If you have HBO, watch Tom Hanks' new WWII miniseries "The Pacific" (and invite me over, please)
If HBO's new World War II miniseries "The Pacific" is half as entertaining, powerful or enthralling as 2001's "Band of Brothers" was and is, it'll be an instant hit.
"Band of Brothers," a 10-episode miniseries co-produced by Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg, is the premium cable channel's biggest DVD success to date. Based on the Stephen Ambrose book of the same name, it followed one company of soldiers (Easy Company of the 101st Airborne Division) through the European theater of World War II. Thanks to countless reruns on the History Channel -- reruns I almost always watch despite having seen the series through several times -- the miniseries has become the definitive visual centerpiece of World War II history. (Besides, it proved that New Kids on the Block alum Donnie Wahlberg actually had some acting chops).
"The Pacific" is a companion piece to "Band of Brothers" that focuses on the other major battlefront in World War II. Starting this Sunday on HBO, the 10-episode miniseries will track the stories of three Marines from the time they land on Guadalcanal to when they return to the States after V-J Day. Although the series does have the benefit of its predecessor's popularity, it also has the advantage of a $250 million budget and the advance of special effects in the last decade. But anyone who watched "Band of Brothers" can tell you -- it isn't the action that made it gripping television, it's the characters and the moments between firefights that solidified its status as the leader of the the World War II-movie/miniseries pantheon.
Reviews so far from critics give the miniseries high praise. Hal Boedeker of the Orlando Sentinel calls it a "stupendous miniseries that re-creates World War II with gut-wrenching power" and the San Francisco Chronicle's Tim Goodman says it "it offers a resounding yes to a nagging question: Do we really need another movie about World War II?" One of our favorite critics here at Channel Surfing, Alan Sepinwall, says although it isn't quite "the ripping adventure yarn "Band of Brothers" became at times," it's "more visceral and relentless, but as rewarding in its own way."
Even if war movies aren't your thing, any fan of serious drama who can afford HBO shouldn't pass up the opportunity to catch this epic miniseries (and, if you do have HBO, please invite me over). Here's the trailer for "The Pacific":
It's David Simon. Creator of "The Wire." Respect the title.
Because we haven't mentioned it on Channel Surfing before, "Treme" (Tra-MAY) is Simon's new HBO drama set against the unique New Orleans backdrop of second-line parades, brass bands and Mardi Gras Indians. According to NOLA.com (which has covered the series development extensively), the show is bringing with it "tens of millions of dollars in spending, dozens of jobs and national exposure for the city's music and culture." "Treme" will debut in April.
The series' first-season story begins several weeks after Hurricane Katrina and follows its characters -- based on real-life models Kermit Ruffins, Donald Harrison Jr. and Davis Rogan, among others -- at least through the first Mardi Gras after Katrina. Each subsequent season of the series advances the story one year further from the storm.
Cast members include John Goodman, Wendell Pierce (Bunk from "The Wire"), Clarke Peters (Lester Freamon from "The Wire"), Khandi Alexander ("The Corner") and Steve Zahn ("That Thing You Do!"). Elvis Costello is also said to have an early cameo.
At the National Press Club luncheon last year, Simon said of "Treme":
"It's not a crime show. It's about people trying to find their way home and reconstitute their lives in a city that was very ill-treated in the wake of the storm, and I don't just mean the immediate wake, but in all the years that have followed. The national response to what has gone on in New Orleans is an embarrassment."
Boy, I wish I could afford HBO again ...
-- Thomas Rozwadowski, trozwado@greenbaypressgazette.com
Season Two of HBO's hit show, "Flight of the Conchords" is now available on DVD. Wahoo!
Now's your chance to own a copy of the second, and most likely, last season of the kiwi duo. With Jemaine, Bret and Murray, plus Dave and Mel, of course, Season Two was a great follow up to the band's inception in Season One. Though the band admitted struggling to come up with storylines and corresponding songs -- leading to the final season rumors -- Season Two still managed to delight a growing audience and keep the fans tuning in every Sunday night.
Classic tunes from the second season include "Too Many (Dingles) on the Dance Floor," "Rejected," "Friends" and "Hurt Feelings."
Sure wasn’t Kenny Powers. Kenny Powers, played by "Pineapple Express" funnyman Danny McBride, says the Jheri curl is, um, freaking IN. Current, updated looks? Freaking OUT.
And as viewers of the highly anticipated, new HBO series “Eastbound and Down” know, Kenny Powers don’t take no, er, crap from no one. Not about his Jheri curl, not about his excessive drinking habits, not about his lack of self-respect or even his inappropriate behavior in front of small children. (Sidenote: This post will be difficult to keep clean, while still attempting to bring out Kenny Powers-likeness.)
The life of Kenny Powers is pretty simple — even a bit clichéd. He’s your typical ego-charged, ‘roids fueled washed up athlete. About a decade ago, Kenny Powers was the man. Coming off a World Series win — thanks to some brilliant pitching — Powers and his F-bomb dropping catch phrase were on top of the sports world. With no public relations guru to help him sort what to say from what not to say and clearly, no self-censoring, it was only a matter of time that Kenny Powers was on the fast track to Loserville.
Now, several years later yet still Jheri-curling it up, Kenny Powers is back in his hometown living with his super-skinny brother and his brother’s family — a church, um, lady, two young boys and a little girl. To try to keep the feds away from his "goods," Kenny decides it’s about time he got a respectable job. Also known as substitute gym teacher.
It’s not known how he’s possibly qualified — he allegedly began pitching for the pros at 19 and never received any collegiate education. Nor how anyone would let him be around children with his foul mouth and efforts to lure kids to target one poor student as a victim of ridicule and teasing. Kenny somehow lands a spot as the newest member of the faculty at the local elementary school.
The show is funny, no doubt. But it’s also very typical Danny McBride. If you ever saw “Foot Fist Way,” it’s basically an exact clone of his character — swearing in front of children, chasing tail and not taking no crap from anybody. This time the children are his students, the tail is his former ex-girlfriend from high school and the no crap from anybody comes in the form of the elementary school principal, who idolizes the ground Mr. Powers dances upon in cowboy boots to bad ‘80s music.
The pilot has set up the plot to revolve around Kenny’s return to greatness, in the form of excessive binge drinking and money grabbing from just about any sell-out efforts that are left.
And what’s a series without a little love triangle? This time it involves Powers, the ex-girlfriend lovingly referred to as Miss Big Canons, aka: Miss Buchanan and the geeky principal, who’s oddly engaged to Miss Big Canons, I mean, Miss Buchanan.
Overall, I’d say the series has potential. So far, so good. But with the same jokes and the heavy emphasis and reliance on comedy based on swearing, drugs and HBO’s ability to show the fun bags, who knows if that comedy will last the test of time. I’ll admit, by the end of the episode, I still wanted more but if you’re talking an entire series of this, I can’t see it being funny for more than three episodes. The beauty of this comedy is the impact and the punch. After a while, it’ll become too commonplace and then you’ve killed all your funny.
Executive producer Will Ferrell has signed on to cameo in next week’s episode and with that bleach blonde hair, I’d say we’re in for at least one more episode of greatness. HBO giants have only ordered six episodes of “Eastbound and Down,” however, so maybe even they know once Ferrell is gone, so is the comedy.
Catch “Eastbound and Down” Sundays on HBO at 9:30 p.m. right after “Flight of the Conchords.”
Just when you thought your only option was to suffer through an endless amount of crappy holiday specials and made-for-TV movies ... "Flight of the Conchords" has returned, just in time for the holidays! OK, just the one episode, but it's good enough that you can watch it over and over until the real season begins Jan. 18.
The epic return of the HBO hit premiered on Funny or Die! Wednesday and we, the Channel Surfing bloggers, found it only appropriate to recap our favorite moments via an official band meeting. Enjoy.
Sara: OK ... band meeting.
Malavika? ... "Check, minus one right foot shoe." Thomas? ... "Present." And Sara ... "Yes, present thank you ... I'm always here anyway, I don't know why I bother with my line."
Item one: Premiere reactions A.) Reactions to the premiere
Sara: Wow. What a return. Everything and more. There was quite a bit of pressure on the line for this premiere, but I thought it was most excellent. All the characters were at their best, but I do have to give the nod to Murray -- best. performance. ever. Also, I think we're in for a treat this season -- it looks like with the success of the first season plus the added fund-age from the world tour, the Conchords may be dealing with a bigger budget. I mean, enough money for fake Grammy awards (Best Management, priceless) AND giant toothpaste costumes? Seems like our Kiwi duo is finally able to bask in their greatness.
Malavika: I'm not sure if it's because it's been so freaking long since our favorite non-Hobbit New Zealanders graced the screen, but I was inspired to make a plain white T-shirt with "Flight of the Conchords" written in small letters after watching the episode last night. Between Murray's downfall and subsequent return to the consulate, the female-oriented toothpaste ad and the immigration-related hilarity that ensues when it turns out our dynamic duo don't have work permits, I'm confident season two will improve on the first. Props to the folks at funnyordie.com for bringing us the first episode a month before it airs.
Thomas: I've been super down on TV this year, so I reaaaaaaaalllly needed this to deliver. And a Murray-centric episode was the only way to go. His return to the consulate with only three messages, one of which was a wrong number ... bloody brilliant. Though the in-episode songs were kept to a minimum, his operatic turn on the balcony was side-splitting. The DVD and album release led me to watch Season One over and over again, and I thought the second half of the season was much funnier with repeat viewings. This premiere was rock solid from the get-go. It was just the TV boost I needed heading into the new year. Also, I had no idea Polish "cover bands" were so skilled with the keytar.
Item two: Best moments A.) Moments that were best
Sara: Murray: "Actually there's another item on this agenda, that I missed out. Item four: Stuff you. Stuff you, Bret and stuff you again, Jemaine." ... "Why did I get double stuffed?"
Mel: "Why did you come, Doug, if you didn't want to light a fire?!"
Also, when Jemaine attempted to double it ... "it" being nothing.
Malavika: Bret: "I've got your doll... now I just need some of your hair."
Dave: "Did you know that the word Dave actually means deal in Latino?"
Agent: "I know you're from New Zealand ... what is this, "Lord of the Rings?" We don't have all day!"
Thomas: Jemaine: "My dad was a women's rights activist." Bret: "What about your mum?" Jemaine: "No, dad wouldn't allow it."
Murray: "I've probably been ostracized now. I'm persona non regatta. You know what that means?" Jemaine: "You're not at a ... yacht race?"
It was all about Murray, though. 1) How he had to move his car every three hours to avoid getting harassed by police and 2) How his "behind the scenes" work was not only unappreciated, but it led to made up words (was it 'hengling?'). Also, I loved Greg Proops' turn as the Femident agent. "He already doubled it in his mind."
Item three: President-elect Barack Obama will appear on Channel Surfing Sara: Oh wait, sorry, wrong agenda. "What a mess."
Item four: The jingle
Sara: Which do you prefer?
The first rough draft ... “Some women like men, some are lesbian … Femident Toothpaste.”
or the final version ... “You are a woman, you're a woman well. You have breasts and longish hair. Oh yeah. You’re kind of fun everywhere yet you’re still very rare. Oh yeah. You’re a woman and you love to weave. You’re a woman; you have woman’s needs. I know you have woman’s rights, you’re a woman with teeth, now take a bite. Oh Femident Toothpaste, yeah, for your feminine dental care, oh yeah. Oh Femident Toothpaste, Femident, Femident … Femidennnnnt.”
Band meeting finished ... forever!
Just in case you haven't seen it -- check the full episode out here.
In the true spirit of Thanksgiving, I could not be more thankful that, finally, HBO is advertising the return of the Kiwi-hit "Flight of the Conchords."
Bret, Jemaine, Mel and Murray are headed our way in January. By the looks of the previews and promos, I'd bet that long-awaited vacation from television will produce a spectacular season two. Plus, after seeing the live show, I'm just itching to see how they use the brilliant new songs in actual plotlines.
Oh yeah, and let's pray that Jemaine keeps that sweeeeet mustache for season numero dos.
Check "Flight of the Conchords" out on HBO next year.
Green Bay Packers training camp opened today, and having spent a few hours mingling among the fans for a series of stories this weekend, it's always nice to experience one of those rare times when visitors arrive in town, mouths wide open, and our little city is put on the map.
The only reason that little anecdote seems to fit on this blog today is that I realized the opening of NFL training camp also marks the return of one of my favorite programs, HBO's "Hard Knocks." The documentary series is produced by NFL Films, and having been riveted last season by -- of all teams, the boring-ass Kansas City Chiefs -- I can tell you that being a football fan isn't a requirement for getting sucked into the low-key, but highly engaging drama.
The series, as you'd guess, focuses heavily on football, but it also pinpoints several human interest stories that easily captivate. Last season, there was a lot of humor found in rookie defensive linemen Tank Tyler and Turk McBride, though my favorite storyline followed free agent receiver Bobby Sippio, who you couldn't help but root for as he went from camp longshot to hard working fan favorite.
Access, of course, is key. You can watch training camp as a fan or read daily reports in the Press-Gazette. But it's pretty cool to get a (mostly) unfiltered look at what the players, coaches and families go through during the arduous preseason -- which for unknown players is a desperate shot at employment. The best episodes are always right before cutdown day. That's when you get the real sense of competition in camp, and finally, when the axe drops, see how difficult it really is for both sides -- team and player -- to deal with.
While last season was short on any major drama -- Larry Johnson's holdout and the Brodie Croyle-Damon Huard quarterback battle both kinda fizzled -- this year, the series is returning to Dallas Cowboys camp.
And talk about storylines. Perhaps the Favre-less Packers are the only other team with as much fodder for ESPN.com. Let's see, there's Burlington native Tony Romo and his heartthrob status thanks to the always-annoying Jessica Simpson, Terrell Owens and his larger-than-life persona, in-your-face owner Jerry Jones constantly mugging for the cameras, and finally the biggest question mark of all, Adam "Don't Call Me Pac-Man" Jones trying to reclaim his career after flushing it down the toilet while "making it rain."
"It's fair to say this thing should go through the roof," HBO Sports president Ross Greenburg told the Associated Press, while also cautioning in this fine article that despite the Cowboys' star power, only players who "earn" screen time with captivating stories will get it.
The series (check out a promo here) premieres Aug. 6 at 9 p.m. CST.
Even if you aren't into football, give it a chance. As a documentary series, it really pulls you into the world of pro football while admirably showing the human side. Or maybe with all the money these guys make, you don't want to acknowledge that they're actually people, too ...
Nope. The sweetest words in the English language are "From the creators of 'The Wire,'" and the tagline comes just in time as summer TV continues to dig itself into a deeper and deeper hole of unforgiving blackness.
Starting Sunday, HBO is airing "Generation Kill," a seven-part mini-series that "documents the profane, and sometimes profound, experiences of an elite Marine reconnaissance battalion leading the 2003 invasion of Iraq." David Simon and Ed Burns -- who teamed up on the greatest show in the history of mankind, "The Wire" -- reunite for "Kill," which is adapted from the prizewinning book by Evan Wright, a contributing editor at Rolling Stone who was embedded with Bravo Company for the duration of the assault.
Reviews seem to indicate it'll be very "Full Metal Jacket"-ish and open a window into the war experience beyond just intense battle scenes. Not surprising when you consider Simon's M.O. is to deal with subtlety, nuance and slow character development that leads to explosive, unexpected payoffs.
The New York Times writes, "The main people in “Generation Kill” are numerous and hard to distinguish, and even the most basic story lines are blurry and difficult to follow. It’s as if the creators wanted to resist any comparison to HBO’s classic World War II series “Band of Brothers,” by Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks. That could stem from a desire to stake out a different kind of wartime storytelling. But it is also a way to avoid condoning or romanticizing a war that most Americans no longer view as necessary, or even wise.
"Yet no matter how flat or diffuse its affect, “Generation Kill” is at its best a tale of battle-forged camaraderie, a “Band of Brothers” set not at Agincourt or Normandy, but Iraq in 2003.
"Mr. Wright’s opening conceit in the book, and it is an understandable one, is that these highly trained troops, raised on hip-hop, video games and “South Park,” are somehow a different species from the men who fought in World War II and even Vietnam. He describes them as the disenfranchised orphans of a post-Monicagate society, a generation desensitized to violence, captive to pop culture and more disaffected from authority. “Culturally, these marines would be virtually unrecognizable to their forebears in the ‘Greatest Generation,’ ” Mr. Wright wrote in his prologue.
"It’s a different war, but warriors don’t change that much from one conflict to the next. The men who fought at Guadalcanal and the Battle of the Bulge would probably feel right at home."
The Kansas City Star writes, "the result is almost uncannily the same in “Generation Kill” as it was in “The Wire.” Once again, Simon and his producing partner, Ed Burns, plunge us deeply into the culture of foul-mouthed men, many of them barely out of their teens, who have ready access to firearms and agendas that have little to do with the American dream you and I understood it growing up. And, as before, you can't stop watching it.
"The drama centers on the dozen or so men Wright rode into Iraq with. They are among the most extreme Marines at the disposal of the U.S. These men (they are all men) are trained to run for miles in the desert with 150-pound packs, then jump in the ocean with full packs and swim a few more miles. They are eternally bulking up and beating up on each other, even playing psy-ops mind games on each other (think ethnic slurs on steroids), in an never-ending effort to remain tough and ready for anything. They are what you get when you spend a million dollars training one man to kill. They are, as one of the First Recon puts it, what you get when you breed a pit bull to fight. They cannot wait to get off the leash."
It isn't light summer programming, that's for sure.
If you were to ask MJ or myself what we love about HBO's "The Wire," you'd probably regret your decision soon after considering how we'd ramble incessantly about favorite scenes, characters and lines before FINALLY hammering home the show's importance as a cultural document -- one that chronicles the sad and gritty realism of urban decay in modern-day Baltimore.
Season Four -- perhaps "The Wire's" best season, or at least 1b to the epic Season Three -- tackles the plight of inner city schools as a means of showing a starting point for the dead end street life. Turning the show over to four young, unproven actors was a risky venture for David Simon and Co., but ultimately it provided a necessary plot arc that revealed how the Avon's and Bodie's of the world are forced to fend for themselves due to a lack of resources -- something Season Five later tackles in cyclical fashion by following the fragmented unit of Namond, Randy, Michael and Dukie after their lives take divergent paths due to the destructive influences around them.
But while "The Wire" reaches into your soul like no other TV show before, it's ultimately just that -- a TV show. Tristan Wilds, who plays too-old-for-his-own-good Michael Lee, is set to star in the new "90210" spin-off. A few supporting actors have popped up in random commercials, causing a double take on my end. Heck, I wouldn't be surprised if Omar shows up next to Charlie Sheen on a bland CBS sitcom soon enough. They've moved on, so should we, right?
Enter the HBO documentary "Hard Times at Douglass High: A No Child Left Behind Report Card." I wasn't aware the doc would be airing this week, so I was pleasantly surprised to be flipping through the channels late last night -- past scenes of bombed-out rowhouses that were all too familiar from my time watching "The Wire." Except this wasn't scene setting for the latest Omar stash house robbery. This was actually someone's dilapidated home in Baltimore. And Frederick Douglass High is the oldest African-American high school in the country -- one filled with students who act like Michael and Namond, talk like Snoop and Marlo, and struggle to find their footing like Dukie and Wallace.
As the harsh images stew in my brain today, it was almost too hard to watch. Too real, I guess.
In one scene, a fight breaks out in the hallway between a boy and five to six girls -- the vicious, out-of-nowhere blows resembling a full-on boxing match with no regard for gender or safety. When a fresh-out-of-college Spanish teacher tries to get a struggling student to come to class on consecutive days, the boy can barely lift his head from the desk before saying, "Just pass me for doing nothing" while blankly staring ahead. A once-promising English teacher quits his third year in, saying, "The year that I stopped seeing progress in kids is the year I stopped finding the little joys" before packing two boxes and searching for a new career due to the overwhelming need for discipline before education.
Not all the footage is depressing. Yet much like the hard-knock life of those portrayed in the documentary, the "small moments" radiating through the TV screen hardly seem like enough to get by on. Still, the scene where a bright, wide-eyed senior boy named Jordan takes first place in the Urban Debate League -- Namond, anyone? -- will absolutely move you to tears.
The young man is so effervescent, so filled with hope and promise. With a straight face, he talks about how "it's just life" to be raised by a single mother; his father leaving at age 2, never to come back into the fold. In fact, all the students interviewed never use their broken homes as an excuse, many repeatedly uttering the mantra, "It's that way for all of us here" without batting an eye.
When Jordan's name is called as the first place winner during a Saturday competition, he clutches his trophy as though it'll forever be grafted to his body -- a sign that he accomplished something great, that he might finally become "someone" in life. It offers a real moment of reflection, that winning a debate trophy or graduating high school isn't just a phase or stepping stone that inner city African Americans move past quickly. It's something they truly own because of how difficult it is to reach those heights.
As "The Wire" hammered home in Season Four, the primary complaint about the No Child Left Behind mandate is that it forces schools to "teach to the test" in order to stay off the state's blacklist. That the test is issued at 10th grade levels when the majority of the Douglass student population can't read any better than the average 4th grader would seem to indicate that the system is irreparably broken. It's a daily struggle that Douglass students and administration have to ignore -- a lack of adequate textbooks, unqualified substitute teachers filling the majority of staff positions, the dearth of positive parental influence and support. One by one the obstacles keep piling. As you'd expect, the apathy from students is palpable. After all, why would any of these kids care to hear about logarithms in a geometry class or read Macbeth when it's so far from the reality of "just surviving" that guides their lives in broken homes and drug-addled streets?
While veteran documentarians Alan and Susan Raymond don't spend a great deal of time pontificating about the fairness of No Child Left Behind -- the doc really isn't the least bit politically motivated -- it's obvious that David Simon's "Two America's" isn't just a premise that makes for groundbreaking, scripted TV.
"Hard Times" has unbelievable heart -- more than could ever be adequately described here. You need to see the faces. Hear the stories. Above all though, it proves that if the public-at-large wasn't ready for "The Wire," they definitely aren't ready for the real thing. It'd be worth getting angry about if the sadness wasn't so overwhelming,
"Hard Times" re-airs multiple times on HBO throughout June and July, including tonight at 8 p.m. Also, to read the Baltimore Sun's extensive coverage, go here, here, and here. Or watch the YouTube clip below.
You know you've crossed a line when the two guys on stage shush you and call you frightening. Or at least you should.
Apparently the message was lost on a few of the asylum escapees who snagged tickets to see the lovable New Zealanders of Flight of the Conchords at the Riverside Theatre in Milwaukee Sunday night. Bret and Jemaine were good sports about it, proving their skills as improv stars when they somehow turned the "Take off your shirt" scream from Drunk Girl in Row U on the second balcony into a hilarious bit (for the record, DGIRU, it's "Je-maine" not "Ger-maine." He's not a Jackson Five, moron!)
The pervasive heckling didn't stop bloggers Sara Boyd and Malavika Jagannathan from enjoying their telescopic view of the digi-pop duo from the sixteenth balcony, but it definitely ruined the mood. We recap the show's awesome set list, try to put an end to hecklers for good and give our take on the sold out performance. (We saw fellow blogger Thomas Rozwadowski on our trek up Kilimanjaro - hope he enjoyed his first-floor vantage point. Not really, though.)
Malavika: Sara, do you think the show was ruined by the hecklers?
Sara: First of all, I must preface this with the fact that Jemaine and Bret put on a hell of a show. A double encore?! Are you mad? Also, Arj Barker, who plays the sweet character Dave on the HBO hit, opened the show with some witty and impressive stand-up. Good one Dave! Oh, you're a legend Dave!
Keep in mind, the show was fantabulous, and no amount of heckling could take that away. But I think I can say fairly that anyone who attended the show couldn't help but be annoyed with the clear, blatant and repetitive disrespect shown to our fine Flight friends. The heckling didn't ruin the show for me, but it did put a bad taste in my mouth. I just don't understand why people feel the need to shell out $45 to sit and scream absurdities at a band. I don't know if it was something about the casual, good humored duo that made people consistently interrupt their show, but it was certainly inappropriate. Perhaps I missed the concert's listing as an open audience Q and A show. Even when the band stopped and openly mocked the heckler or multiple times shushed the screaming idiots, the heckling did not stop.
MJ, Do you think the Flight of the Conchords will ever want to return to Milwaukee after that ridic show?
Malavika: Well, if I were them, I wouldn't, if only because the crowd booed them - yes, booed them - for dissing Pabst. Without getting into the specifics of PBR and other Pabst products on the scale of beers, does no realize that the Pabst Brewing Co. hasn't been a part of Milwaukee for a greater part of a decade now?
I can only imagine the retaliation if J and B had made a crack about Favre ...
That being said, clearly from the review Tom posted, it seems that the boys have endured this form of taunting in previous shows on tour, so I dare say they wont hold it against the fine city of Milwaukee.
I do agree with you that the show was awesome -- it started with "Robots" and ended with "Inner City Pressure" and I couldn't have asked for a better set list. The banter was spot on, and, hell, I even enjoyed the giant light shining into my eye that left me partially blind for a better part of an hour.
What was your favorite song/part of the show?
Sara: I agree. The crowd also booed them when they merely mentioned Ann Arbor, Michigan -- which completely lost me. What? We're against any city that isn't Milwaukee now?
The fact that the band has clearly dealt with this, and worse, still is no excuse for rude behavior from what should be the "friendly Midwest." I strongly believe the only thing that should be screamed during a concert (with exception of the occasional "woo") is "Fire!" and clearly, only if there is one. Otherwise shut up, no one cares what you have to say, it will get violent.
I must say I absolutely love that they played a number of faves, but I was perhaps even more impressed with a few of their new songs. Particularly a certain ditty about angels, um, "doing it." The banter was great -- when not interrupted, natch -- and nearly felt like we were watching a live version of the HBO famed TV show. I could see any part of their random dialogue fitting into a scene at their frumpy New York apartment with perfection.
I also enjoyed how they kept their classics fresh by inserting Wisconsin references or showing off their massive vocal range. The introduction of new instruments -- the digital saxophone and the bright, red keytar -- were also frickin' awesome. They sure know how to rock the party.
In perhaps the best news for comedy fans since the Kids in the Hall announced that reunion tour, Bob Odenkirk and David Cross — creators of the insanely great HBO sketch comedy program "Mr. Show" — have a new show (honorific unknown) in the works. The sitcom, "David's Situation," has been written by the pair, and is set to start filming for HBO in May, according to the Hollywood Reporter.
"We are both very, very excited about it and feel it's really strong and important to the health of America," the guys write at their website, BobandDavid.com. "We know that America is hurting right now and old people like to say that 'Laughter's the best medicine.' So, keep hope old people, an injection of 10cc's of funny is about to be shot all up in your funny bones!"
The show's premise: Cross, playing himself, moves out to the suburbs, where he shares a house with an ultra-conservative and a liberal hippie. Sounds to me like a "Three's Company" update, but instead of Chrissy and Janet, there's Ann Coulter and Janeane Garofalo. Yikes.
Odenkirk is set to direct, but there's no word on if he'll appear onscreen, which is disappointing. In the nearly 10 years (!) since "Mr. Show" took its final bow, Bob and David have had precious few acting gigs together. The only ones I can think of are an episode apiece for "NewsRadio" and "Arrested Development."
Otherwise, the two have gone their separate ways professionally, with varying degrees of success. David has had more time in the spotlight, with his role as Tobias Funke on "Arrested," his prominent stand-up career, and several movie roles. Granted, those roles have been in stinkers like "School for Scoundrels" and "Alvin and the Chipmunks," but c'mon, look at the guy — he's not exactly George Clooney.
Bob has mostly stayed behind the scenes, directing movies (also-stinkers "Let's Go to Prison" and "The Brothers Solomon") and producing Cartoon Network's pretty good "Tom Goes to the Mayor." Bob's also been embracing this newfangled Internet thing, churning out a handful of shorts for R-rated comedy site SuperDeluxe.com, including the hilarious "Truth About Lincoln."
But the prospect of the guys working on a new show together is cause for much giddiness. "Mr. Show," with its absurdist sensibilities, seamless sketch links, and dead-on social parody, remains the watermark for cutting-edge American comedy. We'll have to wait to see if "David's Situation" can live up to such lofty expectations, but at least it gives us something to look forward to. Until then, we've always got our "Mr. Show" DVDs.
Anybody else excited about this? Or do you just wanna share your favorite "Mr. Show" moments and maybe explain how 24 is the highest number there is?
As I admitted in my first posting, there's a lot I will do for my favorite television show. I've been known to cut engagements short to see the finale of "Beauty and the Geek" (sad, I know), plan my workout at the gym in time for me to get home for "The Office" and turn my cell phone off during "Project Runway."
Nothing compares to what I've done for "The Wire," though.
In less than a month - punctuated by a busy schedule at work and an unforeseen hurdle when my DVD player shorted - I've raced through four seasons of "The Wire." If you're counting, that's 50 episodes at about 55 minutes each. 2750 minutes in all. 46 hours. No wonder my DVD player died a fiery death in the middle of season 3, leading me in a wild goose chase all across town to see which no-name TV repair store could fix it and/or retrieve the DVD stuck inside (disc 4 of season 3).
Now, if you're not a fellow obsessee, you may find me pathetic. You may ask yourself, why is this crazy woman doing all this for a show that is described as an "HBO police drama series set in Baltimore, Maryland?"
Perhaps the show's marketers should have done a better job. As a self-proclaimed fan of "Law and Order," I can tell you without a doubt that "The Wire" is unlike any cop show you've ever seen because, well, it’s not one. Although the police (or the "5-0" as I've begun referring to them in my post-Wire phase) feature heavily in the show, the show is really about the complex layers of people who interact in Baltimore - the cops, the drug kingpins, the street-level dealers, the addicts, the politicians, the working class laborers, the teachers, the social workers, the kids and so on. Each season reveals another layer of Charm City, building a portrait of a decaying world that few admit exists and still fewer want to see on television.
That's exactly why "The Wire" is brilliant. It's unapologetic in its portrayal of inner city Baltimore, but you know that creator David Simon (an ex-reporter for The Baltimore Sun) and his writing partner Ed Burns (a former Baltimore cop) love their dilapidated city. All your misconceptions - how cops are the good guys and drug dealers are the bad - go out the window within the first two episodes. Instead you see people for who they are and how they got there, broken by a system of neglect and left to fend for themselves in a world that would much rather pretend they don't exist.
Depressed, yet? Don't be. "The Wire" is gloriously funny, filled with moments that straddle the line between irony and "is this really happening?" (My personal favorite is when Russell "Stringer" Bell, one of the drug kingpins, starts using Robert's Rules of Order to govern his street-level minions - come on, that's hilarious).
The show features the finest cast of characters on television who stick with you long after the closing credits, all of them flawed as hell but pitch-perfect in their imperfection. There isn't a single character whose death - and yes, "The Wire" has quite a few - you actually cheer for. Even the so-called bad guys.
If I had to pick one character as my favorite - and, believe me, this is no easy task - I'd have to go with Omar Little, the gay stickup artist whose Robin Hood-esque motto is that he only steals from and kills drug dealers, never "taxpayers." Between his distinctive scar, his signature shotgun and his catchy habit of whistling "Farmer in the Dell" while roaming the streets, what's not to love?
Sadly, "The Wire" ends its critically acclaimed five-season run this week. The series finale airs Sunday on HBO, but don't let that stop you from running out to Blockbuster and renting seasons 1 through 4. You will never regret it. It's worth buying a new DVD player, if necessary.
The Green Bay Press-Gazette's TV Blog. Or where we write about characters named Jim and Pam as if they were actually real. Brought to you with limited commercial interruption by...
Malavika Jagannathan Metro reporter All-time shows: The West Wing Gilmore Girls The Wire Current favorites: Desperate Housewives, Top Chef, Flight of the Conchords Guilty Pleasure: E! News
Kendra Meinert Entertainment editor All-time shows: Friends Gilmore Girls Beverly Hills 90210 Current favorites: Damages, 24, Brothers and Sisters Guilty Pleasure: Rock of Love Bus
Adam Reinhard Copy editor All-time shows: Lost Arrested Development Veronica Mars Current favorites: The Colbert Report, Scrubs, The Venture Bros. Guilty Pleasure: SpongeBob SquarePants
Thomas Rozwadowski Features reporter All-time shows: The Wire Freaks and Geeks Breaking Bad Current favorites: Modern Family, Lost, Mad Men Guilty Pleasure: Saved by the Bell
Kelly McBride Education reporter All-time shows: Seinfeld Cheers The Cosby Show Current favorites: Top Chef, Project Runway, The Office Guilty Pleasure: The Biggest Loser
If HBO's new World War II miniseries "The Pacific" is half as entertaining, powerful or enthralling as 2001's "Band of Brothers" was and is, it'll be an instant hit.
Who said the Jheri curl was dead?
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