“It’s not TV. It’s HBO.”

The premium cable network’s catchphrase might be more than a little pretentious, but I’ve found it to be true. Plus its appropriate, since HBO original series are more often than not a little pretentious themselves. Oz, the short-lived John from Cincinnati and the incredibly overrated Six Feet Under come to mind.
It’s not as if HBO programs are better than popular network shows like Lost or 24 just because they have cursing and nudity in their content (though hey, that doesn’t hurt). Rather, episodes of HBO shows are like one-hour movies that explore themes and delve into further depths of its characters that you can’t find anywhere else. They also feature terrific acting, editing and directing Each season of a show like The Sopranos or Deadwood feels like a novel, leaving you salivating for the next installment.
The problem with these shows, as with any television drama, for that matter, is that they ultimately have to come to an end. Sometimes they conclude too early (Carnivale), or just end very, very badly (Sopranos creator David Chase, I’m looking at you). I’m going to avoid the chance to go on a tirade about the most pretentious series finale in the history of television and the abuse of Journey, a band that should never, ever consider giving Chase the rights to one of its songs ever again.
But there’s that rare occasion when a show is so good, and touches upon so many different themes and aspects so well, and the characters have accomplished (or suffered) as much as possible, that there is little more it can do and you have to accept that the story has finally come to an end. I’m speaking of The Wire, which is finishing its fifth and final season on Sunday, March 9, though subscribers to Comcast’s On Demand service can watch episodes a week early on Mondays after midnight.
There’s only so much room in one post before it becomes too long, so I’ll save my review/retrospective on The Wire for the next one. But with this series coming to a close, I’m curious to see what the future holds for HBO’s original programing. The Wire is the latest hugely successful series to end, leaving us with Big Love, a dramedy about a polygamist family contending with a fundamental Mormon group and society’s negative view of its lifestyle, as the only HBO drama left. Sopranos, Six Feet Under (despite my hatred, I have to admit it was popular), Carnivale, Deadwood, Rome, and now this series. I doubt Big Love can step up to become THE HBO show as these all were in the past. I’m not including comedies like Flight of the Concords and Entourage in this category because they’re a different sort of show all together.
Hopefully the network can come up with a new show that will fill the large shoes of The Wire and its predecessors. Otherwise, I’ll have to subscribe to Showtime for Dexter in order to get my fill of premium network programming.

Posted by
Brian "B-Mac" McCarthy