A former police reporter named David Simon created and written an American television drama entitled “The Wire” which was produced and set in Baltimore, Maryland. The drama series was aired in the United States by HBO, a premium cable network. It premiered on June 2, 2002 and concluded on March 9, 2008. The five seasons of The Wire consisted of about 60 episodes.

The Cast

In the first season of the series, the main characters were categorized into two—those involved in the crime and those on the law’s side. Detective Jimmy McNulty played by Dominic West launched the investigation on the crime and Lieutenant Cedric Daniels (played by Lance Reddick) led the detail. Daniels faced several challenges in trying to balance his aspirations with his desire to end with a good case. Faced with jealousy from colleagues and dangers of her chosen job, Kima Greggs (portrayed by Sonja John) was still a capable detective whose investigative work was helped by Bubbles, a drug addict turned criminal informant (portrayed by Andre Royo). Other characters include Thomas Hauk and Ellis Carver, partners in the narcotics unit; Major William Rawls and Deputy Commissioner Ervin Burrel who served as commanding officers who were more concerned with their own careers and politics than the cases.

Plot, Storyline and Themes

In each season, different facets of Baltimore City were given focus. Illegal drug business, seaport system, city government and bureaucracy, school system and print news media were highlighted in chronological order.

Institutional dysfunction and surveillance were the themes used in the television series. The story reveals that the institutions are all dysfunctional in one way or another, and the characters are betrayed by these structures that have become a great part of their lives. The use of electronic surveillance and wiretap by the police is central to the plot and structure of the entire series, thus, the title. Some sources consider the title as a metaphor for the experience of the viewers—the wiretaps give access to the secret world in the same way that the show provides access to that world to the people.

Reception

The Wire received only modest ratings and it never garnered any major television awards but nevertheless, it was described by a number of critics as the “greatest TV series” ever made and branded as one of the “most accomplished works of fiction” in 2000. The drama series is also applauded for its realistic portrayal of the life in the city, the deep exploration of themes inclining to socio-politics and of course, the literary ambitions of the show’s creators.

 

 

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The vampire mania seemed to have exploded during the recent years, especially with the mega success of the Twilight Saga. Everywhere you look, there will always be something about vampires and ladies falling in love with them. The entertainment industry has been raking in a lot of profit from creating, producing and releasing books, television shows and films out of the legendary mythical creatures. If you are fond of vampires and you are a die-hard romantic, you might love this TV series entitled, “The Vampire Diaries”. This show airs Thursday nights at 8pm in the US and it is based on the books written by L.J. Smith.

Fans of the show came up with their top five reasons on loving The Vampire Diaries.

1. Good writing of the story – Viewers claim that the show is well-written and the story gets even better every week. It is an interesting blend of horror, action, suspense and romance.
2. Good story itself - It boasts of a little bit of everything to keep viewers hooked to it.
3. There’s Paul Wesley - The male lead in the show is sizzling hot, and viewers can’t help but to admire him and maybe, drool while watching him.
4. Ian Somerhalder’s presence - Another very attractive young man to watch out for in the television series aside from the male lead character.
5. The conflict - Ian Somerhalder constantly stirs up trouble for the characters Elena and Stefan (Paul Wesley) and his character Damon, attacks the townspeople and feed on their blood.

Vampire Diaries has instantly become a hot commodity in Hollywood. And although competition amongst tv series in the US is getting tighter and tighter as long as the writers keep coming up with great stories to tell people will surely keep watching the show. The success of TVD can be compared to a newly launched adt home security device since it is still hot people will rave about it. The secret to keeping the interest of viewers is a good script, interesting characters and a superb plot — which all possessed by this series.

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The Battlestar Galactica was the creation of Glen Larson. The BG franchise started with a television series in 1978, and then later superseded with a short TV series in the 1980s. Original novels, comic books, board game, book adaptations and video games followed right after. In December 2003, a remake of the American series was aired. It started with a two-part and three-hour miniseries created by David Eicka nd Ronald D. Moore. This later on paved the way for a weekly TV series that was able to run for four seasons, from 2004 to 2009. Caprica, a prequel TV series to the Battlestar Galactica, was aired in 2010. The second prequel series entitled “Battlestar Galactica: Blood and Chrome”, is currently in production and is set to air sometime this year (2012).

Storyline and Plot

All the productions of Battlestar Galactica shared the exact same premise: in a distant galaxy, human civilization dwells on a group of planets collectively known as the Twelve Colonies. The humans have migrated from Kobol, their ancestral home world. For decades, the 12 colonies battled it out with the cybernetic race, which was called as the Cylons—whose goal is to annihilate the human race.

The new Battlestar Galactica television series was co-funded by Sky Television from the United Kingdom. It premiered on Sky1 satellite channel in UK in October 2004. In January 2005, the series was aired in North America on the Sci-Fi Channel.

A Closer Look on Battlestar Galactica – The TV Series

The new series continued where the 2003 miniseries left off. The main cast returned to their roles and at the same time, a number of new characters were introduced. Richard Hatch, who was given the role of Captain Apollo in the 1970 version of the Battlestar Galactica TV series appeared in a few episodes as a former political terrorist named Tom Zarek, who becomes part of the new colonial government in the latter part.

On 9th of January in 2005, NBC aired an edited version of the first miniseries just five days before the premiere of the new series on the Sci-Fi channel. The network also aired three selected episodes from the first season to publicize the show in advance. The show ran for about 4 seasons in which the second season had to be divided into two which was screened a few months apart. The fourth season was also divided into two with a seven-month break in between because of the strike of the Writers Guild in 2007 to 2008.

Battlestar Galactica has garnered critical acclaim among mainstream publications and it was hailed as the best show on television in the year 2005.

 

 

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On September 24, 2007, the pilot episode of The Big Bang Theory was aired on CBS. This is an American sitcom brought into life by Bill Prady and Chuck Lorre. Prady and Lorre are also the executive producers of the show, with the addition of Steven Molaro. The three men are also the head writers of this funny sitcom.

Setting, Cast, and Plot

The television series is set in Pasadena , California and focuses on five characters—Leonard Hofstadter (an experimental physicist), and his roommate Sheldon Cooper who is a smarty-pants, theoretical physicist. These two geniuses are roomies working at the California Institute of Technology. Leonard and Sheldon are joined by:

• Penny – an aspiring actress and a blonde waitress;
• Howard Wolowitz – an MIT aerospace engineer with no PhD; and
• Rajesh Koothrappali, an astrophysicist working at CalTech.

The four guys’ intellect and geekiness are contracted with Penny’s comical common sense and social skills. Supporting characters that  later became a part of the main cast include:

• Bernadette Rostenkowski – a doctoral candidate in microbiology and a part-time waitress together with Penny (also playing the role of Howard’s love interest);
•  Amy Farrah Fowler – a neurobiologist with a personality similar to Sheldon Cooper

Recognition

The Big Bang Theory is produced by Chuck Lorre Productions and Warner Bros. Television. The sitcom garnered the TCA best comedy series award, while Jim Parsons took home an individual performance award in August 2009. The following year, the show bagged a couple more awards including the ‘People’s Choice Award for Favorite Comedy‘. Parsons, meanwhile, was highly acclaimed for his great and outstanding performance in the comedy series. He bagged numerous awards from different award giving bodies, like the prestigious Emmy Award, and another one from the Hollywood Foreign Press Association. Parsons popularity was boosted because of the show, mainly due to his excellent performance as Sheldon Cooper, an obsessive-compulsive smart-ass, who never fails to make the audience laugh with his silly (but smart) remarks.

Reception

The sitcom’s third season was aired on September 21, 2009 and it ranked as CBS’ highest-rated show that evening for the adults demographic (18-40 years old) and with the series-high 12.83 million viewers. CBS announced that they would be moving the show’s schedule on Thursdays at 8:00 ET for the 2010-2011 schedule on May 19, 2010. The television network also announced on January 12, 2011 that The Big Bang Theory had been renewed and extended for another three years. This means that the show will run through the 2013-2014 season. Its fifth season was aired on September 22, 2011 in its usual time slot.

 

 

 

 

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David Milch wrote, produced and created the popular Western American drama series entitled Deadwood. This television show was being broadcast on HBO, a premium cable network from the 21st of March in 2004 until the 27th of August in 2006. The period spanned three seasons that aired 12 episodes each.

Setting, Themes and Plot

The drama series was filmed in Deadwood, a place somewhere in South Dakota. The setting of the show was in the 1870s during the period before and after the annexation of the area to the Dakota Territory. It charts the area’s development from being a small camp to becoming a town. The show also incorporated themes such as formation of communities to the prevalence of western capitalism.

Cast and Crew

In terms of the cast, Deadwood features a huge ensemble of great actors. Historical figures also appeared on the show like Al Swearengen, Seth Bullock, Calamity Jane, Wyatt Earp, George Crook, E.B. Farnum, Wild Bill Hickok, Sol Star, George Hearst and Charlie Utter. Plot lines that involved these characters have historical authenticity and substantial fictional characteristics as well. The creator used newspapers and actual diaries from the 1870s as references for the events, characters, look and feel of the drama series. Though some of the characters are fictional, most are based from real-life stories.

Awards

Deadwood received critical acclaim from a wide number of critics and experts. Milch’s writing and Ian McShane in particular, garnered praises. The television series bagged eight Emmy Awards out of its 28 nominations and a Golden Globe Award.

Reception and Renewal

Rumors have it that there are plans to end the series with two special television movies but up until now, these plans have not yet materialized. Some of the lead stars in the series claim that Deadwood is unlikely to return.

Due to its extensive use of profanity, Deadwood has drawn attention from the public ever since its debut. Since the creator has a twofold intent, the series has become a deliberate anachronism. According to Milch, the characters were originally intended to use swear words and slang based on the period’s deep religious origin and this tended to be more blasphemous. So instead of being tastelessly crude, the words muttered by the show’s characters sounded comical.

HBO confirmed to the public that the fourth season with the current cast was unlikely but it insisted that the show has not been cancelled. David Milch agreed to make a couple of two-hour TV films in place of the fourth season on June 5, 2006 but on July 12, 2007, HBO executives finally revealed that the telefilms are difficult to finish. On March 17, 2009, Ian McShane reiterated that “Deadwood is dead”.

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Aired every Sunday evening on AMC (a cable network in America), Mad Men is production of Lionsgate Television. This dramatic television series is created and produced by the very talented Matthew Weiner. Its pilot episode was aired on the 19th of July in 2007 and its fourth season was completed on October 17, 2010. Every season consists of thirteen episodes. Mad Men’s fifth installation will premier on the 16th of March of this year.

Meet the Cast

The dramas series’ lead characters include Don Draper, who is a creative director and junior partner of the Sterling Cooper Advertising Agency which is played by actor Jon Hamm; Peggy Olson (Elizabeth Moss) is Draper’s secretary cum copywriter; Pete Campbell (Vincent Kartheiser), a young and ambitious account executive who attempts to blackmail Draper (Jon Hamm) with information on the latter’s past; Betty Francis (January Jones), plays the role of the former wife of Draper and the mother of their three offsprings Sally, Bobby and Eugene Scott; Joan Harris (Chirstina Hendricks), an office manager and the head of secretarial pool at the Sterling Cooper Company; and Roger Sterling who had an affair with Joan Harris. Sterling became a mentor to Don Draper and he was one of the two senior partners in the company founded by his father. Sterling was played by John Slattery.

Setting and Plot

Mad Men is initially filmed at the Advertising Agency of Sterling Cooper right on Madison Avenue in NYC.  The drama was set to convey the period of the 1960s. The plot of the drama revolves around the focal point of the show, Don Draper, the people in his life and the things that take place in and out of the office. The series depicted changing moods and social conditions in America during the 1960s.

Reception

The television series became well-known not only in the United States but also in some other countries. In fact, it has received accolades and critical acclaim due to its visual style and historical authenticity. The American Film Institute, Creative Arts Emmys, Peabody Award and British Academy Television Awards are just a few of the award-giving bodies that have bestowed recognition to the series. Mad Men also received numerous awards which include four Golden Globes and fifteen Emmys. In addition to its string of recognitions and awards, Mad Men was also the first basic cable television series to bag the highly coveted Emmy Award for Outstanding Drama Series. It won the particular award in its entire first four seasons in 2008, 2009, 2010 and finally, in 2011.

 

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