best hbo series premiering post-2005

Message Bookmarked
Bookmark Removed

i was thinking a poll of current/recent HBO shows would be interesting, since there haven't been a lot of huge or universally liked shows on there in a while

Poll Results

OptionVotes
flight of the conchords 8
big love 7
generation kill 7
eastbound & down 6
rome 5
john from cincinnati 4
john adams 4
extras 3
in treatment 3
lucky louie 2
hung 2
true blood 2
dane cook's tourgasm 2
bored to death 1
the ricky gervais show 1
the no.1 ladies detective agency 1
summer heights high 1
little britain usa 1
the life & times of tim 1
the comeback 1
how to make it in america 1
costas now 0
tell me you love me 0
unscripted 0


٭▪°▫٭▪°▫٭▪°▫٭▪°▫٭▪°▫▫°▪٭▫°▪٭▫°▪٭▫°▪٭▫°▪٭ (Lamp), Friday, 5 March 2010 07:46 (fifteen years ago)

hate to be centrist - no I don't - and be first to fall in line but eb&d

Hideous Lamp (cozen), Friday, 5 March 2010 07:48 (fifteen years ago)

yay you doing the legwork on something it would've taken me weeks to get around to myself

some dude, Friday, 5 March 2010 07:49 (fifteen years ago)

well im drunk so i tht i might be fun to bitch @ other posters abt their terrible tv opinions now that the taylor swift thing seems p settled

٭▪°▫٭▪°▫٭▪°▫٭▪°▫٭▪°▫▫°▪٭▫°▪٭▫°▪٭▫°▪٭▫°▪٭ (Lamp), Friday, 5 March 2010 07:50 (fifteen years ago)

I think Hung is pretty underrated, Generation Kill was solid, and True Blood got really good last season. Other than that...Eastbound was alright but I'm just not that into it like other people are, The Comeback was OK. Lucky Louie was a huge disappointment IMO, Bored To Death was just kind of stupid, and Tourgasm and Little Britain USA are the worst shit ever. the show fulla n00d people was pretty cool, I guess.

some dude, Friday, 5 March 2010 07:53 (fifteen years ago)

John From Cincinnati is the only one of these I made an effort to watch via torrent, but I'm voting for it by default. (Also because I loved it despite its thousands of flaws.)

Johnny Fever, Friday, 5 March 2010 07:58 (fifteen years ago)

i was kinda surprised by how many of these i genuinely like - even flight of the conchords had some really great moments - since i def think of this period of hbo as being really unsuccessful.

Lamp, Friday, 5 March 2010 07:59 (fifteen years ago)

this is a pretty grisly list -- i'm voting for FOTC

HOOM gang (J0rdan S.), Friday, 5 March 2010 08:00 (fifteen years ago)

party down eats all of these for hors doeuvres (sorry)

HOOM gang (J0rdan S.), Friday, 5 March 2010 08:02 (fifteen years ago)

not even sure what id vote for although i guess my 1st instinct is in treatment which uses the serial nature of television like p much no other show & has so many great small moments but generation kill & eastbound are really good shows in their own right

true blood is hugely entertaining but i dont think its really any good. i did like the n00ds show too - tell me that you love me - wish it hadnt been canceled. insanely great set decoration. but the first 1/3 of that show is really slow and flat and at times almost unwatchable

Lamp, Friday, 5 March 2010 08:06 (fifteen years ago)

still haven't seen in treatment, that thing is undownloadable

Hideous Lamp (cozen), Friday, 5 March 2010 08:07 (fifteen years ago)

I've only seen the first season of In Treatment, but Gabriel Byrne is all kinds of awesome in it, so that.

I would have thought this would be a total lock for Flight Of The Conchords, tbh.

ailsa, Friday, 5 March 2010 12:16 (fifteen years ago)

either john adams or eastbound

the archetypal ghetto hustler (history mayne), Friday, 5 March 2010 12:18 (fifteen years ago)

this list mostly makes me think i should have cancelled hbo a few yrs ago

johnny crunch, Friday, 5 March 2010 13:22 (fifteen years ago)

tourgasm

noted schloar (dyao), Friday, 5 March 2010 13:30 (fifteen years ago)

As someone who wants nothing more from drama than two people sitting across from each other in a single, 25-minute scene, In Treatment.

can it compete with the wagon wheel (Eazy), Friday, 5 March 2010 14:09 (fifteen years ago)

Tarantino probably saw In Treatment, said I could do that, and wrote Inglourious Basterds.

can it compete with the wagon wheel (Eazy), Friday, 5 March 2010 14:10 (fifteen years ago)

Big love
True blood
In treatment

For ongoing series

Gen kill was good but only like 5 eps long

carne asada, Friday, 5 March 2010 14:36 (fifteen years ago)

I thought John Adams was great.

Bill Magill, Friday, 5 March 2010 14:42 (fifteen years ago)

john adams all the way GOOD DAY SIR

ice cr?m, Friday, 5 March 2010 14:50 (fifteen years ago)

Haven't seen many of them, but would go for Big Love. Constantly entertaining.

Jeff, Friday, 5 March 2010 14:52 (fifteen years ago)

john adams was good! missed that one in the options

carne asada, Friday, 5 March 2010 14:55 (fifteen years ago)

The Comeback is my jam

yeahhh (surm), Friday, 5 March 2010 14:57 (fifteen years ago)

extras!

mizzell, Friday, 5 March 2010 14:58 (fifteen years ago)

Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.

System, Tuesday, 9 March 2010 00:01 (fifteen years ago)

Life & Times of Tim, easily.

Matt Armstrong, Tuesday, 9 March 2010 04:09 (fifteen years ago)

Going w/ Rome. Generation Kill probably better but it was designed to be a one-off miniseries.

FIST FIGHT! FIST FIGHT! FIST FIGHT IN THE PARKING LOT! (milo z), Tuesday, 9 March 2010 04:12 (fifteen years ago)

conchords or true blood. or big love but I still haven't watched past season 2.

akm, Tuesday, 9 March 2010 04:15 (fifteen years ago)

Big Love

Darin, Tuesday, 9 March 2010 04:17 (fifteen years ago)

ROME

EZ Snappin, Tuesday, 9 March 2010 04:32 (fifteen years ago)

Rome narrowly over Extras.

you gone float up with it (jon /via/ chi 2.0), Tuesday, 9 March 2010 05:06 (fifteen years ago)

totally unqualified to vote in this. voted Generation Kill.

Cosmo Vitelli, Tuesday, 9 March 2010 05:12 (fifteen years ago)

totles True Blood

This object perpetually attempts to sell itself on eBay. (Stevie D), Tuesday, 9 March 2010 05:23 (fifteen years ago)

Extras was like a shitty version of The Larry Sanders Show, I thought. Then again, I loved John from Cincinnati (though I voted for Eastbound and Down).

Jouster, Tuesday, 9 March 2010 08:59 (fifteen years ago)

The ones I've seen are so good, I'm tempted to rent everything else. How I'd rank 'em:

1. In Treatment: Brilliant, ignore pans from critics holding therapy to a higher standard of realism than other professions. Really pays off as it goes.
2. Generation Kill: One of the best things in any medium about the war, though watch with subtitles. Flawed only by an obvious touch near end.
3. Flight of the Conchords: Who knew absurd dry satire could be so warmhearted?
4. John from Cincinnati: Scripty but compelling, with a great unusual cast (mostly actors previously "typed").
5. Big Love: Soap-opera-y but with some momentum, and so many subconscious-time-bomb plot-strains and great performances that it's all worth it.
6. True Blood: Funny enough that its premise flies, sexy enough that Woody Allen stole Sookie for Whatever Works, adult enough that she has more emotional life here, though its Northern Exposure coziness doesn't make sense with New Orleans so close.
7. Little Britain USA: "Moon!"
8. Rome: Kind of an ambitious nice try, with great characters but no shape--maybe it was cut off too soon.
9. John Adams: Great first couple episodes, but the story goes slack, and Jefferson agonizing over slavery is both overdone and wishful history.
10. Extras: Only saw a couple episodes, will pick it up again.

Complaints aside, these are all better than most acclaimed movies.

Pete Scholtes, Tuesday, 9 March 2010 16:49 (fifteen years ago)

John Adams and Generation Kill were great, but since they were mini-series, I'm gonna have to vote Rome.

richie aprile (rockapads), Tuesday, 9 March 2010 17:47 (fifteen years ago)

Big Love was amazing until this season imo

richie aprile (rockapads), Tuesday, 9 March 2010 17:48 (fifteen years ago)

Hung was such a great premise but was so utterly terrible in execution.

you gone float up with it (jon /via/ chi 2.0), Tuesday, 9 March 2010 17:49 (fifteen years ago)

Big Love was amazing until this season imo

Yeah, I'm not terribly excited about continuing next season. Shit went off the rails this season. Most people will never have as many huge problems in their entire lives as that family had in a couple of months. As the show ceases to present any kind of realistic portrait of what life as a polygamist might entail, I lose interest rapidly.

SNEEZED GOING DOWN STEPS, PAIN WHEN PUTTING SOCKS ON (Deric W. Haircare), Tuesday, 9 March 2010 19:20 (fifteen years ago)

lolvoted 4 tourgasm

am0n, Tuesday, 9 March 2010 20:53 (fifteen years ago)

Automatic thread bump. This poll's results are now in.

System, Wednesday, 10 March 2010 00:01 (fifteen years ago)

either ban ilx or ban hbo

Whiney G. Weingarten, Wednesday, 10 March 2010 00:04 (fifteen years ago)

FOTC concert last year was the most boring two hours I've spent being entertained.

FIST FIGHT! FIST FIGHT! FIST FIGHT IN THE PARKING LOT! (milo z), Wednesday, 10 March 2010 00:06 (fifteen years ago)

gen kill shouldve swept it

i dont 'get' in treatment, why would anyone want to just watch someone else's therapy... i can go to a shrink any time i want, i dont need the experience recreated for me

Are Slimes the Jews of monsterdom? (cankles), Wednesday, 10 March 2010 00:11 (fifteen years ago)

Titties?

FIST FIGHT! FIST FIGHT! FIST FIGHT IN THE PARKING LOT! (milo z), Wednesday, 10 March 2010 00:16 (fifteen years ago)

Rong show

Much Hard One On Me (carne asada), Wednesday, 10 March 2010 00:25 (fifteen years ago)

sounds about right ... though i think john adams should've been ranked higher. and rome bored me.

Jonsi's on a vacation far away (Eisbaer), Wednesday, 10 March 2010 01:37 (fifteen years ago)

guys you need to give life & times of tim a chance if you haven't already.

Matt Armstrong, Wednesday, 10 March 2010 01:58 (fifteen years ago)

I don't even know what generation kill is but I guess I'll need to investigate. FotC bored me with Season 2 but I did like Rome and it's no secret that I fucking loved Eastbound and Down.

t(o_o)t (ENBB), Wednesday, 10 March 2010 02:31 (fifteen years ago)

Generation Kill is by the guys who did the Wire, follows a group of Recon Marines in the invasion of Iraq.

FIST FIGHT! FIST FIGHT! FIST FIGHT IN THE PARKING LOT! (milo z), Wednesday, 10 March 2010 02:37 (fifteen years ago)

Vote for How to Make it in America clearly a joke

Jouster, Wednesday, 10 March 2010 09:54 (fifteen years ago)

x-post will check it out

t(o_o)t (ENBB), Wednesday, 10 March 2010 12:49 (fifteen years ago)

costas now 0

lol this makes me so happy

we call him black Nev coz he's black & his names Neville (HI DERE), Wednesday, 10 March 2010 14:43 (fifteen years ago)

Hung was such a great premise but was so utterly terrible in execution.

― you gone float up with it (jon /via/ chi 2.0), Tuesday, March 9, 2010 12:49 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

it definitely went downhill (much in the same way the creator's previous show The Riches did) but the pilot is the funniest thing Alexander Payne's done since Election.

some dude, Wednesday, 10 March 2010 14:51 (fifteen years ago)

hung was solid despite the corny premise - thomas jane owns pretty hard

Are Slimes the Jews of monsterdom? (cankles), Wednesday, 10 March 2010 17:23 (fifteen years ago)

Yeah, the pilot was really good and hooked me, but I could barely make it through to the end of the series.

Otoh, I absolutely loved The Riches and am still really bummed it didn't last longer.

he's always been a bit of an anti-climb Max (jon /via/ chi 2.0), Wednesday, 10 March 2010 17:25 (fifteen years ago)

three years pass...

jam'ie is kinda terrible

Mordy , Wednesday, 27 November 2013 02:49 (eleven years ago)

LOL at poll winner

The correct answer is Treme. Final half season starts this Sunday I believe?

Simon H., Wednesday, 27 November 2013 02:53 (eleven years ago)

tregay

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZD7PvtbkH0I (Hungry4Ass), Wednesday, 27 November 2013 03:05 (eleven years ago)

Eastbound and Down wuz robbed!

Ayn Rand Akbar (Shakey Mo Collier), Wednesday, 27 November 2013 03:08 (eleven years ago)

broadway empire is the obvious answer to me, I guess this poll was prior to that

akm, Wednesday, 27 November 2013 03:14 (eleven years ago)

Life and times of Tim deserved more than 1 vote!

Wendy Carlos Williams (jjjusten), Wednesday, 27 November 2013 03:17 (eleven years ago)

would take 24/7, veep, the pacific, mildred pierce, luck over most of this list

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZD7PvtbkH0I (Hungry4Ass), Wednesday, 27 November 2013 03:21 (eleven years ago)

Lol would watch broadway empire. Bitchy stage managers murdering each other, sounds great

Ayn Rand Akbar (Shakey Mo Collier), Wednesday, 27 November 2013 03:27 (eleven years ago)

Game of Thrones would win this in a landslide now, right? I would vote Luck or John from Cincinnatti, I think.

Frederik B, Wednesday, 27 November 2013 13:22 (eleven years ago)

I'd probably vote for Boardwalk, last two seasons have been outstanding. Loads I haven't seen though.

I wish to incorporate disco into my small business (chap), Wednesday, 27 November 2013 14:39 (eleven years ago)

Bitchy stage managers murdering each other, sounds great

They did this. It was called Smash.

Geoffrey Schweppes (jaymc), Wednesday, 27 November 2013 14:58 (eleven years ago)

It'd be a tough call for me between Boardwalk Empire and Game of Thrones, the former has gotten so good over the past two seasons.

JACK SQUAT about these Charlie Nobodies (jon /via/ chi 2.0), Wednesday, 27 November 2013 15:02 (eleven years ago)

Enlightened. :/

Chuck_Tatum, Thursday, 28 November 2013 14:44 (eleven years ago)

five months pass...

OK, pretty much everything on this list pre-2011 is up and free to stream on Amazon Prime now. Who cares if it's boo-hoo-no-Game-of-Thrones.

Mildred Pierce, all that shit.

That's So (Eazy), Wednesday, 21 May 2014 16:01 (eleven years ago)


You must be logged in to post. Please either login here, or if you are not registered, you may register here.