Tag Archives: HBO

June 30, 2007 · 1:38 pm

The Leak: Emmy Top 10s for Drama and Comedy Series Hit the Web

Well, thanks to Tom O’Neill over at TheEnvelope.com, the Top 10 Drama and Comedy Series according to the popular voters of the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences have been revealed. These 10 shows will then screen an episode each in front of blue ribbon panels, and the Top 5 with the two processes combined will be nominated. If they didn’t make this list, they’re screwed.

Top 10 Drama Series

Boston Legal
Dexter
Friday Night Lights
Grey’s Anatomy
Heroes
House
Lost
Rome
The Sopranos
24

Biggest Surprise: I’m much happier about Friday Night Lights making it, but arguably Rome is the bigger surprise. The show had much less critical hype and aired such a short 2nd season that it was unexpected to get much attention. It appears that it got the period costume sex drama buzz as opposed to Showtime’s The Tudors.

Most Glaring Omission: Brothers & Sisters had good ratings, buzzworthy stars, but apparently voters didn’t feel the love. The aforementioned Tudors was also quite a shock considering how hard Showtime had pushed it, but Brothers & Sisters probably deserves one of those spots. And, even though it had no shot, Battlestar Galactica deserved better. Le sigh.

Network Breakdown: ABC leads with three series, while HBO, NBC and FOX all perform well with two a piece. Meanwhile, CBS is completely shut out while Showtime grabs the 10th spot.

Who Will Do Well: Lost and the Sopranos are riding the most buzz right now, and Grey’s and 24 both submitted strong episodes.

Who Won’t Do Well: Heroes, having submitted their pilot, will be EATEN ALIVE by these other shows. And Friday Night Lights, unfortunately, might have hit a roadblock against such tough competition. But it’s made it in, and that’s what matters.

Top 10 Comedy Series

Desperate Housewives
Entourage
Extras
My Name is Earl
The Office
Scrubs
Thirty Rock
Two and a Half Men
Ugly Betty
Weeds

Biggest Surprise: Eh, not much of one. We knew there were two spots up for grab, and it appears that voters liked British comedy (Extras) and American commercial success (Two and a Half Men) out of the remaining candidates.

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June 30, 2007 · 10:52 am

For Your Consideration: Comedy Series – “Entourage”

[As part of Cultural Learnings’ For Your Consideration Emmy Nominations Preview, the next two weeks will feature 7 Drama Series and 7 Comedy Series worthy of Emmy consideration. Check back daily for a different series, with drama and comedy alternating positions. For all of Cultural Learnings’ Emmy Coverage featuring Supporting and Lead Acting candidates, check out our For Your Consideration Index.]

Outstanding Comedy Series

Entourage (HBO)

The lure of Entourage is something that fans of the series actually have quite a time coming to an agreement on. On the one hand you have those who are watching for an inside look at the lives of Hollywood’s elite. Certainly, this can be seen in the expensive cars, extensive parties, and the general actions that Vince and his cohorts are seen doing within the show. However, there are others who view it less as some sort of Hollywood investigation and more as your standard dramedy. The irony is that while I value the latter more, it is the prior that has led to the show’s awards season popularity as a series. While Jeremy Piven has gained accolades and awards for his work as Ari Gold, the series itself has begun to make its move with Golden Globe and SAG nominations. This year could well be the one where it makes its move on the Oustanding Comedy Series Emmy, and it would perhaps be fitting. The series has developed into a dramedy with not only its Hollywood trappings but also a sense of character. And its third season is one that is worthy of Emmy consideration.

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June 18, 2007 · 8:00 am

How Weird is ‘John from Cincinnati’?: Episode Two Review

It’s the second episode of HBO’s John from Cincinnati, and Cultural Learnings has decided to see just how weird it can get. A series of scenes will be analyzed based on their weirdness, and then a final conclusion will be made. How long will this last? Well, until things get either too weird or not weird enough.

How Weird is John from Cincinnati?

Episode Two: “His Visit, Day Two”

Scene:

Young Woman from last week approaches Mitch about filming him for a surf video.

Weirdness Factor:

Mild. Only because this young twenty-something surf filmmaker is driving a vintage one-seated…Porsche, maybe? That’s not normal.

Scene:

John from Cincinnati continues acting strangely, sits down on the toilet and is somewhat unable to use the bathroom. And then we watch Butchie take a dump. And he talks about it. A dump a grown man can be proud of.

Weirdness Factor:

Strong. Did we really need to see them take a shit? Was that the only way they could show us that John doesn’t need to use the bathroom? Or that Butchie isn’t getting dope sick while he’s around him?

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June 17, 2007 · 10:43 pm

Entourage Season Premiere – “Welcome to the Jungle” Review

Season Four Premiere

“Welcome to the Jungle”

Airdate: June 17th, 2007

In a rare cold open for HBO’s Entourage, a documentary filmmaker covers the filming of Medellin, the biographical film about Pablo Escobar that Vince and Eric are producing in Colombia. Asked what attracted them to the film, Vince says that it was everything, Eric says it was the script, and director Billy Walsh says it was the blood. And the rest of the episode follows much in that pattern: everything is struggling, the script is in trouble, and the blood is pouring. Taking the form of a documentary on the making of the film (Turtle is there as Vince’s assistant, Drama stops by while his show is on hiatus, Ari offers his own opinions from his office), this season premiere picked up on last season’s drama regarding getting financing for the film. The episode was something different for the series, and did exactly what it needed to do. After building for so many episodes to this conclusion, to this film process, we need to be able to see it…but it needs to be done in an accelerated fashion. And, that is what “Welcome to the Jungle” is all about.

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June 11, 2007 · 9:00 am

Putting the WTF into HBO: ‘John from Cincinnati’ Review

So, the interwebs have been inundated with reviews of HBO’s new show, ‘John from Cincinnati’, that debuted tonight after The Sopranos Finale. Many lament that series creator David Milch exited Deadwood prematurely to helm this series about surfers. Others comment on how the language from his previous series is certainly back in full force. However, a majority of reviews have something in common: this is one screwed up show.

I was therefore heading into last night’s premiere with a certain perspective. On one hand I knew the series had a certain pedigree, and that some reviews were quite positive. On the other, however, was an underlying knowledge of how strange the series was purported to be. And, in the end, I find myself somewhere in between the two extremes presented: I think the series has some level of potential, but that its weirdness just seems that, weird. I don’t see any reason, any direction, within its premise. And yet, I want it to have direction and might follow it until it finds it.

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June 10, 2007 · 11:56 am

For Your Consideration: Supporting Actresses – Julie Benz and Perrey Reeves

[In Week Two of Cultural Learnings’ 59th Annual Emmy Awards Nominations Preview, we’re looking at possible contenders for the Supporting Actress awards in both drama and comedy. Today, we present our third set of candidates. For last week’s Supporting Actor candidates, and an index of all candidates, Click Here]

Supporting Actress in a Drama

Julie Benz (Rita)

Dexter

Showtime’s Dexter is a fascinating character study, a drama that blurs the line between procedural and serial while investigating more its characters than its crimes. At the centre of that conflict, no doubt, is Dexter Morgan himself, but I have to hope that Emmy voters will be able to realize how important the supporting cast is to this series. Each of them portray a similarly damaged individual, just in different ways: there are no characters without some level of emotional distress, and they deserve to be considered. However, the nature of this series is that there is limited room, and decisions must be made. As a result, we shall consider Julie Benz, who portrays the emotionally damaged Rita. Attacked by her husband, raising her kids on her own, her relationship with Dexter is one of the show’s most important elements. As Rita’s own insecurities begin to evaporate, Dexter’s resurface. Benz matches the fabulous Michael C. Hall scene for scene, and the result is a powerful supporting performance worthy of Emmy consideration.

From the show’s very first episode, Rita’s character was clear: Dexter dated her because she was afraid of intimacy, having been assaulted by her husband. Benz brought to Rita a sense of insecurity that felt just as it needed to. She loves Dexter because he’s great with the kids, dependable, and an all-around good guy. She knows nothing of his vigilante justice, and that is what makes her character so powerful: she reacts to Dexter purely as a human being. But Dexter isn’t human, he’s damaged, and Rita is just an extension of that in his mind. This creates a gap: she believes them to be in one place, when inevitably he believes them to be in another.

As they came together throughout the season, eventually reaching much better terms, Benz remained the consummate supporting actress. Rita needed to be someone we can see Dexter loving, who we could see loving Dexter, and who we could see as someone damaged and yet trying to fight back. Benz managed to create someone who could be loved by a murderer, who could love a man who for some time could not show love, and who could be damaged at her core but hide it from her children. When she breaks down, it seems like she is shedding layers that she will pile right back on as soon as the discussion is over. Not enough people have seen Benz’s performance, perhaps, but more people need to be made aware: Dexter was one of the best new shows of the season, and Julie Benz was an integral part of the series’ dynamic.

Episode Selection: “Truth Be Told” (Aired December 10th, 2006)

While Dexter’s finale ended the season-long Ice Truck Killer mystery, it didn’t have room for a resolution for Rita. As a result, Truth Be Told was really the final hurrah for Rita within the season. And, for the most part, the episode provided her with a lot of dramatic movement: faced with a druggie ex-husband being framed by Dexter (Quite excessively, too), she has to balance her new relationship, her old one, and being a parent amidst it all. Unfortunately, I can’t use YouTube to show you that performance, but just imagine that it was powerful and vulnerable. It’s a good choice because there’s a torrent of frustration: her anger with Dexter never turns into a full-fledged fight, but their relationship is different from their happier moments. For the sake of something, here is one of those happier moments.

YouTube – “Rita and Dexter”

Supporting Actress in a Comedy

Perrey Reeves (Mrs. Ari)

Entourage

Most television characters without a first name are unlikely to make a dent in our collective memories. Being known as “Mrs. Ari” in Entourage‘s credits certainly hasn’t given Perrey Reeves any sort of fame boost, and for the most part I would say that she’s a marginal player at best. However, and this is a big however, when she is on screen it is fabulous to watch. While Jeremy Piven rants away, giving Ari a sense of insanity and fortitude so very powerful, Reeves always matches him. Her responses are just as sharp-witted, just as biting, just as strong. She goes toe-to-toe with Ari in a way that often seems almost unnatural. We see so little of her life: we rarely see the kids, and we never see “Mrs. Ari” on her own. However, as a supporting player in the life of an overpowering character, she always manages to get a word in edgewise where so many others would not. And, for managing to do so without even a first name, Perrey Reeves deserves Emmy consideration.

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June 10, 2007 · 10:12 am

Confessions: Why I’ve Never Watched ‘The Sopranos’

Forgive me, television fans, for I have most certainly sinned. Here we are, on the eve of the series finale of ‘The Sopranos’, and I must admit to you all that I’ve never watched a single episode of the series in its entirety. So here I am, as an intrepid television blogger, forced to be woefully ignorant on what is likely to be one of the biggest series finales of the past few years. Part of me always worries that Tony Soprano will abduct me and I’ll end up like the corpses in the above photo.

In a perfect world, I would have watched the series. I should, then, be writing all about how I feel The Sopranos was as a whole, I should be writing a review of the finale…but I can’t. But, I feel like I should nonetheless spend some time reminiscing about The Sopranos, although in a slightly different way. As a result, I present the five reasons why I never got into The Sopranos.

5. I Am But a Youngin’

Yes: I was but 13 years old when the series first premiered, so let’s just say that it wasn’t exactly standard viewing for someone in that age group. At that young age, I was fascinated that CTV was eventually able to pick up the series and air it censorship free considering its content. My only memory of the series from this period was flipping onto CTV, finding strippers, and being very confused. (Not by strippers in general, but by them being on CTV at like 10:30 pm on a Sunday, just to be clear).

4. Canada, eh?

Living in Canada means that HBO isn’t standard, and The Movie Network was a bit slow on the uptake with the series’ first season. More importantly, however, I don’t think we actually got The Movie Network at that point. This made it somewhat difficult to follow the series even as I grew older and more into the show’s audience range.

3. The Ridiculously Overpriced DVDs

The Sopranos, it seems, is not a series that HBO wants people to get caught up on. While the earlier seasons are now down to $40 American, new sets remain at ludicrously high prices. Considering that the TV DVD craze hit when it did, HBO remains a highly priced brand that makes it nearly impossible to catch up on their series without breaking the bank.

2. The Timing of my TV Revolution

With University came a new obsession with television, and it also meant catching up with old series I hadn’t quite watched on a regular basis. However, The Sopranos happened to be decidedly on hiatus during my first year of university. At the very time I was opening my world to other series (Such as The Office (US), Arrested Development, etc.), The Sopranos was not on the cultural radar enough for me to consider it an option.

And the #1 Reason I’ve Never Watched the Sopranos is…

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June 3, 2007 · 11:11 pm

Reviewing the Finales: Entourage – “Adios Amigos”

It’s kind of hard to get excited about this, the 3rd Season Finale of HBO’s Entourage. No, it’s not really the quality of the show, it’s been fairly decent heading into it. No, the problem is that in just two weeks the show’s 4th Season begins. That’s right: only next week will be Entourage-free. As a result, one can’t help but feel that any cliffhangers will be somewhat less suspenseful knowing that in only two weeks we’ll get our conclusion. And, smartly, the episode didn’t end on a cliffhanger at all. Sure, there are multiple story threads sitting around waiting to be picked up that could cause some trouble, but they’re all left at that stage. With a Spanish-language version of “Hotel California” playing us out, we’re left wondering about the future of Medellín, about the future of Johnny’s series (and his finances) and in general the future of this entourage. And, well, I’m kind of happy that we’ll find out in just two weeks.

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June 2, 2007 · 10:48 am

For Your Consideration: Supporting Actors – Jeremy Piven and Michael Hogan

[In Week One of Cultural Learnings’ 59th Annual Emmy Awards Nominations Preview, we’re looking at possible contenders for the Supporting Actor awards in both comedy and drama. Today, we present our second set of candidates. For all candidates, Click Here]

Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy

Jeremy Piven (Ari Gold)

Entourage

HBO’s Entourage has been receiving attention from the Screen Actor’s Guild and the Golden Globes for the past two years, and it is about ready to break through in a big way in the series category at the Emmys this year. However, ahead of the show itself, Jeremy Piven won an Emmy in this category last year. While there is no question that the show as a whole has its merits, it is Piven’s performance that has often garnered the most attention, and for good reason.

Ari Gold is a high-powered Hollywood agent, but you wouldn’t know it from his behaviour. He’s crash, rude, vulgar, quick to anger, neurotic, and usually out of sorts for a variety of different reasons. All of these things could become overbearing, but Piven’s performance sells us on Ari’s inner sanity while still providing some hilarious and occasionally touching character moments.

And that is what makes Ari such a strong supporting player: despite being outside of the titular entourage, Ari is constantly a presence in their lives, and when the show cuts to Ari’s non-Vince related projects it’s actually a welcome break. He’s strong enough to sustain his own storylines, but plays a fantastic role within the core ones as well. He’s a strong foil, a brilliant performer, and without a doubt is going to garner his third straight nomination for this role.

Episode Selection: Manic Monday (Airdate:April 22nd, 2007)

While Entourage’s entire third season will be eligible, it is this episode from just a month ago that represents Ari’s finest moment. Asked to fire an agent, Ari is unable to pull the trigger (despite it being an experience he relished in the past). His therapist tells him that it’s because he’s still hung up over losing Vince as a client. Ari, still unable to get it out of his system, tracks down his therapist on her day off (on a golf course) and in the process gets his anger back and delivers a memorable firing to the agent in question. It is an arc that deals with his emotional connection with Vince, his more hilarious moments, and even his relationship with his wife. It’s over-the-top, but grounded. And it’s the best performance to win Jeremy Piven his Emmy.

YouTube: “Manic Monday”

Best Supporting Actor in a Drama

Michael Hogan (Col. Tigh)

Battlestar Galactica

While I am personally more fond of the performance of James Callis as Gaius Baltar, I cannot deny what PopWatch and others are saying: if there is ever a chance for Battlestar Galactica to get some attention, it might well be in Hogan’s performance as the alcoholic mess that Sol Tigh became on New Caprica after the occupation. Newly eyepatched after time spent in a Cylon prison, he emerged from that experience a broken man.

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April 9, 2007 · 3:40 pm

Cultural Catchup: April 2nd-9th

Okay, so there’s isn’t a whole lot I didn’t get a chance to comment on, but I figure I’ll fill in some gaps here.

24

Ahead of tonight’s episode, I am perhaps the least interested in the season thus far. To be honest, there just isn’t anything really interesting happening at this particular point. Sure, Fahed has been captured and Gredenko is off bleeding into the pacific, and President Palmer has launched a nuclear missile, but I just don’t care at this point. When 24’s president launches a nuclear bomb, I should at least care; in this case, I thought it was ridiculous but didn’t overly care about its intended target (Especially when, although it’s for good reason, it’s known as ‘Fahed’s country in the Middle East’). At this point, something needs to happen which totally changes the way we look at the series, or at least provides an interesting construct. Jack going from torture session to torture session is not, in my view, interesting television, no matter how hard Kiefer Sutherland tries. They need to get back on their feet, ASAP on this one…we’ll see how they manage this evening.

Lost

This week’s episode of Lost, “Left Behind,” was unfortunately recapless here at Cultural Learnings due to the two 3500 word papers due on Thursday. However, I did get a chance to watch the episode live, and I must say it was quite enjoyable. We didn’t get any major revelations (Although the Smoke Monster flashes now), but we did get a great setup for future episodes. Juliet being integrated into the castaways is a fantastic way to move forward, as it makes a romantic square out of Jack/Kate/Sawyer/Juliet that I think works well. Plus, by uniting some characters together for the first time I think there’s a chance for some new dynamics, and some interesting changes heading into the final portion of the show’s season. It’s picking up a whole ton of momentum at this stage, and I’m guessing it will do quite well with it. This week’s episode promises to bring Jack back to the beach for the first time all season, and I’m sure we’ll see some spark fly between he and Sawyer.

American Idol

Gina Glocksen going home was annoying, but none too surprising. The real question right now is whether or not we’re heading for our 2nd all-female final between Lakisha and Melinda. I think that Jordin is the most likely to get Tamyra’d or Hudson’d in this scenario, perhaps exiting before Blake, but those two seem relatively unstoppable. Only time will tell what happens to Sanjaya, but in all honesty I couldn’t really be bothered.

Survivor

While I’m certainly still watching, I’m not too perplexed with this season of Survivor at this stage. I think that the merge upcoming this week will shake things up fairly well, but there’s just nothing to really shock me in the meantime. That said, this past week’s episode featured the awesome archery/spear powers of Yao Man, who basically destroyed everyone else with his unorthodox style. It’s nice to see someone like him sticking around, and perhaps even moving into a position to get into the final four. However, I have to think that the old guy who everyone likes is going to be pretty well doomed in a final three situation. No one will take him into it, and he’s far too weak to last in an endurance challenge of strength. Still, if the challenge is suited to him, he could well end up the Survivor champion. That would be a breath of fresh air, in my book.

Entourage

The episode last night was fantastic, and I am officially already annoyed that I have to wait an entire week after watching the rest back-to-back-to-back-to…you get the idea. The breakup between Ari and Vince being handled like an actual breakup was absolutely fantastic, with Lloyd and Drama on either side to help establish the scenario in their respectively awesome ways. It’s so funny that Vince is finally at the centre of the show’s drama; so often Eric gets placed as the real centre of things, but in this episode he was the money and the occasional mouthpiece. Vince is really running the show right now, and as the end of the episode shows this was a rather terrible idea. One person who certainly thinks so is new agent Amanda, who is played by the ridiculously stunning Carla Gugino. Pitting Ari against a power-female isn’t anything new (They do it with Mrs. Ari all the time), but it works extremely well here, and I think the episode bodes well for the rest of the season.

The Amazing Race

It’s really too bad that last night’s episode was quite so anti-climactic, because it contained some potentially exciting elements. Just one flight can kill a team, and it doesn’t make for great television. It does, however, make picking a winner incredibly hard.However, I’m nonetheless officially going to put on my “Prediction” hat and perhaps jinx a few racers in the process. As a result, here is my predicted finish order for The Amazing Race: All Stars.

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