What Is Going On With HBO?

HBO has had some of the best programming come to revelance in the past decade, but lately I feel as if they've made a couple bad decisions, along with a lot of good ones. Right now HBO has a new breakout hit, Boardwalk Empire, which unfortuneately I have not gotten the chance to see. After its series premiere it was renewed for a second season just a few short hours later. Even though this has gotten the most amazing critical and fan acclaim, HBO has been known for giving period dramas, a short period of screen time. Hopefully Boardwalk will break this barrier, because from what I understand it is a great show. (Maybe I'll catch up next summer before the second season premiere.)

But when I heard the news that they've decided to cancel their polygamist drama Big Love, I was shocked and a little pissed. It had great critic appeal, and a small but very loyal fan base. I for one have been nothing but intrigued by this hour drama about a polygamist family hiding their lives in modern town Utah. Chloë Sevigny is the breakout in my opinion. She plays Nikki, the second wife and while in the beginning she came off... okay Nikki's always been a bitch, but Chloë has made her so likeable and understanding, so I began to root for Nikki when I thought I never could. All the wives have their baggage, but this ensemble drama is riveting, and has gotten better and better with each season. Granted, this past season was a little off, but I truly feel like people don't like seeing characters transistion and change, and the Henricksons went way off course. I had a lot of time to think about it, and I feel like with five seasons Big Love probably could run its course and give us all the story we want before it started to get boring and repititive. This last season however left a lot of loose ends, and I for one cannot fathom them being able to tie everything up by next season's end. I am very sad they've decided to cancel this show, because I feel like there's so much more story left to tell.

With that being said, I've noticed a few other strange things too. The comedies Hung and Bored to Death are going strong both being picked up for a third season, and I have no idea why. I've heard others favorable opinions of these two shows, but I just don't see anything special here. Hung to me is a filler and somewhat likeable, but I find every character to be annoying, except for Ray's kids, and while Thomas Jane is pretty to look at, he seems awkward in this show. Every frustrated face he makes looks like he's concentrating on a really tough shit he's taking, and that's unfortunate because he is a good actor. Then there's Bored to Death. You know what I feel like when I watch this show? BORED TO FUCKING DEATH. This has got to be one of the worst shows on TV. It's unreal how so many great people involved and invested in this series make it a fucking nonsense of appalling TV. I've tried to watch its starter episodes and a couple after that, but this show is so boring and unfunny. Zach Galifinakis is in rare form here, because he's not funny. Ted Danson's character is so whiny and retarded it's like he's trying to re-enact Kevin Nealon's Doug from Weeds --- except he fails hard. Jason Schwartzman is a loser. That's all he is. A fucking loser. His character is so unlikeable and such a huge tool that the band kids would've beat him up in school.

How is it that this thrives in TV land while Big Love is being sent out to pasture? HBO has also passed on a new Alan Ball project, All Signs of Death. Could they feel it's too much a venture like his other hit HBO show Six Feet Under? Or do they want to keep him locked up in the town of Bon Temps with all those pornographic vampires? Either way it doesn't make sense. He's given HBO two smash TV shows, so why pass on this one? True Blood is phenomenal -- okay it's not. But it's awesome eye candy, and as much as I didn't want to give in to that damn vampire craze I did, but I went dirtier by getting into almost porn smash True Blood. It's just fun. The plots are ridiculous and there are way too many naked people --- no you can never have too many of those, as long as they're sexy. It's based on a novel series though, so why the complaints? If anything blame the books before spouting off about how much more awesome Alexander Skarsgård was in Zoolander, "Uh earth to Brent..."

Earth to HBO, why the fuck is Entourage still on the air and being renewed for another season? And also why do you need to make a fucking movie about it? Sex and the City had major success with its feature film debut four years after the series ended, and the movie was good. Then came Sex and the City 2. Really, Aidan would never cheat on his wife Michael Patrick King... That movie was total garbage. I feel like this is why TV shows should never continue on with a movie --- it doesn't work. So why turn a show who's been in the garbage can for four years into a huge dump of a movie? Unfortuneately I still support Entourage because I like to see things through the end. If they turn on me I hope for a second coming. Season 4 of Entourage are as fans know it - Medellin - and was probably the worst season of television in all of TV history. I did enjoy seasons 5 & 6... and then it should've ended. For good. Having Vince on a good note, Johnny with a new lease on life, Turtle ready to start a new life, and E and Sloane getting engaged, it couldn't have ended better. The guys getting on the plane and E riding off into the horizon. Then there was season 7. Vince on coke and fucking Sasha Grey? Come the fuck on. Turtle had the worst storyline, and Ari's empire and family crumbling around him is not what I want to see. They do the same shit every fucking day and it's annoying as hell. Then in the last five minutes of the finale Eric finally has a storyline and gets pissed when Sloane's dad wants him to sign a pre-nup. Bullshit. That is moronic. I am glad Vince finally hit the bottom. Fuck that little bitch. -- Oh I'm Vincent Chase and I fuck a different girl everyday and no one likes my acting and blah blah -- fuck you. Good, I hope you're in jail all next season.

My point is is that there's great TV and knowing when to pull the plug on a show. That's why I've switched to Showtime.