Re-Watching the Sopranos – Season 1

Re-Watching the Sopranos – Season 1

Posted inTelevision
I've said before that HBO changed the the way I watch TV. The emphasis on strong writing, stellar acting, big production values, and season-long storylines drew me back into television after a long period of having abandoned the idea of it being something worthwhile. Prior to a change in my TV habits, I had given up watching broadcast TV altogether. There seemed better things to see and better things to watch (such as Hitchcock films). But HBO's bold, expansive programming changed all that, and these days I prefer long television dramas to movies. It all started with The Sopranos, a…

Martin Scorsese + HBO = Win

Posted inFilms, Television
How awesome is this? As if I haven't praised HBO enough in recent days, The Hollywood Reporter, err, reports that Martin Scorsese, he of GoodFellas, Taxi Driver, and Raging Bull fame, will direct the pilot for a new HBO series set in 1920 Atlantic City. Written by Terence Winter, "Empire" is set in 1920 at the dawn of Prohibition and chronicles the life and times of Nucky Thompson (Steve Buscemi), the undisputed ruler of Atlantic City, who was equal parts politician and gangster. I need know nothing more than that. Scorsese, Prohibition-era Atlantic City, and HBO? I'm in. I'm watching.…
Thank you, HBO, for making TV awesome

Thank you, HBO, for making TV awesome

Posted inTelevision
I recently finished watching all five seasons of HBO's The Wire, a critical darling that pretty much no one saw. The show has been lauded by some as the best drama in television history, a level of hyperbole that at first I did not easily swallow but which I've come to completely understand. What began as a cop show with profanity became one of the most powerful pieces of social commentary of the last 40 years. And that's the truth. When it comes to my relationship with HBO programming, these revelations are beginning to become routine. I'm one of those…