The Best of HBO

 

10. Rome (2005-2007) One of several examples of HBO pulling the plug on a seemingly popular show before it finished its natural run, Rome is very much a tale of two series. The first is phenomenal, picking up after the end of Caesar’s conquest of Gaul, through the political turmoil of his return to Rome, reign as dictator and eventual assassination. Season Two is equally as entertaining as the first, but feels more than a little rushed, as writers allegedly struggled to fit the further four planned seasons into just ten episodes. Rome was historical drama done at its best, providing the scope of some of the most significant moments from antiquity intertwined with the personal stories of its key players. Ciaran Hinds remains the best Julius Caesar to date and James Purefoy and Tobias Menzies were equally great as Marc Antony and Marcus Junius Brutus. But if it was the time period and production costs that first grabbed your attention, it was the wonderful chemistry between Kevin McKidd and Ray Stevenson as simple soldiers Lucius Vorenus and Titus Pullo that kept you watching until the end.

9. The Pacific (2010) As the highly anticipated companion piece to Band of Brothers, it was always likely that The Pacific would fail to live up to the perfection of its WWII drama predecessor. Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg again teamed up, this time telling the lesser-known (to the British public at least) story of the war in the Pacific. Through the horrors of Guadalcanal, Peleliu, Iwo Jima and Okinawa, the changing lives of three US Marines are followed across some of the bloodiest campaigns of the entire conflict. James Badge Dale and Joseph Mazzello are great as Robert Leckie and Eugene Sledge, and Jon Seda stands out as the legendary Sgt. John Basilone, whose exploits ensured he was the only man to be awarded the Medal of Honor and the Navy Cross during World War Two.

8. The Larry Sanders Show (1992-1998) It takes time to judge the impact of a show, and there is no greater example of that than The Larry Sanders Show. Its impact can be seen in countless shows made since, most notably with The Daily Show, The Office, Extras, Alan Partridge, 30 Rock and Entourage.  Shandling’s Larry Sanders remains one of the finest comedy characters ever created, with the fictional talk show host acting as the perfect antihero and straight man for the brilliant Rip Torn as the show’s producer, and Jeffrey Tambor as his witless sidekick Hank. Much like Extras and Entourage, the real highlights of The Larry Sanders Show came from the regular celebrity cameos. Much like with Seinfeld, Sanders had the forethought and humility to allow the rest of the cast to be funnier than him, even though it was his show.

Boardwalk Empire

7. Boardwalk Empire (2010-2014) Expected to be the marquee show that finally filled the enormous void left by The Sopranos, it is likely that Boardwalk Empire will be looked back on with slight regret, as a phenomenal cast, perfect source material and arguably the greatest behind-the-scenes crew currently working in television (including The Sopranos director and executive producer Timothy Van Patten and Terence Winter) didn’t quite fulfill their huge potential. It is a series that can be split into three parts: the first two series are brilliant, and following a sharp right-turn at the end of series two, the third is also great in its own right. But the cracks start to appear in the fourth, and declining viewing figures meant that series five would be its last. The whole era of Prohibition America was perfect territory for HBO, with characters like Al Capone, Lucky Luciano and Meyer Lansky begging to be brought to life. Coupled with exquisite set-design and perfect casting and brilliant performances (most notably Vincent Piazza, Michael Stuhlbarg, Jack Huston, Charlie Cox and Anatol Yusef), Boardwalk Empire has some moments of brilliance, and was never afraid to shock the audience by killing off characters you would assume were integral to the show.

6. Curb Your Enthusiasm (1999-) How do you follow up making the most successful sitcom of all time?  Make one that’s even better.  Curb Your Enthusiasm displayed that Larry David was even more of a comedic force than most assumed from the success of Seinfeld (as well as the subsequent drop in quality following his departure from the show).  Starring as an exaggerated version of himself, Larry David clearly takes enormous joy in exploring each and every social taboo, from complimenting the penis size of a friend’s infant son to pissing on a portrait of Jesus, Curb Your Enthusiasm is as brave with its subject matter as any great comedy should be.

5. Deadwood (2004-2006) Another great historical drama cancelled ahead of its time due to spiraling production costs, Deadwood maintains an enormous worldwide fan base who eagerly hold on to the slightest hope that the superb Western series will be bought back to the air. Set in the late 1800s, Deadwood is the last town in the rapidly forming America in which there is no federal law; corruption, violence and crime are rampant. At the epicenter of it all is Al Swearengen, owner of the Gem Saloon, supplier of prostitutes and booze and the greatest swearer in television history. As well as re-launching the career of Ian McShane in the lead role, Deadwood was known for its brutal depiction of the Old West, realistically bringing to life characters like Wild Bill Hickok, Calamity Jane and George Hearst with some of the best dialogue ever written for TV, even topping the likes of The Thick Of It for its poetic use of swearing. Unlike Rome and Boardwalk Empire, Deadwood politely declined the option of a ‘wrap up’ series, instead leaving viewers marooned with a Series three cliffhanger that was never to be resolved.
 

Deadwood

4. John Adams (2008) Yes, it’s yet another historical series, but it is the high production value and investment in time, talent and research in such series that set HBO apart from any other network. John Adams was a superb miniseries that spanned the life of one of the USA’s founding fathers, its second President, and his role in the nation’s first fifty years. Paul Giamatti is nothing short of outstanding as Adams, both young and old, conveying the stubborn brilliance of one of the true heroes of the American Revolution. For Brits who knew little about the time period, it is an accessible and hugely entertaining history lesson on why the British were unceremoniously booted out of the country, and the struggles that followed in setting up a free and democratic society. As a human being, it’s a magnificent exploration of what it really means to be brilliant: being ferociously dedicated to a righteous cause, rigorously defending what you believe to be right no matter what the cost, both personally and professionally.

3. Band of Brothers (2001) It is only brevity that stops this being number one, as the ten-part miniseries that follow the men of Easy Company, of the 101^st Airborne division, through WWII is regularly voted the best television series ever made. In just ten perfect episodes, Band of Brothers tells the entire story of the company from training, through D-Day, Market Garden, Bastogne, the campaign into Germany and V-E day. An enormous cast are all tremendous, creating such a memorable likeness to their real-life counterparts, whose talking-head contributions also bookmark each episode. Easily the best depiction of World War II ever created, it is utterly heart-breaking to see the impact war had, and continue to has, on the men who volunteered to parachute into the areas of Europe in which the most ferocious German resistance was expected, and the indescribable bond that forms between them in such circumstances. Starring Damian Lewis, Ron Livingston, David Schwimmer and Frank John Hughes, as well as early appearances from Simon Pegg, Michael Fassbender, Tom Hardy, Stephen Graham and James McAvoy, it is essential viewing at least once a year.

2. The Wire (2002-2008) The main strength of The Wire lay in the fact that its writers never cared for audience satisfaction. There were no happy endings, no neat and tidy character arcs and little joy to be found amongst the dealers and law enforcement on the Baltimore drug scene. In terms of finding an audience, it was a slow burner, finding popularity more towards the end of its run. In terms of awards, it was wholly ignored, save for a nomination for sound for its final season. It made stars of Dominic West, Idris Elba and Michael K Williams, as each season embarked on a different view of Baltimore. No other show has garnered such critical praise; The Wire seemed to raise above mere comparison with other great TV shows, earning comparisons from some of the greatest literary achievements of the last century as well (The Telegraph compared its brilliance to that of Dickens and Dostoevsky). Utterly authentic in its brutal portrayal of the Baltimore projects, as well as the corruption within the system trying to control the rampart drug use within them, it genuinely changed the face of television forever.

The Wire

1. The Sopranos (1999-2007) Before its first series in the final year of the twentieth century, critics and audience alike had written The Sopranos off as just another glamorous look at the Mafia. Few expected the eight year odyssey that David Chase subsequently produced, as The Sopranos broke new ground time and time again with its examination of mental health, the impact of violence and crime on a family unit, sexuality, mortality, religion and masculinity. The late James Gandolfini was outstanding in a role he seemed born to play, matched perfectly by his on-screen wife, played by Edie Falco. Episodes would launch into the most bizarrely realistic dream sequences, with a two-episode arc later in the series taking place entirely inside Tony Soprano’s head as he lays in a coma. Even during the extremely rare lesser episodes, Chase created a world so realistic, and characters so interesting, viewers were content just hanging out to see what they were up to. It was darkly funny, brutally violent and painfully realistic, both in its portrayal of life in the Mafia and the strain placed on a family unit. It’s hard to see how a television series will ever be this perfect again.