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..

Test Pattern #4

America's Next Top Model (Cycle 14) and RuPaul's Drag Race (Season 2) - These are essentially the same show...lots of make-up, photo shoots, eliminations, etc. The end of ANTM was pretty anticlimatic since you knew who was almost certainly going to win four or five episodes before the finale. On the drag race, there was a similar lack of excitement because the front runner from the very beginning never got knocked off her throne. Lastly, I just wanted to mention that Season 1 of RuPaul is vastly better than this second season. The prizes may be jankier, but the contestants were much more creative and almost anyone from last season's top five could have beaten anyone on this season.  

Breaking Bad (Season 3) - This has to be my current favorite show. Walter and Jesse are still making meth and still having to ward off members of the cartel. The DEA is mostly out of the picture this season, but the drama with Skylar and with their employer has skyrocketed. I'm still impressed by how good this show looks and it's almost impossible to not get sucked into the action, even when it gets totally over the top.

Fringe (Season 2) - I never regularly watched X-Files growing up, but I am pretty sure that Fringe is the modern equivalent. There's some sexual tension between the two main characters Olivia and Peter, both of which are part of the "fringe unit" of the FBI and investigate unusual or supernatural homicides, events, etc. I did not see all of the first season, but it seems like the show has really hit its stride during this second season. The episodes can mostly stand alone, but there is a really interesting overarching plot involving Peter and an alternate universe.

Glee (Season 1) - So, I know many people treat this show like a guilty pleasure. I for one have never felt too guilty about it. Sure the acting can be bad, or the songs can fall into cringe territory, but I think this show does have a lot of heart. At times the social agenda can be a little overbearing, but I love the teenage drama, and several episodes made me get a little misty. Sue Sylvester's insults are a treat and performance of "the Boy is Mine" are standouts.

Homicide (Season 3, 4, & 5) - This show is so good. Basically Law and Order with less time in the courtroom and better characters. I still have a season and a half before I finish the entire series, but so far seasons 3 and 5 have been my favorites. In season 3, three of the detectives are shot at and critically wounded when they go to the wrong address. That season also addresses the suicide of one of the detectives. In season 4, Frank Pembleton's stress finally takes its toll. Seasons 4 and 5 focus a lot on Luther Mahoney, a drug kingpin, and the frustrations regarding not being able to make any charges stick to him. Season 4 also brings about the new detective Kellerman, and Season 5 introduces Medical Examiner Julianna (played by Michelle Forbes aka Maryann from True Blood and Admiral Cain from Battlestar Galactica). 

Justified (Season 1) - Timothy Olyphant plays Raylan Givens, a U.S. Marshall that might be a little trigger-happy. For a while, Raylan shoots someone in every episode, each time the shooting is "justified." A central part of the story is that Raylan has been stationed in his home state of Kentucky against his wishes. His father often falls on the opposite side of the law, as do any former friends. Unfortunately the women in this show are a little irritating. Ava in particular. I like his ex-wife Winona, especially her wardrobe, but even she is a little lame. Apparently, white trash is kinda in as far as television is concerned. 

the Office (Season 6) - The Office is something that I definitely only watch out of habit these days. The tension is long gone. I'm so bored with Pam and Jim and their baby, and I miss the days when Michael was actually kinda a jerk...now he's just too nice. Kathy Bates is good most of the time, but I really wish more time was spent with the supporting characters. I miss Kelly and Angela and Kevin. Plus, I'd like to know what happened to Ryan now that he dresses like a full-fledged hipster instead of the bleach-tipped imbecile from last season. 

30 Rock (Season 4) - By far the weakest season yet, but still has its moments of hilarity. Mainly I think the show could have been much better had they done the following: 1.) Gotten rid of Julianne Moore much sooner...that Boston accent was terrible. Actually, I'm not a big fan of the Avery character either. I miss Salma Hayek. 2.) Spent way less time with the Wesley "Future Husband" plot line. 3.) Spent way more time with TRACY! 

Treme (Season 1) - David Simon's return to the screen after the Wire probably came with unreasonable expectations. This series is set in New Orleans, just months after Katrina. Since it is David Simon, the characters are great, but I found myself having two regular complaints. 1.) Too much music. I know N.O. is a music town, but sometimes close to a third of the show is just performances. 2.) Related to too much music is the feeling that the plot barely exists or progresses. For the most part there aren't very tangible conflicts. The main problem is LaDonna's search for her missing brother, and probably the second most visible problem is the tumultuous relationship between Annie and Sonny. Things admittedly picked up towards the end of the season, and I look forward to what lies ahead.