100 Things I Love About Television

To quote Homer Simpson, television is our “teacher, mother… secret lover.” It bathes us with entertainment whenever we want. TV gives us comedies, dramas, cops, lawyers, mobsters, doctors, variety shows, and just about anything else you could want. It’s time to give something back to TV. Thus, here’s my love letter to it- a listing of 100 things I love about television.

Boardwalk Empire: The Music

If a cable network asked me to come up with a concept for a TV series, I’d come up with something like Boardwalk Empire, which will debut its third season starting this weekend. It’s about organized crime and classic real life gangsters, it’s produced by Martin Scorsese, it stars Steve Buscemi, and it’s a period piece. In fact, the effort HBO makes to place it in a proper era context is a big part of the show’s charm for me. And a significant part of their effort is that they go out of their way to use actual music from the Roaring 20s. It’s a neat trick. Here are some of my favorite songs that have been featured on Boardwalk Empire.

Game of Thrones Sigils Re-Imagined Using Hanna-Barbera Characters

Part of the fun of Game of Thrones is the depth of the universe created by George R.R. Martin and HBO. Visit the Viewer’s Guides on HBO’s website and you’ll realize just how much time and effort they’ve put into their creation. There are maps, family trees, family slogans (their “words”, as it were), brief histories of each of the houses, and sigils for each house. A sigil is a sign, or banner, inscribed with magical powers. If you were a sociologist, you might think of these sigils as the power animals for the respective houses of Game of Thrones. As it turns out, the Hanna-Barbera universe also had a lot of powerish animals. And… well, I think you see where this is going.

Game of Thrones: The Quiz

HBO will begin airing the second season of Game of Thrones this Saturday. All of your old friends from the Seven Kingdoms- well, MOST of your old friends from the Seven Kingdoms- will be back on your TV, regaling you with tales of the Starks, Lannisters, Targaryens, Baratheons, and the rest. To help put you in the mood, and to refresh your memory about season one, I’ve put together a quiz.

Return Dates for 2012 Cable TV Dramas

The next few weeks will be big if you’re a fan of cable and premium cable drama. Two of the heavyweights of cable TV drama will start their next seasons on the heels of the season 2 finale of The Walking Dead. It can be maddening if you’re a fan of these shows, waiting for the networks to wrap up production and air the next season. If I had a dollar for every time I’ve done a google search for this information the last few years, I’d… well, I’d probably have $50. But you get the idea. To help, I’ve compiled some updates (as of March 19) for the return of your favorite cable TV dramas.

How HBO Can Save Luck

Last week, HBO was forced to cancel their new series, Luck, which revolved around a slew of characters who worked in the horse racing industry. Luck lasted just one season, and was cancelled because of the death of three horses during production, the most recent death occurring during filming of the second season. The show had quite the pedigree. It was produced by Michael Mann, created by Deadwood creator David Milch, was produced by and starred Dustin Hoffman, and also starred Nick Nolte. While it had yet to find a larger audience, it had been generally well-received by critics, scoring a 75/100 rating on Metacritic. And now, it’s over. But I think I know how HBO can save the series.

Venn Diagram: Why Deadwood was Cancelled by HBO

My latest TV project has been catching up on the critically acclaimed Deadwood from HBO. The show’s creator, David Milch, is back in the news because he’s returned to HBO with a new series, Luck. Deadwood aired from 2004 to 2006, good for three seasons of material. After two more episodes, I will have seen the entire series. It was cut short, cancelled before its time was up without any real resolution. It’s quite a shame, because it’s been a really good show. Milch did a great deal of research to find out the actual facts of Deadwood, South Dakota circa 1877. And this painstaking research helped him bring larger-than-life characters like “Wild Bill” Hickok, “Calamity Jane” Cannary, the Earp brothers, and Al Swearengen most of all to life. The biggest reason it earned so much critical acclaim was the show’s dialogue. Milch and his writers imported Shakespearean language and devices into the American Wild West. But it was all sandwiched around some of the most delightfully vulgar language you’ll ever hear on a TV show. I’ve enjoyed it quite a bit. But the more I’ve watched it, the more it’s become woefully obvious why HBO cancelled it after just three seasons. I think it can best be described using a Venn diagram:

HBO, How Do I Love Thee? A Poem for HBO Programming

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I watched Cinema Verité over the weekend and found myself becoming nostalgic for HBO. Year after year, the network churns out original programming and films that I enjoy. I’ve even gone bananas when their shows aren’t ratings successes, such as Carnivale and Rome. I’ve loved them ever since the first time I saw a nude woman in a movie when HBO aired Q: The Winged Serpent at 1:00 in the morning when I was eight years old. And so with serious apologies to Elizabeth Barrett Browning, here is my poetic homage to the ol’ Home Box Office:

Boardwalk Empire: First Episode, First Impressions

[3ZZJKWUEDPBC]  I’m not sure I can remember being as excited about a new TV show as I have been in recent months anticipating the first episode of HBO’s new venture, Boardwalk Empire. Rather than setting all of this up with a fat preamble like a skilled writer would do, I’m going to just come on out and say it. After one episode, I’m going to go bat-shit bonkers for this show.