While some of us still miss Grey's Anatomy on Sundays, a perfectly entertaining bit of escapism to charge our batteries for the week ahead, ABC's new Brothers & Sisters has been growing on me. Week by week, culminating in this Sunday's most enjoyable episode yet, the show has become both lighter in tone and more emotionally compelling, proving to be a suitably compatible companion piece to Desperate Housewives — which, by sweeps coincidence or not, also enjoyed on Sunday its finest hour since the heights of its first breakthrough season.Housewives' much-touted supermarket-hostage crisis lives up to its billing, in no small measure thanks to killer performances (in one case literally) by Laurie Metcalf as a deranged wronged wife who takes over her cheating husband's store at gunpoint, and by Felicity Huffman's Lynette, whose final hysterical showdown with the mad Carolyn Grisby in the wake of Nora's fatal shooting (Yay!) was the sort of galvanizing moment we'd long been wait...
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Question: As I enjoy The Wire and Weeds, I have noticed that dramas on cable have overtaken dramas on network TV in terms of quality. Sure, there are shows like 24, Lost and Grey's Anatomy, but in my opinion they pale in comparison to Weeds, The Wire, The Sopranos, Battlestar Galactica, Rescue Me, The Shield, Deadwood, etc. Maybe it's because cable offers greater freedom to the writers, but I think it's because of the 13 episodes per season in a cable drama compared to 22 (or more) episodes for a show on network TV. The long season is probably too much pressure on writers, leading to a lot of "filler" episodes. Lost's Season 2 was so slow that I gave it up by the end of the season. I think shows like that would greatly benefit if the number of episodes were reduced to 13. What do you think?
Answer: This is a great topic, because while it's absolutely true that in many cases, less would be more, I hear all the time from greedy fans who can't understand why more episodes per season can't
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Elvis Presley's three appearances on The Ed Sullivan Show are chronicled in a three-disc DVD set due for release on Nov. 21.... BET is in talks to air syndicated episodes of HBO's The Wire, starting with Season 1 and unspooling perhaps as soon as 1Q 2007.... Dane Cook — my current fave to play Fletch on the big screen (see related blog entry), and Jessica Simpson's apparent fave to play footsie (per the New York Post) — is taking his Tourgasm act to Las Vegas on Nov. 17.... Fox News Channel celebrates its 10th anniversary with Thank You America!, a two-hour special airing Sunday at 8 pm/ET and hosted by Chris Wallace and Martha MacCallum.
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Question: Why isn't there any scoop on The Wire? It is one of the best shows on TV right now.
Answer:
And I feel awful for not watching it. Truly I do. But until I have a reason to fly to Australia, I don't foresee having 97 hours of uninterrupted downtime in my future to catch up on all those DVDs. So I'm just gonna have to take everyone's word for it. Meanwhile, according to someone who has seen the next batch of episodes, I hear there are some major twists coming in Episode 6 concerning Carcetti ******** ***** and Omar ******* busted *** * ****** ** *** *** ******.
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Normally I applaud the authenticity of HBO?s The Wire. Clearly, that show?s writers do their homework. But when Herc walked in on Mayor Royce and his chicken-heading assistant at the start of last week?s episode there was a graphic, split-second flash of what I can only hope was faux frontal nudity. It was a naughty bit. And it was totally uncalled for. But this is HBO. So, you know, I was willing to let it go.But then last night, they did it again. At the beginning of the episode, Omar climbs out of bed buck naked to go investigate a loud noise. The killer dope-dealer supreme goes to the window, looks out then turns to face the camera and ? Hello Baltimore! ? there?s Lil Omar. Compared to last week?s sex act, Omar?s frontal flash was fairly innocent. But still, this is the second week in a row they've started off with a not-so-wee-wee peep show and I?m starting to wonder if The Wire folks think they have to shock us into paying attention. 'Cause that?s not true, guys. I would watch...
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Question: I go back and forth about investing in dramas that may be canceled; however, I won't regret a minute spent watching Showtime’s Brotherhood. It has some of the best ensemble acting on TV. Is it doomed, or is there enough critical buzz to overcome the numbers so more people can discover it?
Answer: Earlier this week, Showtime renewed Brotherhood for a second season, despite its puny numbers. Cheers to Showtime! This, coming on the heels of HBO renewing The Wire for a fifth season, was prompted by critical raves more than ratings. For this, we should be very grateful to pay for cable’s ability to, on occasion, look beyond ratings numbers and keep shows alive that enhance the brand. Brotherhood is out on DVD next week, and maybe that sort of exposure will boost its profile by the time a new season begins sometime next year. Let’s hope so ...
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Flyboys
Dean Devlin has written and produced numerous big-budget studio films over the years, from the successful Stargate and Independence Day to the not-so-successful Godzilla. For Flyboys, Devlin left the confines of studio filmmaking to tell the story of the Lafayette Escadrille, a squadron of American fighter pilots who volunteered their services to battle the Kaiser in World War I. TVGuide.com spoke with the self-confessed sci-fi geek about making the movie, which swoops into theaters this weekend. Plus, a big-screen Stargate-sequel update!
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Question: I couldn't agree more with your assessment of The Wire as classic television. One of the things that I love about the show is its incredible realism. I am a second-year law student at Harvard, and when I took criminal law, I was amazed by how much I already knew from watching the show. The show got all of the laws about wiretapping and search and seizure right, unlike some other shows, like Law & Order, which change the details to fit the story. The U.S. attorney for Maryland was recently at my school, and someone asked if his impressions of the war on drugs had changed since taking office. He replied that they had, and that if you really wanted to know what it was like, you should watch a show called The Wire. You don't get much better of a recommendation than that.
Answer: I'd say. And I'll say it again: The Wire is the best TV you should be watching this season, and that's coming from someone who likes an inordinate amount of TV ...
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Just one episode into the new season of The Wire ? and despite a 21 percent dip in total viewers (versus those who tuned in for the previous opener) ? HBO has picked up the crime drama for a fifth and final round. "I had no question in my mind about the quality of the show, but you never know," HBO entertainment prez Carolyn Strauss tells the Hollywood Reporter. "The show is extraordinary and breathtaking." Though the network's options on the cast have expired, Strauss expects the core ensemble to be back for Season 5, the length of which has yet to be determined.
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Question: With a new season of The Wire about to start in a few weeks, is there anything we can do to get Emmy voters to watch the best show and best performances on television? Should we offer to walk their dogs? Rent a blimp and broadcast the show on giant screens above their houses? With all its drug deals, murder and corruption, the worst crime associated with The Wire is how it's criminally neglected by the Emmys.
Answer: I know these were rhetorical questions, but my biggest challenge with The Wire has always been how to praise it without making it sound like medicine. (Not just "good for you," but "good.") It's such a serious and complex show, I can only think that it's too much for most people. In the fourth season, which I hope to begin watching very soon (there's never enough time), the focus is on younger characters and the school system, so the thinking is that it will be more relatable than stories from past seasons. Hey, whatever works ...
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