TV Shows on HBO,Showtime,etc
 

Hey all. Post sparingly but I have seen you guys talk every once in awhile about shows on HBO and Showtime. I just got pretty much every premium movie channel today and needed some recommendations. I also got the DVR which I am pumped for since I work at weird hours.

Anybody got any good shows I could be checking out? Is most of the stuff out of season? Any new shows coming out that look interesting?

Thanks for the recommendations guys.

On Showtime: The Brotherhood and Dexter are excellent
On HBO: 1% is due out eventually, but I'd just try and catch the Wire, which just had it's series finale this winter. Once you watch it you're hooked.

I unfortunately didn't get On Demand. I don't think I even looked for it. I should have. Maybe will investigate Time Warner a little further to see if they have it. I'm sure they do.

That is the one thing now that I might want to get anyways. I didn't even think that I would be joining most series on like season 3 or 4, and that might hinder my enjoyment of them.


Btw, is The Wire on quite a bit? I never got to see that and always heard amazing things about it.

I just finished the 2nd season from Netflix. Watch the Wire. Now. It's on the same level as the first two seasons of the Shield (assuming you've seen that).

There were five seasons. The first four are on DVD, not sure when five is out.

And yes, the Wire and Shield are basically 1 and 1 A as best shows ever in my opinion. A shame both will end up ending in the same year.

I'll 2nd Dexter on Showtime. Season 3 will be starting this fall. It's one of the best shows on TV.

I do not have Showtime, but I love Dexter and have watched the first two seasons thanks to Netflix. I'm also suddenly a big fan of "Weeds" on Showtime which I only started watching last week, but in that time have managed to watch the first three seasons of it.

My wife likes "Big Love" on HBO also and I have enjoyed the episodes of the Wire that I have seen so far.

On Showtime, Dexter is great and The Tudors is well worth a look.

On HBO, The Wire is amazing. Also look for Rome, Deadwood, Entourage and OZ.

YMMV but those are all winners in my book.

I love Rome and the Tudors. Deadwood I'm kind of meh on, Entourage I hate and Oz I have no opinion on.

Rome was awesome. Deadwood was awesome. Big Love is awesome. Tudors didn't really grab me or the wife...

I liked Tutors, waiting for season two to come out on DVD

If Pumpy Tudors didn't grab either of you, consider yourselves lucky. Or sad. Whichever.

Dexter is excellent and the it's the best show Showtime has. Season 2 was just as good as the first and I can't wait for Season 3.

Season 1 of Weeds was superb and it's gone down in quality since, but seasons 2 and 3 are still decent and so far I like Season 4.

The Tudors is ok, but a little too soap operaish. I've only seen Season 1.

Season 1 of Californication was very good. Duchovny's character is awesome. I'm not sure if they can keep it at a good level though with what happened in the finale.

If you get On Demand I think they have all of the episodes of Dexter and Californication on there so you could get caught up easily. Weeds you'd have to rent Seasons 1 and 2 and I'm not sure about The Tudors.

Weeds, Entourage and Curb Your Enthusiasm (more an acquired taste) are all good for light 30min comedies, although the first two have dropped in quality as the seasons went on. Californication has its proponents, but I didn't get sucked in as easily.

I'll 10th The Wire here, but I'd just rent it if possible. You don't necessarily need to start watching at the beginning of the series (most of the seasons are self-contained enough to be enjoyable) but it's infinitely better if you do. I never loved the other HBO dramas (Sopranos, Deadwood, Oz) but they all get good reviews. Generation Kill should be good.

I have less knowledge of the Showtime catalogue, but Dexter is fantastic with an American Psycho type of humor.

Showtime series that appeal to me: Dexter, Weeds, Californication
HBO: Entourage, Da Ali G Show

Weeds is a show I think has dropped off considerably in quality. I loved the first season, the 2nd was good, and from then on it's been mediocre at best in my opinion.

Dexter is a show that looks very good, but I've only seen a few episodes. I need to get back to that one.

The TV version of This American Life on Showtime is a very good show as well. It's not on the level of the radio version, but I've really enjoyed what I've seen. I don't know when more new episodes are scheduled.

I'm very excited for Generation Kill on HBO, that should be excellent. I think HBO is in a bit of a dry period right now, because their classics are all ending. I was a huge fan of The Wire, Six Feet Under, Rome, and Deadwood(which also got worse as it went). Entourage has worn a bit thin on me, but Ari is still pure gold.

We just watched disc 1 of season 3. Nancy really is a whiny tool, isn't she? I find myself having very little sympathy for her at this point.

+1 to Big Love on HBO. Great series.

Can't wait for Generation Kill. It's got Ziggy!

+1 for Dexter, Rome, and Big Love

You should also check out Six Feet Under, and Carnivale.... Carnivale is a little weird though :P

There is also some show that used to be on HBO called the Sopranos that some say might be worth a look. ;)

-Cork

Thanks for all the recommendations guys.

While I never had HBO I started watching the Sopranos before the last season started. I got so hooked I watched every episode up until the last season in 3 1/2 weeks. Then whenever it was on with the new season I would go to a friends house to watch it.

Does "Real Sex" count? Do they even still make that?

HBO is in a major transitional period. Many, if not most, of the HBO shows mentioned here so far are over or nearing the end of their run. (Hopefully Curb Your Enthusiasm has a couple of seasons left.)

The creator of Six Feet Under, Alan Ball (he also wrote American Beauty) has a new show coming out this fall called True Blood. I think it can best be summed up as a "quirky vampire drama" based on a series of mystery novels by Charlaine Harris. The premise is that the development of synthetic blood (true blood) allows vampires to become accepted members of society. Ball has a dark sense of humor, so I'm hoping it'll be pretty funny. The pilot actually leaked onto the internet recently, and I thought it was decent, though I guess they're reshooting a lot of it as they've recast one of the bigger roles.

Also somewhat Six Feet Under related, Rodrigo Garcia has a show called In Treatment staring Gabriel Byrne as a shrink. It's a half hour show following Byrne's character as he treats patients and also as he himself sees another psychiatrist. Season 1 was something like 40 episodes, so it's a pretty unique project. Garcia directed many episodes of Six Feet Under and Carnivale, and I liked his movies as well. I've only seen the first episode, but I'm hoping to get caught up at some point as I thought it looked promising.

I'm definitely looking forward to Generation Kill, too, but I'm not aware of what other shows HBO has on the horizon. I know they have the rights to George R.R. Martin's A song of Ice and Fire series, but that'd be way down the road if it does happen. Hopefully the Deadwood creator has something else in the works.

On showtime, the only thing I've stuck with was Dexter, and I thought season 2 was a bit of a step down from the first year. It did end on a strong note, so I'm really looking forward to season 3.

I gave up on Weeds early in season 3, though I loved the 1st season. I gave up on Tudors and Californication within a few episodes.

Ask bsak.

Yes, and the Bunny Ranch series is good as well.

He might have blown it with his stellar John from Cincinnati show. That show was just horrible which made it worse since Deadwood was ended because of it.

-Cork

I agree, but the show felt forced to me. Like it was trying to hard to become a hit like Deadwood.

-Cork

Anybody else watching True Blood. The ratings have been very good again thus far this season, so I'm assuming my wife and I aren't the only ones. Doesn't hurt that Sookie appears to have thrown her inhibitions to the wind concerning taking her clothes off. The gore has been pretty impressive as well.

Also, the new comedy series 'Hung' premieres this Sunday on HBO. It's about a guy that's, well, big 'down there'. Pretty funny preview on the website.........

HBO: Hung

I dropped HBO over a year ago or so. Shortly after "The Sopranos" ended. I didn't keep it because I watched "The Sopranos", but I just remember seeing the final episode.

I have all of "The Wire", "Deadwood" and "Rome" on DVD.

I never had Showtime.

If the George RR Martin series gets picked up, I may order HBO again. Either that, or I will just go over to my brother's or a friend's house to watch it.

My wife made me stop the movie I was watching on Sunday night so she wouldn't miss True Blood. She's been complaining for two days now that they left it at a cliffhanger.

Yeah, they didn't do a cliffhanger on the opening episode. This week's ending left you guessing. I say they survive.

*raises my hand* yes i watch true blood. and so does a buddy of mine and we actually had a discussion about the depth of the show the other day. i enjoy it - even without the toplessness (although that does help).

and hung looks pretty damn funny.

My wife loves True Blood (as well as the books it is based on) and we have watched it since it began. I'm enjoying this season more than last so far.

Seems like we're getting a lot deeper story even just through two episodes, does it not? All of the story lines seem like natural progressions. It's well done thus far.

thank god i'm not the only guy watching it.

I watched the first season of True Blood, and yes, it had it's moments as far as the storyline, but sometimes I just felt like they showed as much sex as possible just because _they could_.

While the main story-arc about the killer was always interesting, the love-story was poor and extremely trivial. Vampire stories are quickly becoming the new Harlequine-literature for a new generation.

About 5 minutes into the first episode I said something very similar. They were clearly making sure everybody knew this was an HBO show and they could show that.


We've been there for a while. Witness the whole Twilight thing, Moonlight, The Vampire Diaries, etc.

Dexter is IMO the best show on TV and nothing even comes close. I also love Entourage and I watch True Blood with the wife and really enjoy it.

Yeah..

Let me clarify though, I have nothing against Vampire-stories.. I consider some of the early Anne Rice stuff to be excellent reading, and yes, the whole vampire-setting is very erotic. But it can be done with more subtlety (is that a word?).

In True Blood, the Vampire-nation thingy is also poorly done, but it's something I would have wanted to see more of.

I would have wanted to see something closer to Vampire - The Masquerade, but when Aaron Spelling tried that in the early 90s it turned crap :).

From what I understand, the vampire nation stuff gets more fleshed out later in the book series. Hopefully that gets more attention in the upcoming True Blood stories. Also from what I understand (my wife read all the books), HBO has put much more of an edge onto the story than what was originally written.

It will probably be a long time before we get back to an Anne Rice style of vampire story. When the CW is starting a vampire series, you know we've gone fully into the tween/teen girl fantasy setting of vampires.

Dexter. I watched the first 20 minutes or so of the first episode the other night and I turned it off. Am I really missing something?

My wife tells me they are loosely following the books and that the vampire nation doesn't get fleshed out really well until the 3rd or 4th book. The entire 1st season covered the 1st book (although with many changes and additional material added for the TV show.) Oh yeah, she doesn't mind many of the changes but she really disliked that Merlotte's has a much better menu in the show than the books.


Yes. It's the best show on TV.

My wife watches Big Love -- I think it's okay.

We both watch Entourage -- I love it.

Last year I watched Sopranos during the summer from start to finish. Pretty sure it's the best TV show ever.

Watched Rome when it was on and I thought that too was extremely good.

I tried to watch Dexter last week during a free preview from DirectTV but I didn't know the characters, etc. and couldn't follow anything.

I saw Dexter Season 1 on Blu-Ray. I recommend it. Great series.

Dexter is brilliant. You have to watch more than the first 20 minutes. For all the Dexter fans, have you heard who the big guest star for next season is? I don't want to spoil anything so if you're interested it's on wikipedia under Season 4. Jimmy Smits was pretty good last season, but next season looks even better.

My wife said many of the same things except no mention of the menu. She also mentioned that there wasn't nearly as much sex in the books as on the show aside from Sookie and Bill who were apparently boinking quite often.

I don't mind the apparant need to include sex by HBO. I fell asleep in the last five minutes of the season premiere last week (kid and work had me worn down). I woke up in the credits. Wife says, "Did you miss that ending? You'll want to rewind and see that." I was treated to lots of boobs and lots of gore in the last five minutes.

Did I mention my wife knows what I like? :D

Every Week, on Entourage.

I think if you only give a show the first 20 minutes of the first episode there is a good chance you will be missing something.

Bump...



...it's not, after 3 episodes at least. I love HBO shows but it's kinda crazy how a show about a dude banging chicks could be so incredibly boring.

I like it. I think it should be an hour long though. The story moves way too slow in the 1/2 hour format.

I've seen all 3 episodes of Hung. I don't like any of the characters and haven't laughed once.

I honestly couldn't believe that the prior episode ended, and this one began, with him still looking for his GD wallet.

I think I've chuckled a couple times, really only cause Jane does a good job with the character.

I haven't seen the third episode yet, but I've certainly been less than impressed with the first two episodes...

The third episode is probably the worst. I think the biggest problem is that none of the characters exhibit recognizable human behavior.

Wherever they are going with this show, they are taking their sweet time getting there.

The main character's ex-wife and kids are too weird imo, plus I agree with you guys that it's moving slowly.

I've enjoyed the first two, missed last night but will catch on demand this week. I don't mind them taking their time getting where they want to be, as long as they get there eventually.....

I guess one of the other things it needs to probably do is decide if it wants to be funny or serious

Just started in on Dexter season 1 and it has lived up to the hype thus far. Fascinating, original, clever....damn fine entertainment.

I wish Kings was on HBO. That show would last 6 years, and continue to be awesome at every step.

I hear you on that. Could have made it more risque and violent. I loved how John Adams was done. Someone wrote an article for an entertainment site that said the ScyFy (whatever they call it now) Channel should pick it up. Would be a nice replacement for Battlestar and would have a nice, loyal following.

Watched a couple episodes of Hung and it sucks. HBO has really been dropping off the last few years.

Deadwood and Rome disagree.

HBO had the rights to this show but passed it to ABC but still makes money off it. Think it should be good.

The book was good so I'm hoping this will be as well.

I think HBO, while obviously without a Sopranos-size hit, has been doing alright for itself.

I'm a big fan of Big Love and Flight of the Conchords, Entourage doesn't seem to be slowing too much. This past year they've done both Generation:Kill and John Adams, both of which were excellent. Coming up, they've got the Band of Brothers sequel and Treme from the guys behind The Wire.

On that note, I haven't seen Hung, nor have I wanted to.

Saw a commercial for Flash Forward and thought it looked pretty good, and I don't watch anything on network TV these days outside of 24 and The Office.

The one difference I noticed was that it seems like in the TV show it's a 6 month gap while in the book it's 21 years.

I think you'd be surprised by how well True Blood is doing - the NYT had an article last week about how it is the first major hit that HBO has had in years - the ratings are easily as good as the last years of the Sopranos.

With ‘True Blood,’ HBO Revives Its Fortunes - NYTimes.com

"In the three episodes measured so far this, its second, season, “True Blood” has amassed viewer totals that any network, including broadcast networks, would be excited to own: 12.1 million, 10 million and 10.3 million. And HBO has attracted those viewers from an audience base about a third the size of fully distributed networks."

True Blood is doing well, but that statement is highly misleading. It's from HBO reporting "gross audience" for their shows, which combines all repeats, DVR, and On Demand. They actually get like 3.5 million on the episode's first airing.

It's not misleading, it's just the way they report ratings from their shows - in a comparison to another HBO show, like the Sopranos, it was fair.

Hmm. Saw the latest episode of Hung last night and, well, I like the show quite a bit and am also enjoying the pace.

I know I'm sort of on an island on this one. Well, me and my gigantic penis.

And the line I quoted was comparing those numbers to network shows.

Also, The Sopranos' was bringing in 7 million viewers (not gross audience) per episode at its lowest point. True Blood at its current peak is brings in half that.

I watched the first season of Eastbound and Down this weekend, it's the funniest show since Arrested Development. The show is about a former star pitcher whose career flamed out and now finds himself 37 years old, living with his brother's family, and teaching gym at his old middle school. It's pretty crude so it might not be for everyone but I loved it. A second season is coming next year but I have no idea what is coming after the end of the last episode.

I started a thread on that show a few months back. I only watched the first four episodes. That it got renewed is about the biggest shocker in HBO history. I thought it was painfully bad. Wow.

I only made it through 5 minutes of the first episode. It must have gotten better or something. It was pretty bad, the little I did see.

I'm with Big Fo, for the little that it's worth. It was dumb and obvious, but made me laugh multiple times each episode.

I thought Eastbound & Down was pretty funny. It wasn't revolutionary by any means, but compared to most of the garbage that's on TV, it wasn't bad.

well nothing like giving it a chance

That is pretty funny considering how much people here trash shows that I actually like. The one time I find a show that just is miserable in my opinon people give me grief? :)

Just not my type of humor. I'm not a fan of Larry the Cable guy or those type of things either. Just never found that stuff funny I guess!

People call me a racist, but that's just because I think America is better than all the other countries. That used to be called patriotism.

"Now listen here you beautiful bitch, I'm about to fuck you up with some truth."

"Gold might get you tickets to the Jonas Brothers, Black will get all three of them sucking your dick."

"Okay you stoic little bastard, in the computer room, little second drawer where I keep my weed, underneath the handgun, there's a stack of porn that will put callouses on those little hands of yours."

Cassie - Her name is Rose, named after Ms. Kate Winslet in the movie 'Titanic'.
Kenny - Y'all named your daughter after fucking 'Titanic'?
Dustin - Cassie's favorite movie.
Kenny - Wow, you gotta be shittin' me.
[points to Dustin's son]
What's his name, fuckin' Shrek?

Principal Cutler - There's something you need to know, Kenny. You're not the only athlete here at Jeff Davis. I happen to be training for a Triathlon right now. Doin' a lot of running, and cycling, swimming. Well you know all about that.
Kenny - No actually I don't. I do SPORTS. Not try to be the best at exercising.

Can't wait for the second season.

Yup, I gave it just about the same amount of episodes but couldn't continue...

Shocked by the whole Jemma-twist in "Hung." Dissapointed too...she was a character I really enjoyed.

TrueBlood continues to rock out and is one of my most-anticipated hours of TV of the week now (particularly with Burn Notice on hiatus).

Not sure if it was just me, but I pretty much called the whole "wtf is maryann" thing a few weeks back. I don't remember if they dropped a ton of clues, but it seemed somewhat obvious to me.

The whole Sookie/Eric thing is...very teasing when they start episodes with it.

SPOILER FROM BOOK JACKETS

I don't really follow Hung. My wife likes that show so we watch it, but I'm usually busy doing other things while it is on, so no idea what you mean on that twist. I'll have to ask her :)

True Blood I am starting to like more again. I really enjoyed season 1, but season 2 was kind of slow for me, but the last few episodes have drawn me back in again.

True Blood is awesome, my favorite show at the moment. I'm also enjoying Hung, though it took a few episodes to really draw me in...

LOL! But, I, personally, was sucked in by Episode 1. Loved "True Blood" (even bought the first book from the series). It's the thing I most miss when I gave up HBO this year.

didn't i see a promo for flash forward the other day? when does it start?

i've been debating checking the books out of the library and reading ahead, but i wonder if i'd be the only guy doing so. now knowing that i wouldn't be...maybe i will. :D

I've never been the type to fret if I was the only guy reading something. I have, after all, read the "Twilight" series (and wish I hadn't).

lol - oh i wouldn't fret either - just...safety in numbers

I watched the first 2 episodes of Hung last night. I'm not sure what I like about it, but I want to keep watching.

I finished the first season of Dexter this weekend too.



I'm kind of blah on the Maryann story in Trueblood. I wish there was more involving the vampire nation instead.

yeah - the maryann thing is annoying. i hope they figure a way to kill her this season and get rid of her.

i want more vamps!

I agree with this completely, it's just stupid.

Also, I don't want to come off sounding like the internet police but you may want to put the Dexter stuff in spoiler tags.

You're probably right. :D

For those that care or are interested in The Wire - I just got pinged that it is the Amazon Gold Box Deal of the Day:

I don't think I can pass this up...

You might be able to find it a little cheaper on eBay, I did a few months back- now they might be from China for all I now but so far all the discs have worked.