Five Great "HBO" Shows that Were on TV, Not HBO

[TMC]

http://www.pajiba.com/seriously_rand...tv-not-hbo.php

[quote]It’s a common refrain amongst followers of popular culture — whenever rumors of an adaptation for some well-liked book or cult-sensation series is announced, the cry goes out across the electronically interconnected lands, “HBO or GTFO!” Nearly 40 years after the pay-cable network’s inception, it’s a well-deserved reputation.

But as much as we might want to see a quality adaptation of Stephen King’s The Dark Tower, Neil Gaiman’s Sandman, or Brian K. Vaughn’s Y: The Last Man on the Home Box Office (among many, many other well-warranted projects), it isn’t the only network producing critically acclaimed, audience adored, and zeitgeist-y television shows. There are other creators besides David Chase, Lena Dunham, and David Benioff doing equally great, if not better, work out there, but they tend to be alongside much lesser shows. AMC might have two of the most written about shows in the last 10 years, but it also airs the brainless, frustrating “The Walking Dead” and the polarizing, equally frustrating “The Killing.” Showtime, too, has produced some pretty excellent television, but shows like “Weeds” and “Dexter” prove greatness is fleeting when the need to churn out more product overwhelms a narrative’s logical endpoint, which is something HBO seems to err on the opposite side of, cancelling beloved shows like “Deadwood” or “Rome” or “Carnivale” because they’re too expensive for the relative smallness of their ratings. Starz and FX seem to pump out better original programming on a consistent basis, but despite this they’re still considered silly backwaters or basic cable dumping grounds.

Below are some truly fantastic television shows that could have fit right in on the HBO schedule, though perhaps they couldn’t necessarily have been improved by having free rein over violence, language, and adult situations. (Let’s face it, the world is becoming more like HBO, anyway.) A couple even nearly started there before winding up on their eventual home channels. Why only five? Because, when I went beyond that number, the list ballooned exponentially and the point, and the overall, inarguable quality of each selection, became diluted. As per usual, this list is far from exhaustive, but these are Five of the Absolute Best “HBO”-type Shows that Weren’t on HBO, but on TV:[quote]


Read more at http://www.pajiba.com/seriously_rand...scoatX4T6t4.99