Friday Five – Foreign Movies/TV Shows

Welcome the the Friday Five! Each week we help you get to know our writers with the help of a Top Five list. This weeks category: Foreign Movies/TV Shows
 
Well we screwed up a bit this week and missed the Friday Five by a day. So lets call this the Saturday Six and just say we all can’t count! Anyway enough about us messing up that’s not what’s important here. The thing to talk about is this weeks lists! We’re going on about our favorite foreign movies or TV shows. A lot of us grew up watching Anime, in fact we use to hit up Otakon in Baltimore Maryland every summer, and a good amount of us were actually responsible for the Katsucon video game room for several years. At this point we’ve started moving away from anime, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t plenty of other foreign shows or movies that we love! So lets get to this.

Chris

I use to be a pretty big anime fan, spent a lot of time pirating that stuff, and going to conventions and all that. Over the years I just watched less and less and have recently started getting into those crazy UK shows like Doctor Who. I’m still waiting to start watching Merlin, Sherlock, Torchwood, and several others. Anyway here’s my list.

1. Doctor Who – I haven’t been watching for very long, I caught up just before this years Christmas special and now I’m eagerly awaiting it’s return this spring! If you’ve never seen this show you’re really missing out on something special. I can’t think of any other show or movie that sends you through the emotional ringer like this. You’ll laugh, get angry, excited, and spend a lot of time curdled up in a ball crying. Remember don’t blink. Now ALONS-Y!
2. Cowboy Bebop – This is one of those shows that even though it’s a cartoon it’s got a pretty wide appeal. Sure it’s set in space and all, but it’s got a ton of drama and action that can really entertain anyone.
3. Wild Things With Dominic Monaghan – I loved Lost, and when I found out Charlie was going to be trudging through jungles and deserts looking for dangerous animals I thought why the hell not. After seeing a few episodes though it’s really good. Dominic seems to really know his shit, even if someone is off screen filling him in as they go. And he doesn’t back down from picking up some crazy snakes and various other deadly animals.
4. Trigun – This show started out goofy, but ended up being crazy good by the end that’s all.
5. Degrassi – It’s really hard to not get caught up in the lives of a bunch of Canadian teens with there oo’s and monopoly money. Plus you get to see Drake in a wheel chair.

Anthony

I thought really hard on this one. I didn’t want to just name 5 Anime series so I tried my best not to include them. For my #1 pick I just couldn’t avoid it. Sorry.

1. Beck: Mongolian Chop Squad (Japan) – My favorite Anime series. It follows a group of guys that form a band with the desire to make it big. The songs were done by Japanese rock band The Beat Crusaders. All original music, all completely awesome. It’s also one of the only Animes I ever saw where the English Dub is just as good as the original Japanese voice acting, and it had a live action movie that didn’t suck.
2. Battle Royale (Japan) – Way before Hunger Games this was the original book/movie that had kids killing each other. Each year a class of students is selected randomly by government mandate, and they are taken to an island where they are forced to battle to the death!
3. The Increasingly Poor Decisions of Todd Margaret (UK/US) – Alright, so this show was created by David Cross, who is an American, but, to my knowledge it was not aired on any major TV network in the US. It was filmed/aired in the UK and there are only like 3 Americans in the whole series. So this counts! I strongly suggest adding this to your instant queue on Netflix.
4. Ong-bak (Thailand) – One of the best Martial Arts movies ever! Tony Jaa never really became as big as Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan, or Jet Li, probably due to lack of speaking English. His movies are awesome though. Also check out The Protector. I couldn’t decide which one to choose, they both kick ass.
5. Enter the Dragon (Hong Kong) – Since I went martial arts I couldn’t shake this one. This is likely the absolute best martial arts film ever made. It had huge success in the US and all over the world but originally came out in Hong Kong. Bruce Lee’s crowning achievement.

Shannon

1. Merlin – I need to catch up, but I love this show. It follows the general story but puts some different twists on it.
2. Sailor Moon – I haven’t seen this show in ages but it was what got me into anime originally and probably made me who I am today.
3. Any Korean Soap Opera – These are sort of a guilty pleasure for me. They aren’t like the crazy American soaps, they’re much more real.
4. Kiki’s Delivery Service – I mentioned this movie recently is another Friday Five. I really is one of my favorites.
5. ReBoot – I had to look it up, but this show is Canadian. It’s another of my favorites from my childhood. I loved it so much that I name my daughter after one of the characters.

Eric

Well. . . I generally focus on american make TV shows and movies. While I’m not hugely into anime, there was a time that I was. Chances are most of this will be anime. . .
1. Doctor Who – My wife and I recently began watching this one. Maybe a month ago. We’re only a season behind at this point. Fantastic show, wish I’d have watched it sooner.
2. Full Metal Alchemist – This is another one that I watched with my wife. It’s a great show! We need to get around to watching the new series, Brotherhood.
3. Dragon Ball Z – It’s not my favorite show, and I think I’ve spent more time making fun of it than actually watching it. Dragon Ball Z is, however, my first forray into anime, and as a result it holds a special place for me. It’s over the top, and hilarious.
4. Degrassi -I don’t know what it is about this show, when it’s on I can’t turn it off. I don’t even like it that much, but I love it still. . . I think I need to sign up for cable again. . .
5. Red Dwarf – I used to watch this show, along with Robot Wars, when it aired on PBS when I was younger. It was a hilarious show, but most of the humor went over my head for multiple reasons. For starters, it’s British, and I was 12. . . ish. Regardless, it was hilarious!

Chris talks a bunch on PodQuest each week. He's also been known to write about stuff from time to time. You can Email Chris or follow Chris on Twitter @Just_Cobb or Facebook

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