HBO - The Greatest TV Channel on Earth!

I was just about to prattle on about some awesome TV shows, but rather than start a thread for each, I thought I would dedicate a thread to the network from which the shows come from - HBO.

Let's go down the list:

• The Sopranos
• Generation Kill
• Deadwood
• The Wire
• 6 Feet Under
• Entourage
• Curb Your Enthusiasm
• Oz
• Extras

You can't find better TV than that so consistently on any other network.

I just finished watching Generation Kill, and I am back again onto Deadwood

Rob, get onto True Blood.

Awesome new HBO series which is currently 5 episodes into season 1.

http://www.hbo.com/trueblood/

I was only thinking just before that we needed a HBO thread, I have just started watching The Wire and I really like it.

The Wire possibly beats The West Wing as the arguably the greatest TV series ever made.

My favourite character is Stringer.

I will not, and you can't make me!

*checking*

Don't have HBO. Nat Geo and Discovery keep me more than occupied though.

You own an internet, don't you?!

Only 8gig a month though. If there are something worth downloading I may spend a night in the car outside some motor inn at Glenelg that has super fast free wireless broadband though... I've never seen any of those shows but I have been meaning to watch Deadwood for a while now.

Deadwood is awesome. My fave of all the HBO shows.

Ended up becoming an addiction with me though and my life was put on hold for a week whilst I did nothing but watch Deadwood.

I prefer "D" as odd looking as he is.

still hanging to see the wire

have heard so many good reports.

I am sorry I asked.

Get onto it...

I do love Deadwood.

Apart from the whole thing ending without quite a few answers. Man that pissed me off.

I agree with The Wire being quite possibly the greatest thing to ever happen to television. In fact the entire premise of this thread is pretty hard to argue with.

I can relate to and agree with your post mate, for quite possibly the first time ever 

my 

1   Dexter -dorkster
2   Rome -where's my season 3??!?   >: (
3   Curb Your Enthusiasm -enjewsiasm
4   Oz
5   Entourage
6   The Wire
7   Generation Kill
8   Deadwood -c#cksuckers! shoddy 'HBO premature ending'   >: (
8   Flight of the Conchords
9   Carnivale -shoddy 'HBO premature ending'   >: (
10 Sopranos   

I don't understand why so many people like this show.

I think it's on a level with Everybody Love Raymond for being full of annoying cunts who should just hurry up and die.

I've tried to watch it and see the humour, but I just can't.

how dare you!

that is a shockingly poor comparison
often people with low attention spans are deterred by the pace of the progression
(I can't say if this does or doesn't apply to you)


antisemite IMO

Are you for real, Larry David is a genius compared to Ray Romano who is complete cunt.

OK, maybe I was overstating a wee bit... 

I've seen Larry David and Ray Romano both do stand up, and while Larry is clearly better the show just shits me to tears.

Personal taste IMO, considering you are the guy who would like to write his own porn script, I believe my taste may be superior.

Curb your enthusiasm is a heaps funny show however I never had time to get on the bandwagon. If I had the time I would do a marathon.

Sex in the City- HBO!

Oh yeh

The women speaks some truth

HAHAHAHAHA I just cracked up larfin there  

However Bec, are you questioning the superiority of porn? I believe you may have a few AMers contesting you there.
 

I have a small internet addiction that may also include porn, although I have never watched and never will watch Pirate porn.


although if Johnny Depp is in it, I will definitely be turning in

Lol. there is actually a Pirates Of The Caribbean porno out there. Most expensive production ever I believe. Once you get past all the fancy CGI and even more genuine attempts at a plot and acting...it's still just porn. High quality porn.

  :jumps on Google:

If its the one I'm thinking about, Jesse Jane owns that film.

She sucks a good dick.

SHE ABSOLUTELY LOVES IT!

Definitely has a genuine appreciation for cock.

Didn't appear to be that keen on sucking mine at the Sexpo though.

How did that make you feel?

Rejected by the girl who once said she's never met a cock she didn't love.

I tried to get introductions underway, but security had a pretty tight grip on me once the fly was unzipped.

HBO or GTFO

kthxby

I prefer velcro for quicker penis release.

get it back on topic kiddies

Wasn't Jesse Jane in an episode of Entourage?

thats a pretty weak link

until they air pirates on hbo, keep it moving

kthnx

Oz
Deadwood
The Sopranos

The Holy Trinity imo.
Special mentions to...

The Wire
Entourage

Haven't checked out Big Love, Carnivale, Flight of the Conchords or Curb Your Enthusiasm yet, but would be keen.

Hahaha. Love the derail. The cover pic is posted in the Ask Khem thread if you want to check it out for reference Bek.

I can't believe no one has mentioned anything more substantial about Oz. Such an awesome show. There's so many gripping character studies in there. Beecher's storyline in particular has so many interesting moments, he's definitely a character who you can sympathise with as an ordinary guy thrust into a cut-throats world. The prison politics & hierarchies are fascinating as well. Every character on there has a role to play in the grand scheme of things. I'm still yet to finish it, I think I've got seasons 4-6 left maybe, I only ever watched it on SBS but I now have the whole fleet of stolen cars to drive.

Rome was utterly amazing. Pity about the length as Rookie mentioned.

Entourage is good light hearted fun compared to HBO's usual dark material, awesome though.

I'm well keen on Deadwood and The Wire. Never seen an episode but have heard so many good things. Carnivale too. I've seen criminally few episodes of The Sopranos as well.

Definitely have to pay a visit to the DVD guys at the mall and sort out full sets of these shows sometime when I'm cashed up...

I now have season 1 and 2 in my hot little hands

YIYAH!

Agree with everything you've said here mate. I got into watching it from about halfway through the 5th season on SBS in about 06, and just got addicted to it. Then I had to wait for ages until they released all the seasons in Australia, and since then I've watched it from the 1st episode to the last, waiting for each season to be released...Fucking incredible show, definitely my favourite television show of all time. I always love seeing people from it pop up in different things, for example Dean Winters (Ryan O' Reilly) appeared on 30 Rock last night Pretty cool. Who was your favourite character man? For me I couldn't choose only 1.

Reckon it'd have to be

Supreme Allah
Ryan O' Reilly
Adebesi
Napa




I've got all 6 seasons on DVD, they're probably my most important assets 

Certainly was. Part of Pussy Patrol with Devon.

Probably...

Beecher
Adebisi
Ryan O'Reilly
Augustus Hill

Those two old guys were a laugh too, with the one who spoke to God. That young kid (Kenny?) was cool too.

What ever happened to Carnivale? Werent they gonna eventually do a Series 2?
Awesome show.
I didn't used to like Curb, but then I realised that youre supposed to think Larry is a cunt. I dont mind it now, has some gold moments.

Also, I dont mind Everybody Loves Raymond. Sure, Ray isnt funny at all but Frank and Robert are funny as.
I mean, its better than everything else thats on at 1am, no?

Also, dont know if it's HBO or not, but Homicide - Life on the streets was pretty damn good.

 Hav just downloaded The Wire and have Series 1 of West Wing on the DL. Looking forward to both.

 IMO The Sopranos tops everything else that I have seen so far. I absolutely love this show. I'm on my third time through the series, currently halfway throuh the last series (6). I could write about it for hours. I may even start a thread lol

 

 

They did.

http://store.hbo.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2285205

a season or the whole lot?

 First season

I encourage the starting of a Sopranos related thread.

if you go digging i think patch started one a while ago....

showtime is a pretty good tv channel too

 I reckon that Sopranos thread was on the last board. If I gat my study done in time today i will start an epic thread lol

Just started downloading season 1 & 2 of Rome.

By all accounts it is up there with the best HBO shows so fingers crossed it's worth the 9GB I'm about to invest.

i saw the first ep, but havent progressed. had too much else to watch.
looked decent though and the mates were into it


just finished season 1 of The Wire.
now fuck me, that was really good. cant wait to get onto the next one...

Yeah, I tried to get into 'Rome" but it just didnt hold up.

Just finished watching the whole 5 series of The Wire, I liked them all except number 5 it bored me.

So good! Amazing show...I just wish it went for longer than 2 seasons!



You suck!   

I hate to say it, but I think The Wire slightly edges The Sopranos.

The layers just run so deep. You miss an episode, you're way behind.

A lot of inferred stuff too, so if you're not paying attention, you will miss heaps.

I am on my second run through The Wire (up to halfway through S2) and I am picking up stuff I missed the first time.

 

Well, try to aim elsewhere mkay?

 Finished season 4 of The Wire today. Fuck it's a good show.

 Was gutted that Bodie got offed though, he was cool.

Agreed, he was def one of the best characters on the show... after Bunk that is.

i'm extremely addicted to the wire now too.

just started season 2, and like cleasc said i'm finding it a bit slow at the mo!

and now i keep dreaming about police and drugs and black people and shit!

Don't worry, it's smooth sailing for the rest of the season after you get a half dozen eps in.

Giving Oz a thorough rewatch/watch lately. So much quality. I'm just a few eps into season 2, and I'm still seeing the same eps I saw when I watched it on SBS years ago - it's still great but I'm keen to get into the later seasons which I never saw because SBS pulled a fast one and abruptly replaced the show with something else at the time.

I am half way through S2 on my first go round. Very good show.

Oh man i'm loving it, nearly through season 1 now.  Watching one ep a night while im away, Im gonna be crushed when i run out in a few nights time.   

Has anyone watched Generation Kill?

Has a few of the actors from True Blood and Oz in it, some serious eye candy for me.

Great show.

Awesome show. Was put together by the creators of The Wire.

The book is good too.

season 1 was wicked. half way through 2 now and it's def picked up. looking forward to finishing it and starting 3!

the wire has been my life this week! no wonder i'm dreaming about it!

Didn't they play the later eps after they pulled it? Anywho, enjoy when you get 'round to it!

Yeah, they eventually played the entire show; including the disappointingly banal finale.

Maybe they did but I didn't know about it...


Thanks for giving me something to look forward to!

Book?

I didn't know there was a book.

Info please Mr Frost.

  It's only the very last episode that I was disappointed by. Maybe I was expecting too much. I still say Harold Perrineau's final speech was a letdown though.

http://www.amazon.com/Generation-Kill-Captain-America-American/dp/0399151931

Evan Wright, journalist for Rolling Stone Magazine, rode with First Recon Marines as they crossed over the Kuwait border during the 2003 invasion of Iraq. He was with them as they came under fire from Republican Guard as they lead the attack, pushing forward to spring enemy ambushes. They even have 'blue-on-blue' contacts with other battalions.

His story first appeared as articles in RS over several issues, then was published as a stand-alone novel.

It's a great, quick read and the TV show is very accurate to the book, even down to the dialogue.

Highly recommended if you're into reading combat.

Picked up Season 3 of the wire the other day. If anyone's interested seasons 1-4 are going for $20 each at JB down from $50...

So I just finished the complete series of Oz. Absolutely riveting throughout...

I was a bit annoyed by lots of unresolved issues with characters by the last episode, it felt like it could have kept going easily.

But I think that is the point of keeping the storylines unfinished, illustrating the fact that life in jail will continue for all of these men in a neverending cycle of violence, hate and survival.

Agreed, that show rocks!


But social workers make a difference! 

Even the social workers on that show weren't angels, the lawyer chick actively tried to get her client a guilty sentence purely because she was jealous of him being her boyfriend's lover!

And while not technically a social worker there was a crazy nurse lady in there too remember!

Lawyer? Nurse?

What did the social workers do on that show? Two of them were the only ethical voices most of the times. But no one is an angel, NO ONE!

That is why I loved that gritty realness of the show; it conveyed the grey areas of the human condition and character quite well. FFS; a huge problem with our society is the simplistic binary we resort to in relation to ethics, knowledge and wisdom between 'good' and 'evil'. Whereas the true complexity lies in between.

 ORLY


 

  finally got rips after waiting 6 months for a $100 cable to connect the PC to the projector

finished season 1 of madmen
started season 1 of big love 

the wire straight after them, so a couple of weeks...

 

Ok, you got me. I had an underlying motive to watch that show. 

There was without a doubt more full frontal cock action than any show I've ever seen before but I can look past that for the quality of the storyline lol.

Not to mention how LARGE they are! I wonder how you managed to look past that...? 

Size doesn't matter remember?


In the course of my viewing I've been looking up stuff on the net about Oz and in an interesting bit of trivia the guy that played Jazz Hoyt went on to 'act' in porn movies after Oz and met and married his wife, porn superstar Tera Patrick!

I thought he was actually decent enough to act for real haha.

Oh and he was also in the band Biohazard.

That is the cornerstone of urban mythology IMO. Keep on telling yourself that boys.

 Halfway through Season 5 of The Wire

 Finished The Wire yesterday
 
 
 For those that haven't seen it, The Wire is starting this tuesday on ABC 2 at 9.30. Highly recommended.

 Def in my top 5 fave TV shows of all time!

halfway through season 3 and loving it

finished 4 last week. need 5 stat.

Not sure if anybody's already mentioned these in here at all, but I was reading the UK FHM recently and these are two HBO shows in the works apparantly...

Boardwalk Empire: Set in prohibition-era Atlantic City, Scorsese directing, Sopranos writer Terence Winter, Mark Wahlberg producing, Stephen Graham as Al Capone and Steve Buscemi in the cast.

The Pacific: Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks 10-part sequel to Band of Brothers, based obviously in the Pacific conflict.

Both sound fucking rad

I'm expecting great things from Boardwalk Empire. HBO do make me wonder what brilliant pitches weren't made in to TV shows prior to their existence.

Yea, looking forward to them. Band of Brothers has to be one of my favourite all time TV series.

There was another mentioned, but won't be in their class - Michael Bay and Jerry Bruckheimer on the Miami drugs trade.

That sounds fucking shit

I foresee lots of explosions and removal of sunglasses at said explosions.

I hope it has cops driving Ferraris and living in mansions as per Michael Bay's believable story-telling style.

There has to be drug dealing aliens as well.

Saw this, had to share...

"50 Greatest Characters from The Wire"

http://fansided.com/2009/09/02/the-50-greatest-characters-from-the-wire/

Sounds like Miami Vice: Reloaded.

If done right it could be awesome though, has anyone seen that doco Cocaine Cowboys? There would be some great material from that kind of stuff.

PS. It's not Michael Mann (instead of Bay) is it? That would make a lot more sense due to his association with the original series and the recent movie. Jan Hammer better be doing the music!

As if there is any doubt whatsoever who would be number 1.

I was a bit surprised Bunk was so far down the list.

 Bunk is pretty high man!. He could maybe go above about Freeman but he was pretty awesome too.

 

I would have liked to see Brother Mouzone higher up the list as he was definitely a personal favourite.

just finished season 5 of the wire yesterday. definitely the best season of them all. so sad that it's all over.

just finished season 4 - now to get my hands on season 5!?!!

[video: www.youtube.com]

Looks like its coming out March next year

THE WIRE - 100 Greatest Quotes

[video: www.youtube.com]

Awesome.

Curb Your Enthusiasm FTW!!!!

For all those into The Wire, JB Hifi have the first 4 seasons for $20 each at the moment  all ready for round 2 

I don't think season 5 is out in our region yet

I'm rather obsessed with Oz at the moment.

Quickly rising to the top of my HBO favourites list.

Speaking of HBO has anyone watched Generation Kill? Have heard some good reports and was wondering if it is worth the download.

 Literally was coming in here to post about it. Watched 3 eps last weekend and it's fucking awesome.

 Def download it.

 

Nice. Should give me something to watch this weekend.

From what little I've seen of it, it seems pretty good. Not up to the level of their last effort, but definitely worth the D/L.

I watched all of Generation Kill  a couple of weeks ago - I really enjoyed, definitely worth downloading.

I have got 2 Eps to go and I have finished all 6 seasons. What a show

I am considering re watching it again this weekend.

Oz is awesome. Still have the last few seasons to go as well.

Generation Kill was really good. Highly recommended.

2 episodes into Generation Kill and it's fucking awesome. Seriously big budget for a TV series but that's what we've come to expect from HBO.

HBO continue to do no wrong.

 How awesome is Ziggy from the The Wire in it!!

YES!!

My fave character so far.

Just finished Generation Kill and loved every minute of it. Maybe not quite up to The Wire standards but not far off.

Will definitely be watching the series again that's for sure.

  Just about to finish The Wire for the second time, thought I would come read this again.

Really? Saw the ads and thought it may be average, but always up for a new series to watch.

Yea, been seeing ads for it on SkyTV here saying Spring 2010. Looks awesome!

Working my way thru Entourage for about the 5th or 6th time. The first three seasons are just so fucking good.

What happened?

Last episode of Season 5 of the Wire tonight

And now i log off AM to avoid any AM spoiler fuckers  

edit: damn, same shit another day!

Nearly finished s5 of the wire too & I'm quite worried about the fact that there is no more.  One of the best series I've ever seen. 

Nah mate, just go back to S1 for round 2

 Loving Mad Men. Sick as this weekend so been taking the opportunity to watch it (finally!)

For those of you who are HBO fans and have not yet seen it, I highly recommend 'Boardwalk Empire'.

Very similar in style to The Sopranos, but with more melancholy, brutality and tits.

Got the first season. Haven't got around to it yet though.