America's other new hit show of last year showed very soon after the US on FX. I don't know whether any of the networks have bought it, but they would be wise to: it is very excellent.
Masterminded by Frank Darabont (writer/director of Shawshank, Green Mile and The Mist) it tells the story of a group of survivors after a zombie apocalypse. Darabont wrote and directed the first episode and heavily rewrote the rest of the series leading to two of the other writers to quit the show. As long as Darabont remains so hands on I can't see this affecting the second, slightly longer (8 episodes as opposed to this series 6), series.
The first episode, which focussing almost entirely on the (Andrew Lincoln), is particularly brilliant and compares very favourably with the best zombie movies. The rest of the series never quite hits these heights again, but is always very very good. The advantage of being a series means the survivors are far more rounded and there's already a lot of potential for future series.
While The Walking Dead doesn't bring anything completely original to the genre it does have many interesting twists on things we've seen before. If you are a fan of zombie movies then this is pretty much a must watch.
Showing posts with label drama. Show all posts
Showing posts with label drama. Show all posts
Thursday, 16 December 2010
Thursday, 11 November 2010
This Is England '86 (Channel 4)
Finally got round to watching Shane Meadows follow up to This Is England and how very good it was too. Not only was I surprised by how funny the first 2 episodes were, but by how light they were on the whole. The comedy far outweighed the weightier material and a lot of it was truly inspired. I actually think my favourite moment in the whole series was a comedy moment from very early when a gang of biker youths have to turn round in the road to bully Shaun; just a perfectly pitched comedy moment.
Meadows did not direct the first 2 episodes and when he does the drama becomes more prevalent, although the turn in tone is played perfectly across the episode climaxing in a tough final 10 minutes. Up to here this is a truly magnificent series and everything is set for a brilliantly finale, but it doesn't quite make it. The final episode is very good, just not great.
The main problem, for me, was one of predictability and convenience and it can be pinpointed on one character; the return of Combo. Suddenly you have a character appear who's completely changed from the one we know and love/loathe with no real explanation and can only ever serve the purpose of giving everything a neat end. He's a deus ex machina, essentially. By not appearing until the very end there is never any time to learn anything about him and he didn't really ring true because of this.
There's also an element of the other stories being pushed aside to make way for the big emotional hit and I missed them. Maybe if there had been 5 episodes with the final episode being extended into 2, the act of violence ending the 4th episode, it could have finished as brilliantly as it started. It probably would have been a more hard going ending, but it could've been phenomenal.
Still a very very good series that does the brilliant film justice. I'm looking forward to 4 years time when we may get, with a bit of luck, This Is England '90 when we get a music montage of Gazza crying while Gadget chokes on his own vomit after a smack overdose!
Meadows did not direct the first 2 episodes and when he does the drama becomes more prevalent, although the turn in tone is played perfectly across the episode climaxing in a tough final 10 minutes. Up to here this is a truly magnificent series and everything is set for a brilliantly finale, but it doesn't quite make it. The final episode is very good, just not great.
The main problem, for me, was one of predictability and convenience and it can be pinpointed on one character; the return of Combo. Suddenly you have a character appear who's completely changed from the one we know and love/loathe with no real explanation and can only ever serve the purpose of giving everything a neat end. He's a deus ex machina, essentially. By not appearing until the very end there is never any time to learn anything about him and he didn't really ring true because of this.
There's also an element of the other stories being pushed aside to make way for the big emotional hit and I missed them. Maybe if there had been 5 episodes with the final episode being extended into 2, the act of violence ending the 4th episode, it could have finished as brilliantly as it started. It probably would have been a more hard going ending, but it could've been phenomenal.
Still a very very good series that does the brilliant film justice. I'm looking forward to 4 years time when we may get, with a bit of luck, This Is England '90 when we get a music montage of Gazza crying while Gadget chokes on his own vomit after a smack overdose!
Thursday, 21 October 2010
The Event (Channel 4)
A few weeks ago I mentioned the new US show The Event. This Friday it starts on Channel 4 with two episodes back to back from 9. But is it still worth checking out? Having now seen the first 5 episodes I will say Yes!
Of course The Event is a network show and therefore a different beast to the HBO shows I've recommended, like The Wire, True Blood and Treme. HBO shows are filmed in complete, short (usually 10 or 12 episodes) series and aired in their entirety while the networks are filming while it airs; usually about 6 weeks ahead. This tends to mean network shows are easier to pick apart and can change as the series progresses, depending on the response. And as network shows are always fighting not to get cancelled (especially in their infancy) they need to do more to keep the viewer watching and therefore tend to have something big happen every week. When done right, in the likes of Lost and early series of 24, this makes great entertainment as long as you don't think too much about it. When done wrong it makes for some shoddy TV. For example, later series of 24 seemed like they were written in 4 episode blocks with a massive twist every time it got passed to the next group of writers leading to a series that bore no resemblance to the start within 8 hours; or every series of Heroes after the first where superpowers were turned on and off or characters turned from good to bad and vice verse on a weekly basis just to suit whatever was happening that week, nevermind what happened before.
After just 5 episodes I can't be sure that The Event won't turn into something balls in the future, but for now it's building quite nicely. It's fast paced, mysterious, mostly unpredictable and fun. The characters have been sketched quite nicely and have room to be fleshed out, something Lost did so well, but they are still just sketches; not the fully drawn characters of HBO. Despite everyone looking so beautiful, a constant irritant in network TV, I don't particularly want to slap anyone I'm supposed to like. There is a minor worry in episode 5 where a character did something very out of character, but I'll hold judgement until I see where they take it.
So, if you're at home alone on Friday with nothing planned then check it out. It's nothing on The Wire or Treme, it's much better than Heroes or Flashforward ever were and it's not too far behind where Lost started out. It won't change your life, but it will hopefully keep you entertained.
Of course The Event is a network show and therefore a different beast to the HBO shows I've recommended, like The Wire, True Blood and Treme. HBO shows are filmed in complete, short (usually 10 or 12 episodes) series and aired in their entirety while the networks are filming while it airs; usually about 6 weeks ahead. This tends to mean network shows are easier to pick apart and can change as the series progresses, depending on the response. And as network shows are always fighting not to get cancelled (especially in their infancy) they need to do more to keep the viewer watching and therefore tend to have something big happen every week. When done right, in the likes of Lost and early series of 24, this makes great entertainment as long as you don't think too much about it. When done wrong it makes for some shoddy TV. For example, later series of 24 seemed like they were written in 4 episode blocks with a massive twist every time it got passed to the next group of writers leading to a series that bore no resemblance to the start within 8 hours; or every series of Heroes after the first where superpowers were turned on and off or characters turned from good to bad and vice verse on a weekly basis just to suit whatever was happening that week, nevermind what happened before.
After just 5 episodes I can't be sure that The Event won't turn into something balls in the future, but for now it's building quite nicely. It's fast paced, mysterious, mostly unpredictable and fun. The characters have been sketched quite nicely and have room to be fleshed out, something Lost did so well, but they are still just sketches; not the fully drawn characters of HBO. Despite everyone looking so beautiful, a constant irritant in network TV, I don't particularly want to slap anyone I'm supposed to like. There is a minor worry in episode 5 where a character did something very out of character, but I'll hold judgement until I see where they take it.
So, if you're at home alone on Friday with nothing planned then check it out. It's nothing on The Wire or Treme, it's much better than Heroes or Flashforward ever were and it's not too far behind where Lost started out. It won't change your life, but it will hopefully keep you entertained.
Monday, 11 October 2010
True Blood (HBO)
True Blood is the latest series from Alan Ball (writer of American Beauty and Six Feet Under), and based on Charmaine Harris's Sookie Sackhouse novels. It takes place in Bon Temps, Louisiana, now; only vampires are real and have "come out" after the creation of Tru Blood, a synthetic blood vampires can survive on.
The core of the series is Sookie Stackhouse (Anna Paquin), a naive waitress who can read people's thoughts, and her relationship with vampire Bill Comption (Stephen Moyer) . Surrounding them are Sam Merlotte who runs the local bar, is desperately in love with Sookie and has a secret (he turns into a dog. I'm not ruining anything, it's bloody obvious from about episode 3), Tara, a fiery young black woman who is Sookie's best friend, Jason Stackhouse, Sookie's incredibly dumb and horny brother, Eric Northman, a 1000 year old vampire and former viking, Jessica, a 17 year old girl Bill is forced to turn into a vampire and has to care for and LaFayette, a flambouyant gay cook and drug dealer.
Series 1
The excellent first series gradually introduces the world and the characters quite brilliantly through 3 central stories: Sookie, Bill and Sam's love triangle, a murderer killing "fangbangers" (women who sleep with vampires) and the dealing of V (vampire blood's a drug). It is all pulled off really well, gradually building a solid lore. It is also surprisingly funny with a rich sense of humour throughout. And there's plenty of sex and blood.
Series 2
The second series starts out fantastic with Anna Paquin tits and gets better. This time round we learn more about vampire culture with Sookie and Bill leaving Bon Temps with Eric to find his maker, Jason joins the religious right's anti-vampire movement/army while back in Bon Temps the mysterious Maryann (Michelle Forbes), who has a past with Sam, turns up and possesses the town. The first two stories come together nicely and come to a satisfactory conclusion with a couple of episodes to go allowing Sookie and Bill to return home and deal with Maryann.
Series 3
This time round werewolves are introduced into the mix and they don't really add anything. The main story this series concerns the vampire King of Mississippi's attempts to take over vampires. The King himself is a fantastic character, supreme fun and this story was really good, sadly this series has far too many uninteresting subplots: Sam finding his birth parents and brother, Tara being kidnapped by a vampire, Jason wanting to become a cop, Jessica and Hoyt's love story, LaFayette falling in love with a witch (surely being a bloke he should be a wizard). This series also makes a massive mistake in explaining what Sookie is.
The first 2 series are quite excellent. Most of the irritating vampire traits are kept in check and there's some fun ideas added. There is also a good balance between drama, comedy and horror. And, best of all, the characters are great, in particular LaFayette, especially in series 1, is great fun, Jason is an extremely likeable idiot and provides plenty of laughs and Tara has some great putdowns.
The third series is less good, but still entertaining. As I've already said, The Mississippi vampire king is brilliant and there's some fantastic gore, but it's beginning to lose the balance it held so well for two series. The homo-erotic subtext that runs throughout the first 2 becomes less a subtext and becomes overplayed. It also suffers from giving too many characters too much to do. All the major characters have their own story and they don't fit together. This means that the better stories (the vampire stories) are sidelined so we can get enough screentime to major characters in previous series that should be taking a back seat (Sam, Tara and Lafayette). It is also starting to get a bit too silly with the amount of "magical" creatures. We already had vampires, shape shifters, Sookie and Maryann in 2nd series. Now we have werewolves, witches and Sookie's power defined on top. All in a town that has a population of 2,600 (according to the town sheriff). All a bit too soap opera.
It may be on the decline this year, but all is not yet lost. And if it is, at least there was 2 excellent series. Well worth it if you can stomach sex, blood and vampires.
The core of the series is Sookie Stackhouse (Anna Paquin), a naive waitress who can read people's thoughts, and her relationship with vampire Bill Comption (Stephen Moyer) . Surrounding them are Sam Merlotte who runs the local bar, is desperately in love with Sookie and has a secret (he turns into a dog. I'm not ruining anything, it's bloody obvious from about episode 3), Tara, a fiery young black woman who is Sookie's best friend, Jason Stackhouse, Sookie's incredibly dumb and horny brother, Eric Northman, a 1000 year old vampire and former viking, Jessica, a 17 year old girl Bill is forced to turn into a vampire and has to care for and LaFayette, a flambouyant gay cook and drug dealer.
Series 1
The excellent first series gradually introduces the world and the characters quite brilliantly through 3 central stories: Sookie, Bill and Sam's love triangle, a murderer killing "fangbangers" (women who sleep with vampires) and the dealing of V (vampire blood's a drug). It is all pulled off really well, gradually building a solid lore. It is also surprisingly funny with a rich sense of humour throughout. And there's plenty of sex and blood.
Series 2
The second series starts out fantastic with Anna Paquin tits and gets better. This time round we learn more about vampire culture with Sookie and Bill leaving Bon Temps with Eric to find his maker, Jason joins the religious right's anti-vampire movement/army while back in Bon Temps the mysterious Maryann (Michelle Forbes), who has a past with Sam, turns up and possesses the town. The first two stories come together nicely and come to a satisfactory conclusion with a couple of episodes to go allowing Sookie and Bill to return home and deal with Maryann.
Series 3
This time round werewolves are introduced into the mix and they don't really add anything. The main story this series concerns the vampire King of Mississippi's attempts to take over vampires. The King himself is a fantastic character, supreme fun and this story was really good, sadly this series has far too many uninteresting subplots: Sam finding his birth parents and brother, Tara being kidnapped by a vampire, Jason wanting to become a cop, Jessica and Hoyt's love story, LaFayette falling in love with a witch (surely being a bloke he should be a wizard). This series also makes a massive mistake in explaining what Sookie is.
The first 2 series are quite excellent. Most of the irritating vampire traits are kept in check and there's some fun ideas added. There is also a good balance between drama, comedy and horror. And, best of all, the characters are great, in particular LaFayette, especially in series 1, is great fun, Jason is an extremely likeable idiot and provides plenty of laughs and Tara has some great putdowns.
The third series is less good, but still entertaining. As I've already said, The Mississippi vampire king is brilliant and there's some fantastic gore, but it's beginning to lose the balance it held so well for two series. The homo-erotic subtext that runs throughout the first 2 becomes less a subtext and becomes overplayed. It also suffers from giving too many characters too much to do. All the major characters have their own story and they don't fit together. This means that the better stories (the vampire stories) are sidelined so we can get enough screentime to major characters in previous series that should be taking a back seat (Sam, Tara and Lafayette). It is also starting to get a bit too silly with the amount of "magical" creatures. We already had vampires, shape shifters, Sookie and Maryann in 2nd series. Now we have werewolves, witches and Sookie's power defined on top. All in a town that has a population of 2,600 (according to the town sheriff). All a bit too soap opera.
It may be on the decline this year, but all is not yet lost. And if it is, at least there was 2 excellent series. Well worth it if you can stomach sex, blood and vampires.
Saturday, 25 September 2010
Lone Star (Fox)
The final new series I've tried this week is Lone Star. It stars James Wolk (a cheap TV version of George Clooney) as Bob Allen, a con man in love with two different women; his current and previous marks. He and his father are setting up a long con to steal from an oil company run by Bob's father in law, played by Jon Voigt.
There's a lot of potential in the concept: con man trying to juggle two lives, brother in-laws jealous about his progress in the company, a previous con catching up with him, the current con to take down an oil company. The execution does not match the potential. What should be a drawn out, character driven, drama is all just a bit too slick and shallow on a major network. Had this been an HBO show I think it would be much better. As it is it's all just a bit too glossy and simplistic leaving you struggling to give a shit about anyone. After all our hero is an adulterer who steals from people.
Disappointing, but still better than Undercovers. I doubt I'll bother anymore with either of those, but The Event was a success. I believe that might be starting on Channel 4 soon.
There's a lot of potential in the concept: con man trying to juggle two lives, brother in-laws jealous about his progress in the company, a previous con catching up with him, the current con to take down an oil company. The execution does not match the potential. What should be a drawn out, character driven, drama is all just a bit too slick and shallow on a major network. Had this been an HBO show I think it would be much better. As it is it's all just a bit too glossy and simplistic leaving you struggling to give a shit about anyone. After all our hero is an adulterer who steals from people.
Disappointing, but still better than Undercovers. I doubt I'll bother anymore with either of those, but The Event was a success. I believe that might be starting on Channel 4 soon.
Friday, 24 September 2010
Undercovers (NBC)
The second pilot I tried is co-created by JJ Abrams. He also directed the pilot. It is an action series about a married couple, the Blooms played by Gugu Mbatha Raw (from some angles she looks a bit like Beyonce) and Boris Kodjoe (who has a fascinatingly strange head), who run a catering company by day, but who also happen to be world class spies. Or at least they were 5 years ago before giving it all up to have a normal life.
Within 10 minutes they have decided to become super spies again and are off ona globe trotting mission to rescue an old friend and ex-boyfriend of the Blooms named Leo. JJ clearly wanted Seann William Scott to play Leo but couldn't so instead he cast someone else and directed him to explicitly mimic SWS poorly. The only other character of note introduced was a young, psychophantic version of Tom Arnold's character from True Lies. Oh, and the whiny sister who looks after the catering while the Blooms travel from the US to Madrid, Paris, Moscow and back in 2 days, all while tracking down Leo.
First I'll talk about what was good.
OK, that's enough of that, let's move onto what failed. Simply put, everything. It is doomed the moment we meet the Blooms. They have no charisma, no likablility and no chemistry. A show revolving around a couple can't succeed when the two actors are so bollocks. Yet somehow they aren't as bad as the Tom Arnold clone, an actor and character so unfunny an anal absess would be fun in comparison.
JJ Abrams tries to make it work by moving everything along at the speed of light so the next thing is happening before you get bored, but it fails so completely to engage the viewer you never get interested enough to even muster that.
The lead bloke's head is some kind of surrealist masterpiece though.
Within 10 minutes they have decided to become super spies again and are off ona globe trotting mission to rescue an old friend and ex-boyfriend of the Blooms named Leo. JJ clearly wanted Seann William Scott to play Leo but couldn't so instead he cast someone else and directed him to explicitly mimic SWS poorly. The only other character of note introduced was a young, psychophantic version of Tom Arnold's character from True Lies. Oh, and the whiny sister who looks after the catering while the Blooms travel from the US to Madrid, Paris, Moscow and back in 2 days, all while tracking down Leo.
First I'll talk about what was good.
OK, that's enough of that, let's move onto what failed. Simply put, everything. It is doomed the moment we meet the Blooms. They have no charisma, no likablility and no chemistry. A show revolving around a couple can't succeed when the two actors are so bollocks. Yet somehow they aren't as bad as the Tom Arnold clone, an actor and character so unfunny an anal absess would be fun in comparison.
JJ Abrams tries to make it work by moving everything along at the speed of light so the next thing is happening before you get bored, but it fails so completely to engage the viewer you never get interested enough to even muster that.
The lead bloke's head is some kind of surrealist masterpiece though.
Thursday, 23 September 2010
The Event (NBC)
It is the time of year where a host of new shows begin on US network TV, each vying to be the new Lost or 24 and not the new Flashforward.
The first of these that I thought sounded fun is The Event. It is being sold as a cross between Lost and 24, but that's not fair on it. It's much more the new Flashforward, but that's not fair on it either. The overall basic concept of a global event may be similar, but here the global event itself is shrouded in mystery and not just the causes of it. Plus this single episode is comfortably better than Flashforward ever got.
The fast paced pilot sets up a framework where we follow a character for a section of the episode (about 10 minutes each character) and cut between what is happening in the present and the past; similar to Lost's character centric episodes, but with multiple characters. This lends itself nicely to gradually revealing pieces of the puzzle. We are introduced to Sean Walker (Jason Ritter, son of John) who is hijacking a plane in the present while only a week earlier being on a romantic holiday with his girlfriend, government agent Simon Lee, the President and Michael Buchanan, father of Sean's girlfriend. Through these characters we see the hijacking of the plane in the present from a variety of angles and hints of conspiracies surrounding 97 secretly held prisoners referred to only as "them".
There was a lot of scope for mystery set up nicely and it was good to have an high paced action show not revolving around the bloody FBI for a change. Plus the final 2 minutes are truly "what the fuck". I will undoubtedly be giving this show at least a few more weeks, but it still has the potential to blow up in it's own face. Any show that deals with any kind of fictional global event and features the US President is in danger of becoming very stupid, very fast. Here's hoping this doesn't.
The first of these that I thought sounded fun is The Event. It is being sold as a cross between Lost and 24, but that's not fair on it. It's much more the new Flashforward, but that's not fair on it either. The overall basic concept of a global event may be similar, but here the global event itself is shrouded in mystery and not just the causes of it. Plus this single episode is comfortably better than Flashforward ever got.
The fast paced pilot sets up a framework where we follow a character for a section of the episode (about 10 minutes each character) and cut between what is happening in the present and the past; similar to Lost's character centric episodes, but with multiple characters. This lends itself nicely to gradually revealing pieces of the puzzle. We are introduced to Sean Walker (Jason Ritter, son of John) who is hijacking a plane in the present while only a week earlier being on a romantic holiday with his girlfriend, government agent Simon Lee, the President and Michael Buchanan, father of Sean's girlfriend. Through these characters we see the hijacking of the plane in the present from a variety of angles and hints of conspiracies surrounding 97 secretly held prisoners referred to only as "them".
There was a lot of scope for mystery set up nicely and it was good to have an high paced action show not revolving around the bloody FBI for a change. Plus the final 2 minutes are truly "what the fuck". I will undoubtedly be giving this show at least a few more weeks, but it still has the potential to blow up in it's own face. Any show that deals with any kind of fictional global event and features the US President is in danger of becoming very stupid, very fast. Here's hoping this doesn't.
Wednesday, 22 September 2010
Boardwalk Empire (HBO)
Boardwalk Empire is HBO's new big budget drama series created by former Sopranos writer Terence Winter and whose first episode is directed by Martin Scorsese. Yes, that Martin Scorsese! Set in Atlantic City, 1920, at the start of prohibition it is a sprawling, epic gangster drama that revolves around Nucky Johnson (Steve Buscemi);treasurer of Atlantic City and also the man running the illegal alcohol trade in the city. So, part politician, part gangster.
The majority of this first episode revolves around Nucky and his protege Jimmy Darmody (Michael Pitt) who's been under Nucky's wing since he was a kid who has just returned from WWI, and setting up his liquor deals with Chicago and New York. These two elements alone could probably sustain a pretty decent series, but there are hints at more.
Several characters that will surely become more prominent as the series progresses get barely any screen time. FBI agent Van Alden (Michael Shannon) is obviously going to be the face of law enforcement, but only gets a couple of scenes shadily watching people meet. Kelly McDonald (Trainspotting, No Country For Old Men) does very little as Margaret, a preganat woman who Nucky connects with. Stephen Graham (This is England's Compo) is a young Al Capone. Michael Stuhlbarg (A Serious Man) plays Arnold Rothstein, a very shady New York gangster who I guess will become Nucky's nemesis. And Omar Little himself (Michael Kenneth Williams) only gets one line as Chalky White.
In typical HBO style this is going to be a slow building series and is impossible to fully judge based solely on this opening, but it's a fairly perfect way to start. This really has the potential to be up there with the likes of The Wire, Deadwood, Galactica and Lost as one of the great TV dramas. But it could turn out to just be good and the added Scorsese elevates the opening. I've now got to decide whether to watch it week to week for just wait for it to completely air and then watch the series as a whole. That may depend on how good the other new shows this autumn are.
The majority of this first episode revolves around Nucky and his protege Jimmy Darmody (Michael Pitt) who's been under Nucky's wing since he was a kid who has just returned from WWI, and setting up his liquor deals with Chicago and New York. These two elements alone could probably sustain a pretty decent series, but there are hints at more.
Several characters that will surely become more prominent as the series progresses get barely any screen time. FBI agent Van Alden (Michael Shannon) is obviously going to be the face of law enforcement, but only gets a couple of scenes shadily watching people meet. Kelly McDonald (Trainspotting, No Country For Old Men) does very little as Margaret, a preganat woman who Nucky connects with. Stephen Graham (This is England's Compo) is a young Al Capone. Michael Stuhlbarg (A Serious Man) plays Arnold Rothstein, a very shady New York gangster who I guess will become Nucky's nemesis. And Omar Little himself (Michael Kenneth Williams) only gets one line as Chalky White.
In typical HBO style this is going to be a slow building series and is impossible to fully judge based solely on this opening, but it's a fairly perfect way to start. This really has the potential to be up there with the likes of The Wire, Deadwood, Galactica and Lost as one of the great TV dramas. But it could turn out to just be good and the added Scorsese elevates the opening. I've now got to decide whether to watch it week to week for just wait for it to completely air and then watch the series as a whole. That may depend on how good the other new shows this autumn are.
Saturday, 18 September 2010
Treme (HBO)
Treme is the new series from Wire mastermind David Simon. Set in the months following Hurricane Katrina it is another sprawling ensemble drama as much about the city and it's culture as it is the characters; although in true David Simon style they are wonderfully written, multi-dimensional people.
Our primary window into the world of New Orleans is through the music so several of the principal characters are musicians including young couple Sonny and Annie who make a living busking, rich kid DJ Davis McAlary (Steve Zahn) who constantly champions the "real New Orleans" but has refused to grow up, and Wire veterans Wendell Pierce (Bunk) and Clarke Peters (Freamon) as freelance trombonist Antoine Fontaine (strictly a cooked fish eating mother fucker) and Big Chief Albert Lambreaux; plus a plethora of supporting characters around them. Outside of the music culture we have the Janette Desautel (played by the marvellous Kim DIckens, Joanie Stubbs from Deadwood and Sawyer's ex in Lost) as a chef struggling to keep afloat and middle class married couple Toni Bernette (Melissa Leo) and Creighton Bernette (John Goodman), a lawyer and author. Goodman is quite fantastic as the angry voice of dissent throughout the show, his angry youtube tirades in particular.
Each of these characters, and those around them, are searching for meaning after the tragedy that has struck, but never is there any hint of schmaltz or any easy answers. This, like The Wire and Simon's other HBO show Generation Kill, never ties things up neatly or with any finality. While this series has it's story you wouldn't feel cheated if the show had been cancelled like, say, Deadwood. Thankfully it hasn't.
Along with the humour (this is comfortably SImon's funniest show), cracking dialogue and richly drawn characters every episode is filled out nicely with sustained music sequences. These will likely detract for anyone who doesn't like jazz, but every one shows us something new about the characters and the culture of the city.
The one element that sets The Wire apart from this (and everything else on TV ever) is that while this has its story, that story doesn't have a strong thread to draw you along whereas each series of the Wire had it's case (except, arguably, series 4). Therefore Treme is more like The Sopranos or Mad Men; great characters, no narrative thrust. I prefer this first series to any of the 3 series of The Sopranos I've dragged myself through or the half a series of Mad Men I've twice tried to watch mainly because the world and characters are far more expansive and interesting than either of those shows.
If you like intelligent, serious, adult drama (and jazz) I urge you to seek this out and watch it.
Our primary window into the world of New Orleans is through the music so several of the principal characters are musicians including young couple Sonny and Annie who make a living busking, rich kid DJ Davis McAlary (Steve Zahn) who constantly champions the "real New Orleans" but has refused to grow up, and Wire veterans Wendell Pierce (Bunk) and Clarke Peters (Freamon) as freelance trombonist Antoine Fontaine (strictly a cooked fish eating mother fucker) and Big Chief Albert Lambreaux; plus a plethora of supporting characters around them. Outside of the music culture we have the Janette Desautel (played by the marvellous Kim DIckens, Joanie Stubbs from Deadwood and Sawyer's ex in Lost) as a chef struggling to keep afloat and middle class married couple Toni Bernette (Melissa Leo) and Creighton Bernette (John Goodman), a lawyer and author. Goodman is quite fantastic as the angry voice of dissent throughout the show, his angry youtube tirades in particular.
Each of these characters, and those around them, are searching for meaning after the tragedy that has struck, but never is there any hint of schmaltz or any easy answers. This, like The Wire and Simon's other HBO show Generation Kill, never ties things up neatly or with any finality. While this series has it's story you wouldn't feel cheated if the show had been cancelled like, say, Deadwood. Thankfully it hasn't.
Along with the humour (this is comfortably SImon's funniest show), cracking dialogue and richly drawn characters every episode is filled out nicely with sustained music sequences. These will likely detract for anyone who doesn't like jazz, but every one shows us something new about the characters and the culture of the city.
The one element that sets The Wire apart from this (and everything else on TV ever) is that while this has its story, that story doesn't have a strong thread to draw you along whereas each series of the Wire had it's case (except, arguably, series 4). Therefore Treme is more like The Sopranos or Mad Men; great characters, no narrative thrust. I prefer this first series to any of the 3 series of The Sopranos I've dragged myself through or the half a series of Mad Men I've twice tried to watch mainly because the world and characters are far more expansive and interesting than either of those shows.
If you like intelligent, serious, adult drama (and jazz) I urge you to seek this out and watch it.
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