Sgt. Angle Reporting for Duty!
Recent television news has sparked my interest in spreading my own preferred programming. Pilot news: Shit My Dad (William Shatner) Says based on a Twitter feed (as I wrote about a while back), Kathryn Bigelow directing the pilot “The Miraculous Year,” a drama revolving around a New York family as seen by a charismatic Broadway composer, and Frank Darabont’s adaptation of the comic “The Walking Dead”.
Darabont and Bigelow have directed television before — he an episode of “The Shield” and the pilot for the short-lived and fun Jeff Goldblum detective show “Raines”, she a few episodes of the great “Homicide: Life on the Street”. “The Walking Dead” will prove to be right up The Mist director’s alley in terms of character and microcosmic town environments over a grand scale, and the source material provides more than enough foundation for a series to last several years. Meanwhile, for Bigelow’s “The Miraculous Year”…not much to be said at the moment, other than it’s written by John Logan (Gladiator, The Aviator).
The recent rise of filmmakers transitioning to television should excite you, but in no way should it prevent you from enjoying great television from years past. Here are some TV shows that, if still on the air you need to get addicted to, and if no longer on the air then you should speed watch DVD box sets with no remorse.
1. “The Wire” — Creator David Simon wrote “The Wire” as a love song to his hometown of Baltimore, and like any great love song, the meat is in the heart of the series, the incredible cases, the layered and complicated stories, and the diverse plots which converge into one stream at the end of each season. Season one is a detective story, on the trail of an inner city drug kingpin who evades capture while claiming territory, and the pawns who are the drug dealers. Season two brings us a virtually all-new cast as we head to the port of Baltimore — where all the drugs come in. Each character’s tale is gripping, from the detectives and their murder cases, to the police commissioner’s ongoing political strife; to a young mayoral candidate and his political aspirations, to a school classroom’s deterioration in the face of the drug world. All is not well in Baltimore. But, as the threatening rogue Omar would say, “It’s all in the game.”
In the game of television, “The Wire” is proof of the power that television can hold, and the educational value of watching something you love fall apart. Too bad the audience never grew too large, but perhaps that was a blessing to those of us who watched all five seasons on the edge of our seats. From Variety: “Whatever its commercial fate, however, “The Wire” has secured its place as one of the most demanding and thought-provoking series ever to grace television”
2. Sportsnight — For anyone who didn’t have a chance in the 90s to catch hold of Aaron Sorkin’s A Few Good Men or The American President, “Sportsnight” came along and wiped the floor clean for all television sitcoms of the future. It’s too bad that converging elements brought out the hook all too soon for this gem of a show. Here’s the stage as it was set: The behind-the-scenes relationships and happenings of a late night sports news show a la ESPN’s Sportscenter. A strong female lead producer (Felicity Huffman), two charming yet arrogant sportscasters (Peter Krause and Josh Charles), the young rookie (Joshua Molina) and the sage, wise protector of his staff (Robert Guillaume). Directed by the great Thomas Schlamme, “Sportsnight” was the first of its’ kind to have a complete, fully operational set built on a soundstage — all four walls. This meant the camera can go anywhere it pleases, and because it was set behind-the-scenes ON a soundstage, the camera could film a lighting crew or a boom op and it would all be a piece of the scenery.
Steadicam chews up the halls as characters walk and talk through 50-page scripts reading Sorkin’s breakneck dialogue. He gave an interview in which he stated that he sold the pilot before writing the script, and wrote it the day before he was to pitch it. Of course, it sold at the same time as “The West Wing,” a pilot script that was once considered the best pilot ever written in Hollywood. After season one fazed out the network-imposed laugh-track and shifting time-slots, Sorkin split his weeks — and his brain — between “Sportsnight’”s comedy and “The West Wing’”s social relevance. Writing both shows each week, ABC decided to suck all the air out of “Sportsnight” because of low-ratings and expenses. Were it not for “Sportsnight“‘s innovative set design and directing, single-camera techniques, etc., perhaps we wouldn’t currently have “The Office”, “Arrested Development”, or any number of other single-camera comedies on the air now.
3. Deadwood — David Milch is one of those creators who won’t stop, and doesn’t seem to care that his brake lines have been cut and he’s barreling at us at 100 MPH’s. And that’s just what makes for great television. Set in the late 19th Century US Midwest, Deadwood was a real town with real characters — including the grungy, manipulative, and perhaps mad Al Swearengen (Ian McShane) — that David Milch turned into a dirty place where dreams die quick, guns are drawn quicker, and saloons become meeting rooms as much as they are festering dens of thieves.
HBO canceled the series all too early, a decision which Milch was devastated by, but understands. Everything has an end, and even episodes by themselves must come to a conclusion. But whatever we’ve missed in the deleted season four we can make up for by watching Wild Bill meet Swearengen, and Calamity Jane’s grief in a bottle over and over again.
4. Breaking Bad — Perhaps one of the greatest first seasons in television in the past twenty years, Breaking Bad started off with a terrific pilot episode and concluded its’ first season in just seven episodes, all taking place over just three weeks in the timeline of chemistry teacher Walter White (Bryan Cranston), who says so much by doing much and saying little (fathom that!). Walter is already struggling to support his wife and teenage son, taking on a night job to wash cars in his New Mexico town. After getting diagnosed with cancer, Walter doesn’t want to break the news — or the costs - to his wife, and joins his brother-in-law on a drug bust. The suspect, a meth dealer, escapes, but Walter recognizes his former student’s car, and comes up with a proposition: Walter cooks, Jesse (Aaron Paul) deals, and they keep doing so until Walter can save up enough for his family after he dies. Walter uses his insanely brilliant skills as a chemist to cook the finest, purest form of meth that the southwestern US has seen — bringing him unwanted noteriety in the criminal world, a slew of dealers to contend with over territory, and the heat of the DEA — including his brother-in-law.
And that’s just the first two episodes. “Breaking Bad” hands you, the viewer, in a meth-covered glass dish, the chance to watch a good man go bad — for good reason. No matter how much you fight it, you want Walter to win. He’s a character built out of failure and circumstance, out of devotion to his family rather than his passions. Is it too late to make things up for your past mistakes, even if it means breaking the law? Season three begins in March…catch up now, and catch on. “Breaking Bad” airs on AMC.
5. Friday Night Lights — I know, who cares enough about high school football to want to watch a show about it? What’s in it for me? Well, if you’re a soldier like I am, then you know how discipline and dedication play into all aspects of your breathing existence we’ll call life. That’s what :Friday Night Lights” is about. It’s not about the game, it’s about the in between — those moments alone when you think you have failed, the moments you have with your family you wish you could get back, those moments when you think you’re in love and happy forever only to discover that life finds a way to step in. “Friday Night Lights” focuses on the Texas town of Dillon and the high school football team, the players, the coach and his family, and the town citizens who love nothing more than watching their team play and win. But it’s more than that. It’s about the people behind the players, the fans, and the coaches.
Season four just wrapped up on the DirectTV channel a few weeks ago, and over the last few years, the show has tackled the following topics: love, death, birth, divorce, affairs, paralysis, abortion, religion, steroids, racism, one-night-stands, broken promises, deteriorating friendships, reconciliation, and gangland shootings. That’s just on the surface. Featuring one of the top (dare I say) three actors on television today as Coach Taylor, Kyle Chandler, Friday Night Lights should not be missed.
6. Battlestar Galactica. I don’t need to mention this modern masterpiece of a show, because if you haven’t heard of it by now, you’re clearly not of this planet. It’s not just a science fiction program. This is a genius work of art, a steady, worthy contribution to the history of television, and one of the best shows you will see, as a fan of sci-fi, solid acting, strong characters, and good television. Need I say more? See below for my final argument: Edward. James. Olmos.
You are dismissed!
Sgt. Angle
