OK, we’ve arrived at the final installment of my look back at 2011!
Click here for my Top 15 Movies of 2011: part one, part two, and part three. Click here for my Top 15 Comic Book Series of 2011: part one and part two. Click here for my Top 10 DVDs/Blu-Rays of 2011. And, finally, click here for part one of my Top 10 Episodes of TV of 2011.
Now, let’s wrap up my list!
5. Treme: “What is New Orleans?” (season 2, episode 9, aired on 6/19/11) — As the second season built to a climax, everything started to come together in this powerhouse of an episode that encapsulated everything I love about this amazing show. So many of the story-lines that had run through the entire season come to a head in this episode: The talented young rapper in Davis’ new group begins to upstage him; Lt. Colson gets transferred (against his will) to Homicide; Janette really begins to flower under her new chef in New York City, and so much more goes down. But the episode’s two highlights come from opposite extremes of the emotional spectrum. There’s the hilarious sequence in which Antoine steals an audience from Kermit, luring them into the club where his new band is playing… at least until Kermit turns the tables on him. Then there is the shocking, horribly tragic death of a main character in the final moments. (I almost selected the Game of Thrones episode “Baelor” for this list — that’s the amazing episode that also climaxed in the death of a main character. I absolutely adored that episode — it reminded me of the way I fell in love with 24 when they boldly killed off Jack’s wife in the season one finale, a shocking display of anything-can-happen — but ultimately I selected a different episode of Game of Thrones, “You Win or You Die,” for the number ten spot on my list. ”Baelor” was amazing, but it’s testament to the power of Treme that it’s this episode that left even more of a mark on me.) I am dying for season three of this marvelous show to arrive.
4. Curb Your Enthusiasm: “Mister Softee” (season 8, episode 9, aired on 9/4/11) — Curb Your Enthusiasm is pretty much always great, but every now and then an installment comes along that shoots right up into the level of genius. My friends, I would postulate that “Mister Softee” is just such an episode. There’s so much greatness on display in this episode that I hardly know where to begin: With Larry’s condescending, loose-lipped psychiatrist (played by Sy Abelman himself — A Serious… [continued]
Check out this sneak peek at Game of Thrones season two! AARRGH, I can’t believe we have to wait until September! (But I’m intrigued by the rumor that seasons 3 and 4 will shoot back-to-back and will comprise a two-season adaptation of the third book, A Storm of Swords.)
Speaking of waiting, looks like Star Trek 2 (or whatever they’re gonna call it) finally has a release date: May 17, 2013. That’s a long four years after the 2009 release of the first (or eleventh, depending on how you’re counting) film (which was itself delayed from its originally scheduled release in December, 2008). Here’s hoping the film is good after such a long wait, and that Paramount can get the third (or thirteenth!) film rolling with a little less down-time…
While we’re on the subject of Star Trek, check out these fascinating early-draft versions of the famous “space… the final frontier” opening monologue.
I love Devin Faraci’s recent piece on the increasingly crazy Frank Miller. Click here to read The Devin’s Advocate: Frank Miler is an Asshole, but I Still Like His Work. I wholeheartedly agree.
Interesting the hear that David Simon feels that four seasons is his ideal length for Treme. God, I love that show. Season three is definitely happening, so I really hope HBO give sMr. Simon and his team their desired fourth and final season.
There’s a new trailer out for John Carter (of Mars). I wish I was more excited about this film. The trailer looks absolutely gorgeous, but I am really not loving the glimpses we’ve seen of Taylor Kirsch so far in the lead role. Maybe I am letting bad feelings from his appearing in X-Men Origins: Wolverine (as Gambit) get to me. Or maybe it’s that Disney’s butchering of the title (it should be called John Carter OF MARS!!!) that has me uneasy. We’ll see. I’m crossing my fingers big-time on this one.
Speaking of movies coming out this spring, Joss Whedon’s film Cabin in the Woods looks like it’s finally, FINALLY getting released after sitting on the shelf for two years. Love the new poster. I don’t really know anything about this film other than the fact that Joss Whedon directed it, but that’s enough to get my butt in the theatre. (UPDATE: A trailer was just released and now that I’ve watched it I know MORE about this film than I wish I did!! BEWARE SPOILERS, and watch at your own peril.)
And speaking of movie adaptations that I should be anticipating but aren’t (I’m referring back to John Carter (of Mars), now, not Cabin in the Woods!), comes word that… [continued]
Yesterday I began my list of the Top 10 Episodes of TV of 2010. Here now is the rest of the list, numbers 1-5!
5. 30 Rock: “Reaganing” (season 5, episode 5, aired on 10/21/10) – Jack boasts that he has reached a 24-hour state of perfection that he called “Reaganing,” in which he is unable to make any mistakes. But his perfect game is challenged when he’s faced with helping Liz sort out her latest sexual hang-up. The episode is packed with terrific moments: Kelsey Grammer helping Jenna and Kenneth scam a local bakery; Tracy’s incredible inability to deliver a single line necessary for a commercial; and the revelation of the origin of Liz’s sexual problem. (Hint: it involves Tom Jones.) Very funny stuff.
4. The Pacific: Part Ten (aired on 5/16/10) – I’m a big fan of the final chapters of The Return of the King that chronicle what happened after the victorious destruction of the One Ring and the defeat of Sauron. I also love the voluminous appendices, that detail the final fates of all of the main characters. Most stories choose to end at the moment of our heroes’ triumph, but I find something powerfully sad about exploring what happens in the days afterwards. This might help to explain why I was so taken with the final episode of Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg’s HBO mini-series The Pacific. This episode is set after the end of the war, and we see our characters — most notably Eugene Sledge and Robert Leckie — return home and attempt, each in their own way, to rebuild their lives which were forever changed by their experiences in combat. I found the whole hour to be devastating, particularly the moment when we see Sledge’s father standing quietly, helplessly, outside his son’s bedroom door as he listens to the wails of his son who lies within, unable to sleep because of the haunting effects of the conflict. The series could have easily ended after Part Nine, but it’s the events of Part Ten that, to me, raise The Pacific to the level of greatness.
3. Parks and Recreation: “94 Meetings” (Season 2, episode 21, aired on 4/29/2010) – Yep, I’ve got a second episode of Parks and Recreation on my list. Ron Effing Swanson is threatened with actually having to do some work when he discovers that April has scheduled all of the meetings that he’s put off all year-long for one single day. The wonderfully rich ensemble of the show (which has been so beautifully fleshed out during the show’s second season, after a shaky start in the six-episode first season) gets to shine, when Ron solicits everyone’s help in… [continued]
In addition to watching the first two new episodes of Futurama last week, I had a chance to catch (a few weeks late) the final two episodes of Treme, the magnificent new HBO series by the fine folks behind The Wire (A.K.A. The greatest television series ever created).
When I wrote about the initial installment of Treme I was pretty dang high on the series, and I am pleased to say that, if anything, I think even MORE HIGHLY of the series now that its first ten-episode series has wrapped up.
It’s remarkable to me how fleshed out the vast ensemble of characters on the show have become over this first short (ten episodes) season. There’s been more character development in these ten episodes than in the entire run of many TV shows. Over the course of the season, each and every character on the show got their due, and I’m impressed and stunned at how attached I’ve become to these characters (even the less-than-noble ones!) in such a short time.
In my review of the premiere, I commented that the one cast-member who seemed to stick out to me was Steve Zahn’s full-of-himself, bumbling character Davis. I found Davis to be annoyingly childish, and he felt out-of-place on the show. Well, I stand corrected, because now at the end of the season I think that Davis is one of my favorite characters! As noted above, this is due to the writers’ great work in exploring and deepening their characters over the course of the season. The fine acting — on the part of Steve Zahn and the rest of the superb cast — doesn’t hurt, either!
As was always the case on The Wire, the writers of Treme have managed to tell a complete story over the course of the season. The final episode, “I’ll Fly Away,” brings closure to a number of story-lines and character-arcs, while still leaving ENORMOUS untapped story-potential for future seasons to (hopefully) explore.
What else can I say? The first season of Treme was heart-breaking and hilarious, and gripping from the first minute to the last. The music of the show is extraordinary (and the show’s theme-song is my favorite since Firefly). If you haven’t seen this show, go watch it now. Me, I’ll be counting the days until season two…
Can we all just agree that The Wire is the greatest television show ever made?
Anyone who has seen The Wire surely must agree with that (admittedly bold) statement. As for the rest of you — what are you waiting for?? (Until you’ve seen this masterpiece, I’m really not interested in your opinion.)
I would imagine that anyone in the cult of The Wire couldn’t help but be interested, as I was, in creator David Simon’s new HBO series Treme (pronounced Tre-MAY) set in New Orleans three months after Katrina. I took in the premiere episode, “Do You Know What it Means” earlier this week, and I am happy to report that I am totally and unabashedly hooked.
The Wire was a devastating critique of the modern American city. Over the course of five seasons, Mr. Simon and his extraordinary team of writers explored the inadequacies and failures of society on every level of the city of Baltimore: from the kids on the corners to the cops on the street to the politicians in their offices, not to mention the detectives, the judges, the newspapermen (and women), the D.A.s, the crime lords, and on and on. So when I read last year that Mr. Simon was developing a show about New Orleans, that seemed to me to be a logical follow-up. In New Orleans after Katrina, Mr. Simon had found a city in which the seemingly intractable problems of Baltimore paled in comparison.
And yet, I was pleasantly surprised by just how upbeat the pilot of Treme was. Oh, don’t misunderstand me, there is plenty of horrible tragedy on display, and I have no doubt that, as the season progresses, further Job-like troubles await many of the characters to whom we were introduced in this first installment. But along with the horror, Treme contained a lot of hope as well.
An enormous factor in that tone is the way that so much astoundingly wonderful music is interwoven into the story being told. Many of the main characters in Treme (such as the trombone-player Antoine, played by Wendell Piece, who so memorably played Bunk on The Wire) are musicians, and the pilot frequently pauses to allow us to immerse ourselves in the wonderful music of New Orleans. The music is almost the primary character in the show. And so much of the music is so phenomenal that it’s hard not to feel good listening to it. This provides a powerful counterpoint to the tough drama found in the story of a city on the brink.
The pilot episode introduces us to a large ensemble of characters. As in The Wire, these characters are from a wide variety of professions and social… [continued]