There's been kind of a lull in TV recently. This season of 24 sucks. I refuse to get sucked into Lost until somebody tells me the writers actually know what they're doing. The Real World/Road Rules Challenge doesn't start for a few weeks. Thankfully, HBO has two shows that are worthwhile watching to varying degrees. First, is the legitimately good show of the two. The Pacific is a Spielberg/Hanks production that is in the same mold as Saving Private Ryan and Band of Brothers. By that I don't mean that they're cut from exactly the same cloth but that they all view war through the lens of (in the Pacific's case) three completely ordinary people and the extraordinary things war drives them to do. One thing I hope but doubt that they explore the issue of adjustment and culture shock for the soldiers when they come home from the war, a topic which neither of the other two have examined. My one beef thus far is that the characters often get lost in the grand scale of the show and speed of the narrative. Given that the show attempts to show WWII through three people more or less, I'd say this is to be expected, so it's a minor gripe. Though it's only three episodes in, I'm already hooked on the show. Far from being an action mini-series, the Pacific blends history, friendship and love along with vomit-inducing violence in a fast-paced hour of television.
Similarly fast-paced but in a completely different way is How to Make it in America. When I first saw the show, I immediately described it as Entourage: New York City, but with a tighter theme song and fewer jaw-dropping women. Six episodes in and I stand by that description, although they're not perfect twins. Both are poorly acted with a few exceptions. In fact, I downright loathe the second lead in How to Make it, Cam. Like Entourage, How to Make it follows young twenty-somethings trying to get rich or die trying. How to Make it goes for a less glitzy version (women included) by focusing on up and coming fashion designers as opposed to movie stars and in that way, the show feels more accessible. Where Entourage succeeded (at first) in giving everyone a glimpse of Hollywood through the life of a new star, How to Make it succeeds by showing what it's like for two guys trying to make it big by straight grinding in New York City.
Another difference is that How to Make it doesn't have a character like Ari, or to a lesser extent, Drama, who carries the show. At least so far, the writers are relying on you watching the show by investing in its character's success, not based on two stars. They've tried to rep Kid Cudi as a star in the show but he might get 20 seconds per episode, and those 20 seconds are always forgettable. While Cudi doesn't have much of an on-screen presence, he apparently has some weight in the soundtracks for each episode, and the music is far and away better than Entourage's. The last episode even ended with a Broken Bells song, which if not for the stupid DMCA, you'd be able to scroll down and listen to right now. One final note: How to Make it is sort of category defying. If you go in expected it be a comedy like Entourage, you'll be disappointed. Sure, there are a couple of laughs per episode but not enough to make it a comedy and the subject matter of the show isn't weighty enough to classify it as a drama. So just watch it for what it is. Is it critically good? No. Do I feel a little angry at myself after every episode for being hooked? Yes. But it's enjoyable television, like Entourage used to be before they got lazy and decided that a writing a plot that went anywhere was like a vestigial organ.
