TV on the Television

I just realized that one of my advertisers is apparently one of those outfits that tries to convince people that television is bad. Well, most shows are pretty bad, but fortunately with hundreds of channels there are lots of options. Sports are always a solid one. But the current TV season has also given us the fun-if-a-bit-rambling Heroes along with Friday Night Lights. The latter has, I think, clearly displaced Veronica Mars as the best show on network television since season three of VM has been pretty terrible. The worst thing, to me, about watching season three is recognizing that the show was made bad intentionally. You read a lot before it aired about how the creators were hoping to boost its popularity by making the plots more accessible, more atomic, blah, blah and basically dumbing the show down. And -- guess what? -- they succeeded!

That said, I watched the premiere of Rome last night. I hadn't been looking forward to season two of Rome the way I looked forward to season four of The Wire or season three of Deadwood but it's actually a really good show. The fact that you already know the broad direction of the story if you're familiar with the history and Shakespeare's play makes it less gripping than it might be, but it's still pretty excellent. Some people tell me they find the British accents annoying, but I think it's actually done to good effect since it establishes a class hierarchy among the characters in a way that would be hard to pull off with American idioms.

Comments

Actually, being more familiar with the history behind Deadwood than Roman history, I found myself feeling conversely more interested in Rome than Deadwood. Still haven't had a chance to watch The Wire.

Not to sell myself short; I know my classical history. It's just that I'm more than passing familiar with the Deadwood story.

Posted by Nick Simmonds | January 15, 2007 1:34 PM

1.1 seasons in, and I'm still not entirely sure what Rome is all about. It is safe to say that Vorenus's wallet is the one that says "Bad MotherFucker" though.

Re: VM, I think the transition to college almost inherently destroyed the aspect of the show which made seasons 1 and 2 more interesting than the standard teen dramedy, which was the class divide. While that still exists in college, it's more a matter of choice, and the feminists vs. fratboys thing has been done to death.

Glad you are on board with FNL. My concern is that the show is starting to sprawl a little bit, and they won't be able top wrap up the season without a ton of loose ends. I also wish they would spend a little more time on the football team as a team, in that I think Saracen being forced into a leadership role is pretty interesting.

Posted by Pooh | January 15, 2007 1:34 PM

What? I've never heard of (almost true) of any of these shows, let alone watched them. To me, by far the best television writing has been on ABC for the last several years. NBC has been totally eclipsed when it comes to mainstream prime-time, comedies or whatever. But, now, after "The Road to 9/11" I won't watch ABC/Disney anymore, their films, etc., forever. I saw one of those CBS crime scene investigation shows briefly last night, as it took over "60 Minutes" timeslot. What schlock, what a waste of good airwaves!

Posted by Incredubility | January 15, 2007 1:38 PM

Turner Classic Movies

Posted by Charlie | January 15, 2007 1:42 PM

The latter has, I think, clearly displaced Veronica Mars as the best show on network television

Pathetic. FNL is awful (he said, having made it through only 3/4 of an early episode).

Posted by SomeCallMeTim | January 15, 2007 1:44 PM

"Your children? I took them as payment, fucked them, killed them, and threw them into the river."

That's messed up man. Tony Soprano, Swearangen, or Chris and Snoop would never do anything that messed up. Take away point: the Game is for real in Rome.

Posted by Jeff | January 15, 2007 1:48 PM

What happens to Lucius Vorenus now? He was a bad motherfucker before, but now?

Posted by Dammitman! | January 15, 2007 1:54 PM

I just couldn't deal with FNL after they played to the most tired racial stereotype in sports earlier. The plot was a QB controversey where the coach had to choose between the athletically gifted but character-less black athlete (nicknamed Voodoo--and a Katrina victim, no less) and the athletically-challenged but smart, gutsy white QB. At first he chooses the black QB for his physical gifts, but is eventually burned by his cocky, erratic improvising and me-first attitude. So he brings in the smart white QB, who runs the coaches plays and wins with a team-oriented approach. It's unfathomable to me how the people who make the show could have not seen how crude it all was.

I mean, Voodoo? Are you fucking kidding me?

Posted by Freddie | January 15, 2007 1:59 PM

What happens to Lucius Vorenus now? He was a bad motherfucker before, but now?

Something along the lines of:

He lets the last Hungarian go. He waits until his wife and kids are in the ground and then he goes after the rest of the mob. He kills their kids, he kills their wives, he kills their parents and their parents' friends. He burns down the houses they live in and the stores they work in, he kills people that owe them money. And like that he was gone. Underground. Nobody has ever seen him since.

Take away point: the Game is for real in Rome.

True, true. One of the key takeaways from Keegan's "Face of Battle" is how hard it is to kill someone up close and personal, with a blade or bludgeon, and how this basic insight goes along way towards telling us that traditional accounts of pre-gunpowder battles are largely bullshit.

Posted by Pooh | January 15, 2007 2:02 PM

"What happens to Lucius Vorenus now? He was a bad motherfucker before, but now?"

***Spoiler Alert***

IIRC, while Antony is chasing Brutus & Cassius around, Octavian...cleans up Rome. Meaning killing, raping, pillaging and taking every hunk of wealth not tied down. This wealth being why Octavian eventually became Augustus and Antony desperately sought funds from Cleopatra but ended with his sword in his belly.

But Vorenus is allied to Antony. Ah well, he will find people to kill somewhere.

Posted by bob mcmanus | January 15, 2007 2:02 PM

Friday Night Lights is boring and depressing. There is enough of that shit on CNN for me, thanks. Heroes is awesome, Veronica Mars is a lot spottier (I think Pooh gets the reason exactly right) but I still love the characters, The Office and Scrubs are still strong, and Battlestar Galactica has slowed down since an amazing season start but is one of the best shows on television. And Jeopardy! is on every weekday. I don't get the HBO, which is probably good since I watch enough TV as it is. Of course I watch most of these other shows off of torrents, so I guess there is technically no barrier to HBO either.

Posted by Drew Miller | January 15, 2007 2:09 PM

*Rome Spoiler*

I was only a little disappointed in the ending of last night's Rome premiere. Not only did we not get to actually see Mark Anthony's funeral oration (only getting the recap from some underworld minion to his murderous cobag of a boss), but we didn't get the pleasure of watching Vorenus and Pullo raid said cobag's bar and kill his men. As entertaining as watching Vorenus, covered in blood, walk in on the cobag in the sauna was... c'mon. Pullo had TWO SWORDS! Stop doing things offscreen!

Posted by BobJones | January 15, 2007 2:15 PM

Pullo had TWO SWORDS! Stop doing things offscreen!

Word...speaking of swords, to quote ..."Hiro's. Fucking. Sword." God, I'm such a greasy fanboy sometimes.

Posted by Pooh | January 15, 2007 2:20 PM

The actor playing Antony really shined in that episode, as he probably should given the storyline. His interpretation of Antony is much easier to believe than the bored versions done previously by Marlon Brando or Richard Burton.

I wish the series had begun years previous with the Marius story a la the Colleen McCullough novels. It makes for better buildup to the Caesar years.

Posted by Thunderlips | January 15, 2007 2:52 PM

I think the reason we didn't see Antony's speech is because no one really knows how it went. It certainly wasn't "Friends, Romans, Countrymen..." A weak fiction loses out to both reality and Shakespeare's masterpiece, so better to merely recap it afterwards.

I third or fourth Pooh about VM taking a dramatic downturn this season, which is sad.

Posted by jfaberuiuc | January 15, 2007 3:02 PM

I think "Rome" is a great show all right. It's the Sopranos if Tony ruled a nation instead of the New Jersey trash hauling business, and no one had to bother with any hypocrisy about it.

Rome has always represented the glories of amoral power in our popular culture (see Ben Hur), so it's especially relevant now.

Posted by MQ | January 15, 2007 3:11 PM

I liked Rome a lot, too. But I've found HBO just isn't worth it anymore for the one or two shows I watch, so I gave it up a few months back. I will break down and subscribe briefly again during the Sopranos final demi-season, but the new season of Rome will have to await its DVD release. That said, I'm kinda bummed to be economizing while all you yuppie scum are getting extra pleasure from Sunday nights.

Posted by Jasper | January 15, 2007 3:26 PM

*Rome Spoilers*

re Rome, I was under the impression the kids were still alive and he just said that to get a last dig at Verinus, knowing he was dead either way.

It's just an incredible cast all around, not just the guy playing Antony.

The season 2 (final season, ne?) story arc will have to build to some sort of confrontation between Pullo and Augustus/Octavian with Verninus having to choose sides, as Augustus has to kill "Caesar's" son (in the show, we are led to believe Caesarion is secretly Pullo's son).

Posted by Matthew C | January 15, 2007 3:36 PM

I think there will be a season 3.... This season will document Octavian's rise to power, and if my history serves me correctly... Octavian (Augustus) ruled for quite some time. I think the third season is when they will discard the actor they have now (who does a superb job) to show the older Octavian. I cannot see a huge jump in years occuring mid-season.

I have no insider knowledge but I would assume, at this point, there will be a season 3. I guess it all depends on how fast things progress.

Posted by Neal Murray | January 15, 2007 5:02 PM

I just remember reading somewhere that because of the incredibly high production costs, HBO was only doing 2 seasons.

Posted by Matthew C | January 15, 2007 5:30 PM

I'm in a similar position to Jasper -- I enjoy most HBO shows, but can't quite justify spending the extra $40/month Comcast would demand of me to see one or two shows. While I had made an exception for season 4 of The Wire (and it was money well spent!), that makes subscribing to see Rome, as much as I enjoyed season one, even less feasible.

Posted by Chris M. | January 15, 2007 5:33 PM

"I enjoy most HBO shows, but can't quite justify spending the extra $40/month Comcast would demand of me to see one or two shows. "

Just get Netflix. It's like having HBO two years ago.

Posted by Greg | January 15, 2007 7:14 PM

If you're not watching Battlestar Galactica, you're missing out on the good stuff.

Posted by Mike P | January 15, 2007 8:44 PM

Rome is great HBO. Marc Antony is a Duke Lacrosse Player on Steriods, and Vorenus and Pullo pull no punches. But no one has mentioned the mothers. Remember Brutus was egged on by Servilia after she was dumped by Caesar. She was sweet and loving, but now so scorned and revengeful. Atia is part bimbo part earth mother and two parts surviver. Calpurnia had a small role, but she did spit on Servilia not once but twice. The second time was better than the first.

Rome, like Claudius on PBS years ago, is an equal opportunity show with the women as dangerous in their scheming and plotting as them the men who hack and hew. Octavian is the brains, and I do not think he will be replaced by an older actor. He does have Pullo and eventually Vorenus to do his bidding. The chronology is coursing along nicely, and I believe there will be a third year.

Posted by Ernie Fazio | January 15, 2007 9:00 PM

I put effort into following Daybreak, only to have it cancelled.
I put effort into following Studio 60 and it certainly looks like that's cancelled, or on the way.

I told myself a while ago that bothering to TV drama was a mug's game because chances were high that anything truly good was going to be cancelled soon. I broke my rules because I'm a sucker for Sorkin, and because the premise for Daybreak seemed really interesting. But the consequence of breaking the rule was simply to remind me, once again, why the rule is worth following.

What is especially retarded in all this is that the TV studios are their own worst enemies.
By behaving this way, they are frightening off audiences. But they don't HAVE to behave this way. Guys, there is this whole new way of distributing shows that doesn't rely on the scarcity of TV channels, and that doesn't force you to pull shows for which you have already sunk costs. Needless to say, the few ways in which the networks utilize the internet are bonecrushingly stupid, take almost no advantage of the ways in which the internet is not broadcast TV, and are all based on the worst internet ideas of ten years ago.
(For example, years after the iPod finally shows clued-in people the myriad ways in which download is better than streaming, TV execs bravely charge into 1995 with their customized crapalicious streaming technology.)

Posted by Maynard Handley | January 15, 2007 10:14 PM

re vm, the music still distinguishes the show as does the acting and much of the dialogue. it's also crisper and in some ways less predictable. yes it's less gloriously alienated and moody. but like the protagonist it's in transition. everyone's a critic.

Posted by jack | January 15, 2007 10:39 PM

I'm glad to see Matt start Romeblogging, I was really looking forward to this season and I was not disappointed. (How about Antony slitting Quintus's throat?) Rome is far better than Big Love. With Sopranos and Deadwood cancelled HBO is going to need Rome and the Wire to carry them. Entourage and Bill Mahr are good, but their comedy specials and boxing have slipped, their made for HBO movies are dry and slightly less entertaining than movies made by ESPN, and they only show 1 new theatrical release per week. I can certainly understand those who refuse to pay for it.

NBC has put together another decent mindless Thurs night comedy lineup with Earl, the Office, Scrubs, and 30 Rock (it took me awhile to warm to it, but Alec Baldwin makes the show, and am I the only one who thinks Kenneth looks like John Edwards?)

Dexter and Weeds are both very good shows on Showtime, but they lack depth.

Posted by Just Karl | January 15, 2007 11:38 PM

Thunderlips mentioned the McCullough series of novels. They're far more interesting than the TV series.

After which, you can read I, Claudius, and discover the book that Gladiator plagiarized wholesale.

Posted by kishnevi | January 15, 2007 11:44 PM

I agree Mars is on the wane, but I'm not counting it out yet. If anyone wants to hear my extended take on the show and its uncomfortable sexual politics, check out http://printculture.com/?itemid=998.

Posted by Said Shirazi | January 16, 2007 9:55 AM

***ROME SPOILER ALERT***

I watched one of those little Rome extras that are available with Comcast On Demand, and they're definitely doing the casting switch with Octavian this season (they had an interview with the older actor). Which sucks, as I like the kid from "Master & Commander". There were a lot of short shots in that extra, but I think the original actor lasts through the war with Antony and Cleopatra. Knowing this, one would think this season captures Augustus' complete rise to power.

Oh, and Octavia goes to an orgy. Woot!

Posted by Cain | January 16, 2007 1:10 PM

Studio 60 - painful (and I loved The West Wing)
30 Rock - passable
The "L" Word - sublime (but I don't get Showtime, just rent the DVDs a year after the broadcast).

Posted by applecor | January 16, 2007 4:09 PM

Maynard,

ABC will be airing the remaining episodes of Daybreak online towards the end of july. Also they're airing the show in Canada and the UK, so I'm sure the remaining episodes will show up on the net at some point.

Posted by Jeff | January 16, 2007 7:26 PM

Oops, that's supposed to be February. Not July.

Posted by Jeff | January 16, 2007 7:26 PM

Ernie Fazio said January 15 @ 09:00 PM
....Rome, like Claudius on PBS years ago, is an equal opportunity show with the women as dangerous in their scheming and plotting as them the men who hack and hew....

BUT ERNIE, you neglected to mention in your comment the uber viper CLEO will be baaaaack this season! Need I mention that the HBO script has Pullo as the father of the child she presented as Caesar's?

Posted by artappraiser | January 17, 2007 5:27 PM