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Shameless on Showtime

AlaskanAssassin

AlaskanAssassin

Well-Known Member
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Anyone seen this show yet? Only a few episodes have ran so far, but it is AMAZING! I saw the first season of the British version, and the American version has exceeded my expectations.

William H. Macy was made for this part. The best thing about the show is how outlandish it is while still remaining within the realm of believability. There are families out there, in America, living like this.

I wonder why more shows of this quality can't originate from the US. I know there are some great shows, with Breaking Bad being my personal favorite, but it just seems like we're not hitting our potential.
 
I've been enjoying Shameless, and I think Rossum is doing perfectly fine in the role, but I think a person would have to be crazy* to bemoan the current state of American television. This is the golden age of American television. It can't get much better. Honest-to-God masterpieces** are being made for American television right now.***

*not literally.
**off the top of my head... Buffy the Vampire Slayer, The Sopranos, The Wire, The Shield, Arrested Development, Mad Men, Breaking Bad, and, um, some other stuff that doesn't quite come to mind at the moment.
***right now meaning: lately.

Television used to be a wasteland of crap, and still, it mostly is, but in the 90's a couple of very smart creators took the television-as-novel style format that had been experimented with on shows like The Prisoner and Wiseguy, and a bunch of other people caught the fever.
 
Stickler said:
I've been enjoying Shameless, and I think Rossum is doing perfectly fine in the role, but I think a person would have to be crazy* to bemoan the current state of American television. This is the golden age of American television. It can't get much better. Honest-to-God masterpieces** are being made for American television right now.***

*not literally.
**off the top of my head... Buffy the Vampire Slayer, The Sopranos, The Wire, The Shield, Arrested Development, Mad Men, Breaking Bad, and, um, some other stuff that doesn't quite come to mind at the moment.
***right now meaning: lately.

Television used to be a wasteland of crap, and still, it mostly is, but in the 90's a couple of very smart creators took the television-as-novel style format that had been experimented with on shows like The Prisoner and Wiseguy, and a bunch of other people caught the fever.
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Agreed, and I'm sure 90% of British television is garbage too. The biggest thing that bothers me is that so many quality shows get canceled before their prime because of garbage powerhouses like Two and a Half Men and The Big Bang Theory. Who is watching these shows? They are terrible yet they are unbelievably popular! Is CBS rigging the ratings or are we the most "Idiot Demographic" (Arrested Development Quote for ya) in the world?
 
I saw Macy in a disturbing film (Edmond) and now cannot shake his image and his character from that film long enough to like him in anything else. Might give it a whirl though. Lots of good TV coming from Showtime and HBO recently.
 
Stickler said:
I've been enjoying Shameless, and I think Rossum is doing perfectly fine in the role, but I think a person would have to be crazy* to bemoan the current state of American television. This is the golden age of American television. It can't get much better. Honest-to-God masterpieces** are being made for American television right now.***

*not literally.
**off the top of my head... Buffy the Vampire Slayer, The Sopranos, The Wire, The Shield, Arrested Development, Mad Men, Breaking Bad, and, um, some other stuff that doesn't quite come to mind at the moment.
***right now meaning: lately.

Television used to be a wasteland of crap, and still, it mostly is, but in the 90's a couple of very smart creators took the television-as-novel style format that had been experimented with on shows like The Prisoner and Wiseguy, and a bunch of other people caught the fever.
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I agree, which is one of the reasons Shameless just isn't up to snuff given limited timespans to watch television. Frankly I've been getting a bigger bang for my buck out of "Episodes" which premiered at the same time, although I will frankly acknowledge that show is hardly great but merely amusing.

Also, I LOL'd when you opened your "masterpieces" list with Buffy the Vampire Slayer. I understand a lot of people that I consider to have good taste really liked it, but a masterpiece? I think even its fans would acknowledge it makes a lot of questionable decisions.
 
Sirkickyass said:
I agree, which is one of the reasons Shameless just isn't up to snuff given limited timespans to watch television. Frankly I've been getting a bigger bang for my buck out of "Episodes" which premiered at the same time, although I will frankly acknowledge that show is hardly great but merely amusing.

Also, I LOL'd when you opened your "masterpieces" list with Buffy the Vampire Slayer. I understand a lot of people that I consider to have good taste really liked it, but a masterpiece? I think even its fans would acknowledge it makes a lot of questionable decisions.
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In terms of television, yes, I'll call it a masterpiece (with caveats). I'm not saying it is flawless, but when it was at its best, there was nothing better on television. You may not remember this, but once upon a time there was sincere debate amongst major television critics about which was the better show -- Buffy or The Sopranos. Also, it was really the show that sparked this new wave of television and entered us into the golden age.*

I think fans of any show would acknowledge questionable decisions. But in this case, all "questionable" means is: the creators did the unexpected thing or the un-hoped for thing. This is especially true in the case of Buffy the Vampire's much-hated Season Six. It was spectacular stuff. Not the Shakespeare, maybe, that a show like The Shield eventually achieved. But the criticism against it is almost entirely unfair.

*I discount Babylon 5 only because it was highly flawed, and few people were paying it any attention.
 
Dexter has had it's good moments and season 4 was flat-out awesome tv. Who knew Lithgow could be so believably creepy.
 
Beantown said:
Never seen Cliffhanger? He was the only thing good in that movie.
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Yeah but in that he was more or less a typical villain, but he played the role well. In Dexter he was seriously creepy and disturbed. I know he is a good actor, but that season of Dexter he channeled his inner Dahmer so to speak.
 
LogGrad98 said:
Yeah but in that he was more or less a typical villain, but he played the role well. In Dexter he was seriously creepy and disturbed. I know he is a good actor, but that season of Dexter he channeled his inner Dahmer so to speak.
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True.
 
Stickler said:
You may not remember this, but once upon a time there was sincere debate amongst major television critics about which was the better show -- Buffy or The Sopranos.
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No. I don't remember this. I'm in such disbelief I am on the verge of asking for links to serious television critics who made the case that Buffy was better than the Sopranos. I mean, like maybe a couple, but I'd be stunned if that wasy anything approaching a legitimate debate.

I mean lets be clear here: in its early seasons it's a lot of low budget monsters that are overly literal interpretations of teenage angst, which is part of the reason I've never really been a fan. People like it, I understand that. But I think you're overselling the case.

Also, it was really the show that sparked this new wave of television and entered us into the golden age.*
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You're going to have to explain this one. I'm just having difficulty picturing a causal link between a teen-oriented WB show and the rise of television generally. I mean, if you had talked about Oz or something I might see what you were talking about given how that show places in the HBO development timeline, but I'm just not seeing it with Buffy.
 
Maybe he is talking about the 'other version' of Buffy the Vampire slayer? Slutty the Trampslayer.
 
Beantown said:
Maybe he is talking about the 'other version' of Buffy the Vampire slayer? Slutty the Trampslayer.
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Does your bishop know that you know about "Slutty the Trampslayer?" If so I can't imagine you have a temple recommend.
 
Ive seen certain scenes from the show as we mix the show here...Ive liked what Ive seen.
 
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