Sundays and Thursdays

Thursdays have traditionally been a great night for TV, ever since NBC's killer sit-com line-up (The Cosby Show, Cheers, Night Court, etc.) and it continues to this day with CW's line-up of Smallville and Supernatural. But Sunday made a play for it back in the 90s with FOX' all-night animation marathon line-up (Simpsons, Futurama, Family Guy, etc.). Though it clicked for a second and most of the featured shows went on to become cult hits (all of which still run to this day, though both Futurama and Family Guy were gone for a long time), it did not stand the test of time. And even though [adult swim] continues to dominate and FOX brought back the Sunday night animation block, Sundays still kinda suck.

Well, HBO is set to turn all of that around starting tonight. Leading-off with proven hits, True Blood and Entourage, they will go right into the premiere of Little Britain USA and then Tim, an animated series. A full night of near-primetime programming (it's really more late-night, since the block doesn't start until 8:00 CST) that should flow nicely into [adult swim].

I have already reviewed True Blood a few times and expect to discuss it more following tonight's episode (if it's half as good as last week's) and you can catch the first three episodes back-to-back before tonight's premiere over on HBO2 this afternoon. Entourage is entertaining, though I have to agree with Seth Rogen - I don't necessarily find it "funny," per se. And Little Britain USA is based on one of the funniest British TV shows ever, Little Britain, and features the same cast, so it's going to be hysterical. But Tim is a toss-up - the promos just aren't that funny - we'll have to wait and see how it plays.

HBO costs approximately $15 a month, regardless of your TV provider; some have it for slightly less and others have "packages" which include one or more other pay networks in a bundle (usually for a few bucks more), but that's about right. And while they only update their current crop of feature films about once every three months or so (they have a premiere every week, but continue to play the same movies for about three months afterward), they have some of the best original series anywhere. Honestly, it's worth the price of admission just for their ongoing series, so the movies are just a bonus.

$15 is about the price of a 12-pack of decent beer or a bottle of decent booze. It is about the price of a meal for one in a nice, sit-down restaurant. That is about what you will pay for a single CD or a month's membership at Netflix or whatever.

I do not get paid to shill HBO, and the reason I am pushing them is simple: I can guarantee you I will be discussing their shows this fall season - as well as the next, and so on in that fashion. And HBO makes shows folks like us enjoy - shows that often make their way to basic cable and syndicated TV in censored form - so I really think you will get more for your dollar if you consider purchasing it. Not to mention you can follow the discussions here!

© C Harris Lynn, 2008