Rome: Rise and Fall of a Dictator Perpetuus

Photo: HBO It is obvious where Rome got its primary inspiration. In 1976, I, Claudius was quite the phenomenon, a well-written British drama series that chronicled key events in Rome…

Sports Night 

Aaron Sorkin’s first TV series blew some fresh air into network television, but has since been eclipsed by far greater cable shows. To a certain degree, this story about the…

The Sopranos: It Runs in the Family

Photo: HBO Writer David Chase once said in an interview that Martin Scorsese’s GoodFellas (1990) was his source of inspiration for The Sopranos. It became one of three outstanding TV…

Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip 

It was supposed to be Aaron Sorkin’s great follow-up to The West Wing, featuring parts of the same cast and crew. A knowing look behind the scenes of a Saturday…

The Practice: Idealism Be Damned

Photo: ABC In 1997, producer and writer David E. Kelley delivered two new TV shows. Fox aired Ally McBeal and ABC got The Practice. The former was the bigger hit,…

Six Feet Under: Death Is the Beginning

Freddy Rodríguez, Mathew St. Patrick, Michael C. Hall, Lauren Ambrose, Frances Conroy, Peter Krause, Richard Jenkins, Rachel Griffiths and Jeremy Sisto. Photo: HBO In the beginning of the series finale,…

V 

The weekly TV series that followed the first two miniseries showed the evil visitors making a dramatic comeback on Earth, reigniting the war; they were only hiding behind the moon.…

V: The Fourth Reich

Photo: NBC A major hit in several countries when first shown on TV, this miniseries frightened me to the degree that I could barely watch it. I was only nine…

M*A*S*H: The 11-Year War

William Christopher, Loretta Swit, Harry Morgan, Gary Burghoff, Alan Alda, David Ogden Stiers, Mike Farrell and Jamie Farr. Photo: CBS One of the best-loved television shows ever, its 1983 finale,…