Back From the Dead?
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Last night I was out with some friends and asked by someone who had just watched The Bachelor for the first time to give my “critical analysis” of it. It took only a second to respond. Honestly, it feels like we’re living in a golden age for scripted television. There are so many good shows on every week, who has time for reality television?
Obviously, most of America does. But it got me thinking about why I said that so quickly. If anything, the networks are moving away from scripted shows, with more reality programs, more non-serialized television (CSI, House, Law and Order, NCIS, etc.), and casting off quality shows like Chuck and Community. Most cable channels are showing the same programs as they have the last few years, so why do I feel like we’re at the start of something great? And then I realized that the big one was back.
Until recently, HBO has been the critical envy of every other network dating back into the 1990s. Their miniseries – From the Earth to the Moon, Band of Brothers, The Corner, and Angels in America – owned the Emmy Awards ceremonies. They had a deep line-up with quality shows like Oz, Mr. Show with Bob and David, Sex and the City (not my cup of tea, but hey), Six Feet Under, Da Ali G Show, Carnival, and Rome.
And there were the Big 3 all-time classics. The Davids (Chase, Milch, and Simon) hit big with The Sopranos, the tragically unfinished Deadwood, and The Wire.
But all at once things changed. By 2007, Sex and the City, Six Feet Under, and Oz were long gone, it was becoming clear that the Deadwood movie was never happening, Rome was quickly headed into the same limbo, The Wire was preparing its final season, and The Sopranos couldn’t have left a worse taste in the mouths of many fans with its finale (my two cents: I always thought Tony died and that the ending worked).
Suddenly the best shows on HBO weren’t that good. Entourage and Big Love were fun for a little while, but quickly and sharply dipped in quality. In Treatment’s five night a week approach never grabbed my interest and seemed more tedious than groundbreaking. Ricky Gervais’ Extras first aired on BBC Two, so it had a very limited run like many series from across the pond. Even Deadwood creator David Milch flopped with the uneven and often annoying surfing ode John From Cincinnati. Even the unbeatable run of miniseries dipped in quality with the good (but definitely not great) John Adams.
And then there was True Blood. A show that, while often enjoyable in its insanity and hyper-sexualization, established that it would never aim to be anything more than the fun but trashy and predictable book series that inspired it.
What happened HBO?
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- Well, it turned out that little three year dip was just temporary. Because it feels like everything is picking back up. Going back to World War II in 2010 worked with The Pacific, which it kills me to admit might be better than Band of Brothers. David Simon’s loyal acolytes (myself included) flocked from Baltimore to New Orleans with Treme and now David Milch is back (with the help of Michael Mann) with another potential classic in Luck, which debuted to decent numbers, critical acclaim, and a quick renewal for season two.
Perhaps like before, Milch could make his series the third part of a new Big 3. The Prohibition-era drama Boardwalk Empire with Steve Buscemi took a big leap forward in season two. And sure enough the geeks are leading the way with Game of Thrones, the adaptation of George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire historical fantasy series. The drama finished its first year as one of the best shows on television.
As a network that makes its money off of subscriptions and has less concern for ratings than other network and cable channels, it’s important for HBO to keep churning out well-regarded programming. The big highlights of the coming year are a new comedy by Julia Louise-Dreyfuss (The Veep), a new drama from West Wing creator Aaron Sorkin (The Newsroom), and the latest Ricky Gervais import (Life’s Too Short). HBO isn’t the only network making great programming. AMC arguably boasts the two best series in Mad Men and Breaking Bad, and Showtime and FX do their part, but HBO has been at this longer. And everybody loves a comeback.
