“The end is near,” says mysterious stranger John in the opening scenes of John from Cincinnati. His words are prophetic, as this underappreciated show from David Milch (creator of Deadwood and Luck) only lasted 10 episodes. Intended as a replacement for The Sopranos, the “surf noir” drama baffled many viewers when it was first shown in the US in 2007, causing HBO to cancel after a single season. It subsequently aired in the UK on FX, practically unnoticed, which is a shame, since it’s perhaps the most wonderfully strange television drama since Twin Peaks…
Read the full story at The Guardian
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Television
Guardian
“London has got the Thames, Paris has got the Seine, LA has got a concrete drainage ditch.” That’s our introduction to Boomtown, a city that rises out of the California dust in the opening sequence of this shortlived cop show from Graham Yost (creator of Justified). First aired in 2002, Boomtown is an original and unconventional police procedural that ultimately proved to be too innovative for network TV…
Read the full story at The Guardian.
Television
Guardian
Farewell Don, Peggy, Roger, Pete and Joan. Especially Joan. This week’s Mad Men season four finale means we’ll have to wait the best part of a year for our next wallow in the glamour and drama of 60s Madison Avenue. And that’s tough, because Mad Men is a show that completely absorbs its viewers, the kind of show that makes sitting on the sofa in front of the telly seem like pretty much the best thing in the world…
Read the full story article over at Sabotage Times.
Film, Television
Sabotage Times
Oh the Timperley test card’s on, so follow Frank down to the bottom of his garden… There’s been an outpouring of love for Frank Sidebottom since his creator Chris Sievey died earlier this year. He had many fans, but was never more than a cult figure.
Frank’s Fantastic Shed Show was just about the closest he got to the mainstream – a 1991 Yorkshire TV production aired late night in various ITV regions. Now released on DVD, it’s a typically curious, hit-and-miss affair that perfectly illustrates why Frank is so fondly remembered but never made it big. Read more…
Television
