four, in his four games, he's hit two bombs out of his four games. That's not too bad on a good pace there. No, Batista's not the problem. No, but it was a problem that he was gone. All three games that Batista was out for, we lost.

So I'm just saying that. And we don't have Brett Laurie. So at the end of the day, our two of our three biggest offensive threats are not really there. Okay, calm down. I'm telling you. There's reasons for all of this. I am. Bring Laurie back.

You get Batista healthy. There's no reason to be concerned. Edwin Encarnacion will bounce back. He's looking really bad right now. I know Rasmus has hit a couple of bombs or whatever, but his average is very low. He'll come. He'll bounce back. Not to worry.

That's my personal opinion on this. You had me until you mentioned Rasmus. You were okay with Rasmus on our show. I'm okay with him compared to Lind. I was anti-Lind. But Lind really, really stinks. And Rasmus, I hope he's one of those potential guys. And I think he's got a big upside.

But since he came to town, he hasn't consistently hit like he's supposed to. He had a good month or month and a half in a row. But he does hit bombs you're right those were a couple of big bombs here's what I have to say maybe in two months I'm going to turn around

and look at my brother and say Mike you know I'm an idiot well first of all I'm rooting for the Jays I want a World Series it's not about but we're not talking

about whether we're rooting for them we're trying to be I know when I read your post and I didn't like anything I read on the post why didn't you comment because the comment

would have been all it would have just been ripping you I didn't feel like doing that well rip it that's the whole idea I was actually trying to save have just been ripping you. I didn't feel like doing that. Well, rip it. That's the whole idea. Rip it. I was actually trying to save a lot of it for the show,

which I'll be doing after this. Yeah, except 1% of the readers will hear this. That's the only problem. That's why you got to leave the comment. Well, then I'll go home and leave the post. But the post would pretty much say this. It's way too early for you to be saying any of what you're saying right now, in my opinion. It's just my opinion.

I know. And I was just, I'm not articulating it very well. The bad start that you well, but the bad start that you will agree is a bad start begins like this. Yes. So we now can go in one of two directions.

We can right the ship and look back and say, oh, that two and five started. Look at us now. Or this trend, because you know, you have a trend, continues.

Oh yeah, you have a trend. Sorry, I chuckle. I can't help laugh. Why isn't 5% of the season a trend? Because it's a joke. Because you can look back at every single World Series champ and

you will find a mix and match of how they did in the first seven games of the season. It'll be all over the map. There's not going to be a consistent 5-2,

6-1 start to these World Series champions every year. Let's go back and do the work on that. You're wrong. If this was 17 games and we were 4-13, I'd

say yes, we have a trend now. We have to start looking at that. Seven games. Is it possible this team isn't as good as we think it is? If they all stay healthy, our pitchers will bounce back?

No, I don't believe that's possible. So there's no chance we overestimate this team. If Batista tweaks more injuries and has more injury issues and we lose people and Edwin doesn't bounce back and our pitchers can't put it together, which I don't see happening, as I said,

then obviously I'm going to say I'm wrong later on. But right now, I'm saying, I almost don't mind this 2-5 start. I almost like the fact that we have nowhere to go but up. It's so early in the year, and that it's time for these Jays to bond, to get together, bring Brett Laurie back when he's healthy,

which shouldn't be too far down the road now, and let's get... He's a huge element that we're missing right now. He's playing today. Are you serious? I didn't even know that. No, in Florida. Not in Toronto. That means he's very close to returning to action. All I'm saying, Mike, is that you're right.

We're off to a yucky 2-5 start. Would I rather be 5-2? Of course I would. However, it doesn't scare me. I'll just end on that. I hope the trend does not continue. But I still think Moro is going to be our ace this year, regardless of that awful performance against Detroit, to be honest. I still think he's going to be our ace.

I think it's going to be Burley. Yeah, his Eerie. I mean, that's one game again. That's why I'm making fun of myself by saying that. So go ahead. Okay, let's get off Jay's talk. So time will tell, and I hope we reverse that trend. I don't have any worries about that at all.

Do you have anything at all whatsoever quickly about the Leafs, or do you want to just leave that? No, leave the Leafs. First time in Michelle and Xander's lifetime that they'll be in the playoffs, so I'm excited. So you're calling that they're going to be in the playoffs? There's no chance. It's 99.8 mathematically. Is that actually the actual stat? Yeah, 99.8.

They're in the playoffs. Accept it and move on. Sorry, because we're in the fifth spot right now, right? With 48 points. And in the eighth spot is 42 points. So we're six points up. How many spot right now, right? With 48 points. And in the eighth spot is 42 points. So we're six points up. How many games are left, Mike? I didn't do the math.

It was reported in the... No, but sorry, how many games again is it? 48 in the season this year? Yeah. Okay, so it says here, I've just got it in front of me, we play 39. So how do we have nine games go?

We're only six points up on eighth spot. And how can that be possible? The number is too high. 98.9%. It's way too high. Yeah, because there's more variables. that's the number is too high 98.7 it's way too high yeah because there's more variable there's other teams that have to collapse like we're not eighth you're right we're fifth so okay okay okay and then it could be playing against each other too and stuff so yeah yeah i got you i want to talk about tv shows we have loved and we love currently

and my favorite thing that you brought uh you brought a top 10 list i've had it in my head forever but it changes here and there but i've got i've got a top 10 list and unfortunately i definitely have two or three that i would want to bring up as a honorable mention okay well we're gonna do i have a top but mine are all i i separate network tv shows from non-network tv shows well you just put them in the same pot i don't i don't really want to do that but you can't separate them but i do so for example i can't compare a Wire to a Simpsons in my head. What if I pause?

Because you have a top 10 list, right? Yeah, but it's all not... Because you never mentioned this division. I did. I said non-network TV to you when we were discussing. I know. I never heard that. Okay, so let's take your top 10 list. I'll start with my one and then you do your one and then I'll do my two and then obviously I'm going to mention a show on your list and then we'll just spend like a minute on each

one i'm not changing the list i have in front of me right now that's fine the network tv shows if everyone anyone who's listening to this um i'm obviously not going to be mentioning shows that should be mentioned because i well i don't know i can't compare i can't compare a fox comedy cartoon like a simpsons this This isn't life and death here. It's just a fun list. I know, but I don't know how to stack rank them. If I can't do it, I don't want to do it. I don't want to do it.

Do whatever you like. Do you have a list of 10? I do. How do you want to do this? I'm going first, right? Okay. My favorite show of all time is The Wire. I'm shocked by that.

Is that on your list? It's my number one. It says, we both have the same number one show of all time. It's the best show I've ever seen in my life. So The Wire is a unanimous winner in our wonderful TV countdown. We're both white guys in our 30s, right? Well,

we're both intelligent. I think that's the key detail here. So The Wire wins. Can I go number two? You can do your number... Well, you're supposed to do your number one, which is The Wire, so I get to go do my number two again. you can't do your first you can't do two three four like that i think oh okay go do number two anyway my number two basically i just want everyone to know this in the last year year and a half or so i really got into watching shows so it's kind

of become a hobby of mine because before that all i did was focus on sports and i kind of do both so a lot of these shows that have been you you know, out for years and years and years, I've just watched in the last year, year and a half. So I might be a bit more passionate than Mike is right now. Like the Honeymooners. Like the Honeymooners. To the moon, to the moon, Mike.

Is that your number two? It's not. My number two is Six Feet Under. And actually only, I never laid an eye on any Six Feet Under episode until about eight months ago when I watched the entire thing

from beginning to end. I remember after the very first episode, I called, I actually wrote you an email or I talked to you and I said is this what I'm going to be looking at for six feet under and you're like yeah that's what you're going to get and I was disappointed and by the time that the final episode played from season five when it finished I can't tell you how enthralled I was by six feet under very good show number two did you uh search my site for my top 10 shows and copy it i saw your claim it as yours yesterday but did you claim it as yours because my number two show of

all time is six feet under no i did not do that at all whatsoever so we have the exact same top two just to rewind promise the wire and six feet under a hundred percent that it will change going oh yeah i know but the funny thing is we have the top two, which is interesting. Which is good though because it speaks to the fact that these two shows probably critically... Ready for my number three? Nice cutting me off there.

Go ahead. Oh, critically, those two shows are critically acclaimed, both of them. I heard a lot of people say Six Feet Under is a very pretentious show

and they say it's pretentious. You know what? I've only heard good things from critics from both Six Feet Under. It's not pretentious. You put in Six Feet Under and pretentious in Google,

you get a lot there. But go ahead. But not from anyone we care about, right? I don't care about anyone but me, you, and our family. So yeah. No, audio visual club. Okay. AVI club.

Go ahead with your number three, Mike. The Simpsons. My third favorite show of all time. And in fact, I'm going through it again for the hundredth time because I can't get tired of it. And I don't watch a lot of the new stuff because I just don't have time. But eventually, before I die,

I'm sure I'll catch up on all the episodes. But the first 10 seasons, particularly a very special television show. Interesting. So there's not a single Simpsons episode I haven't seen. Probably not one that I haven't seen more than 15 times,

except maybe the last season. That was true for me for like 18 seasons. No, no, no. I know. I say the last couple of seasons, I've only seen those ones about three or four times each. I haven't seen those ones 15 times, except maybe the last season or two. That was true for me for like 18 seasons. No, no, no. I say the last couple of seasons, I've only seen those ones about three or four times each. I haven't seen those ones 15 times. How do you make time for that? That's crazy. Well, the truth

of the matter is that I am a bachelor who has my son three nights a week, whereas you are living with... Yeah, but I just watch a lot of sports and there's not much time. But I know your job and what you do. You have a lot more going on than me. I can prior to work.

All I pretty much do is take care of my son, watch sports, TV, and work, and go to work. I know, but there's so much. Okay, so you get home from work. You're kind of tired. Let's say it's 6 o'clock. It's like an agenda. And what time do you go to bed? 10.

So you have four hours of waking time at night. Usually about five or six, but go ahead. Okay, so five or six. I get home really early. Let's say six hours of waking time for fun. Okay, okay. How much of the six hours are spent watching television? I'd say in the last year or so,

the average has been about 3.5 hours a day at night. Three, that's two, right? Is this, oh, live, I can see, because tonight I'm going to watch two and a half hours of hockey tonight. So am I, of course, but we're going to get into something later on when we talk about our shows

that's going to make you understand a little bit. I'm a little bit, when I do something, I kind of go all out, and you know me too well. You already a little bit dumb. When I do something, I kind of go all out. And you know me too well. You already know that. I know. I'm just worried about all this television. So your number three is The Simpsons. Yeah. What's your number three? Again, sorry guys. Not to harp on this, but I am a huge

fan of The Simpsons. I can't disagree with my brother. It just isn't on my list simply because I separate the shows out. But The Simpsons would be very high on my list if I were to add it on there. My number three right now is Game of Thrones. I haven't, it's only, season three has just started. So I've only seen the first two seasons of it. So, you know, and there's many,

apparently they've already re-signed for a season four. And I mean, the ratings are through the roof. The critical acclaim for this show is unlike anything I've seen in a very, very long time. When I first laid eyes on the first episode, I was kind of worried because there was so much talk about it. I was worried this can't be anything. But how can I be impressed?

Mike, this show is unlike anything I've ever seen. It's actually based on a fantasy novel or book or series of fantasy books. Yeah, series of books. And I actually don't like fantasy itself. So therefore, I'm not a big fan of Lord of the Rings or anything like that kind of stuff, really, to be honest with you. So therefore, I'm not a big fan of Lord of the Rings or anything like that kind of stuff, really, to be honest with you.

This show, it takes anything that you think that fantasy will give you, and it kind of throws it out the window, and it almost puts its own mark on it. It's almost like changing the evolution of what a good fantasy show should be, in my opinion. But it's very, very good. I understand you have not seen anything.

Well, hold on my turn. I get a, I always get a response. So this is the first show that's been brought up that one of us has not seen. So I have not seen a minute of game of Thrones. I am a 99.9% sure. I would love it. You will love it.

So I have a rule. I don't know if you read my blog. I can tell you your rule right now. So prove that I know because of my rule, you got to wait for the series to conclude and then I will watch it in its entirety. So here's where I agree with you. I started doing that.

For example, and I don't want to jump ahead of us. I want to bring up a show that we're probably going to talk about. Well, wait until we get to it then. Let's go. So that's my... Now it's your turn to do number four? Or is it my turn?

It's my turn for number four. Okay, do number four. My number four is Breaking Bad. Great show. I don't have to say much more. Well, my number four or is it my turn it's my turn for number four because okay do number four my number four is breaking bad great show i don't have to say much more well my number four one of my favorite characters of all time by the way is gustavo i try to actually act like gustavo when i have anxiety i actually try to emulate the way how calm he always was the way he walked and yeah that scene when he steps out though and well don't talk too much about the scene. Oh, yeah. Spoiler. Number four on my list is Breaking Bad. You're kidding me. No.

We have one, two, and four the same. Yeah. Man, we were raised by the same. But these shows all came after we stopped living together, all these shows. It is true. So Breaking Bad is, I like, well, it's number four, so obviously I really like it. I'm looking forward to the last eight episodes. So am I.

So am I, by the way. Do you think that that marketing play was smart or not? To make us wait a year and a half? Why not? It's subscription-based. Oh, what is it? What channel does it air? AMC.

AMC. That's fine. I mean, I don't... I think it's... I mean, what I read, a lot of people are even falling off because it's just been so long. Oh, I used to watch The Sopranos and they would go two and a half years between seasons. I thought the rule was not to bring up a show if it's going to end up on the list at some point. You can bring up a show. We're not talking about The Sopranos and they would go two and a half years between seasons. I thought the rule was not to bring up a show if it's going to end up on the list at some point.

You can bring up a show. We're not talking about The Sopranos right now. I'm telling you, even Mad Men, these shows are like two or three years apart sometimes,

these kind of shows. Okay. Anyway, so I don't think waiting a year, it's less than a year really because broadcast, it's less than a year wait

is pretty typical for those kind of shows. I think, I mean obviously just being a complete, someone who just wants to be able to watch it as soon as I can. I continuously, I have probably seen episode 8

of season 5, the last episode aired, about 10 times in entirety. And I've probably seen the last 5 minutes of that episode about 100 times prepping myself to get excited. Well, Ryan, this is why I have my rule. I won't start a new show until I can go in a row. I don't have to ever worry about this problem again

for the rest of my life. I just have grandfathered in this one. I wake up every morning seeing Uncle Hank on the toilet. Oh, God. With a wide open face, okay? What's going on here? I just figured something out. No spoilers, remember.

I'm not spoiling anything. No more spoilers. I have number four. I have Breaking Bad. You're going with number five're going number five my number five yeah it's i watched the season premiere on sunday night it's my number five too unbelievable this is hilarious it was another great episode for a great series but i thought you were gonna do that i thought you i thought you can't do that with like mad going with madman obviously no if i started a show before my rule i'm going to finish it okay see that's this is what i wanted to talk to you about because i

wanted i already started it i wanted to bring up... But I restarted it. I wanted to bring up... Sorry, Mad Men is... Sorry, I didn't want to interrupt. So Mad Men is number five. Excellent show. It's my number five as well. I actually...

Do you remember, Mike, we had a dinner for you and Monica's engagement at a restaurant? I do remember that. It was at Canyon Creek. We had a long conversation at that point

about our favorite TV shows. Yeah. And I, and I had never seen an episode of Mad Men and it was one of the two shows I had not watched. And it was one of the two shows that you and Steve, our younger brother would talk about a lot. And so I watched Mad Men.

Um, I just finished the last episode of season five, of course, because we just started, I believe episode one, season six, right? Which is what we just started.

Sunday night. So I've seen the full five seasons. It's number five on my list as well. I can't... It's hard to even picture a show with a character as endearing and drawing to your eyes and wanting to hear every little tiny thing he says

or even watch how he smokes a cigarette than Donald Draper, in my opinion. Donald Draper's a great character. And the other characters are phenomenal as well. So you're saying you have five as your Mad Men? So four of our top five are the same? Just for the record, so you don't think I'm nuts. That's insanity.

I believe you. I mean, I got it all right here for you. That's fine. I got it here. So that's remarkable. So you can now give us your number six. Let's see if we can do another one the same. I don't think so,

because I don't think you've seen an episode of my number six. Oh, then you might be right. I'm going to go with this one. Go go ahead my number six is a show that i actually just finished watching um season three of um a couple days ago and it's called the walking dead and it is a fantastic show again amc once again a fantastic show uh it is um of course you know but the zombies and what i find great about first of of all, Mike, have you seen The Walking Dead at all? I don't think you have. I watched the first episode a couple years ago

and sort of said, not for me, and I bailed. You're wrong. You should try that again. Even when I hear it, because I want to read it a lot, and they talk a lot about The Walking Dead. It's phenomenal, Mike. It still doesn't appeal to me. Mike, it's not about the zombies.

I know Petty shows up. You realize it's not about the zombies, though, right? Well, I know, but we'll see. I want to say, if we're talking about the shows, you're silly to say that, but if we're talking about the zombies. I know Petty shows up. You realize it's not about the zombies though, right? Well, I know. We'll see. Like sometime in my life when I'm 60, I might try it. If we're talking about the shows, you're silly to say that, but if we're talking about the shows, let me get into it a little bit deeper. Two things about The Walking Dead. The first thing that's really cool about it is it's really all about Lord of the Flies.

It's what the show's about. Oh, I heard it's Toy Story. No, it's all Lord of the Flies. Oh, I heard it's Toy Story. It's not though. Google it. Seriously. But it's not.

It's really about if you basically, you have to take care of these people that are becoming your family. And there is another group of people across the street from you. And there's a suitcase full of guns. And these guns are going to allow you to stay alive and keep your children alive.

Are you willing to kill every one of those people to get your hands on those guns? So it's basically putting yourself in a post-apocalyptic situation where there is no rule and throughout every episode, you're seeing these characters who you're seeing at the very beginning

before they turn into whatever me or you would turn into in this type of a real world situation. And then secondary to that, which makes it very cool, is I love how The Walking Dead is of course a synonym for zombies. But if you actually go to the creators of the show, the actual reason it's called The Walking Dead is they're talking about the survivors. They are The Walking Dead in the show, not the zombies.

I think that's very cool. It's just a very cool show. I can't comment. I only saw the one episode. Wow. I can't tell you how excited i was to watch every single minute of every episode episode loved it oh loved it but i'll be honest with you if you watch the first season like to the very end is where you really get into the nitty-gritty of why the show gets

so great the first show the first episode if i can go back there was more of a pilot to kind of introduce you to the him waking up from the hospital etc etc so this is number that's your number six it It was actually, Mad Men just broke that. It was going to be number five, but Mad Men went number five and Walking Dead went six. Okay, so Walking Dead is your number six.

Which are number six. So that's the second series. Well, that's the second one you picked that I haven't seen, but other than the first. What do you got for six? The Sopranos. Love The Sopranos.

It's a strong six. We talked about this again at Canyon Creek at the engagement dinner. And I'm almost embarrassed to say this. This is one of the things I was worried about saying. It's not on my list for the simple reason that I never made it past season one. No, it should not go on your top 10 list

if you don't make it past season one. Well, that's why. That's why it's not on my top 100 list. I haven't watched the entire thing. I haven't even watched past. I don't even think I watched the last episode of season one, to be honest with you. There's only like 12 episodes a season.

So in the last three weeks, I've downloaded every single episode. It's queued up. It's ready to go for me because I'm pretty much at a point now where I've seen almost everything and anything because I've been doing this for a while now. So it's coming up. But I had a problem with, and I don't want to go into it too much here, but I had a big problem with

A, I saw your blog yesterday in your top 10 movies. I'm embarrassed. too much here, but I had a big problem with, A, I'm, I saw your blog yesterday in your top 10 movies. I'm embarrassed. I'm embarrassed, but. First of all, subjectivity,

never be embarrassed about what you like. Okay, but I am a little bit. I am, because Goodfellas and Godfather Part 1 and 2 aren't in my top 10.

They're not, they're good movies. I completely hear that they're phenomenal, great movies, but they're not in my top 10. And I have a, I think I have a bit of an issue

with the whole mafia thing. So, yeah, with The Sopranos, I certainly, um, I want to check it out again. There's just, there's, it's on everyone's top 10 list when you ask people. I mean, a lot of people have it and they're number one and two. So it's very difficult for me to say it's been this critically acclaimed by this many people and just to have given up on it the way I did. So I'm a little disappointed in myself, but as I was saying earlier, I, I, I've never been a big fan of mafia movies. Simple as that. I can just, it's all it is. And I'm a little disappointed in myself. But as I was saying earlier, I've never been a big fan of mafia movies. Simple as that. I can just,

it's all it is. And I never, Tony Soprano, the character, he didn't, I didn't, I wasn't drawn to him. And I hated,

with a passion, that shrink, that he was in that whole. Oh, she's from Goodfellas. Yeah, I remember her from Goodfellas, but I can't stand her as, Oh yeah,

you know what, it's hard to argue. It's really tough. Did she stick around like the whole five seasons? Yeah, yeah. Yeah, she's a key part. And the family,

the family was cool. Is it only five seasons? Okay. I think it's five to six. I can't remember if it's five or six. There's one or the other. I can't remember. Listen, you know...

But what I wanted from you is this. I never really gave it much of a fighting chance because a few things threw me off and I kind of said, screw it. So here I am turning to you and saying you're wrong.

You should watch The Walking Dead. Could you now tell me, is The Sopranos what should be next in line for me when I'm looking to watch your shows? Yeah, of course. It's my sixth favorite show of all time. I heard a lot about it ending kind of in a yucky awkward way. I mean, everybody wants a clear cut ending and sometimes things are not

black and white. Who knows how Mad Men will end? I think it was Family family guy did an episode where they ended it in mid-sentence. No, no, there's some openness to it, which is good and bad. And who knows

how Breaking Bad will end or how Mad Men will end, but a lot of people will likely be disappointed. Well, we know how The Wire ended and we certainly know how Six Feet Under ended. Now, let me ask you this question, Mike,

very quickly. The Wire is your favorite show, Six Feet Under is your second favorite show. The same is true for myself. I'm going to tell you this question, Mike, very quickly. The Wire is your favorite show. Six Feet Under is your second favorite show. The same is true for myself. I'm going to tell you this, though. I think that the best ending of any show is Six Feet Under. Yeah. Better than The Wire.

I think it was a very good ending. Very good last 10 minutes. The last 10 minutes might have been something I've never seen before. I don't know if I ever will see again. What's your number six? Oh, you've done number six, right? I did The Walking Dead. And then I believe you did number six.

Didn't you do Sopranos? Okay. So is it my turn for seven? You did one, three, five. Yeah, you've done number six, right? I did The Walking Dead, and then I believe you did number six. Didn't you do Sopranos? Is it my turn for seven? You did one, three, five. Yeah, you go seven. Okay. Curb your enthusiasm. Never seen an episode. Booyah! Yeah, well, actually, funny thing is, I'm now going through them again with Monica. We watched two episodes last night.

What does Monica think? She loves it. Yeah, it's hilarious. It's better than Seinfeld. Isn't it exactly a Seinfeld type of comedy? It's more improv's hilarious. It's better than Seinfeld. It's better than David, right? Isn't it exactly a Seinfeld type of comedy? It's more improv-y. It's more improv-y and more like George's character because Larry's like George.

And it's much harsher. It's much dirtier, obviously, than you could do on Seinfeld just because of that. It's just, I mean, so Curb Your Enthusiasm is my seventh favorite show. Okay.

I find it very funny. Getting a little long here. My seventh favorite show is one of my favorite characters, Nucky. I don't know if you already know where I'm going with this, Mike. Nope. Boardwalk Empire. No, I haven't. I never got to it. So they're starting season four

in about, I think, six months or so. But season three just finished about two months ago, a month ago. And I got to say, Boardwalk Empire is climbing the list with each season. It is a phenomenal show. And I do believe, Mike,

that when Boardwalk Empire wraps up, it's five or six seasons, you will watch that, right? Yeah, it's in the same category as Game of Thrones, and I will get to it when they're done. But I'm going to say Steve Buscemi and what they do on that show and the Buscemi character

as well as many other characters, phenomenal, Mike. You've got to check that out. What's your number eight? My number eight is a guilty pleasure, but I have no problem putting it on the list. My number eight is S.O.A, Sons of Anarchy. Why is that a guilty pleasure when so many people like it?

Because Sons of Anarchy is a show. I'm going to differentiate between me watching a show and being a critic and me watching a show on my couch and just saying, I'm going to sit back and just enjoy it for what it is. Almost check your brain at the door kind of thing. You know that sentence? Humble Howard swears by that show.

He calls it breaking bad on bikes or something. But let me tell you something about Sons of Anarchy. And this is where you may actually turn to me and say, well, what kind of a list are you bringing with me? This is my top 10 list as far as me watching it as a critic and how I would review these shows. But if I were to give you a top 10 list of just 100% how much does Ryan enjoy watching that show?

That's the list I want. Now I've got to rerecord. No, no, no. But it's almost the same list. The list isn't all that different. I mean, one is the same most of the time. But what I'm saying is Sons of Anarchy would be in the top four instead of being number eight if I were to do it that way. You sit on the edge of your seat for 45 minutes every episode nonstop.

for 45 minutes every episode non-stop and Mike I gotta tell you season 3 the final episodes of Sons of Anarchy is so good

so good that I have seen it again probably about 30 to 35 times that one episode that hour the entire hour

not just the last 15 minutes that would take you 15 hours no 30 hours sure I've done it I don't believe you've seen it 30 times I could probably

recite the actual fucking show for you if you want me to. Did I swear? I'm sorry. That's hyperbole. You could not have watched a single episode of anything 30 times. I swear to God, on my son's life that has been over 20 times, I've seen that 100%. Probably close to 30 on my son's life. I know for a fact.

I know this. I'm not lying. Don't you get bored of it? It's just so you haven't seen it. You don't know how good it is. No, I've seen three episodes of Sons of Anarchy. No, you've never seen season three. You've never seen the final episode.

So you don't know what it is and what it gives you and what it brings to you. A lot of it is montage-y. I'll consider it. So it's very, very fun to watch. And anyone who's watched Sons of Anarchy, and I know a lot of people have, it's almost very cultish, that entire show.

I work with a whole bunch of people, and they're all huge Sons of Anarchy fans. I got most of people have it's almost very cultish that entire show um i work with a whole bunch of people they're all huge sons of anarchy fans i got most of them into it by the way um by dishing out the shows to everyone who wants it i pretty much promote it at work um you're like their pusher but what i want to say about sons of anarchy which is why it would be eight on my list and not number three or four is that the acting is very subpar i find i see that with my eyes i can see that so what i'm trying to say is the writing isn't that great the acting isn't that great, the acting isn't that great, but it is one hell of a ride and just strap in and enjoy it is all I'm saying about it.

My number eight is Seinfeld. I love Seinfeld. So I have Curb Your Enthusiasm 7 and Seinfeld 8. David is giving you some kickbacks here, isn't he? Yeah, I love him. And Seinfeld, just love the series. That's a show I can watch, but I still couldn't, I don't think I could do it 20 or 30 times, but I can watch. When iteld, just love the series. That's a show I can watch,

but I still couldn't, I don't think I could do it 20 or 30 times, but when it's on TV, I never flip away. Know what I say about Seinfeld? I say that in its time in the 90s, it was by far and away the best comedy show out there that was not a cartoon. In my mind, there's no doubt about that. However, when I watch it now,

when I happen to be flipping through the uh i don't know peach tree tv or whatever it is that might be airing the reruns i find that it's funny but i don't for some reason time has not made it better for me personally time has kind of made it a little bit worse no i think you're just i think maybe you're hearing is what i hear which is that the um the laugh track makes it feel funny you might be right most comedies today like kirby enthused there's no laugh track which is why i'm trying to say that when i was watching it in live mode in the 90s it was the number one i'm like it was the it was the show to watch it was seinfeld it was what it was i mean those four characters you can hardly redo it again talking about the final episode i think

everyone talked about how it was a very weak final episode, but before they aired that episode where everyone went, oh, the characters, reoccurring characters went to the stand in the courtroom and everything, they had this montage where they played the Green Day song.

Yeah, Good Riddance. And Good Riddance. And they did that, and in the end, they went to Seinfeld, the couches, and how they were empty. And honestly,

there were tears. The first time I saw that, there were tears coming out of my eyes. That's how much I love the show. So yeah, I'm with you. Did we do your number 8 yes we did

it was SOA so now you're doing 9 my 9 yeah go ahead Oz it's queued up after The Sopranos

for me as well and I've already downloaded that as well yeah the Oz a lot of characters you'll recognize from The Wire actually

but I've seen Oz was like my wire before The Wire I saw I've seen about 5 or 6 episodes sporadically in the first season or two. Nothing that would spoil or ruin anything for me because I don't remember it that well.

But what I do remember about Oz was that character. Ryan O'Reilly? Yes. And I remember thinking what a cool character he was. And his brother, Cyril? See, I couldn't talk the show the way you could because it's been so long for me and I haven't watched it. Well, Oz, I mean, I really liked Oz. It was a little dark,

a little bit, it was an HBO show. You talk a lot about Oz, man. I like Oz. You have for a long time, so I knew it would be on your list. I had a busy, there's a lot of great characters in Oz.

Okay, so what's your number nine? My number nine is a show that a lot of people haven't watched. However, it's very highly rated. It's called Rome. It was an HBO show. No, I heard of it. I've heard good things.

It was only two seasons and unfortunately, they left the final episode of season two off. They kind of wrapped it up. But they also, in a way where they would have left it off beautifully for a season three, but apparently it got canceled because of lack of viewership, as most shows would get canceled for that same reason. Although HBO tends to give shows a lot of room because they don't go by ratings. They don't sell ads.

I didn't go into Rome with sky-high expectations. It was at one of those times where I didn't have, it was kind of like, it's Rome or nothing, so I'm going to check out Rome because I've had a few people recommend it. And Mike, after the first two or three episodes,

there's a couple of characters, specifically a guy named Lucius Varenus on that show, who these characters, Mike, are dynamite. Like the character development and the acting and the storylines. But it's only two seasons?

It's only two seasons long. Does it have a conclusion? It does. It wraps it up. Yes, it does. It's well worth watching, guys. And for anybody who's listening to this right now, please check out Rome. If you don't know much about it, just read about it.

You'll hear a lot of good things about it. Watch it. All right. I don't have a drum roll, but my number 10. Ready? I'm going to have a hard time because I don't know what to do here, but go ahead. Well, just pick your best of the rest. Okay.

I'm going to go first because you went first last time. Fine. My number 10 is Homeland, which is also a very good show. I've heard of that. I, just pick your best of the rest. Okay. I'm going to go first because you went first last time. Fine. My number 10 is Homeland, which is also a very good show. I've heard of that. I don't have too much more to say. Very good show.

I haven't touched it, so I can't comment. The main character, of course, which is from Band of Brothers, which is another very good series. I don't think that

counts, does it? If Band of Brothers did count, though, that would make my top 10. But I don't think it counts. It doesn't. It's a mini series. But it would make my

top 10 if it did, because it was that good, Band of Brothers. Just very quickly to give it an honorable mention here. It's great. But have you seen any Homeland, Mike? No. Are you interested in looking at it? No. Do you know that the main character, outside of, of course,

of her, Claire Danes, is the main character from Band of Brothers? Yes. What's his name? Do you know his acting name again? No, but he's British. Grimes? Something Grimes? Is it Grimes? I don't know. It's Grimes. Scott Grimes? Is that the other? I don't know. It's Grimes. It's not Grimes. Scott Grimes?

No. Is that the other guy? That's the off-space. No. That's from Party of Five. Oh, yeah. That's the Party of Five guy. Sorry. This guy's another redhead, and he is a good actor.

I know that. From Bionda Brothers. He was great, and he's British. Yep. Anyway, what's your number 10? My number 10 is Arrested Development. And their new season is going to be available

on Netflix I think next week how weird is that hey how long has it been it's tell me I don't remember a few years I think it's been five years yeah so I

heard it was coming back and I actually didn't know they have a full season coming back and they're all going to be on Netflix in the same time I think I know

people were outraged when I got canceled like that I kind of had a kind of a cold fall you know I guess you know the people who loved it really really love the difference between Fox and HBO in a nutshell in the same time, I think. And I know people were outraged when that got canceled. It kind of had a cult following as well. The people who loved it really, really loved it.

The difference between Fox and HBO in a nutshell is that Fox has to sell ads so it matters, ratings and demos. Yeah, I'm with you there. But HBO, they sell subscriptions. So they just need to have quality that'll draw you in kind of deal.

So usually, if Arrested Development was an HBO show, I like to think it would still be going today. Without giving any follow-up to this, can I just throw two honorable mentions out? Nothing else? Yeah, go ahead. Third second, go.

I want to say props to Deadwood, which is a phenomenal show as well. Only three seasons long. Lots of swear words. Lots of swear words, but a phenomenal show with phenomenal characters, three phenomenal characters specifically. Got canceled way too early on though.

And secondary to that, a show that a lot of people think kind of got overplayed, I still love, Dexter. Great show show yeah it uh was so repetitious i agree i know formulae i know it didn't make me ruin it i was watching it until the wire and then i couldn't stomach it anymore so dexter didn't make my top wire for that reason but i wanted to give an honorable mention thank you ryan for this exciting episode 31 it was was good. It was good. We had a good Blue Jays fight, and then we talked about our 10 favorite TV shows. Look, guys, when we end up in the World Series this year,

just remember that I was not worried with our 2-5 start. And I was worried, but I'm still glad we're in the World Series. Future Mike. All right. Peace out, y'all. And that brings us to the end of our show. You can follow me on Twitter, at TorontoMike. And Ryan, well,

Ryan doesn't do Twitter. See you all next week.