hbo

  • A movie to wrap up the two seasons of HBO's Rome is apparently in the works.
    [Series creator Bruno] Heller would not discuss plot ideas, but the original series outline for "Rome" next called for the hedonistic Roman leaders to deal with the rise of a certain problematic rabbi...
    Ray Stevenson, who played the Shaftoe-esque character Pullo, is looking forward to reprising his role. This is by no means guaranteed to happen, but I'm excited. (via Roman Times) (3) #
    7/9/2009

Notable 2009 consumptions, so far

I haven't been posting much recently for various reasons, and I can't honestly say whether that will change or not. But one thing I haven't done here recently is mention a few things I've read/seen/heard in 2009 that are worth recommending/commenting on. So here goes:

2666 by Roberto Bolaño

I read this earlier this year and was alternately floored and bored by it (mostly the former) -- which is not all that surprising for a 900-page novel split into five tonally unrelated parts. It's such a brutal book to read at times, especially the fourth part which describes in clinical detail the murder of hundreds of women in a Juárez-like city in northern Mexico. But it's been a long time since I've read a book that immediately after I've finished compelled to me to skim through the entire book again right there, even at that late hour. And I had to go on an Internet quest after finishing it as well, enjoying especially this Nation article which delves into Bolaño's real life obsession with the Juárez murders.

Generation Kill

I missed this seven-episode miniseries when it aired on HBO last summer, partially unmotivated by its military subject matter. But I should have never underestimated David Simon and Ed Burns -- the team that brought us The Wire. The same keen dramatic eye they brought to the city of Baltimore is played out here in the more narrowly-focused world of military command, and with the sheer power of realism they have created some of the tensest war scenes I've seen. I probably don't have to add that there's some subtle and not-so-subtle political commentary as well.

Big Love

The first season of this HBO series suffered from several flaws, including a half-hearted attempt to be a Mormon polygamist version of Desperate Housewives. It's still a flawed show, often teetering on the edge of contrivance (sort of like Six Feet Under), but the current season has gotten a lot darker, and more willing to explore the lesser known aspects of Mormon culture.

Real Time with Bill Maher

Sometimes this show has the best political commentary on TV (like the first episode this season with Chrystia Freeland, Tina Brown, and Rep. Maxine Waters on the panel) and sometimes it's painful to watch (like Friday's episode with Michael Eric Dyson and Andrew Breitbart). But on average, it makes even the best of cable news embarrassing to watch.

Battlestar Galactica

This is probably the least consistent show I've ever watched to completion. I can't wait to see the season finale this Friday so I never have to watch this show again.

Lost

On the other hand, Lost is really good! It faltered during seasons 2 and 3, but they've found their voice during the past two. This is the only solid sci-fi entertainment I can find right now. (Please, help!)

Coraline 3D

Those of you who have read my thoughts on Beowulf 3D know that I'm a big promoter of 3D cinema, and Coraline 3D just took it to another level. Since it was filmed with stop-motion animation, watching it felt like I was miniaturized and placed into its fascinating world. And the story and art design are very good, surpassing The Nightmare Before Christmas, I think.

Watchmen

I enjoyed many parts of this movie, but overall the experience was ruined for me by Zack Snyder's ham-handed directorial style, especially the musical selections and over-heightened sense of violence. Surprisingly, I thought the acting was solid, and the story was handled somewhat well. I'm afraid this is the type of movie which makes viewers less likely to read the source material, which is unfortunate as Alan Moore's comic book is a subtler read.

The Hazards of Love (The Decemberists)

I've heard some good music this year, but I want to comment only on this new album from The Decemberists for now. I absolutely loved The Crane Wife, partly for its operatic rock feel. I was disappointed with my first listen to The Hazards of Love, partially because I found the subject matter fairly uninteresting for a pseudo-rock opera, but it's really grown on me with several listens, particularly the parts with Shara Worden from My Brightest Diamond singing the role of The Queen.

Tue, 03/17/2009 - 5:23pm
  • For those of you without HBO: as of this season, the network is providing full podcasts of Real Time with Bill Maher on iTunes. I am of the opinion that Real Time has the highest level of political debate anywhere on television currently, although sometimes the makeup of the panel leads to a dud. (Please, no more Robin Williams, but Ben Affleck is surprisingly good.) (2) #
    9/22/2008
  • Six months ago, I mentioned that Bob Odenkirk and David Cross were working on a new show for HBO, the network that produced Mr. Show. Now, new details have emerged about the show, titled David's Situation:
    Odenkirk and Cross co-wrote the project, which will star Cross as himself. He leaves Hollywood to move into a suburban, gated community where he has two roommates, a right-wing conservative and a liberal hippie.
    That could be the description of a terrible sitcom on a network, but I have high hopes. (via aicn) (2) #
    3/21/2008
  • NPR's Terry Gross interviewed The Wire creator David Simon yesterday -- listen here. (There are spoilers if you are not caught up.) With the series finale airing this Sunday, will this be my last Wire post ever? (thx, drew) (2) #
    3/7/2008
  • The creators (David Simon, Ed Burns) and the high-profile writers (Dennis Lehane, George Pelecanos, Richard Price) of HBO's The Wire have written a pledge in Time to practice jury nullification when it comes to non-violent drug offenses:
    If asked to serve on a jury deliberating a violation of state or federal drug laws, we will vote to acquit, regardless of the evidence presented. Save for a prosecution in which acts of violence or intended violence are alleged, we will — to borrow Justice Harry Blackmun's manifesto against the death penalty — no longer tinker with the machinery of the drug war. No longer can we collaborate with a government that uses nonviolent drug offenses to fill prisons with its poorest, most damaged and most desperate citizens.
    (thx, luddite robot) (18) #
    3/6/2008
  • It looks like Isiah Whitlock Jr., who plays Clay Davis on HBO's The Wire, has used his trademark "Sheeeeeeet" on other projects. Slate links to two uses in Spike Lee's The 25th Hour, and wonders whose idea it was to port it The Wire. (2) #
    2/27/2008
  • Obama loves The Wire, although he missed last night's premiere because he was, you know, campaigning. Someone should ask him what his thoughts are on Hamsterdam. (0) #
    1/7/2008
  • Multiple people have sent me this semi-critical article by Mark Bowden on The Wire, which starts it fifth and final season on HBO this week. Bowden respects the show and its verisimilitude, but takes on David Simon for letting his personal anger get in the way of "accuracy and evenhandedness." I don't buy the argument that the show's bleakness is exaggerated, although I do think the show has become more didactic in its later seasons. I also dismiss the argument, which I've seen elsewhere, that the show merely serves to comfort the guilt of liberal viewers -- one might as well make the same argument about any great work of social realism. Thoughts? (0) #
    1/4/2008
  • Watching the live (but not on the West coast) Real Time with Bill Maher on HBO last night was more interesting than usual, when 9/11 conspiracy theorists from the audience started shouting in the middle of the panel segment. Bill Maher took matters into his own hands, shouting them down and helping security kick them out. Here's the video. (8) #
    10/20/2007
  • The New Yorker has a lengthy profile of David Simon, who recently wrapped filming of the fifth season of HBO's The Wire, which premieres January. It also discusses his next episodic series in the works, about musicians who live in post-Katrina New Orleans. (thx, terry) (0) #
    10/15/2007
  • Bob Odenkirk and David Cross, the comedic geniuses behind Mr. Show, are working on a new show for HBO, supposedly a sitcom. And right when I was considering canceling my subscription! (After The Wire Season 5, of course.) (5) #
    9/12/2007
  • HBO cancels John from Cincinnati, yet is "staying in business" with David Milch. I'm not surprised, but I'm getting a little flustered with HBO's lack of foresight. (3) #
    8/14/2007

John from Cincinnati: Season One

John from Cincinnati

Last night, John from Cincinnati wrapped up its first (and last?) season on HBO. I'm still not entirely sure what to think of it -- I often felt distanced from the show due to its artifice and its love/hate relationship with verisimilitude; on the other hand, I was constantly entertained by its oddness and engaged by its rich intratextuality. For instance, an insignificant line of dialogue from an earlier episode often would be repeated many episodes later, perhaps with a slight modification, to enhance a comic or mystifying moment. These connections are not meant to be a wink towards the viewer: they are essential to the major themes of the show.

What are those major themes? I'm not sure I'm equipped to discuss them here with sufficient eloquence, but these two essays about the last two episodes, respectively, get close to the heart of things, I think. A quote from the second essay:

I think the show is largely centered around an examination of what it would be like if Jesus came to Earth today, and using that framework, it would make sense John would use a major corporation to spread his message. He converts his disciples, and by putting his logo on everything, he will help to spread the message.

That is indeed the most obvious explanation, although there's no reason to believe that there's any connection to Jesus, or Christianity in general. The way that the car dealer in the final episode talks to John ("You're off-line now, Country.") conjures elements of science-fiction more than any traditional notion of religion. The entire text of the dealer's scene can be found at HBO's "Inside the Episode" website section, where it's described by one of the show's writers as "probably the most important puzzle-solving moment of the season."

It's clear that JFC has an intricate design, and recent hints of global implications (John talking about "towelheads" and 9/11/14) -- in addition to David Milch's unique brand of dialogue and character development -- make me curious enough to want to look forward to the second season, if there is one. But while I know that Milch is a sort of genius, I can't help thinking that there's something off about this show -- that perhaps in its struggle in being both profound and entertaining, it falls short on both accounts.

Mon, 08/13/2007 - 10:23am
  • On HBO tonight, both The Sopranos and Entourage ended with a major character raising their fists in the air while looking upon a stunning desert landscape. How odd. (8) #
    5/13/2007
  • This week, with the final episode showing up on HBO on Demand, marks the end of The Wire's fifth fourth season. Here's an NPR interview with creator/writer/producer Ed Burns, and a great Slate interview with creator David Simon:
    In our heads we're writing a Greek tragedy, but instead of the gods being petulant and jealous Olympians hurling lightning bolts down at our protagonists, it's the Postmodern institutions that are the gods. And they are gods. And no one is bigger. By the way: If at any point any character on the show ever talks as I'm talking right now, it would suck. It's crucial that the characters can't lecture us.
    (2) #
    12/4/2006
  • The New York Times gives us a glimpse into Deadwood creator David Milch's new show on HBO, John from Cincinnati:
    The story defies television genre-speak, but in literature it would be called surf noir. There is a dysfunctional family viewed through the twin prisms of surfing and heroin addiction, a space alien and a lawyer named Dickstein. It should be mentioned that some characters occasionally levitate.
    Man, I'm so sick of HBO's tired clichés and overplayed formulas. (thx, george c) (11) #
    11/20/2006
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