TV Talk
Nadum
Issue date: 4/27/07 Section: Arts & Entertainment
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Good Times Are a Coming
If you're sad about the approaching end to the 2007 television season, I'm here to make you feel better. Or failing that, at least improving your taste in television.
Even though we're losing great shows like The Office, 30 Rock, My Name is Earl, Scrubs, Heroes, Friday Night Lights, Prison Break, and How I Met Your Mother (Wow, that's really not that many. Network television kind of sucks), we're getting ready for the other side of television: HBO, Showtime and F/X.
These three stations defy every principle of television, producing masterpiece after masterpiece; somehow, they manage to make the summer months even better for smart television viewers.
For those who appreciate socially relevant programming that demands attention and strays far from the norm, the next six months are going to be good. Real good.
Right now, we've got The Shield and The Riches on F/X, The Sopranos and Entourage on HBO and The Tudors on Showtime. Although they're all scheduled to end around the same time the major networks are wrapping up their season, they still operate outside of standard television fare and if you're not watching them now, you should be.
And as good as all those shows are, the summer makes them pale in comparison. For the next couple of weeks, we'll be going through all the goodies in store. Given the sheer volume of it all, this week we'll stick with June.
As soon as Entourage and The Sopranos finish their run, the second season of Big Love jumps in June 17. Although it will likely ruin every male fantasy about polygamy, the show somehow manages to be heartwarming and utterly creepy at the same time. Polygamists are crazy. And watching crazy people on HBO is as good as it gets. With superb acting, relevant storytelling and exposing viewers to a world that is rarely seen, the show is yet another coup for HBO.
But Big Love isn't even close to the best show launching in June. Rescue Me, probably the second best drama on television behind The Wire, comes back for its fourth season June 12. Whether or not you like Denis Leary, firemen or uncompromisingly dysfunctional families, there's no getting around how good Rescue Me is. There isn't another fictional story on television or film, as far as I know, about the people we forgot about after 9/11 and the shit storm they were left with. It's dark, gritty and somehow manages to make you laugh. So count me among those that simply can't wait for season four.
If you're sad about the approaching end to the 2007 television season, I'm here to make you feel better. Or failing that, at least improving your taste in television.
Even though we're losing great shows like The Office, 30 Rock, My Name is Earl, Scrubs, Heroes, Friday Night Lights, Prison Break, and How I Met Your Mother (Wow, that's really not that many. Network television kind of sucks), we're getting ready for the other side of television: HBO, Showtime and F/X.
These three stations defy every principle of television, producing masterpiece after masterpiece; somehow, they manage to make the summer months even better for smart television viewers.
For those who appreciate socially relevant programming that demands attention and strays far from the norm, the next six months are going to be good. Real good.
Right now, we've got The Shield and The Riches on F/X, The Sopranos and Entourage on HBO and The Tudors on Showtime. Although they're all scheduled to end around the same time the major networks are wrapping up their season, they still operate outside of standard television fare and if you're not watching them now, you should be.
And as good as all those shows are, the summer makes them pale in comparison. For the next couple of weeks, we'll be going through all the goodies in store. Given the sheer volume of it all, this week we'll stick with June.
As soon as Entourage and The Sopranos finish their run, the second season of Big Love jumps in June 17. Although it will likely ruin every male fantasy about polygamy, the show somehow manages to be heartwarming and utterly creepy at the same time. Polygamists are crazy. And watching crazy people on HBO is as good as it gets. With superb acting, relevant storytelling and exposing viewers to a world that is rarely seen, the show is yet another coup for HBO.
But Big Love isn't even close to the best show launching in June. Rescue Me, probably the second best drama on television behind The Wire, comes back for its fourth season June 12. Whether or not you like Denis Leary, firemen or uncompromisingly dysfunctional families, there's no getting around how good Rescue Me is. There isn't another fictional story on television or film, as far as I know, about the people we forgot about after 9/11 and the shit storm they were left with. It's dark, gritty and somehow manages to make you laugh. So count me among those that simply can't wait for season four.
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