Test Pattern #8

Boardwalk Empire (Season 1) - Exciting drama about Prohibition-era Atlantic City. Corruption and crime abound. Nucky Thompson is played by Steve Buscemi, and he basically runs the town. He starts a romance with a woman involved in the Temperance Club, only after dumping his Ziegfeld Follies dancer, the wonderfully pouty and often naked Paz de la Huerta. Other key characters are Jimmy and his common law wife. Jimmy befriends a youngish Al Capone, but that ultimately cause more trouble than expected.

Bored to Death (Season 2) - Jonathan (Jason Schwartzmann) is still totally adorable and charming. George gets diagnosed with cancer and starts an affair with his doctor, plus has to deal with the ever-changing media landscape making magazines obsolete. Ray gets dumped, but finds a cult following for his comics. This show is like popcorn...or whatever this hipster equivalent of popcorn is...

Eastbound & Down (Season 1 & 2) - A pretty funny series about Kenny Powers, a has-been professional baseball player trying to get back into the Majors. The first season is much stronger, focusing on Kenny's return home (onto his brother's couch) and trying to win back his high school sweetheart. By season 2, we have ended up in Mexico, battling depression and taking the local team for granted. I also could do with seeing less of Stevie in the future.

Game of Thrones (Season 1) - Love this shit! It has all the nudity and sleaze of Rome, but with much more compelling stories about families, feuds, mythical creatures, impending doom, etc. So far most of the drama deals with the Stark family and their rivals the Lannisters. The families were on friendly turns until an incest secret is discovered by a young Stark and the King of the Seven Kingdoms dies. There is also a crazy storyline with the Targaryen siblings seeking to reclaim the kingdom that the believe rightfully belonged to their father. The sister is married off to a savage leader and becomes the Khaleesi, and is probably my favorite character at the moment. However, Peter Dinklage's Tyrian Lannister is also a treat to watch. Dragons! Cannot believe I have to wait to watch more of this.

the Killing (Season 1) - This adaptation of a Danish show starts off very Twin Peak-ish but without the humor. Rosie Larsen is a seemingly good girl, but perhaps with some dark secrets. Her murder sets off an investigation that goes from the government, a Islamic community, and mob ties. Some complain about the amount of grieving we see the family doing, but I didn't mind that aspect. What's more frustrating is the amount of red herrings, and the notoriously unresolved ending. (Apparently that's being addressed early next season). I'm really into Holder, the former junkie white homeboy sidekick, and hope that his character isn't too simplified in the way that the finale may indicate. Rather than being angry about the ending, I'm looking forward to next season, and kinda hope Rosie's case never gets solved in a gesture towards reality.

Sopranos (Season 1) - A huge blind spot in my television watching, especially considering how many other HBO series I have seen. After season 1, I'm hooked. I like Tony as the sorta sensitive mobster, who maybe often fears for his life, but still commits enough heinous crimes to be interesting. His wife Carmela is amazing at not taking shit from anyone. I also really like Christopher and his girlfriend Adrianna. So much tension about who is going to get offed!

Treme (Season 2) - Why do I keep watching this show? Basically nothing really happens and still too much of each episode is taken up by music. In fact, in this season, so many of the plotlines revolve around individuals starting bands or trying to write songs. Janette is still my favorite, but she's mostly in New York this season. Big Chief is depressed. Sofia is being a huge rebellious brat. Some really terrible shit happens to LaDonna. Toni is still working cases. There's another key death this season, but how I wish more things would happen..