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It's Not TV...It's New TV Series, Coming Soon

Tonight, HBO premiered its first original series/miniseries since Paul Giamatti removed his powdered wig one last time in the AP-History-Textbook-As-A-High-Budget-Television-Miniseries John Adams (a series that is more entertaining thinking about it than actually watching it, except that it would be totally the best thing ever to watch in a high school AP History class). The David Simon / Ed Burns miniseries adapted from the Evan Wright book Generation Kill is indeed a step in the right direction for Home Box Office.

Generation Kill
Part one of the seven-part miniseries, "Get Some", was a superb introductory chapter to what is certain to be an outstanding run. The Simon / Burns trademark formula was in full effect throughout the first part -- as The Wire proved, witty dialogue + building dread + realism in full effect = television gold. James Ransone (last seen with Idris Elba, aka Stringer Bell, in Prom Night and better known as Ziggy Sobotka in Season Two of The Wire) was terrific, and is definitely as memorable of a character as the talkative Humvee driver as he was in The Wire.

Additionally, the writing combo of Simon / Burns totally destroyed recent Hollywood conventions that waiting for war action has to be boring. Unlike the trainwreck that was Jarhead, Simon and Burns felt no need to hammer out the "waiting is boring" angle (although ironically they did a much better job of showing that than the aforementioned film), nor did they even come close to getting at any political angle whatsoever. Like The Wire, the characters are presented to the viewer without bias, and the line between good and bad is practically non-existent. Frankly, the first episode of this miniseries looks like the best thing that's been on HBO since, well, The Wire. It's difficult not to compare these two series; naturally, that should be taken as a high compliment to Generation Kill.

Also, this week, at the TV Critics Press Tour (note to self: get invited to this thing next year!), HBO unveiled their plans for current and future programming. Let's just say, the future looks brighter than Paul Giamatti's bald head sans powdered wig in John Adams.

True Blood

I've blogged extensively about this one, and now that the street date for the premiere is officially September 7, 2008, we can really get excited. Of course, that's without its own risks. While the idea of a vampire series from Alan Ball (Six Feet Under) in and of itself is promising, some of the circumstances surrounding it sound slightly puketastic (vampires "coming out", lobbyists representing vampires, wacky commercials highlighting what a post-Vampire society is like, etc.) Thankfully, Ball has been saying the right things about the show, stating that it's a show about vampires, and vampires only. Now, as long as the commercials like the one above advertising the show don't extend themselves into the actual series, I will be A-OK.
Excitement rating: 8 1/2 (out of 10)

Little Britain USA and The Life and Times of Tim
Now, I like me some British humor (or, I guess, Ricky Gervais in general), but just the promo pictures of this upcoming sketch comedy show, premiering in September, look maybe a couple steps up from TBS' Frank TV (which is thankfully over with...I think?) But given that the clips on YouTube of the Brit version of this look more Kids in the Hall than Mad TV, it has a shot at being something good.

Meanwhile, The Life and Times of Tim is an animated series about a 25 year old guy who works in an office and has droll-yet-outrageous situations happen in his life. Sounds intriguing, and some of the clips I have seen have been laugh-out-loud funny. Then again, do I want to come home from my office, contemplate my 25-year-old life and watch the mundanity ensue? Isn't that just my life already? Then again, am I not a masochist? Excitement level, Britain: 5 1/2 out of 10
Excitement level, Tim: 6 out of 10

Treme
This upcoming pilot, which if there is a God, will be greenlighted, produced, and consumed by the masses, depicts musicians post-Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans. Oh, but it's not really about musicians, or the actual Hurricane, but about "political corruption, the public housing controversy, the crippled criminal-justice system, clashes between police and Mardi Gras Indians, and the struggle to regain the tourism industry after the storm." As creator / writer David Simon (YES!!!) says, "It's basically a post-Katrina history of the city. It will be rooted in events that everybody knows. What it's not going to be is a happy stroll through David Simon's record collection. It should not be a tourism slide show. If we do it right, it (will be) about why New Orleans matters."

Oh, and to top it off, Wendell Pierce, aka William "Bunk" Moreland, of The Wire is tapped to star. WHOA!!!!!!!!!!!! lkasjdflsajdflsakdjfldsajfsadf. I'm excited. Whew. Okay. Whewwww. I feel good.

Excitement level: 11asldkfjldsafjldsajfalsfjewaoifmowf!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!R23orjewof. Off the charts

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  1. Blogger chris | 10:57 AM |  

    I can't wait to watch the rest of this. I've been weary of every Iraq-related movie/TV event since everyone started making them, but of course David Simon would be the first one to do it right.

    Though, while it's really good about being apolitical in regards to the war itself, I think it's saying something pretty blatant about the way the military is trained (the title is an overbearing giveaway). Other than the bluntness of it all, I have no problem with it though, because really, soldiers haven't been portrayed on screen like this before and still seemed realistic (ahem, Jarhead again). In the Valley of Elah was actually a decent attempt, though Haggis sentimentalized it all and turned a brilliant movie into an okay one with amazing performances. Though I should probably save my remarks until I actually watch the whole thing (or the rest of the first installment at least).

  2. Blogger Lady Amy | 12:14 PM |  

    Like Chris, I am leery about the overabundance of movies and TV about Iraq/New Orleans. I keep thinking back to when VH1 did the "I Love the 90's" series and I thought "too soon, too soon." It's even more so with Iraq/New Orleans because it's still going on - way too soon to produce something with enough perspective on the situation.

    I think it's weird that there seems to be all this pressure on the media to be the first to comment on current events - a phenomenon that I think began with news organizations and has now moved on to the drama/entertainment departments. That's why I think there have been such crappy series on Katrina (K-ville) and Iraq (Jarhead, as previously mentioned). But then again, I think if it's done right it could really change the way we look back on the situation.

    I haven't seen Generation Kill yet so I can't judge, but if anyone is going to do it right, it's going to be David Simon and Ed Burns.

  3. Blogger Unknown | 12:39 PM |  

    That's true, Chris -- at least in the first part, there is an implicit indictment of the general purpose of why they were there and how they were treated. I can't remember if you were still watching or not, but there was a scene where Cpl. Person (James Ransone) was talking about how they were kept from basic goods to keep the marines like pit bulls, pissed off enough to not care as much about killing. The title to me could be seen more than one way -- killing a generation as well as a generation trained to kill.

  4. Blogger Brigitte | 1:47 PM |  

    ooh, lots of stuff to look forward to on HBO! I'm a lot nervous for the vampire series, though...that has the potential to be really bad. I'm gonna go in with low expectations and hopefully be blown away. And, I'll definitely watch it...even if it is bad. And just in time for fall! spoooky.

  5. Blogger chris | 3:32 PM |  

    What's funny is while Sam Mendes (Alan Ball connection, shudder) surely wanted to shove his movie's connection to the current Iraq war down everyone's throat, Jarhead was about Desert Storm.

    I did see that part, Mark, and I didn't think about the interpretation you posit. Very nice! It's like they all wanted, to like, BE someone through all that anger, but really man, it was like THE MAN who was trying to tear them down to becoming, like, NOTHING by forcing them to become so bloodthirsty and self-righteous. Whoa, my mind has been officially blown.

  6. Blogger Unknown | 3:47 PM |  

    Lady Amy -- I agree with you to a point on the tendancy to have a knee-jerk reaction to current events can be disconcerning. But, I think, if done correctly, pop cultural releases on current events can be just as vital as they happen as they would be many years after. I think one of the reasons GK is working so far is because it focuses on just one infantry unit, at one particular point in time. Certainly it can be seen as reporting on the whole war, but by focusing on one specific time period and set of characters, it tends to humanize everything for us. It also helps when there is no tendancy to preach about the rights and wrongs of what happens.

    True Blood, I think, is promising in that it looks at least like it will be fun. Alan Ball's work has been hit or miss to me -- the pilot for "Six Feet Under" was fantastic, but the finale was just a smidge over-the-top (both eps he wrote and directed). I think, at least in a TV series, he can take his interesting ideas and let other people write them -- that was a formula that worked for the most part throughout that series, and I'm hoping for the same with "True Blood". The fake vampire commercials they are airing, though, are remniscent of the commercials used in the "Six Feet Under" pilot (and mercifully were axed). Love him or loathe him, he at least makes things interesting.

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