It's one of the things that makes me want to live in America. Even for a brief time. Because if everything on HBO is as decent as the goods I've sampled, then hell, I'll be in heaven!
Case in point - people who've seen either/both of The Sopranos and The Wire usually proclaim one or the other the greatest show ever made. Both are made by HBO.
Other great shows crafted by their (presumably) loving embrace - Six Feet Under, Band of Brothers, Flight of the Conchords, Rome, Entourage, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Sex and the City [*vomits*], and my current favourite, True Blood.
Ah, True Blood. I've waited an entire year for this show to finally air in the UK, and now that it has, I can appreciate how awesome it is. I'm only four episodes into the series, but it's undeniably brilliant.
Firstly, it has arguably the best opening sequence ever. Great song, some crazy-ass images, and, possibly best of all, the words 'Created by Alan Ball'. Alan Ball, ladies and gentleman, is the fucked-up individual who gave the world Six Feet Under, the strangest, and yet strangely awesome, series you're ever likely to see. The strangeness he brought to that clearly shows in True Blood.
- Lots of sex. Very graphic sex. This is the reason I, absolutely genuinely, have to wait for my nan to go to bed before I can watch either SFU or TB. The Sopranos was pretty graphic too, come to think of it, but it's in most episodes of, seemingly, any show with 'Created by Alan Ball' stamped on it.
- Fucked up characters. In both SFU and TB, there's basically only one or two regular cast member who could be happily classed as 'sane'. And in TB, one of those is a vampire and the other's frigging telepathic. That's hardly normal.
- Surreal humour. For instance. In the pilot of SFU, the show is often interrupted by fake ads for funeral services. So you'll have ladies dancing around in skimpy clothes advertising...embalming fluid. There's not quite so much in TB, but one stand out (up?) moment comes when Sookie's brother drinks too much vampire blood and has to have blood drained from his penis - which has been erect all day. Yep.
I could probably go on, but I won't.
Anyway, back to the point. HBO makes all these cracking programmes, stuff that, frankly, the UK channels can't even attempt to compete with. Life on Mars, as much as I love it and as close as it gets to being brilliant, just isn't in the same league. Doctor Who as well has a similar issue. We need some decent drama in this country that isn't just a simple 'whodunnit' or a standard police drama, as is the norm. Admittedly, stuff like The Bill has recently been very good indeed, but I dare you to find one person who reckons it's better than The Wire, or even CSI for crying out loud. And most of the best stuff the BBC puts out is co-produced by HBO anyway!
End of my rage. Guess there's not a lot I can do about it, eh? But as long as HBO and the humble DVD exists, I don't think I'll ever need to watch 'proper' TV again.
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