The massive
complete series collection of
The Sopranos is now in stores, and along with it comes tons of special features that go in-depth about the show and its legacy — including that
baffling ending.
In one of the special features, creator David Chase and the cast talk about one of the alternate endings: Tony raking leaves in his yard. The scene's actually in the episode, and when the script was distributed to the crew, it was the final scene — just in case something got leaked or left behind on a train where some eager fan or reporter might snap it up.
Although
True Blood has had an uneven first season (the finale was last night), I'll still be tuning in next year. I have to find out what happens with my favorite characters, and I can't wait to see how the plot develops. One element of the show that I really enjoy is its authentic look, which is crafted by the nimble art and set direction of Bill Law and Catherine Smith.
Ever since turning up for a funny bit with Steve Carell at the
Emmys in September, British comedian Ricky Gervais has been back in the news, big-time. He's been rumored as a host for the Oscars (though he
denies that he'd take the job) and even hinted that he
might like to appear on NBC's version of
The Office, the show he co-created.
This weekend, Gervais will be back on HBO — where his second TV series,
Extras, finished its run last year — for the premiere of his stand-up special,
Ricky Gervais: Out of England.
Summer Heights High, an Australian series that premieres on HBO in a couple of weeks, seems like my kind of comedy. The mockumentary about a public high school looks devastatingly awkward — almost like what would happen if Michael Scott of
The Office returned to high school as a teacher or a student.
The cringeworthy moments come courtesy of Chris Lilley, an Australian comic who's been described as
"his country's Peter Sellers." Lilley plays all three of Summer Heights High's main characters: Mr.
OK, OK I'm going to directly contradict every time your mother said, "read a book" or "go outside and play," because this week it's all about gripping TV. Here's what I mean:
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Monday — It's not light TV, but sounds compelling:
- Section 60: Arlington National Cemetery — On HBO tonight at 9 p.m. this documentary tells the story of the section that serves as the burial ground of US military personnel killed in Iraq and Afghanistan.
HBO has some interesting projects in the works these days, and one I'm definitely following is the
adaptation of The Washingtonienne, which is being executive-produced by none other than Sarah Jessica Parker. The network has
just picked its leading ladies, so let's meet the women who will soon be cavorting around Washington:
- Rachael Taylor (left, best known for Transformers) will play Jackie, the central character who comes to DC from New York to work as a speechwriter but starts out as a lowly intern.
- Bitsie Tulloch (center, best known for Quarterlife) will play April, a college friend of Jackie's and now her Capitol Hill mentor. She's living "a prematurely middle-age lifestyle" with her boyfriend, an aide to a high-powered senator.
- Amanda Walsh (right, best known for Sons and Daughters and Disturbia) rounds out the trio as small-town girl Laura, a workaholic with conservative views that she's constantly having to defend.
Fans of
the book, does any of this sound familiar?
How do you get Sarah Michelle Gellar back on TV? Apparently, you write an intriguing script for HBO — with her in mind from the start.
That's how writer Charles Randolph
wooed Gellar to HBO for a pilot called The Wonderful Maladys.
From the network that brought you
John Adams — and the writers who brought you
urban strife — comes this:
HBO is developing a miniseries about the assassination of Abraham Lincoln and the hunt for his killer, to be written by David Simon of The Wire and Tom Fontana of Oz.
The miniseries is based on the best-selling book
Manhunt, about the Lincoln shooting and the 12-day hunt for his assassin, John Wilkes Booth. Simon and Fontana are writing the script together.
HBO has a new antihero — and this time, he's a cartoon. In September, the network will premiere the animated show The Life and Times of Tim, a comedy about a 20-something who can't seem to get it right. And by "it," I mean "anything, at all, ever."
Back at
Sundance, the documentary
The Black List, Vol. 1 was
getting glowing praise from all those who were lucky enough to make it into a screening. HBO had already nabbed the rights to show the film, and tonight, it makes its broadcast premiere.
