FTA-TV HBO - Jumped the Shark?

[likka]

HBO built their reputation on the back of producing some of the best television ever made. Ground breaking original series like Sopranos, Six Feet Under, The Wire, Deadwood, Rome, Sex and the City, Generation Kill, and more recently John Adams.

The last few years though the standard of their original programming has definitely fallen off...
- True Blood is massively overrated by "Twilight" crowd
- Big Love is just okay
- In Treatment very hit and miss
- Entourage has jumped the shark big time
- Hung watchable but hardly top shelf
- Eastbound and Down absolutely atrocious
- Curb has a niche but I never got into it

Seems all the best cable television is being made elsewhere nowadays...
- Breaking Bad is amazing
- Dexter
- Mad Men
- Damages
- Sons of Anarchy
- Always Sunny in Philly
- United States of Tara
- Rescue Me

Personally I think FX are making the better TV ATM...
- Damages is brilliant
- Always Sunny in Philly best comedy made today
- Sons of Anarchy better than any current HBO drama
- Rescue Me probably most underrated show currently

USA are also producing some decent shows, although their style is less gritty than FX and HBO drama...
- Burn Notice
- In Plain Sight
- Royal Pains
- White Collar
- Psych (better than Mentalist ripoff IMO)

Hell, even Showtime are producing better quality TV than HBO at the moment, which is depressing...
- Dexter
- Californication
- United States of Tara

HBO have a large number of pilots being filmed currently, hopefully some of them are the quality of show that takes them back to the top.

A couple of the more high profile pilots include...
- New David Simon show based in New Orleans
- The Game of Thrones pilot
- Oprah pilot (woman walks out on family for life of hedonism and "self discovery" in LA)

... I guess time will tell.

 

[JUBJUB]

The HBO show I'm wanting to see is 'The Ricky Gervais Show - the animated series'
It starts Feb 19

 

[NitroFan]

I haven't really thought about it but I can't help but agree at this point. Curb is the only show I still watch (which recently finished anyway).

Very much looking forward to Simon's show, though.

 

[Dirtywhirl]

The current stable of HBO shows might not be as good as those in previous years, but they are still for the most part great viewing. It is unreasonable to expect HBO to at all times have the best shows on the air, and at the moment it is probably true that they are behind on a few fronts. I'm sure that in time they will unearth another gem. I have high hopes for 'The Pacific" next year.

 

[hamG]

The Pacific will be brilliant, it just has to be I want to get my hands on the two books it is based on. By sheer co-incidence I read Band Of Brothers about 6 months before they released the TV show and it dramatically enhanced the viewing when you actually know who all the soldiers are and what the company achieved, I never found it very well portrayed in the TV show. If you are a fan, read the book and re-watch the show things will be a lot different!

Anyway, HBO's best shows are the ones that take risks and break the normal formula for TV. Obviously it has to be hit & miss and they probably have not had the big hits from the late 90's / early 2000's.

I think the last couple of years has produced some really quality shows from the USA, it is not a huge issue which network produces them because the just raise the bar for each other.

 

[Jimmy Two Hands]

Eastbound and Down absolutely atrocious

You lost me here. Great show.

 

[Dont be a lemon]

True Blood is massively overrated by "Twilight" crowd

I don't think the Twilight crowd is even aware True Blood exists.

 

[likka]

You lost me here. Great show.

Wrong.

Easily the worst show HBO has produced, and most likely will ever produce. Has absolutely no redeeming features whatsoever. None. Nada. Zilch.

If HBO are going to continue to cater to the populist brain dead crowd with this type of inane and witless rubbish then they have well and truly jumped the shark... although I am optimistic this show is just an aberration.

Will Ferrell should not be allowed anywhere near another HBO production again... shouldn't even be allowed in the building.

I don't think the Twilight crowd is even aware True Blood exists.

Is made to appeal to a similar demographic, albeit slightly older. Whilst slightly better than Twilight et al it is still massively overrated.

Compare this show to Ball's previous series, Six Feet Under, and they are worlds apart in terms of quality.

 

[hamG]

Wrong.

People have their own opinions.

Is made to appeal to a similar demographic

True Blood is not a teenage romance.

 

[dmc333]

It must be tough when everyone is trying to out-HBO you. You have to remember they're only going to be as good as their connections or new writers they find. If an executive can establish a relationship with a writer, that's where the show is going.

 

[ICF89]

You lost me here. Great show.

Agree.

It's no OZ or Sopranos but that's not what its meant to be. I guess the OP didnt get it.

 

[likka]

People have their own opinions.

Agree, but to call it a "great" show is blatantly incorrect.

I can handle people saying they like it, each to their own, but to label it a great show IS wrong.

 

[XXX KINGS]

Agree, but to call it a "great" show is blatantly incorrect.

I can handle people saying they like it, each to their own, but to label it a great show IS wrong.

I thought it was a great show too...

I can handle people saying they don't like it, each to their own, but to label it an atrocious show IS wrong.

 

[likka]

Much closer to atrocious though than great.

 

[ExTasDeeMan]

Turn the tv off and go for a walk bro.

 

[HBK619]

The last few years though the standard of their original programming has definitely fallen off...
- True Blood is massively overrated by "Twilight" crowd

COMPLETELY disagree with this.

I love True Blood but wouldn't even DARE look at Twilight, worst form of movie and audience you can get.

True Blood is dark, violent, twistedly funny and has about 42,000 times more nudity and swearing than Twilight will ever have).

Just because True Blood has a girl as the lead who is in love with a guy vampire doesn't mean the show is in any other way related or pandering to the same demographic (*SPOILER ALERT* You did see the episode where one character had an erection for pretty much the whole episode? Hardly playing to the teeny bopper audience of Twilight).

It may not be the greatest show of all time, but it's far from poor television.

 

[likka]

It must be tough when everyone is trying to out-HBO you. You have to remember they're only going to be as good as their connections or new writers they find. If an executive can establish a relationship with a writer, that's where the show is going.

Writers create shows, agents shop these shows around, a bidding process ensues, a pilot made and show produced if pilot any good. Not sure how many cable networks have exclusivity contracts with certain writers.

Having said that HBO seems to have ongoing relationships with Alan Ball and David Simon... which may be a good or bad thing depending on the shows they exclusively create.

COMPLETELY disagree with this.

It is watchable, but you cannot compare it with Ball's other HBO show Six Feet Under.

Compared alongside the great HBO shows of the early noughties it doesn't stand up well at all... thus my assertion their standard is dropping.

 

[Gasometer]

'The Pacific' from HBO looks promising for March 2010.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=noUJHcdX6KU

Gaso