BroadcasTheNet News - Happy 10th Birthday to BTN!

[Achelous]

There's some disagreement about when we should celebrate BTN's birthday (should it be from when the database first went online? From the creation of the first user? From when the site officially started recruiting members?), but most people agree it's around now, and I think most everyone would agree it's been a pretty amazing 10 years!

We've had our ups and downs (let's not talk about the downs), but over those years BTN has compiled the greatest collection of television ever seen on the internet. We have many people to thank for that, from staff (both past and present), cappers, encoders, and uploaders, to our seeders and leechers! BTN wouldn't be what it is today without any of those people, so we owe them all a debt of gratitude!

We're doing a number of things to celebrate our birthday, starting with some staff picks and site-wide double seeding for a week!

We're also hosting a BTN Birthday Cake Decorating Competition, with seedboxes, BP, and a spiffy badge () for the ones voted best decorators, and some BP and a different badge () for all other entrants!

Speaking of seedboxes, the ever generous Enon of UltraSeedbox has given us a fair few seedboxes to give away, so we're hosting a seedbox auction, and a free seedbox raffle! (Please keep in mind that if you win the auction you are not eligible to win in the raffle)

Lastly, we are also hosting a free invite raffle that is open to Power Users and above! Please only enter if you have someone you would like to invite in mind (the invites will not last forever), and remember that you are only allowed to invite someone you know well and trust! Please do not invite someone just because you think they'd be good for BTN, you need to trust them personally.

To get this party started, let's see some staff picks for you to watch and enjoy!



Chernobyl recommended by Siperdude (FLS)
"It was incredibly accurate to the real events with chilling detail. I loved how the story slowly unfolded with suspense at the end of each episode. Really recommend it if you don't know much about the Chernobyl disaster as it really does show you how events unfolded!"


Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip recommended by ripley (FLS)
A look behind the scenes of running a weekly Saturday Night Live type show. Outstanding writing, it is Sorkin after all. The cast is stellar and benefited from a host of great guest stars and musical acts. This show was the BetaMax to 30 Rock's VHS, a superior product that didn't catch on.


Mr. Robot recommended by c0de (FLS)
Go down the rabbit hole with a psychotic and drug addicted hacker, bent on changing the world by destroying our financial institutions in one massive hack! Sam Esmail does a great job at capturing a world beyond our own that few see, while Rami Malek tries to take it down. Bonus points for the great acting work from B.D Wong. And some the most accurate "hacking" scenes in any show or movie ever. This show is now in its 4th and final season.


Shameless (US) recommended by Maverick41 (FLS)
Hilarious antics by a cast that really plays into the dysfunctional family narrative. Maintains a good plot while throwing in humor that doesn't doesn't require a ton of thought. I find this show great to get lost in after a long day while drinking a cold one.


Sym-Bionic Titan recommended by RainbowCrash (Lead Designer)
If you are an animation fan, don't miss this one. Genndy Tartakovsky created Samurai Jack, Dexter's Lab, Powerpuff Girls, Clone Wars, Animaniacs, and more- and still Sym-bionic Titan is my favorite show of his, and his most creative in my opinion. It's one season so it's a quick watch, but definitely worthwhile. Unfortunately it gets extremely good by the end and then there's no season 2. I believe that a second season would have cemented it as a juggernaut among cartoons.


Person of Interest recommended by Saapa (TV Technician)
I think the opening voice-over describes it best: "You are being watched. The government has a secret system: a machine that spies on you every hour of every day. I know, because I built it. I designed the machine to detect acts of terror, but it sees everything. Violent crimes involving ordinary people; people like you. Crimes the government considered 'irrelevant'. They wouldn't act, so I decided I would. But I needed a partner, someone with the skills to intervene. Hunted by the authorities, we work in secret. You'll never find us, but victim or perpetrator, if your number's up... we'll find you."
And the way the series transforms itself after season 1 and how it builds the characters and the plot. From rescuing character of the week to a deeper serialized plot. Mr. Finch and Mr. Reese are contenders for best duo of 2010s along with Shaw and Root.


Puella Magi Madoka Magica recommended by lhdlovebooh (TV Technician)
Cute Magical girls show. This show, for me, is one the best Magical Girls show (Magical Girls is show like Cardcaptor Sakura, Sailor Moon or Pretty Cure). Stunning visual by Shaft Studio (Monogatari Series). Awesome music by Yuki Kajiura (Kara No Kyoukai, Noir, Mobile Suit Gundam SEED, Fate/Zero, Kimetsu no Yaiba recently) and the former band Kalafina. Come and follow the road to become a Magical Girl with Madoka Kaname and Kyubey.
／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼ Want to make a Contract?


Heartbreak High recommended by Aktavor69 (TV Technician)
BTN is 10 years old so this is the show that I was watching when I was 10. It's an old-school AU TV show about the life of teenage students and their struggles with things like racism, integration, love, and suicide. It is a bit similar to "Boston Public" even if "Boston Public" has two POV, students and adults. Too bad that only first seasons are available on DVD (right issues for the last seasons). And, of course, #TeamDrazic #TeamAnita !


Oz recommended by Kaccha (Moderator)
Oz didn't get the attention it deserved, likely because of its gritty, dark, brutal and unpleasant tone. It was overshadowed by the more popular "The Sopranos", but is easily just as good. Every character is an asshole in some way or another, but the series somehow tricks the viewer into sympathising with them. The writing is brilliant, the cast is excellent, and the execution is beautiful. Oz is a masterpiece that paved the way for and inspired all other hour-long HBO dramas.


Dad's Army recommended by Raptor (Moderator)
Quintessential 70s British Comedy. A funny & light-hearted take on a group of mostly senior gentlemen who want to do their own part by joining the Home Guard for the British war effort in World War II. Some episodes of this fantastic series are "Lost" due to the BBC wiping tapes as they did in that era. To me, there is no better British comedy from that era. The show ran for 9 seasons which is a remarkably long run for a BBC series in the 70s which shows the kind of following and entertainment value it had for it's time. Don't panic Mr. Mainwaring!


Firefly recommended by Corgi (Moder-hater)
idk it's good and stuff (dictated by Corgi, written by onoflalks)


Taskmaster recommended by Ryko (Team Leader)
This is the original wacky British game/panel show where five celebrity contestants (usually British comedians) compete with each other in outlandish tasks. If you've seen the American adaption of the show on Comedy Central, forget everything you know! The original series is infinitely better due to the show's format and duration. There's actually time for the hosts and contestants to banter and get to know each other throughout the series/season.


Futurama recommended by onoflalks (Badministrator)
Show:
It's the best TV programme of the last 20 years, easily. The writers made up a methematical theory in an episode to sort out some fuckiness; the director's commentaries are fantastic; it's funny, stupid, heartfelming, and fuck if you don't cry thinking about Seymour then you're dead inside and I think you should be banned, frankly.


Happy Endings recommended by Katara (Administrator)
Happy Endings was a gem that didn't get enough attention, sadly, and ended after only 3 seasons. It is a hilarious show about a group of friends who have to recover their friendship after the failed wedding of two of their group. It's a show you could easily watch again and again. In short, it is AH-MAH-ZING.


Garth Marenghi's Darkplace recommended by predakanga (Lead Developer)
Greetings traveler. I'm Garth Marenghi, horror writer. Most of you will probably know me already from my extensive canon of chillers, including Afterbirth, in which a mutated placenta attacks Bristol. Back in the 1980s, I wrote, directed and starred in Garth Marenghi's Darkplace, a television program so radical, so risky, so dangerous, so goddamn crazy, that the so-called powers that be became too scared to show it, and gypped me. Much in the same way women have done ever since they sniffed out my money.