The Way We Were

I don't know why I don't watch HBO shows when they are actually running (I mean, aside from the fact that I don't have HBO). During the summer of 2008, I watched the entirety of Six Feet Under, 3 years after it ended, and enjoyed it immensely. The Sopranos and The Wire have been hailed as two of the best series of all time, and based on other things I like, I should love Curb Your Enthusiasm (though I've seen 2 episodes and was not won over, though I may try again, if only to see the Seinfeld "reunion").

I also saw Deadwood that summer, 2 years after it ended, and was once again blown away by the depth of the show, as well as what the writers were able to do without the constraints of network standards and practices. I am currently watching Rome, after it was heavily recommended by some friends, and so far it is incredible. So my next series of posts will be on Deadwood and Rome (hopefully by the time I get to that series, I will have nearly completed it), examining their views on society, politics, and life in general.

Deadwood was about the creation of a society, following a town in a part of the North American continent that was destined to become, but was not yet, part of the United States. The inhabitants initially lived without actual laws, but had to conform to some kind of system in order to avoid pure chaos. Rome starts at the twilight of the Roman republic, a decade or two before the rise of the empire. So far, the class struggle has been a central aspect of the series, and it examines the lives of various types of people in the ancient democracy.

Up next: The wild west...