In the American television world, TV series often lead sad, incomplete lives. Shows start off fast and, depending on popular opinion, are either cut down in their youth or peter out pathetically with more and more desperate plotlines. Unlike in Britain — where series are often given set time limits and a show like Ricky Gervais’ “The Office” can create a satisfying story arc — American television is expected to go on indefinitely until they get the pink slip.
To find a series with that kind of craftsmanship, a viewer often must turn to channels that specialize in such programming. HBO has made a name for itself by creating excellent mini-series and dramas — critically praised and popular Emmy-magnets. The channel turned to some of its biggest names to create new series for the coming months, hoping to recapture that old magic.
The nation has a general fondness for any combination of Steven Spielberg, Tom Hanks and World War II. After winning multiple Oscars for the visceral “Saving Private Ryan,” Spielberg and Hanks turned to a new, more expansive project in “Band of Brothers.” The show contained the same realism of Spielberg’s film thanks to diligent production, advice from writer Stephen Ambrose and the input from the very veterans the show profiled. This means there are high expectations for their new series, “The Pacific.”
Based on three different memoirs of the Pacific War, “The Pacific” portrays a war very different from the European theater that hosts most WWII stories and media. Because of hazy battle lines and a very different enemy culture, the difficulties of the Marines in places like Peleliu and Guadalcanal have rarely been depicted in war films.
“Going to the Pacific was going off into a mystery, an absolute question mark, a place that they had never been to or even been able to imagine,” Hanks said in a press release. But this series maintains a tried and true formula — adrenaline-pumping battle scenes and quiet moments of self-reflection.
If you mention “The Wire” to certain people, you’ll start a one-sided conversation that threatens to never end. David Simon created a series about the city of Baltimore and its corrupted institutions that served as a hyper-realistic portrayal of urban life and a fable for the flaws of the American dream. It also had a rabid cult following, which still considers it one of the greatest television series of all time. Simon followed that up with the mini-series “Generation Kill,” a gloriously profane profile of a company of Marines in Iraq that was a worthy successor to his crime series. But now Simon is leaving the Middle East for another profile of a broken city — New Orleans.
“Treme” features some of the same themes, actors and production as “The Wire,” but it’s steeped in the culture of the city it depicts. The unique language might force non-natives to scratch their heads, but Simon tends to throw the viewer in the deep end without much help. The series will focus on the music scene of the city — a nice distinction, considering that “The Wire” turned a blind eye to Baltimore’s arts community.
The series depicts the city three months after Hurricane Katrina and follows a large cast trying to rebuild both their infrastructure and their lives. It’s a ripe setting for Simon’s political sensibilities, and viewers can expect many big speeches about the failures of general society and the blind eye we turn to the problems of the disadvantaged.
“Boardwalk Empire” might have the most impressive pedigree of the lot. Based on a book by Nelson Johnson and adapted by a former “Sopranos” producer Terence Winter, the pilot is directed by Martin Scorcese, who will remain as creative help for the rest of the show. It also stars some big names including Steve Buscemi, Kelly Macdonald and Michael K. Williams.
Proving that HBO mines its best material from the crime world, “Empire” is “The Sopranos” thrown back in time to 1920s Atlantic City. Thanks to prohibition, criminals have a long shadow in this town, and, much like it’s influences and predecessors, the intricate politics of gang life will be on display. While information about the series is still limited, the trailers and brief glimpses are tantalizing - a potent combination of Scorcese’s way with images and Winter’s stylized dialogue and poetic language. Expect an abundance of guns, intrigue and fedoras when the show premieres this fall.
You can reach this staff writer at mrichardson@theeagleonline.com.
