Recommend good HBO series?

In answer to your first question--no. For at least some positions such as Secretary of State, Attorney General, Secretary of the Treasury, candidates are expected to find prospective office holders even before the election takes place. It is thought that a candidate can enhance their elective profile in that manner.

Cameron can claim what he will--he received the votes of those in his riding who wanted to vote for him, and nothing more. I can vote for Mr. Obama, and vote for Republicans or independents for any other office on the ballot--i'm voting for the candidate, not the party. I am simply pointing out how ludicrous it is to compare the two very different systems and decry one or the other as "undemocratic."

I would be really happy if this thread could remain about good TV, if possible. please.

I like less restricted systems better, and I suspect so do dlowan and others in this thread. Since I didn't say anything about "superior" or "inferior" in any objective sense, I'm going to leave it at that.


So Germany is a natural experiment by which we can gage the pressure of advertisers against swearing, in a setting where such pressure would make a difference. No difference is observable between private channels, who get all of their revenue from advertising, and public channels, who get a little of their revenue from advertising. We can therefore conclude that advertisers' pressure against profanity is negligible. That's the only reason I brought up Germany.


Complain away. Personally, though, I find nothing condescending about saying things like "the US healthcare system sucks compared to Canada's", or "German coffee sucks compared to Italian coffee"---or "US TV censorship sucks compared to Australia's, Britain's, and Germany's". Indeed I would be surprised if you had never made comparisons of this type between the countries you've traveled and lived in.

Oops---sorry, I'll stop now, then.

I'll drop the subject, too, but only after observing that "inhibited" and "censored" are pejorative terms in this context, and are not applicable because there are television offerings in the United States which are neithe inhibited nor censored. I find your scenario of Germany as a test case to be hilarious. If one makes the comparisons of which you speak, one would realize that German standards and tastes are not applicable in the United States.

And a remake of the original British version which is set in a housing estate (project) in Manchester.

I didn't know that, thanks!

YOU'RE WELCOME. whoops cap lock. I gave the link, above.

Actually, the bit about the housing project is a good example of what I don't like about the American Shameless. The Gallaghers in Chicago do not live in a project. Although they are poor, they live in a nice, spacious, four-bedroom house. It's just a little messy because the Gallaghers can't keep it in order. To be sure, there are railroad tracks down the block, and this must diminish the home's value some. But then this can't be too bad, see, because you never hear the trains from inside the Gallagher's home. The series has many little inauthenticities like this piling up. Together, they prevent me from fully enjoying the characters and their adventures.

What prevents me from enjoying the British series is the antics of the low-lifes, especially Frank, who makes me squirm.

I'm needing more recommendations....preferably newish shows.

I'll not sneer at old ones, though.

New series: Girls (HBO, season 1) Naive, 20-year-old, upper-middle-class girls grow up in New York City, dealing with boyfriends and stuff. Funny, clever, though without enough guts and blood for my taste. (None, actually.)

New seasons of old series: Broadwalk Empire (HBO, season 3), Web Therapy (Showtime, season 2), Homeland (Showtime, Season 2)

Heard about girls....not sure if I can get it yet.

Web Therapy? Tell me more.

We have the series that Homeland is a copy of starting soon...Israeli, I think.

"Web Therapy" stars Lisa Kudrow. About the series, quote:

"Fiona Wallice is a therapist with little patience for her patients. Tired of hearing about people's problems for fifty long minutes, she devises a new treatment, the three-minute video chat. And still, the sessions end up being largely about her. If she's your therapist, you've got problems. Emmy Award winner Lisa Kudrow co-created, produces and stars in this outrageous therapeutic send-up. Originally produced as webisodes, 'Web Therapy' features an A-list guest cast who, along with Kudrow, improvise their performances with hilarious results."

I watched season 1 with Mr. M. He was so-so about it. I found it very funny. We've PVRed the second season but haven't got around to watching it. Meryl Streep and Rosie O'Donnell are a couple of the guest stars on season 2. I think it may have been renewed for season 3.

Thank you Mac! good to see you.

Any and all seasons of Sons of Anarchy on FX.

Seasons 1 and 2 of American Horror Story, titled American Horror Story: Murder House and American Horror Story: Asylum, respectively, also on FX

Seasons 1 - 3 of Justified, on FX.

Looking forward to a new season of Man Men and awaiting the second half of the last season of Breaking Bad, on AMC.

The Walking Dead, seasons 1 - 3, on AMC.

Finishing watching season 1 of Homeland on DVD. You're right, dlowan, it is based on an Israeli series. I didn't think I'd care for it but I've thoroughly been enjoying the first season.

Good to see you, too. Hope you and the kitties are enjoying the holidays and the warm weather (-20 C here right now, brrrrrr).

Yep. What McKenzie said.

Watch out for Banshee on Cinemax. It's Amish Mafia meets Pulp Fiction meets Alan Ball (of American Beauty, Six Feet Under and True Blood).

More on Wikipedia

AMISH MAFIA??? cmon, thats not 1/3 as believable as Pulp Fiction