I do enjoy Game of Thrones. I'm currently reading through the A Song of Ice and Fire series, and it's good. Damned good, actually. That is, if you're like me and enjoy reading about politics in different worlds.

However, no, it is not the best fantasy world. I'm going to stay away from the epic, grandiose sci-fi universes in this edition, because you specifically said fantasy.

I'm honestly going to have to go with 10th Kingdom. Not only was the story engrossing, but it was one of the last members of a dying artform-- the mini-series (now all the shows want to string a 10-episode story into a 23-episode season, then a lackluster season two and it just doesn't work). It took the fantasy genre and grounded it in reality. Then it told a compelling story.

Hate to break it to you, Commodore, but the recent Halo movie rumor turned out to be false. Microsoft released an official statement: "The information in the press release in question is inaccurate. We have no plans for a Halo feature film right now. Our focus is on developing Halo: Anniversary and Halo 4." Fair enough, they have a lot to do, and it's not a priority. Also given that their last attempt to get a movie made was disastrous, they need a better plan, I guess. They want a movie made, no doubt, but well, it'll have to wait some more, I guess. :/

For this week's question....Honestly, I can't think of a lot of other actual 'fantasy' TV series...other than Fantasy Island...Ugh....There was Legend of the Seeker, too, but I didn't watch that, or, if you...count it as one, there was Beauty and the Beast; with Ron Perlman and Linda Hamilton! Remember that show?? No? Yeah, that's okay....But you know, I think that show did win some Emmy's! But that's...not always relevant...Cough.

Some people would probably say Rome or The Tudors, but no, those....are historical fiction, with a great emphasis on 'fiction.' I also haven't watched any Game of Thrones, so I guess I can't really answer this question fairly anyway, but well, from what I've seen of fantasy series I know of and can name,  Game of Thrones probably is the best.

...unless H.R. Pufnstuf counts? >D

I saw that you really had Serious Sam on your mind, since he is cooler than Duke Nukem i guess. and Rise of the Triad, was as I mentioned before based on the wolfenstein 3d engine, which it really pushed to the limits and deserves credit for.

For this weeks wringer, I could never really get into Game of Thrones, I tried a couple of times, but just found it to be too melodramatic. It's interesting, but I was never crazy about it. I would say my favorite tv fantasy universe is The Thundercats universe although probably purely for nostalgias sake. I think this question points out the severe lack of fantasy television, since I can't think of many others.

:EDIT:

Wikipedia considers Twilight Zone a fantasy series, so if we aren't limiting ourselves to high fantasy I would say that the original is the best fantasy tv show.

Also, I love the view, it is beautiful.

I wasn't sure if cartoons counted, so I didn't mention anything. Otherwise....ho boy, that opens up a whole different can of worms...

I guess technically The Twilight Zone can count.  That didn't occur to me for some reason! Although I haven't seen any of GoT, and not as much TTZ as I should have, the latter would still probably get my vote.

Does The X files count as fantasy? Or is that only considered science fiction. Some websites that rank fantasy shows include the X files for what its worth.

I know this isn't the answer you're looking for but so far I don't think there has been a TV show to do justice to the fantasy genre.

...I'd say it's generally not considered fantasy, no. It has supernatural things in it sometimes, which....I guess some people count as 'fantasy', but others don't. Hmmm...I guess I never thought about that. Although even if you do count some things in The X-Files counting as 'fantasy,' it wasn't really the focus of the show, I guess, so overall, I wouldn't say the entire show counts as a 'fantasy' show, I guess?

You...raised a good question! D:

I've really enjoyed Game of Thrones.  I thought the first season was excellent.  Not sure how far you are in the series Commodore but defiantly stick it out till the end.  Definatly one of the better not just fantasy shows but TV shows in general on right now.  I've started reading the book and they are equally as compelling and awesome.  If you're looking for some good meaty reads, highly recommended.

I, like others, had a hard time comming up with true "fantasy" TV shows that we could compare Game of Thrones too.  I came up with Xena..... which was a show when it first came out I thought was ok, but watching it now, it's just miserable (but hilarious).  I have a lot of science fiction we could throw in the mix, and there are many shows that blur the lines between sci fi and fantasy, but not many true fantasy shows.

Could you call Lost a fantasy show?  I've seem some websites refer to it as such.  Not sure if you can really compare it to Game of Thrones but it is a very successful show.  If we're going to call The Twilight Zone a fantasy show, then I'd have to say that it's the best.  Even today each episode is thought provoking, questioning how we percieve the world around us.  Some deal with very dark topics, and always make me think about how I would react in those situations.

If we're going to talk about shows that "fantasy" in the sense they have similar themes and settings (kingdoms, dragons, knights, etc. you know what I'm talking about :)) then yeah Game of Thrones is the best, mearly because I can't think of anything decent enough to even bring into the conversation.

 Fantasy TV shows. As others have pointed out this can be taken many ways. Especially on how you're defining fantasy. However I'm going to assume you mean Fantasy in the more traditional literary sense (before it we revoked in favour of the categoty 'spec fic'). That's probably why a lot of you are seeing shows like Twilight zone listed as fantasy, because now industry standard pretty much lumps all 'Fantasy, Fiction, alternate history, Supernatural stuff' as  "Speculative Fiction". 

Fantasy TV shows is interesting I'm going to make another assumption in your intent and say you mean live action rather than including animation.

I can think of a few off the top of my head, but I guess I'm more of a fantasy geek than most people 

Game of Thrones is alright but I just can't get into it.
Legend of the Seeker was fun and decent
Pillars of the Earth (miniseries) was absolutely phenominal
Merlin (BBC series) is a bit formulaic but fun
Xena & Hercules were just smelly cheeze

Of those, I'd have to actually say Legend of the Seeker, only because Pillars of the earth feels less like fantasy and more like Historical fiction >.> yeah I'm splitting hairs but I like my fantasy full of Wizards, Warriors, and Wench... er... Witches.. yeah...

Pillars of the Earth is historical fiction! It came from the novel by Ken Follet, who wrote a follow-up, World Without End. That book is a beast; longer than the longest Harry Potter. D:

Anyway, so yeah, I don't think 'Pillars counts, exactly. :/

I'll let someone else defend Buffy the Vampire Slayer, because it may count, but I hate it too much to try and push it as my answer.

My answer, which I emphatically defend to this very day, though it ever only got a pilot episode, is Korgoth of Barbaria.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SYJ8G_ou6Dc

Watch it. Because hell yeah.

Also, 10th Kingdom was a great miniseries, and they really did good at knowing when to quit, instead of trying to draw it out.

This is all subject to change if the Good Omens tv adaptation ever gets made, but until then, 10th Kingdom really got a good classic fantasy entry.

*****

Also, full disclosure, I don't watch television, apart from online episodes of Mythbusters and Archer, until Venture Brothers comes back, so I haven't watched Game of Thrones, and may not know what I'm talking about.

But watch Korgoth of Barbaria, and then you'll understand.

can i throw condemned criminal origins into the ring on the fps topic.

So after watching the Weekly Wringer and reading through the comments I began to think of what the best Fantasy show was. Now I have never seen Game of Thrones but I have been meaning too. So I don't know how my option on the whole thing will matter to you guys. Now I thought about Lost In Space and The Twlight Zone as some of the best Fantasy shows. But then it hit me that thoese shows were good but they did not do for me what my favorite Fantasy show did. I think that Lost should be ranked number 1 because Lost had a great story, (even though the last few seasons did get alittle crazy) great characters, and it took you to a beautiful place. Now that is just my 2 cents I'm sure that some of you guys may agree with me and some may not.     

Hey all, I just joined the Clan and would like to input my opinion:

DRAGONBALL Z

I remember watching that show as a kid and talking to my friends about it.
It's just a living legend inside the minds of people around the age of 20
who loves the show that they grew up with.

It captivated my mind because it was funny and just plain awesome.
I mean, if that show was still on (which I'm unsure about), I'd gladly watch a
couple episodes here and there because it was just that good.

...I'd say Lost in Space is definitely not a 'fantasy' show; that's science fiction. :P Just plain Lost on the other hand, I'm not sure; I never actually watched any of it! :O

Well, like I mentioned earlier, Ferrior, I'm not sure if animated shows count or not here....If they do....ho boy, I don't know if I'd ever decide on a favorite. I admit I do like old DBZ though. It's actually the one anime I always watch in subtitled form because...Funimation's versions are always...just terrible. They have redone the show, actually, and while they may have improved some things, and a couple of voices are...okay, I still can't do it. D:

I'm at a disadvantage having never seen Game of Thrones, so it's entirely possible that I'm missing out on the correct answer, but for me, after much deep, deep soul searching, I think I'd most like to live in the fantasy world of Friends. It seems to be such a magical place, full of completely fantastical situations and wacky misadventures, plus where else could a waitress at a coffee house be able to afford an upscale New York apartment? Clearly I'm on to something here.

And if that's off the table, I'm going with Avatar: The Last Airbender, possibly entirely because if I lived there I'd have a fairly good chance of being able to do magic kung fu and that's really been my only goal in life besides living in an upscale New York apartment on a pauper's salary.

Quake was not the first game to have looking up and down. Star Wars: Dark Forces, yo! Maybe there was another before even that.

I have not seen Game of Thrones, so I can't comment on whether it's the best or not. I can just talk about the best I have seen, and my favorites. Man, it took me a while to even THINK of a fantasy show on TV that was worth mentioning. Then someone brought up Xena, which brought up why I like Hercules better, which brought up my answer... So I am going to throw out an odd one: Highlander. The show is at time campy and it is often predictable, but I just really love it. Each immortal (and some of the mortals) really is a very strong and unique personality. Duncan MacLeod is a character who often sees things in black and white - or at least he tries to only take actions he knows are good and avoids selfish actions that can hurt others. Other characters even tease him, calling him "boyscout" and the like. The show has a lot of grey situations that Duncan is thrust into, though. The predictable - but interesting - part is that other characters seem to veer away from the "grey" to the good OR bad in reaction to his personality and actions. Duncan was at times a role model to me growing up (and I'd lie if I said he wasn't now): strong, suave, cultured, loyal, selfless, fun, disciplined, reflective (in that he is always looking to improve himself), etc.. Not that I always live up to - or want to live up to - those ideals. He has made mistakes that have seriously made him question himself, but deals with them in the best ways possible.

The series also of course also has a lot of historical throwbacks and takes place in many countries (although more often than not in Europe). Sure it's just fantasy and so none of it is actual historical fact, but they take better care in showing these unique environments and times than most other TV shows. This show has probably given me my thirst to experience other cultures. It's also pretty well written, despite the fact that Highlander fans give it shit for not being the original movie and having some... incosistent movies of its own. Plus it has really awesome sword fights and many likeable, hot women.

I must say that if Twilight Zone is considered fantasy (and it probably should be), I might say that one is a better show. But it's by a smidge not my favorite. If we're talking "best of all time," though, I guess that still goes to Twilight Zone... :(

As far as Korgoth of Barbaria... the description of hte video was that he wishes they made it into a series, but they never did. But they did, didn't they...? :-P Or maybe the one episode was so epic that it felt like a whole series. Anyway, it was a funny show, but not much more than that. :-)

And yeah, there's no way Lost in Space is a fantasy show. :-P

Science fantasy can contain science fiction, but science fiction cannot contain science fantasy. ~Hank Green

That said, I believe that Lost in Space is science fantasy.

I haven't seen Game of Thrones, or know anyone who has; can't comment on it.

As others have already brought up, fantasy is a genre term that's open to interpretation.  And Wikipedia lists Mushishi as supernatural, occult, and detective - though I would consider it also fantasy.  Fantasy, to me, simply means another world; it does not necessarily have to be a medieval inspired world.

Well, yeah, I think most of us would probably agree that 'fantasy' does not automatically mean 'imaginary medieval world'! :P

Some do consider 'supernatural' things as falling into fantasy,  but I'm not so sure. I guess I can sometimes understand why one might do so, but other times, maybe not...Keep in mind, some 'supernatural' material falls close to or aligned with, or otherwise may have a theme with, the true spiritual or even religious views and beliefs of some people, and well, I don't think they'd appreciate their beliefs or ideas being declared as 'fantasy.' One may not personally believe in such things, but one should also keep in mind that people believe what they believe for a number of reasons, and hold a great many different kinds of beliefs. :P

Good point by ShirowWolf that 'fantasy' isn't always synonomous with 'sword and sorcery'. It can be difficult to distinguish between horror, fantasy and 'soft' science fiction, but I'm going to define fantasy by three basic criteria

1) includes people, creatures, or events from mythology and folklore

2) magic and the supernatural exist without any serious attempts to explain them with science (thus 'mutation giving superpowers', 'aliens advanced enough to seem like gods' and the like would be science fiction) and may be portrayed as 'outside' of empirical study.

3) when in doubt, look at the setting. I always thought of science fiction as inherently forward-looking, while fantasy is mildly past-looking, so if it's set in space I tend to call it science fiction, medeival Europe it's fantasy. Modern day settings can't really use this rule.

 As far as live-action fantasy goes I'd have to recommend Buffy the Vampire Slayer (which I'm counting due to the presence of magic and mythological creatures), Angel, Supernatural (same reasoning as with Buffy), Dresden Files, the Neverwhere miniseries, and Being Human. I'm guessing that budget concerns are why there are so few Tolkien-style fantasy shows. The shows set in the Buffy universe are the only ones I would call 'great', though, mostly it's just 'good'. Seems like we've yet to see a fantasy equivalent of Star Trek or Babylon 5 or Galactica, the kind of thing that redefines the genre. 

tbh, I have never seen the game of thrones, but I would have liked to see the Dresden Files to make a return. It may not be anything like the books really, but I felt it was pretty good, and was an interesting series. I would have liked to see where it went in the second series.

Yes i made the distinction earlier, that I would consider Game of Thrones, and LOTR high fantasy. But the question was posed broadly enough that it has definitely gone in a direction commodore probably did not expect, although most question have, so it should be expected.

....actually, if you read any of George R.R. Martin's books, you probably should know exactly where the series is going! Penny-Arcade talked about this in one of their show episodes, and a comic, of course! >D From what I understand, the series follows Martin's literary work, so....

I assume that's the case, so far, anyway? 'Course then again, if you didn't read any of Martin's work, obviously nevermind! :P

I don't watch enough TV to give a good answer. I'll enjoy next week and maybe a show or two will be put on my list, but for now I'm only here to distribute weekly medicinal hugs.

*HUGS*

From what I understand, the series follows Martin's literary work

A Game of Thrones is the first book from the series A Song of Ice and Fire, written by Martin. The show, however, is just entitled "Game of Thrones" because that's a bad ass name.

The show is slated for four seasons, each appropriate to each book in the series. The second book is called A Feast For Crows, followed by A Storm of Swords and finally A Clash of Kings.

I'm on A Feast For Crows, so far.

So... much... win...

    It seems a good amount of commenters have not seen Game of Thrones, a camp I too am a member.  Many friends and family members tell me the show is amazing.  I've seen previews and the sets are gorgeous.  The show doesn't look like anything else on television .  It is filled with gore, nudity, and HBO story telling, all of which are good.  It may be the best in the fantasy (not scifi or horror) genre.  I couldn't really think of much to compare it to other than a few mini series and the Hercules tv show.  

    Then I remembered an animated show, I loved as a kid called Visionaries.  It is a show about a future where technology has died and magic returned.  There are two clans of knights involved in a feud that stumble upon a wizard who gives them magical animal totems they can use to transform into that animal.  The toys were great too since the totems were holograms.  Visionaries is my favorite pick, but I am certain Game of Thrones is superior with high end sets, cast members, and writing.

PS:  I'm surprised no one mentioned Crysis last week with its unmatched graphics and animation , despite the actual game being average.

PSS:  I couldn't figure out why the Commodore looked weird this week at first, but it may have been the lack of glasses.