* Now that I’ve finally seen all three series in their entirety, it was my great pleasure to finally dive into Matt Zoller Seitz, Andrew Sepinwall, and Andrew Johnston’s debate over which TV drama is the greatest of all time: David Milch’s Deadwood (Seitz), David Simon’s The Wire (Sepinwall), or David Chase’s The Sopranos (Johnston). I still think they left out a David (Lynch and Twin Peaks); also, having followed a Netflix-enabled viewing of The Wire with one of Deadwood, I think I can say without fear of contradiction that Deadwood makes The Wire look like T.J. Hooker; but have you even doubted for a second that the debate (available in both podcast and text form) is a fascinating one?
* Since finishing Deadwood last night and thereafter immersing myself in whatever online commentary I could find (Seitz’s columns on the final season for the Newark Star-Ledger have tragically been disappeared), I’ve learned of the ignominious fate HBO relegated the show to and just gotten angrier and angrier with each passing hour. It’s to the point where I can check out this pretty bitchin’-lookin’ Deadwood: The Complete Series DVD set and merely be enraged that they have the gall to call it “the complete series.” Cocksuckers.
* Finally (for now; I’m guessing I’ll have more to say about this show in the future), here is a lengthy, must-read encomium to the fight between Dan Dority and Captain Turner, the most brutal and best fight scene I’ve ever seen.
* Is it just me, or does this USA Today article on the Avengers movie bury the lede? It quotes Jon Favreau as “revealing” the character line-up every nerd on earth already knew (Iron Man, Captain America, Thor, the Hulk) but sorta glosses over the fact that, according to the article at least, he’s actively working on the Iron Man sequel he supposedly hadn’t even been contacted about. I don’t know if it’s just an assumption by the reporter or what, but it seems like news. Anyway, I’m making this the fourth item in this post because I care about it a lot less than I care about Deadwood, but what’s up with the rest of the nerdosphere? Did I miss something? (Via SciFi Wire, who also whiff.)
* Clive Barker continues to actively protest the treatment of the upcoming CB adaptation The Midnight Meat Train. This time he’s publicly laying the blame for the film’s supposed burial at the feet of new Lionsgate honcho Joe Drake, who he says is deliberately scuppering projects shepherded by his predecessor Peter Block, Meat Train included. If you’d like to politely contact Mr. Drake and ask him to reconsider his studio’s plans for the film, you may do so by emailing jdrake@lionsgate.com or calling (310) 449-9200 and asking for Joe Drake’s office.
* Dread Central’s Johnny Butane has a post on an interesting-sounding showcase of the reality-horror films [REC], Butcher, and Home Movie at the upcoming Fantasia Festival.
* Speaking of [REC], quick question, horror fans: Why can’t I find this movie on Netflix? Am I doing something wrong?
* Shit the bed, it’s a Quintesson action figure! These suckers duke it out with Golobulus and Cobra-La for the title of “weirdest addition to a major ’80s action-figure/cartoon franchise.”
* Finally, Nigel Tufnel’s green skeleton shirt…Chris Knight’s “I HEART Toxic Waste” tee…bouncer shirts from the Double Deuce…”STEPHEN KING RULES” from The Monster Squad…FoundItemClothing.com is one “BULL SHIT” t-shirt from The Jerk away from being the greatest t-shirt retailer ever.
“I think I can say without fear of contradiction that Deadwood makes The Wire look like T.J. Hooker”
Damn…I love Deadwood, but barring the mildly disappointing fifth season I’d say The Wire at least matches up with it. But yeah, I wish HBO would’ve given us those rumored two hour specials.
Sean, [REC] isn’t getting any release here in the US, DVD or otherwise, because the remake, Quarantine, is coming out in October and apparently means we can’t see the original. A-holes.
Not that it stopped me! And I could hook you up with a copy if you wanted… just say the word…
Yeah, man. You’ll need either a region-free DVD player and the help of a DVD import company to get [REC], or find it by slightly less legal means.
Deadwood is the only show I’ve watched in its entirety twice, and just before reading your post I was considering a third viewing. I still haven’t watched even one complete run of Lost, Battlestar Galactica, The Sopranos, or The Wire, to name a few.
There’s a Deadwood book out, if you’re jonesing for more. It’s mostly fascinating.
“These suckers duke it out with Golobulus and Cobra-La for the title of “weirdest addition to a major ’80s action-figure/cartoon franchise.”
One word: Stinkor.
I’ve been looking everywhere for a “Stephen King Rules” shirt – thanks!!!
Josh: Undoubtedly I’m being unfairly harsh on The Wire. In part it’s a reaction to the way the show has been lionized by its proponents as superior to both Deadwood and The Sopranos; since I don’t see it that way I’m overcompensating. In part it’s a reaction to a larger beef I have with mainstream critics and their art-as-current-events-report fixation; The Wire doesn’t even bother with thinly veiled allegory–it is literally ABOUT sociopolitical conditions in the U.S.–so it makes it even easier for lazy critics to justify their love for it, which irks me. In part it’s because I truly don’t think it’s a top-tier show; I think from season to season it’s much less consistent than Deadwood or The Sopranos, I think it’s much more likely to serve up an unconvincing storyline or plot twist, and I think the final season was pretty much an unmitigated disaster, an exercise in own-back-patting on everything from the treatment of Baltimore Sun to the treatment of the show’s three biggest heroes and biggest villain.
Jason: Seriously, can you hook a brother up?
Steve: I’ll probably grab that book, yeah. Meanwhile, all the shows you listed are very good and definitely worth a run-through. Particularly The Sopranos, for god’s sake!
Dirk: In a world that includes Trap-Jaw, Tri-Clops, Mer-Man, Beast Man, Mekanek, Man-E-Faces etc., Stinkor fits right in there like the Dude in the City of the Angels around the time of our conflict with Sadd’m and the Eye-raqis.
Jon: We aim to please.
Consider it done, mi amigo!