Heavy Hitter Free HBO Programming

What does HBO do when their flagship shows (Entourage, True Blood, Curb Your Enthusiasm) are between seasons?  Apparently they have decided to rock.

HBO in Larry's absence has been Prettay, Prettay, Prettay good.

I cannot wait for Curb's new season to start but I don't really miss True Blood, Entourage, or Big Love very much and if considering how good HBO's shows have been lately I doubt many others miss them much either.

True Blood was disastrously bad this season.  Too many characters, too many story lines, and way too in love with its own persona.  I'm not exactly sure when Entourage jumped the shark, but even an above average season this past summer couldn't get me to care about this show again.

But enough of the negative.

HBO is pumping it out on all cylinders this fall.  Bored to Death, Eastbound and Down, Boardwalk Empire, and In Treatment have all been nothing short of awesome.

Hey, I walk by that tree sometimes!

It really isn't fair to even include Bored to Death in here.  It has been great but even if it wasn't, I'd still love it just for the thrill of seeing all of the local haunts featured on it (its filmed in and around my hood).  It has just the right mix of sarcasm and sincerity (with a pinch of whimsy).

"If at first you don't succeed, then maybe you just suck." -Kenny Powers

Eastbound and Down was hilarious this season (a clear improvement from season 1) and it is  posting a serious challenge to Ugly Americans for the title of most quotable show on TV.

I am officially committed to watching 2 of the 4 blocks of In Treatment for the rest of the season.  This show is incredibly addicting.  I am watching the "Sunil" and "Jessie" sessions.  I haven't seen any of the other sessions and I don't want to start because I strongly suspect I will become hooked on them as well.

I started watching In Treatment because I like Irrfan Kahn and was quickly roped into his story when I caught a segment while flipping channels.  The "Jessie" session, with actor Dane DeHaan, may be even better.

At first I scoffed at the "Jessie" story set up.  A young gay artist who feels alienated by his parents and lashes out by being promiscuous.  The whole thing felt cliche.  But as I watched it I was amazed by the depth of the story.  It is incredibly well written and this DeHaan kid has got some serious acting chops.  And the best part?  Each episode is only 30 minutes!

Then there is HBO next would be flagship Boardwalk Empire.  At first I thought I liked this show alright.  But then I missed a few episodes while traveling and let it slip to the wayside.  While I thought the writing was good and there were a good number of interesting characters it also suffered from having too much going on at once and didn't invest itself enough into one story line (common failings of hour long dramas with many characters).

But I caught a little bit of it while flipping around this past weekend and, dirt flabbit, it sucked me right back in again.  

Jimmy is a total badass and I wish the show was more centered on him, but the goings on with Lucky Luciano and conflict between Nucky and Michael Shannon's obsessed prohibition officer Van Alden are also engaging. The whole bit with the ill fated Pearl (Emily Meade) was exceptionally well written and acted.

Jimmy, just your classic brilliant, charismatic, tortured, killer... but with principles.

I'm almost pissed that HBO has been so on lately, it makes doing anything really productive really seem like not so much fun right now.  But if you can't beat them, drag as many as you can down with ya.  So I'm letting you all know, HBO (right now) is super Underrated.