The New Golden Age of Television

Interesting blog post by Keith Balmer about the cornucopia of amazing television shows in recent years. 

He echoes what I have been feeling - anyone who says there's nothing good on tv has been living with their head in the sand for the past ten years.

This is as good as it gets folks - set your DVRs, rent 'em from Netflix, catch 'em on Hulu - do yourself a favor and bask in the sunlight of this golden era of tv: Breaking Bad, Treme, The Pacific, Justified, Modern Family, Lost, Parenthood, and soon the new season of Mad Men.

This is by no means a definitive list, there are many other great shows out there.

And then go back and catch up on The Sopranos, Six Feet Under, Rescue Me, Deadwood, Dexter, Battlestar Gallactica, Rome, Brotherhood, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Generation Kill, Weeds, True Blood, and of course, The Wire.

You'll be glad you did...

David Simon's Treme on HBO - why television is kicking Hollwood's ass

For those of you who never watched The Wire - shame on you.
Shame, shame, shame.

I'm forever puzzled by people saying there's nothing good on tv.  We are living in a golden era of television with the last ten years providing us with some of the finest shows ever produced.

The Sopranos started it all and raised the bar all those who followed:  Six Feet Under, Deadwood, Dexter, Battlestar Galactica, Lost, The Office, Rescue Me, Mad Med, Breaking Bad - I could go on and on.

While Hollywood continued to focus on big-budget spectacle, television became a nurturing haven for brilliant writers.  The long-format of a broadcast season allowed writers to delve into controversial topics and breathe nuance and complexity into their characters.

I'd take this year's Breaking Bad or Mad Men over any of the Oscar nominated films of this year.  And as much as I like and admire The Hurt Locker, I have to say that Generation Kill did a far better job of shedding a light on the horrors and contradictions of modern-day war.

Which brings us to The Wire, which I consider to be the finest television series ever produced.  David Simon created a masterpiece of institutional dysfunction and the people who bang their heads against it every day.  Whether you're a cop, a senator, a teacher, a drug-dealer, an addict, a student, a journalist, or just someone trying to make it through the day, the overwhelming reality is that society is broken and those who try to swim against the tide get crushed.

And now Simon has a new series on HBO that only he could tackle - the intricate social, racial, artistic and political gumbo that is a post-Katrina New Orleans.

When Treme premieres in April, do yourself a favor - watch it.