Comments on: Monday Morning Poll

By: Bronwyn

Bronwyn — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 18:04:40 +0000

No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency
Big Love
Rome

I can’t pick one, because they’re my top three.

By: kris

kris — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 10:51:10 +0000

I felt like Oz was the third best show at times as it was a really cool show, and very interesting and realistic. But that only seemed to be true during parts of the first season and maybe half the time overall. The problem was there was too much fake and outright goofy plot lines at times.

Deadwood from what I’ve seen thus far is quality throughout. There aren’t any bad episodes of this though the plot moves slowly at times. I’d say this is the third best overall show due to its consistency. Admittedly I need to see other shows like 6 feet under, Rome, and maybe Carnival.

By: cks

cks — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 23:45:38 +0000

Deadwood…hands down. A few easy to find gems:
Francis Wolcott: I am a sinner that does not expect forgiveness. But I am not a government official.
Also,
Ellsworth: Well’m, I’ve got myself a working gold claim.
Joanie Stubbs: Well, sir, is that a damn fact?
Ellsworth: A hell of a working gold claim, and if we knew each other better I’d throw “fucking” in there somewhere.
Joanie Stubbs: If you did I’d try to catch it.
Ellsworth: A working fucking gold claim, Joanie, and thank you for allowing me my full range of expression.
In conclusion,
Tom Nuttall: And those that doubt me…suck cock by choice!

By: OGRE

OGRE — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 21:16:05 +0000

JPB:

I agree with you that it was definitely a guilty pleasure, there was a lot of historical inaccuracies and added drama where it didn’t need to be; they could easily have gone with a more historical version and had plenty of drama. And they left out Porcia Catonis of all people! I also think they failed to explore a lot of connections between the main players. But still, it was compelling and very well written and produced, and the actors were fantastic. And for one liners I can’t think of many shows that have come close, the movie Tombstone perhaps.

By: PogueMahone

PogueMahone — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 20:41:55 +0000

ROME

Hands down.

Great acting, great dialogue, great scenery – all included with a story about all of these significant historical events all having involved two unlikely characters.

And the lines delivered were brilliant! Ranging from comedy to just … sinister.

After negotiating a price for a prostitute for young Octavian…

Pullo: For that price she better fuck like Helen of Troy with her ass of fire.

LOL

Atia to Cleopatra…

Die screaming you pig-spawn trollop.

Nice.

Cheers.

By: Rhayader

Rhayader — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 18:12:48 +0000

if we were talking miniseries, I might have to put down Band of Brothers up there with The Wire as the best things ever done by HBO.

Yeah good call, Band of Brothers was great.

By: Rune

Rune — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 18:02:24 +0000

Count me in on the Carnivale crowd, a damn shame the plug was pulled on that one.

By: PeeDub

PeeDub — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 17:52:16 +0000

#23 I think “Generation Kill” merited at least a mention. I know I enjoyed it more than most of the choices that you listed.

Yeah, as said, that was a miniseries, but if we were talking miniseries, I might have to put down Band of Brothers up there with The Wire as the best things ever done by HBO.

By: ITG

ITG — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 17:40:32 +0000

Since everyone seems to be bringing up shows on other networks, I’d recommend Dexter on Showtime. As far as HBO goes, I’d say Deadwood or the Band of Brothers miniseries.

By: JPB

JPB — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 16:44:59 +0000

I enjoyed Rome, but as a guilty pleasure. I studied too much Roman history and knew that there was an awful lot of exaggeration and myth invented out of whole cloth in the show.

There was enough deceit and decadence in ancient Rome that it didn’t really need the titillating tweaks the producers added, but it was a fun show. The genre is pretty much defined by BBC’s epic mini-seriesI, Claudius, and Rome would pale in direct comparison.

Six Feet Under was great the first season, but devolved into glorified (and unwatchable) soap opera after the second season. Oz was a close 2nd (5th) to Deadwood. (which I’m sure had its own troubles with exaggeration, but as a non-Western US history buff, I could suspend disbelief enough to love the show.)

By: Nando

Nando — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 16:25:03 +0000

As mentioned above, Six Feet Under was a very emotional series. It had it’s ups and downs, but it was all worth it for the final 6 minutes of the series. I don’t often cry at movies or during TV shows, but the end of the Series Finale really made me cry like a school girl with a skinned knee. Great series.

Rome was awesome and earned my vote, if only because it was based in reality and included more violence (yes, more violence than a show about dead people).

By: Rhayader

Rhayader — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 16:16:11 +0000

I think “Generation Kill” merited at least a mention. I know I enjoyed it more than most of the choices that you listed.

That was a miniseries though. I believe all of the listed options were full series, although maybe I’m wrong?

Anyway, I went with Oz, although the show did decline steadily during virtually its entire run. Season 1 kicked ass though.

By: Chris Berez

Chris Berez — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 16:14:56 +0000

Carnivale is #3 hands down, end of discussion. It was a fantastic show with a deep, rich mythos that was canceled way before it’s time. Even though they didn’t get to finish the story (which would have taken 4-5 seasons total), the two seasons that did air were phenomenal.

By: Ex-Long Island

Ex-Long Island — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 15:48:31 +0000

I think “Generation Kill” merited at least a mention. I know I enjoyed it more than most of the choices that you listed.

By: ClubMedSux

ClubMedSux — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 15:38:36 +0000

I like True Blood, but would consider it more of a comedy than a drama. Initially I thought Alan Ball was going to make some interesting statements with the whole thinly-veiled vampire/gay comparison, but he pretty much abandoned that for comic book thrills. That’s perfectly fine, as I still enjoy watching it, but it certainly puts it in a different class than Six Feet Under and Deadwood. Deadwood gets my vote for brilliantly combining high and low art (it’s like Shakespeare if the Bard used the word “cocksucker” once a sentence), but the final episode of Six Feet Under was the best finale of any series that I’ve ever watched.

By: Johnny Clamboat

Johnny Clamboat — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 15:29:36 +0000

MORE: Should have added that this list is limited to drama. We’ll do comedies in another poll.

Whoops, I missed that qualifier.

By: Robert S. Porter

Robert S. Porter — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 15:28:47 +0000

Can’t vote because Six Feet Under is the best television show ever, with the Wire coming in second.

By: Johnny Clamboat

Johnny Clamboat — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 15:28:29 +0000

My vote would be for Curb or Eastbound and Down. Kenny Powers is my role model.

By: Andrew S.

Andrew S. — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 15:10:03 +0000

I’d put Deadwood second. I’d also put Oz and Big Love over The Sopranos.

Loved the series, but I wouldn’t put it #2.

By: Dog's New Clothes

Dog's New Clothes — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 15:08:12 +0000

As a big fan of The Wire, you should search out The Corner. It was a six episode miniseries written by David Simon in 2000. It obviously doesn’t have The Wire’s scope (it just focuses on one family) but it deals with a lot of the same issues.