"First of all, we almost had no battle at all. For budgetary reasons we came very, very close to having all the action take place off-screen, the way plays have handled battle scenes for a few thousand years." - How the epic battle at the heart of the latest episode of Game of Thrones, Blackwater, written by George R. R. Martin and directed by Neil Marshall, came to be. Mentor relationships in Game of Thrones (and Mad Men). The National's Lannister song. And, perhaps sriking closest of all to the central themes of the show, Jezebel plays Game of Thrones: Marry, Fuck, Kill.
posted by Artw on May 31, 2012 - 48 comments

The company that creates digital effects for Boardwalk Empire has put together the before and after shots from Season Two.
posted by gman on Jan 19, 2012 - 48 comments

The A.V. Club's T.V. Club has begun to reexamine Six Feet Under. The show, widely considered one of the finest television series of all time, turned 10 years old a little over a week ago. So far, the first three episodes have been reviewed.
posted by Houyhnhnm on Jun 15, 2011 - 114 comments

Why should you be watching HBO's Game of Thrones? In two words: Peter Dinklage. At 41 and expecting his first child, actor Peter Dinklage may finally be coming into his own. Though his breakout role in the indie movie Station Agent might not have made it onto your Netflix queue, Dinklage is winning accolades for his performance as Tyrion Lannister in Game of Thrones, the HBO series based on George R. R. Martin's epic fantasy series, A Song of Fire and Ice. [more inside]
posted by misha on Jun 14, 2011 - 393 comments

HBO's Game of Thrones, "Narnia populated by super-hard bastards", has been a ratings and critical success and has already been picked up for a second season. HBO have a secret weapon in bringing George R. R. Martin's fantasy epic to screen: An awesome title sequence that doubles as a painless infodump.
posted by Artw on May 5, 2011 - 300 comments

HBO has a free 15 minute preview up for their adaptation of George R. R. Martin's fantasy series A Game of thrones. The folks over at Westeros.org have seen rough copies of the first six episodes and report on them. In general, reviews are very positive so far. Previously on the Blue. _{Via this thread at hipinion. Bonus: Next Media Animation briefs you on the subject. All links contain minor-to-major spoilers.}
posted by codacorolla on Apr 3, 2011 - 104 comments

"The TV Wheel was a television experiment created by and starring Joel Hodgson, of Mystery Science Theater 3000 fame. Cable network HBO ordered a pilot, but ultimately passed on picking up the show. The pilot episode eventually aired once on Comedy Central as a special presentation following the last new episode of MST3K to be broadcast on that network."*

The pilot, bookended by introduction segments, is right through this door: [more inside]
posted by item on Aug 11, 2010 - 41 comments

The Neistat Brothers move from online to primetime on HBO. [more inside]
posted by Potomac Avenue on Jun 26, 2010 - 9 comments

Q. Everyone tells me how great The Wire is, but I've missed the first four seasons. Should I bother with Season 5? A. Yes. Ultimately, you'll want to buy the DVD's, but until then we've got The Wire: four seasons in four minutes. (Single link U-tube)
posted by PeterMcDermott on Jan 10, 2008 - 61 comments

During the 70s and 80s a new phenomenon appeared. Television Hijacking. It started in 1977 when a man in England hijacked the sound broadcast of a newscast. In 1986, a hijacker known as Captain Midnight hijacked HBO in response to their scrambling of television signals. The year after (20 years ago as of today), a character disguised as Max Headroom (a television character) infiltrated two Chicago television studios in one night. First the man infiltrated Channel 9 (WGN) for a few seconds with no sound, and then moved on to attack another Chicago station, this time with sound. After the Max Headroom incident, television hacking incidents were rare in the United States except for this one in Wyoming.
posted by ooklala on Nov 22, 2007 - 38 comments

Thirty years of George Carlin specials. (Yep, NSFW. Duh.) [more inside]
posted by miss lynnster on Nov 12, 2007 - 49 comments

"See his pug-nose face." David Bowie, from Extras second season, which premieres tomorrow in USA. Stephen Merchant (from today's RADAR) and Ricky Gervais have been mentioned here before, but I think the David Bowie clip is worth it.
posted by headless on Jan 13, 2007 - 35 comments

Deadwood is back.
posted by JPowers on Jun 10, 2006 - 91 comments

Melfi's office is one of the few places where one always sees the characters' feet. An interesting behind-the-scenes look at dressing the Sopranos by Emmy-winning costume designer Juliet Polcsa.
posted by kirkaracha on Dec 15, 2004 - 14 comments

HBO wants feedback about Carnivàle. The first season of HBO's Carnivàle concluded last Sunday (making way for Angels in America to occupy the next two Sunday evenings). Although a second season is likely, according to its creator, HBO is now asking viewers what they think about the show, asking them to rate each character and say whether or not they'd watch a second season. [survey link via TV Barn Ticker; background info inside.]
posted by realityblurred on Dec 5, 2003 - 21 comments

Bill Maher back on cable? AP is reporting that Bill Maher will host a late-night talk show on HBO starting Feb. 21. The hour-long news and comedy program, which has yet to be titled, will air once a week for 20 episodes. I personally think ABC were a bunch of pussies for cancelling him, and I think the new show will rock. What do you think?
posted by RylandDotNet on Nov 21, 2002 - 26 comments

Are you 25-29? Like to travel? Wish you could influence global politics? Look good in front of the camera? Maybe you should be President.
posted by sandor on Jan 31, 2002 - 8 comments

Sopranos spoilers! (sorta) Now that the season finale has aired, I guess it's safe to post this site. The writer actively researches rumors about the plots of upcoming Sopranos episodes, without much luck (in hindsight, he batted about .500).

My thoughts upon reading this:

1) Why would a true fan work so hard to ruin the show's surprises for himself and everyone else?

2) How could he work so hard on this and still be so wrong? The poor guy really needs some better sources.
posted by Dirjy on May 20, 2001 - 1 comment

Tomorrow night - Sopranos Finale - Will Jackie Jr. get a pass? Will Paulie or Christopher get whacked? Where the Hell did that Russian go? Will we ever see Gloria again? I don't often get wrapped up in a TV series, but damn, I am hooked into this one.
posted by kokogiak on May 19, 2001 - 15 comments

Do not turn them in to the cops! Should you see any of these peope (pictures), do not turn them in! You could find yourself in trouble from one or more sources.
posted by Postroad on May 3, 2001 - 3 comments

Livia Let Die. Learn how The Sopranos brought Livia Soprano (played by actress Nancy Marchand) back to life for one more encounter with Tony Soprano. Warning! Some minor Season3/Episode1 Spoilers. (via Slate)
posted by stew560 on Mar 3, 2001 - 5 comments

Sports Night No Go on HBO. Despite the fact that Aaron Sorkin (the creator) had already made plans on an HBO-ized show, ABC and HBO have called off talks due to "financial issues which couldn't be resolved." If you were a fan of Sorkin (Sports Night), you may enjoy "The West Wing." I do.
posted by chrish on Jun 22, 2000 - 2 comments

Today I was talking to a friend about how much I miss seeing Mr. Show on HBO. They haven't had a new episode in months, so I went to their official site and they're talking about making a movie soon! I couldn't find mention of it anywhere else, not even at the IMDB. I did find some interesting fan sites like this one. I also noticed they're selling bowling shirts among other goodies at the HBO store site.
posted by mathowie on Dec 13, 1999 - 0 comments