Rating the New Epics

Now that I have had a chance to view a few episodes of the April epics, I would give Camelot at C, The Borgias a B, and Game of Thrones an A. 

In the case of Starz' Camelot, the pining of young Arthur for Guinevere is already a little tiring when he should be building a kingdom. So far the show is more like a Dark Age version of Dawson's Creek.  I will continue to watch in the hopes that loftier goals appear on the horizon.  Merlin really needs to give the kid a good talking to.

Showtime's The Borgias is playing out as an interesting piece of history, though it reminds me a bit too much of The Tudors.  Both The Borgias and The Tudors begin with a murder in the Vatican,  display a tenuous grasp of historical events, and play a high-power actor in the role of a pope (Peter O'Toole as Pope Paul III in the case of The Tudors).  That said, I am enjoying the cast of characters, particularly the restless young Cesare Borgia, played by Francois Arnaud. 

I give the highest rating to HBO's Game of Thrones.  While I was not familiar with the story prior to the start of the series, I find myself immediately caught up in the trials and tribulations of the Stark family (see the New York Times for some good back story on the show).  The general tenor the show is pretty stark, no pun intended, since "Winter is Coming" and things are already pretty bleak within the kingdom in the summertime.  With suspected murder in the capitol city, Lord Stark may be the only one to prop up the king and restore some sense of stability.  I have started reading George R.R. Martin's Songs of Ice and Fire to learn a little more about the history of the kingdom, which has already provided with with insights that make my experience of the HBO program all the more enriching. 

Heather Havrilesky's article in the New York Times sums up the darkness of Games of Thrones: 

And then, of course, there is the looming threat of winter. Apparently seasons can last a decade in these parts, and winter will usher in around-the-clock darkness and invasions by the deadly creatures who live north of that aforementioned gigantic wall of ice. Even commoners in “Game of Thrones” tend to distinguish between people born during the summer and those who are old enough to recall the terrors of the last winter, echoing what was once said of Vietnam and World War II. With the dark season approaching, everyone in Westeros — even decadent King Baratheon — is growing more anxious and depressed about what the future might hold for them. 

All of which is very somber — and a little odd, when you think about it. Even with countless horrors on the way, wouldn’t there be at least one unshakable optimist in the bunch? Isn’t that how we, in the real world, get through life? Irrational optimism in the face of looming bleakness? Yet in this brand of fantasy, grim-faced nihilism isn’t just a default philosophy; it’s a foundational religion. 

The  situation of Lord Stark and his family may be less than hopeful, but I am optimistic that HBO has found itself a winner.  Season two has already been approved.

BBC's Coming Outcast

Later this summer BBC America will be showing a UK series Outcasts.  As the name suggests, the population on this planet occupy one of many locations for fleeing earthlings leaving behind a home planet at war.  The discovered planet's name, Carpathia, harkens back to the steamship that saved passengers on the sinking Titanic. 

 Hiding away in Forthaven, the colonists face plenty of intrigue as well as threats beyond the city walls.  The show is part Lost in Space and part Lost with its mystical story line and the "others."  It also has some of the bleakness and raw politics of the later Battlestar Galactica.

As a matter of fact, the first episode includes Jamie Bamber, from Battlestar Galactic fame, though he is soon replaced by Eric Mabius.  I was disappointed with the quick part played by Bamber, but Mabius quickly fills the lead role and shakes his image as the wimpy boss on Ugly Betty. The program also boasts other well-known actors, from Liam Cunningham to Hermione Norris.  The series was filmed in outside Cape Town, South Africa, creating a spectacular setting for the lonely planet.

Unfortunately, the UK audience did not take to the series early this year.  As a result, Outcasts has been canceled after its first season.  I recommend the show to sci-fi fans, but it seems the program should have been called Carpathia.  If you recall, some years after saving the Titanic passengers the Carpathia was destroyed by a German U-boat.  So much for the wages of good intentions.

Update:  The series starts on BBC America June 18, 2011.

April TV Shows

This has been quite a month for television.  It already feels like fall.  All I can say is set up your DVR and let it run, for in addition to a number of great epic stories (I did not add The Kennedys to that earlier list or this one - the jury is still out), here are a few more things to tune into to:

-- The Killing (April 3): This series already started a few weeks back, but luckily AMC likes to rerun a lot of its new series to generate interest (plus iTunes gave out the pilot episode for free).  Based on a Danish series that has already been copied by the Brits, this murder mystery is Twin Peaks all over again, but much better.  The first season covers the death of a young girl and how her murder transforms many other lives.  More than great acting, you will also find the show has some great camera work and amazing views of Seattle.  And the story should be compact, taking 13 days to solve over 13 episodes.  I was not expecting too much, but I am hooked.  The key scene for me was the reaction of the parents and their two sons when hearing of the young girl's death.  It was very chilling, raw, and real.

-- Happy Endings (April 13):  This ABC series has a comfortable, easy-going, updated feel to it - thinks Friends with a gay Joey (not a hard leap).  The quick dialog and likeable characters cause the 30 minutes float by quickly, leaving you with nothing greater than a feeling of "Thank God I don't have that life."  Maybe that's all you need at the end of the day.

-- The Paul Reiser Show (April 14):  The NBC show had an odd start where you are thinking "Is he really talking about himself as an actor, or acting like someone like himself?"  Then I began to think of Larry David's Curb Your Enthusiasm, until Larry David came into a scene playing himself (I think).  Yes, NBC has found its own Larry David show and the first episode actually worked.  I guess it is only fair that the network that brought us Seinfeld would use the creator of this last series to promote a new series, though it is more like the HBO's Curb Your Enthusiasm.  Too much?  Okay, just watch it and I think you will get it.

And this does not include the return of other shows, such as the terrific Friday Night Lights (April 15) on NBC, now in its last season.  I will certainly miss FNL.  However, with all of the new shows appearing this month and on the horizon, I am running out of hours in a day and DRV space.

Update:  The Killing will be coming back for a second season, notes TV Over Mind.  Happy Endings has been renewed for a second season, according to a May 13th posting in Deadline.  Paul Reiser spoke about the cancellation of his show on The Tonight Show.

Second Update:  An October 14th New York Times's story finally explains why I was confused with the start of Happy Endings.  For some dopey reason, ABC showed the episodes out of order.

At the outset, the deck seemed stacked against the cheery, slightly campy series. It wasn’t just that it was late to a party full of rivals. ABC also decided to broadcast episodes out of order: it didn’t consider the first and second installments funny enough. In the pilot Ms. Cuthbert’s character dumps her fiancé (Zachary Knighton) at the altar. The network felt that over the next two episodes that they and their pals — a married couple (Damon Wayans Jr. and Eliza Coupe) and two singles (Mr. Pally and Casey Wilson) — spent too much time coping with the breakup. 

“The network wanted viewers to be able to find the show at any point and still enjoy it,” said the series creator, David Caspe. “They had 13 episodes sitting in front of them and the luxury of saying, ‘Let’s lead with our funniest.’ But it was still a moment of huge trepidation for me.”

Sherlock: Worth Investigating

While I was late to the program, I have enjoyed the BBC's updated version of the adventures of Sherlock Holmes in Sherlock.  Broadcast late last year on PBS as three 90-minute Masterpiece episodes (and last summer on the BBC in the UK), it offers a fresh, modern day version of our sleuthing hero and his trusty sidekick, Dr. Watson.  I never read through the earlier detective stories, or any detective stories for that matter, so I guess I was looking for basically CSI:London (though Law & Order:UK is already available).  But I could not be more pleased with Holmes (Benedict Cumberbatch), an anti-social, obsessive, and brilliant man who I would not want to spend more than two minutes with in real life.  And yet his bickering friendship/relationship with Watson (Martin Freeman) is a perfect balance of effective investigating and continual annoyances.  You can catch episodes on iTunes and a second season is being prepared for later this year.

Jackie and Tara Return

If you haven't had a chance to see Jackie in Showtime's Nurse Jackie, or Tara in Showtime's United States of Tara, then you are missing two leading ladies who are completely messed up but truly love their families.  As you watch Jackie (Edie Falco), you learn about her multiple relationships all balanced with her self-medication.  With Tara (Toni Collette), you have multiple personalities, which seem to reappear even with proper medication.  Both both shows provide you with excellent acting, good story-lines, and a set of characters you worry about.  What could be better?  And both start their third season on March 28th.  So grab the family and watch these multiple shows.  Think of it as excellent medication for what ails the soul after a long hard day.  You will not be sorry you did.

More Epics Coming to TV

I have already noted that I am looking forward to the start of the new Starz series Camelot on April 1, and this is just one of many new epic shows coming to television.

On April 3rd, Showtime will premiere The Borgias, which will tell the tale of Italy's most famous Renaissance family.  And, as with Camelot, the series will not skimp on talent.  The story stars Jeremy Irons as Cardinal Rodrigo Borgia, who is striving for the papacy.  And of course we need to meet the papal family, for what is a pope without a mistress and children?  One of the sons, Juan, is played by David Oakes, who also played the slimy William Hamleigh in the Starz miniseries Pillars Of The Earth. Having enjoyed Showtime's Tudors, I am not expecting the most accurate historical portrayal, but I do expect a good story.

On April 17th the fun continues with HBO's Game of Thrones. Based on the first book in George R. R. Martin's series, A Song of Fire and Ice, it tells the story of a battle for a throne in the darkest of days. And it is only appropriate that the series stars Sean Bean, Boromir from the Lord of the Rings movies.  Here is a quick summary of the book itself from Publisher's week (we shall see how true the series is to the book):

In a world where the approaching winter will last four decades, kings and queens, knights and renegades struggle for control of a throne. Some fight with sword and mace, others with magic and poison. Beyond the Wall to the north, meanwhile, the Others are preparing their army of the dead to march south as the warmth of summer drains from the land...Although the romance of chivalry is central to the culture of the Seven Kingdoms, and tournaments, derring-do and handsome knights abound, these trappings merely give cover to dangerous men and women who will stop at nothing to achieve their goals. When Lord Stark of Winterfell, an honest man, comes south to act as the King's chief councilor, no amount of heroism or good intentions can keep the realm under control. It is fascinating to watch Martin's characters mature and grow, particularly Stark's children, who stand at the center of the book.

If you are looking for a particularly obsessive web-site dedicated to this new HBO production (containing a lot of interesting information and photos), check out winter-is-coming.net.

And to think that I mourned for the future of television at one point in time.  2011 promises to be a year filled with weighty, well-made productions.

Update:  The Borgias has been renewed for a second season, according to an April 26th posting by AOLTV.

Good Riddance, Charlie

I cannot say I am upset about the departure of Charlie Sheen.  His recent firing may have been a loss for the CBS network, but it is not a loss for television in general.  He stands to lose $43 million a year, and he is now counter-suing for $100 million, yet the show Two and a Half Men was never a very good show.  In fact, over its eight seasons it has been eclipsed by much better comedies, such as 30 Rock, Parks and Recreation, Modern Family, and the recent Raising Hope.  All of these new shows dropped the laugh track, used snappy writing, and showed more respect for the thinking public. 

And I am glad that Rob Lowe will be staying with Parks and Recreation rather than trying to fill in for Charlie Sheen (if you have not seen the third season of Parks and Recreation with Rob Lowe and Adam Scott, I recommend you tune in).  Let the show die.  American television has come a long way already, and the death of bad comedies should be cheered.  And don't worry about Charlie; like most American losers, he can turn this into another winning episode of his career.