No "Preacher" for you. Many of you did not think a "Preacher" miniseries would end well. Would fans prefer to be disappointed by the aborted attempt at an adaptation than disappointed at its not meeting viewers' expectations?
posted on Aug 27, 2008 - View this thread

About twenty years ago, HBO aired The Mondo Beyondo Show, a sort-of send-up of avant-garde performance shows like Alive From Off Center and Night Flight. Hosted by Bette Midler (as the character Mondo Beyondo), it showcased artists that covered the broad spectrum between performance art, dance, and absurdist comedy. Strap on your Eighties Goggles; here's the meat of the show: Bill Irwin | La La La Human Steps | The Kipper Kids | Yes/No People | Paul Zaloom | David Cale | and the Divine Miss M as Eudora P. Quickly
posted on May 29, 2008 - View this thread

Bob Odenkirk and David Cross are back on HBO with a new comedy, with Cross playing himself and Odenkirk directing. The pilot's being filmed in May in Los Angeles, and apparently they'll be needing "150 audiencers" (and here's Cracked's Five of the Funniest Mr. Show sketches to masterfully pad out the post).
posted on Mar 21, 2008 - View this thread

If you had HBO in the 80's, you saw this every night at 8pm. HBO put together a brief behind-the-scenes featurette showing everything from the construction of the models to the composition of the music.
posted on Mar 15, 2008 - View this thread

Mr. Show skits that became reality . (Warning: mature language)
posted on Feb 6, 2008 - View this thread

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 on Jan 10, 2008 - View this thread

Prior to his critically acclaimed program The Wire, creator Edward Burns wrote the HBO miniseries The Corner, which also focused on the drug trade in Baltimore. Charles S. Dutton, an African-American Baltimore native and former convict probably best known to most as TV's "Roc," was chosen to direct the miniseries. Who Gets To Tell a Black Story?, part of a Pulitzer-prize winning NYT series on race in America, examines Dutton's take on how to make a TV program which portrays a mostly African-American cast of characters, the struggles and differing perspectives of Dutton and Burns, and how race is portrayed in Hollywood.
posted on Dec 17, 2007 - View this thread

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 on Nov 22, 2007 - View this thread

BBC/HBO to film all 37 of Shakespeare's plays Oscar-winning director Sam Mendes will produce the entire canon over 12 years.
posted on Nov 19, 2007 - View this thread

Thirty years of George Carlin specials. (Yep, NSFW. Duh.)
posted on Nov 12, 2007 - View this thread

HBO: Flight of the Conchords follows the trials and tribulations of a two man, digi-folk band from New Zealand as they try to make a name for themselves in their adopted home of New York City. The band is made up of Bret McKenzie on guitar and vocals, and Jemaine Clement on guitar and vocals. Episode 1 is available free online. [flash video]
posted on Jun 14, 2007 - View this thread

"Oh, someday, when I am Miss America, I'll tell the world to make things start when you're young. And what fun, it's gonna be, when Regis sings his song to me." In 2001, the Emmy-nominated HBO documentary Living Dolls captured child beauty pageants of the South in a post-Jon Benet world. Parts 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 [Update inside.]
posted on Jun 4, 2007 - View this thread

"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 on Jan 13, 2007 - View this thread

The comic "Preacher" is finally being adapted for TV. Rumors have circulated about a possible adaptation for some time, but they have now been verified by HBO. The bad news is that the director/writer behind "Daredevil" and "Ghost Rider" is writing the pilot.
posted on Nov 29, 2006 - View this thread

Deadwood is back.
posted on Jun 10, 2006 - View this thread

Last Best Chance is a docudrama that shows the threat posed by vulnerable nuclear weapons and materials around the world and underscores what the stakes are. The plot: al Qaeda terrorists steal nuclear material to make bombs, and then sneak them into the US. The 47 minute film airs tonight on HBO, and is also available as a free DVD. More interesting are the powerful figures behind the film. It was produced by The Nuclear Threat Initiative, a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization working to reduce the global threats from WMDs. NTI's board is co-chaired by Ted Turner and Sam Nunn (D-GA). The hope is that appealing directly to the public will force politicians to act. The film and its creators were profiled yesterday on CBS News Sunday Morning.

(And to help our discussion here, they've even provided a discussion guide.)
posted on Oct 17, 2005 - View this thread

The making of a D-Day tradition... I immediately get goosebumps when I hear the score of Band of Brothers...I'm not sure why, maybe it was my local connections (Dick Winters, Bill Guanere, Albert Blithe, Babe Heffron, Thomas Meehan, Ralph Spina, Harry Welsh, and Robert Strayer are all from Philadelphia), the surrounding suburbs, or Pennsylvania), or maybe it was because the original airings took place in the shadow of 9/11 (the premiere was September 9th, 2001, with the D-Day drop occuring in the second episode, Day of Days, on 9/16/2001), but this series will ALWAYS have a special place in my heart. Everything is done so beautifully, from the special effects, to the sound, the music, to the dutiful translation from Stephen Ambrose book to the screen. It's certainly worthy of the 9.5 out of 10 that IMDB readers had given it. Every year now since, either HBO (On Demand - you have to subscribe to HBO plus have digital cable) or the History Channel has played Tom Hanks' and Steven Spielberg's masterful WW2 epic. You can think of it as Saving Private Ryan, but 3 times as long. Even if war movies are not your thing, I can almost guarantee that they will see the human side of the soldier and becomely deeply invested in the characters. Follow the men of Easy Company from training and the running of Currahee, to the parachute jump on D-Day, through the liberation of Europe, the horror of a German concentration camp, and eventually to the end of the war, to Hitler's mountaintop retreat. I'm not the only one - check out the numerous fan sites to BoB (forum shorthand for Band of Brothers) here, here, and here, as well as entries on TVTome, Wikipedia, and Television without Pity. If you want to try before you commit to watching the whole thing, I'd recommend the episodes Day of Days, Crossroads, and the Breaking Point.
posted on Jun 4, 2005 - View this thread

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 on Dec 15, 2004 - View this thread

HBO's Deadwood is quite possibly the best television show ever produced. Not only is it amazingly gripping stuff, it's also meticulously researched. (Pretty easy to do when the entire city is a registered historic landmark.)
Sure, we all know that Wild Bill and Calamity Jane were real people. As it turns out, though, almost every main character in the show (and many minor ones) had a real life counterpart, as did many of the events.
Deadwood notables EB Farnum, Reverend H W Smith, Seth Bullock and his partner Sol Star, Colorado Charlie Utter, Al Swerengen with his Gem Saloon, and the crosseyed gambler Jack McCall all lived and breathed in one of America's most storied cities.
posted on Dec 10, 2004 - View this thread

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 on Dec 5, 2003 - View this thread

HBO has decided to "shelf" Oliver Stone's documentary on Fidel Castro on the basis that the documentary depicts Castro without judgement. Should documentary filmmaking be a "true journalistic endeavor" as the article suggests?
posted on Apr 17, 2003 - View this thread

So whatever happened to Journeys with George? As mentioned in this previous thread, the documentary aired on HBO last November. Unfortunately I didn't have HBO last november, and never got to see it. If you're in the area, Harvard University is screening it this weekend.

But what about the rest of us? I can find lots of reviews on the web, but no one seems to be selling it. Don't be fooled by imitations.

Any of you mefites seen it? Anyone else want to see it, but can't? Please disclose any relevant business relationships if you review the film in the comments.
posted on Apr 3, 2003 - View this thread

Da Ali G. Show I hadn't heard anything about this show before I came across it by accident, but I think it would floor most of you. It's truly hilarious. If you're not sure, check out the clip "Three Faces of Ali" here.

I have a feeling this show is really going to catch on... sorry if it's not post-appropriate, but I thought the humor is pretty sophisticated and right up Metafilter's alley.
posted on Mar 3, 2003 - View this thread

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 on Nov 21, 2002 - View this thread

"You can call it 'Journeys with George'... but spell it with a 'G'..." A network television producer's video diary of her year and a half-long roadtrip on the campaign trail with George W. Bush during the 2000 election. An all-access pass to behind the scenes with W, from the primaries to Bush imitating Will Farrell imitating Bush. [more inside]
posted on Oct 17, 2002 - View this thread

A whole new spin on "Home Schooling". Child-endangerment charges follow apparent sharing of Ecstasy with his kids on HBO show. I can think of a number of documentaries I've seen where illegal activity was taking place but never heard of the participant/s being arrested. Dangerous precedence? (via Obscure Store)
posted on Jun 14, 2002 - View this thread

Sopranos Coming Back September 15. Season 4 will be airing only a month after Season 3 comes out on DVD. Finally! More Sopranos news than Robert Iler getting pinched for being stupid.
posted on May 14, 2002 - View this thread

Film noir, Monica Lewinsky style. As of January 22, 2001, Lewinsky was free to talk about the events that led to her immunity agreement with Ken Starr. HBO signed her up for some audience Q & A, and has taken this opportunity to push the envelope by filming it in black and white. It's set to premiere on March 3. Slightly more here. Really though, what's the point? Let's just put her in a zoo and let the patrons throw her peanuts.
posted on Feb 25, 2002 - View this thread

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 on Jan 31, 2002 - View this thread

In this corner is On_Line The Movie , "a story about people watching people," premiering at Sundance 2002. And in the other corner is Downloading Sex, "the TV incarnation of the website," co-produced by HBO and Nerve.com.
posted on Jan 16, 2002 - View this thread

Mystery Image inserted into HBO shows? Derek & Heather noticed this odd image - inserted for a single frame - into a couple of different shows on HBO. Kindall seems to think he's seen it before as well. It looks familiar to me, but only in an odd detached way. Any guesses or clues?
posted on Aug 21, 2001 - View this thread

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 on May 20, 2001 - View this thread

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 on May 19, 2001 - View this thread

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 on May 3, 2001 - View this thread

Stung by the "Sopranos," the lawyers strike back The Italian American Defense league suing because the HBO show Sopranos defames Italians...is their claim with or without merit?
posted on Apr 5, 2001 - View this thread

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 on Mar 3, 2001 - View this thread

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 on Jun 22, 2000 - View this thread

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 on Dec 13, 1999 - View this thread