My Favorite TV Shows (right now) Part 4
Here is the fourth installment of my favorite TV shows series.
Last time we chatted about “”basic cable”" shows, this time I cover my favorite “”premium”" channel shows.Oh, and by premium I just mean HBO because, like, that’s the only channel that I’ve ever really paid for 
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My Favorite TV Shows (right now) Part 4
– Premium Channels (err, I guess just HBO) –
These are shows on HBO which is a channel that you have to pay for on top of standard/basic cable or sattelite service. I’ve recently subscribed to ALL premium movie channels with DirecTV (there’s like 60 channels!!) as part of a promotion, but I haven’t had time to see any of the shows that the others offer. Hopefully I won’t get addicted to any of them because the special deal runs out in a couple months and I can’t imagine paying for more than one premium channel every month )
| Show Name: | The Sopranos |
| Channel/Where: | HBO |
| When aired: | Sunday nights (no new episodes until 2006  |
| Genre: | Drama |
| Content Rating: | R |
| Types of content: | Language, violence, sex, drug use |
| Age: | Five seasons |
| Cast: | James Gandolfini, Edie Falco, Lorraine Bracco |
| Why I like it: | I’ve always been fascinated by mob stories and this multi-faceted show is like the proverbial car wreck: gruesome and shocking, but I just can’t look away |
| Improvements needed: | Nothing.. it’s just right. |
| Summary: | I think pretty much everyone has heard of The Sopranos, so I’ll keep this brief. The story follows the New Jersey mob boss Tony Soprano and his family (crime family as well as real family) as they fight to stay together and stay alive. What sets this apart from most mob movies/shows is the mundane, day-to-day side of life and the vulnerabilities of a crime boss when he’s not in front of his underlings and colleagues.
There is a constant stream of violence, profanity, and underhanded dealings but there are also tender, caring, bittersweet, and even funny moments as all of the diverse set of characters go about their lives. The final season is still being written, and sounds to be everything the growing throngs of fans expect for the swan song of such a ground breaking series. |
| Show Name: | Entourage |
| Channel/Where: | HBO |
| When aired: | Sunday nights |
| Genre: | Comedy / Drama |
| Content Rating: | R |
| Types of content: | Language, sex, drug use |
| Age: | Two seasons |
| Cast: | Adrian Grenier, Kevin Connolly, Jeremy Piven, Kevin Dillon, Jerry Ferrara |
| Why I like it: | Believable and likeable characters similar to people I grew up with living through many peoples dream come true |
| Improvements needed: | No more lame celebrity stunts.. James Cameron/Mandy Moore in realistic situations as part of the plot = cool, but a U2 concert where Bono shouts out to one of the main characters is just bad.. bad.. bad.. |
| Summary: | Entourage follows a group of friends moving from New York where they grew up from humble circumstances to the hussle and bustle of Hollywood when one of the friends gets his big acting break and goes onto an exciting career as an up and coming star. The friends that come along for the ride have to adjust to their friends fame, as well as changing circumstances as some have a new employer/employee relationship. Things get more interesting as some of the entourage start enjoying some success of their own in various ventures. Relationships also get strained as the financial stakes get higher, and inevitable “”girl problems”" come into the picture with the usual “”I saw her first”" love triangles and antics. Especially fun to watch is Jeremy Piven in a continuously wonderful asshole-you-love-to-hate role. |
| Show Name: | Deadwood |
| Channel/Where: | HBO |
| When aired: | Sunday nights |
| Genre: | Drama / Western |
| Content Rating: | R |
| Types of content: | Language, violence, sex, drug use |
| Age: | Two seasons |
| Cast: | Ian McShane, Timothy Olyphant, William Sanderson |
| Why I like it: | The Sopranos of the Old West – engaging character arcs, and surprisingly deep dialog |
| Improvements needed: | Last I remember it was running on all cylinders. It’s been a while since we’ve had new episodes, so I guess more frequent eps would be the biggest improvement needed. Though I find that’s true of all HBO series. Slow to come, but worth it. |
| Summary: | I have never cared for Western movies or TV shows as a general rule. I usually can’t get into them either because of their southern drawl, cliches with repeated plots, and prevalence of country music. There are a few exceptions – Silverado, Tombstone, Blazing Sadles, and now Deadwood.. Ok, a Mel Brooks film probably doesn’t count as a true western, but they do wear 10 gallon hats and ride horses. Deadwood tells the story of a lawless old west town just outside the bounds of United States rule. The town is run by Al Swearengen (inspiringly portrayed by Ian McShane) and his local mob. Swearengen owns and operates the most prominent saloon in Deadwood.. Until a rival saloon replete with its own den of thugs moves in. Timothy Olyphant plays Seth Bullock who moves into town to open a hardware store, and begrudingly takes the post of sherrif when he is fed up with the rampant violence in the town. Bullock is a dark, brooding hero, however, with his own flaws and a slightly bent moral compass. He general does what is best for the town, but breaks a law or two in getting the “”right thing”" done. I mentioned in “”why I like it”" that Deadwood has surprising deep dialog, and this is true. It is also true that there is vulgarity and expletives in just about every other word spoken, but you get used to it. I’m not sure if it accurately captures the vernacular of the time, or if the foul language is simply there for color, but the filthy mouths of the underclass is an interesting counter-balance to the very Shakespear-esque soliloques and belabored run around in the conversations of the “”decent folk”" in town. The show brings long, complicated story arcs where enemies in one episode may shift to allies through twists and turns of a few episodes. Well worth watching if you are interested in strong character development, intricate relationships, and yeah – lots and lots of violence. |
| Show Name: | Carnivale |
| Channel/Where: | HBO |
| When aired: | Sunday nights (new episodes later this year) |
| Genre: | Drama / Mystery / Sci-fi |
| Content Rating: | R |
| Types of content: | Language, violence, sex, drug use |
| Age: | One season |
| Cast: | Clancy Brown, Nick Stahl, Clea DuVall, Adrienne Barbeau, Toby Huss |
| Why I like it: | A supernatural thriller taking you on a dark, twisted ride |
| Improvements needed: | The writers need to take some lessons from Lost on the proper balance of answering questions before offering new mysteries |
| Summary: | Carnivale follows a .. well, travelling carneval sometime in the 1930s. Many of the members of this troupe truly have mystical powers and the show’s primary focus is on one particular young man and his journey to find the truth about his father. During the first season the lead character, Ben Hawkins discovers that he has a special power that literally allows him to determine who lives and who dies. Meaning, that he can take the life force from one (or several) living things and transfer it to another, dying thing. In two primary examples, he heals one man’s broken arm by taking him wading in the middle of a pond and concentrating.. moments later, hundreds of dead fish begin floating to the surface of the water. In another scene, there is an accident on one of the rides that brings people crashing to the ground. A woman is holding her young, dead son to her and sobbing “”take me, please take me instead”" and Ben lays his hands on each of them and grants her wish. There is another primary character, Justin, who is essentially Ben’s cosmic enemy who is revealed and is essentially the devil. He controls evil mens minds, drives some insane, performs all manner of wicked acts in his pursuit of Ben to fulfill (or, perhaps to prevent) some sort of prophecy. Oh, and Justin is actually “”Brother Justin”", a catholic priest revered by tens of thousands who tune into his “”Church of the Air”" radio show. As the season unfolds the lineage of the two primary adversaries, as well as many around them unfolds and the rabbit hole goes deeper and deeper, getting darker and more twisted. The only problem is a lot of the answers are VERY slow in coming. While new confounding riddles pop up in every episode, very few are answered which can be disheartening as you get closer to the end of the season. The final couple episodes did tie up just about all of the loose ends, and set a launching point for a whole new set of mysteries in the next season, and while I didn’t necessarily like the directions it took, I can’t wait to see what else is in store.. I just hope that they get the balance right or I may get too frustrated and stop watching until the end. |
That brings us to the end for this week. In our next episode we’ll discuss foreign shows/channels.. Ok, like HBO the only “”foreign”" channel I watch is BBC America – but it’s got some of my favorite shows of all time!
Until next time.. keep watchin’
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