In the hands of just about anyone other than the delightfully bizarre
David Lynch (and co-creator Mark Frost), of course, the tangle would
gradually unravel itself as the series progressed, the mystery
elucidated little by little until the show reached a logical conclusion.
Instead, Twin Peaks layers more mystery upon the initial mystery,
growing increasingly enigmatic – and more maddeningly, wonderfully
addictive – with each and every cliffhanger of an episode. Gorgeously
surreal, part-nightmare and part-dream, and with enough symbolism to
make your head burst from trying to figure it all out, Twin Peaks
is proof of what good things are possible on those rare occasions when
network television has dared to take a chance on true originality.
the sopranos
buy the
complete first season; the
complete second season; the
complete third season (release date: August 27)
The Sopranos
is the perfect example of why television, as a medium, can sometimes
tell a story better than film. The best mob movies have always
emphasized character as much as plot – The Godfather, at heart,
is a relationship movie more than an action flick – and the Sopranos
makes excellent use of the long-running serial nature of television
shows to let us sink into the lives and characters of the
always-fascinating Soprano family. At the center of the family, and the
show as well, is Tony Soprano: middle-level suburban Jersey Mob boss,
husband, father, and exasperated son, whose recent bouts of anxiety
attacks have landed him in secret weekly sessions with a psychiatrist.
The sources of Tony’s stress, it turns out, are many and varied –
from the mundane problems of family life (his son’s school troubles,
his teenage daughter’s tense relationship with wife/mom Carmela, his
own overbearing, manipulative, mean-spirited and possibly senile mom),
to the not-so-mundane predicaments of life in The Family (Feds on his
tail, an uncle who’s plotting to have him killed). Brutal and loving,
charming and crude, James Gandolfini’s Tony Soprano is one of the most
complicated, interesting characters ever created for television. Toss in
the complex relationships he has with the many equally fascinating
members of his family, blood-related and otherwise, and what you get is
something that’s often quite genuinely touching, frequently darkly
comic, and always compulsively watchable.
buffy the vampire slayer
buy the
complete first season; the
complete second season (release
date: June 11)
Buffy’s an easy show to mock if
you’ve never actually seen an episode. For starters, there’s that
silly title. But watch just an hour or two, and I dare you not to get
hooked. Deftly mixing equal parts horror, comedy, and action – along
with some of the best portrayals of high school life/young adulthood
ever seen onscreen – Buffy the Vampire Slayer, like its titular
character, offers way more depth and intelligence than one might
initially expect. The show begins as sixteen-year-old Buffy Summers, by
all appearances the stereotypical gorgeous California blonde, embarks on
her first day of school at Sunnydale High. Buffy’s had a bit of a
checkered past – she burned down the school gym at her school in LA,
for one – and everyone, from her mom, to the new principle, to Buffy
herself, is determined to make this move to Sunnydale a fresh start
towards something a tad less destructive. All of which might be a
perfectly reasonable goal, for any other girl anyway. But Buffy’s no
ordinary teenager. She’s the Slayer, the one girl in all the world
chosen to protect the world from the forces of evil – vampires,
namely, but also zombies, werewolves and all the other creepy, crawly,
lumpy, bumpy demons that wander the world wreaking havoc for mankind.
Under the guidance of her Watcher, Giles, and with the help of her best
friends Willow and Xander, Buffy juggles the normal problems of growing
up with battling demons and saving the world. With its witty dialogue,
fantastic cast, and an increasingly dark tone and epic scale that makes
its well-rendered universe take on a mythic scope (beginning with season
2, especially), Buffy’s always been much more than just a
fluffy-fun show about cute teens killing vampires. It’s about love and
lust and friendship, anger and hatred and death, regret and forgiveness
and change: that emotional rollercoaster of life. And it’s funny, and
terrifying, and sad, and happy. And just plain all-around brilliant,
brilliant TV.