3DD!3

Season one: When you walk through the garden. You gotta watch your back.... Excellent. A realistic probe into the drug underworld of Baltimore. The police work here is miles away from the completely fictional solutions presented in the filtered out world of Bruckheimer’s CSI where serial killers are sent to jail on the basis of a broken nail in a can of Coke. This is the unpleasant reality where the biggest fish get off Scott-free (or at worst with the lowest possible penalty) and where the legislative authorities look at cops doing their job like bothersome pests that do more harm than good. We see a police unit where everybody has their qualities, but negatives too. A corrupt cop, a drunk, a squealer, a layabout, an idiot, take your pick. They’ll all get to you in the end. Bunk roolzz. Season two: "They can chew you up, but then they gotta spit you out." The docks. A more picturesque environment and even greater corruption than last season. Which makes season two even more tasty. Fewer drug stories, which means that when one comes up, it’s all the more powerful. The new location does good for Avon and Deem. Meanwhile the excellent Idris Elba as Stringer Bell gets the prize for being the toughest dude. The tidied away Jimmy enjoys his death sentence on the water by destroying stats. And the dockers, those damn dockers - I hated Ziggy from the very start, Frank turned out to be a full blown Robin Hood and Nico at least had a brain, but no instinct whatsoever. Of the newcomers, I like Amy Ryan, Brother Mozoune, but mainly I’m over the moon that Bunk gets more room to perform. I like that scumbag more and more. Season three: "I caught him, Bunk. And he doesn’t fuckin’ know it." The finale of a trilogy, you could say. All the storylines from previous seasons are getting closed in a gigantic finale that, under certain circumstances, could be a happy ending, if this weren’t The Wire. An excellent story. Great characters. The development of all the characters is something that everybody should learn from creators of this show. Even a third year in a row they manage to surprise us (I laughed out loud at the scene in the gay bar) and still convincingly. My favorite, String, gets some more space and you can finally tell what kind of a man he really was. I don’t know if with this third season the show hasn’t achieved its peak, and from now on it will start to decline. We’ll see. Season four: "You play in dirt, you get dirty." Eliminating the two main characters resulted in a slower start. Jimmy and String are resting (both in a little differently) and their replacement with children in the first couple of episodes wasn’t such a good idea, but in the end it turns out that the creators had everything well thought out and they still serve us an absolutely top notch watch. Tommy Carcetti was a very pleasant surprise (don’t try to tell me that his name has nothing to do with Tony Varcetti from GTA: Vice City :) and his campaign to become a first white mayor of Baltimore (almost like the first season of 24, only back-to-front) has a lot of excellent moments. It‘s obvious that with this season The Wire is preparing the ground for the finale. I’m curious if everyone gets what they deserve, especially that fucker Clay “Shiiiieet" Davis. Season five: "What the fuck did I do?" The best season yet, in my opinion. Jimmy was missing in the previous one, but he enters the fifth season in all glory and when him and Lester both get to work, thing starts to happen. When I said that I was entertained by all the previous seasons, in this one I was literary laughing out loud thanks to an absolutely brilliant idea and all the things relating to it. They say that you should stop when you reach the top and the Wire stopped at its absolute zenith (the final goodbye was executed flawlessly). The wheels keeps spinning and on the edge between the light and the darkness is where its the best.

Elation. For the time being. Paranoia. Antisocial parallels with Dexter in the becoming environment of the web. Great acting, at last Rami Malek got the leading role and handles it with ease. Slater is fine too. Hope it maintains the quality... The unreliable narrator is back and, to make it worse, in an incredibly rotten and diverse world full of unstable people and fraudsters with power - or so it seems... maybe, probably. Often found it hard to keep up (putting on Mr. Robot at bedtime is a very bad idea) - there’s a whole bunch of twists.

Season One: A clever interview drama drawing on reality that tries to answer one of the many varieties of the question why… Fincher’s sure directing has anchored itself in a style somewhere between Zodiac and Mad Men and adds brilliant interviews with then still serial killers. Analytic dialogs dissect the worst of us and we realize with horror that it’s not just them whole are strange. A fantastic cast, including (or in fact primarily) murderers makes Mindhunter the biggest treat of this season. The movie provokes horror not by visual imaging of murder, but talking about it. Season Two: A very peculiar type of fear served to the viewer on a silver tray. In this film terror stems from everyday, comprehensible situations that could happen right next door to you, or even to you (a late issued search warrant). The last season was mainly about Kemper’s interviews with Ford, while here McCallany’s Tench comes to the fore. The storyline about the baby on the cross, with the undertones of Hill’s decaying musical score, sometimes slowing the pulse more than can be endured. It’s unpleasantly tangible and often overshadows the search for black children that is of key importance for Atlanta PD. This time, interrogations are not the main focus of events, which means that the important ones even more pithy. Manson’s solo is excellent, of course, but he certainly isn’t alone. The best crime movie for the past few years, and all dressed in a perfect Fincher overcoat.

Season one:An excellent story and absolutely great transformation of the main protagonist. That great swine, life is the main villain here throwing not just sticks, but reinforced concrete joists in our way to trip us up. Superb. Season two: To cut a long story short, this is the real take off. The creators set to work and drive Walt towards his unexpected future. + Perfect cameo by Danny Trejo.Season three: The slightly weaker take off makes fertile land for the final harvest. You can’t just end a season like that, can you? It’s cruelty. Season four: An unbelievably full-on season that sets the bar so high that I don’t know if anybody will be able to jump over it in the future. And adrenaline finale, the final revelation and masterful acting performances make this season a milestone in this series. "I won." Season five: Some darn good meth is going around Prague these days... Walt’s rise to the top and definitive transformation into a drug kingpin shows us that the end is nigh. And it’s going to end spectacularly... A year later. The second half of the season really floors the gas pedal and the last five or so episodes sets a new, higher standard for TV production. Faultlessly written, ingenious tension build-up with a very satisfying ending. Anna Gunn delivered one of the best female acting performances (well-deserved Emmy). And the whole thing stands on Bryan Cranston’s shoulders. The final episode is hosted exclusively by him and the farewell is classy. I enjoyed the final moments of the series with a satisfied smile on my lips and a chill down my spine all at once.

A very satisfying first season. Badly written, western scenery absolutely beautiful, contrasting with Harris as the killer. Hopkins is wonderful. The diagnostics in the finale, or Talking About God and Shakespeare with Dad is chilling. More and heavier… 1: A huge, thoughtful metaphor for the life that we live today. Narratives written by big corporations, puppets living in a loop of going work and awakened people trying to escape from the grips of manipulation. Nolan and his wife have revived the sci-fi classic from 1973 with such sensitivity that the result is fresh, while also traditional. The awakening of artificial intelligence is a classic topic set in the ritual of regular lives, the loop turning the androids into human beings. The Matrix back to front, where machines suffer under the domination of people. Abrams’ supervision helps the mysterious atmosphere and huge scale, because, despite all the breathtaking action scenes and opulent apparitions, it remains primarily a thoughtful conversational drama, playing heavily with the perception of time. The star-studded casting isn’t just for show. Ed Harris is diabolical, Evan Rachel Wood pretty as a picture. The scenes where Anthony Hopkins appears have the viewer’s eyes glued to the screen. Clever dialogs, conversations with a reason and a story about the importance of the story and the truth lying within. Dosage of information, the timing and the final bait to make you look keen for the potential next season are all performed with the utmost care. At times it didn’t look like it, but Westworld is the event of the year and you’ll want to watch it again. 2: Incredibly pumped series, full of unexpected twists, just the conclusion is maybe unnecessarily too elaborate. We are still on a search of human psyche and what we see is not exactly flattering. All characters have lines able to bring the best out of them (great transformation of Teddy) and the narration through flashbacks is mastered fantastically. The glance at the Dark Tower and the original Westworld at the end is just the icing on the cake. I hope that the third series will retain the high quality and that we will be finally able to see the three remaining parks. 3: The robot rebellion moves from the park to the city and completes the dramatic arc – bad for the bad, good for the good. Nolan subtly uses the topic of the ability to calculate the future and arranges them on the central theme of life in loops. He elegantly presents heroes as villainous and villains as heroic. Dolores looks great in the real world; the visual world is visually enchanting and beautifully clean. The finale of course leaves room for another season, but the main story has been told. This year, I liked Devs much more. P.S. A couple of episodes are very weirdly directed and draw attention away from the story.

Season one: It took a while, but Mad Men got to me in the end. I normally reject these office series right away (I have some bad experiences with them), but this one held me in front of the screen and in the end I grew fond of it. It’s really well written and the acting is great. January Jones is scrumptious and in my opinion the as yet unknown Jon Hamm really shines out. His Draper is captivating and the flashbacks are some of the high points of the series. And you get to learn something about advertising too. And that could come in handy one day. Season two: More powerful every minute. Where Draper’s story was the main attraction of season one, other characters that were more in the background before are joining in. Betty’s story is gaining speed and is very compelling, the same as what’s going on around Peggy. The Marylin Monroe lookalike Joan, who is simply enchanting, is becoming more significant. Also excellent was the inclusion of real events and their effect on the staff of Sterling Cooper. A brilliant idea. Season three: It could have the alternative title half-life and that isn’t usually necessary. If you watch the episodes like me, to the end of the credits, maybe you’ve noticed that the last thing we see is the words - AMC: Story matters here, and that’s the most important thing. A series that beats one competitor after the other just with its story doesn’t need shocking twists and cliffhangers. Simply good honest work. Not only did this season surpass both of the forerunners, it also closes one chapter in a way almost never seen these days. As for the actors, there’s nothing to criticize, but I’d like to single out Abigail Spencer as the teacher of my dreams. Season four: The mad advertisers from New York are hit by changes. Not only at the beginning of the season, but at the end too. The last episode was seriously surprising, but isn’t the best of the season. Season four brought two episodes that were so dazzling that they blotted out everything else. I’m talking about the episode where Don and Peggy are given some room to themselves and it’s a wonderful demonstration of their acting skills, good to excellent writing and a magic that only the Mad Men can boast. The second episode I want to mention is almost film noire style, interspersed with excerpts from Draper’s diary. A very refreshing insight into the thoughts of a character who is famed for not opening herself to others. I’m a little worried that season five might lose that aura, but if I trust anybody to do their work right, its the guys from AMC. Season five: After a long pause, the Mad Men have returned with fairly slow tempo and the first double-episode was “just" good. But the tension build-up works excellently and the nearer we get to the end, the better it is. All of the characters are moved to greater depression and Draper is showing signs of tiredness. Satisfaction and happiness are even more fleeting here than in real life (and that’s saying something). The endeavor to land Jaguar, the situation with Peggy and the finale are the high points of the series. I can’t wait for the coming episodes. Season six: Going Down? This time, most of the staff of SCDP had a good year in terms of stories (just Roger was a little in the background) and the new old friends and the merger made for some interesting moments. But all the same, the powerhouse is still the main character. All the years that the Mad Men have occupied my life, I might easily think that there is nothing more to be told. We already know everything about the characters. Nothing can surprise us. Even so, it’s these familiar characters who draw our attention with their stories and the time that is going by changes them as much as us. The care that the screenwriters devote to this, the twists that they gradually construct and the endings that grab you by the heart. Draper overdid it this season, but it wasn’t his fault. He was trying to start a new life, but he should really have tried to fix the old one. People are fragile, easily excitable and he loomed over them (esp. in season one) like God. Unerring and eternal. Bad decisions caught up with him in season three and he’s still paying for them. That makes the point of departure of the final season even more intriguing. It really needs balls, don’t you think? To admit that your work is based on lies and is superfluous because if a product is actually high quality... it sells itself. The final season has the atmosphere of a sort of melancholic farewell, although very inconspicuous at the beginning. All characters are appropriately looked after and the finale is powerful, although still pleasantly ordinary and realistic. I was really glad to spend my time with these people and I’m gonna miss them. I say farewell with a smile. We’ll meet again soon in season one.

This is something special, it has atmosphere that forces the viewer to watch and even though it’s no nerve-racking adventure, it forces you to “turn the page" and keep gulping down the True Detective. Pizzolatto is a cool writer and the stratification into two timelines and their gradual interlinking is a work of mastership. At least so far. The acting duo is a chapter for itself, Harrelson’s Marty is still a regular cop in the best sense, but McConaughey’s Rust is an awesomely twisted bastard. I can’t wait to see the next episode and it’s been a long time since I’ve had that feeling. Season one: Flawless work with characters and the best possible care in terms of screenplay, direction and acting. A light in the darkness, a story that it one of the oldest ever told, but Pizzolatto managed to deliver it freshly and in his own way. The hallucination scenes just go to augment the mysterious, while very realistic atmosphere. Rust is McConaughey’s lifetime’s role and Woody Harrelson certainly doesn’t lag behind. I’m going to miss this pair. No one episode stands out, they all burn with a strong, eternal flame. Season two: Daddy Colin takes the baton and Nic Pizzolatto shows that he has ideas. This case isn’t so dark, but rather ruthlessly realistic. Erring characters, slowly untangling threads and several storylines. The first season was very up front... mainstream. Not this. This is an epicurean performance with the most layered of characters. Spiced with philosophizing about life. Vince Vaughn’s Frank demonstrates the qualities of an actor who spent half his life making faces in comedies, and here he grabs this cool character by the Adam’s apple. The same revitalizing water as McConaughey drank last year. Excellent music. Has to be watched more than once. A sophisticated masterpiece, I’m already looking forward to what Pizzolatto comes up with next time.Season three: Another case separated into three timelines. Pizzolatto already knows that one should not experiment too much and he writes a story more about partnership than cadavers. Two lost kids, lies and money in the leading roles. Ali’s Hayes is brilliantly acted and even better written. A tough guy who wanted nothing and this nothing drove him not to obsession, but to a life that he is slowly but surely forgetting. When the timelines meet it makes for the most powerful moments of the series (the Viet Cong in the bedroom!). Also quality conversations in the car and partner altercations that cut to the quick. For my taste it’s pushed a bit too far into the black, but that seems to be popular these days. The end is realistic again, but this time quite pleasantly. True Detective still means quality that is worth waiting for.

Day One: Certainly one of the milestone series without which superb series like Lost and Heroes would never have been made. The creators had the great idea of following one day in the life of the head of an elite anti-terrorist unit. It’s true that it’s almost unbelievable that so much happens in this one day, but there we are. Not a dull moment. Kiefer Sutherland is great as Jack Bauer and in fact all of the acting performances are A-grade. I’m intrigued to see what the next day brings... Day Two: Is great. The great idea of bringing a good old atomic bomb onto the scene was the best thing 24 could have come up with. Some episodes are still unsurpassed today. The only disruptive storyline is the one with Kim, but that’s about the only thing I didn’t like. Jack is on a roll and I want to be there when he starts another game on day three. By the way, George Mason (and Xander Berkeley) is cool and I’ve been rooting for him since season one. At one point I thought he was even cooler than Jack, and that’s saying something... Day Three: Certainly the most chock-full day yet. Maybe too chock-full. The first half didn’t work out too well and apart from Jack’s storyline, it was pretty boring. On the other hand the second 12 hours is the best the series has offered so far, so I’m still happy. I hope it will stay at least one the same quality level. I wonder what day four has to offer... Day Four: I thought that this would be lamer than the preceding days (I don’t know where I got that from, I probably read it somewhere or something) but they are serving up just as good a ride as before on a golden platter. I would like to praise the main villain, played by Arnold Vosloo, to the heavens. 24 was lacking such a slippery and, most importantly, Mr. Nice-Guy bastard. Chloe was a pleasant surprise too. She seriously rocks (especially in the terrain ;) and her straightforward approach can conjure up a smile on your face even in the most unsuitable situations. And the ending of the last episode was balm for my soul. That’s just the sort of ending I like best. I’m incredibly curious about what day five has in store for Jack... Day Five: Wow. An amazing ride. It was so bombastic that I spent the last day of 2007 and the first day of 2008 with Jack because I was just glued to the screen. An incredibly intense experience, a great villain (Mr. P. himself;) and a great ending again. Froggy president Logan gave an amazing performance. The last episode is the best we’ve had from 24. I can’t wait for day six... Day Six: The amazing beginning revolving around atomic bombs in briefcases completely blew me away. But that meant that for me the slow and predominantly political part that suffered from a serious lack of Jack was interminable. Luckily toward the end, everything began to return to normal and I was happy again. And I got to admit one thing, Jack is jinxed. But that doesn’t stop me from looking forward to day seven... P.S.: Even though the screenwriters’ strike is doing its utmost to prevent it. Come on guys, make a deal already ;). Day Seven: We have reached the inevitable and the series is beginning to select the best parts of the previous seasons and adding something new. Sometimes I thought I was watching things from day two or day three again. Luckily, they also raised the tempo dramatically and so there is no chance of getting bored. The fact that a plot that used to take until half way through the season unravels itself during just one episode is no reason to get upset. Also, from the start Day seven features a Jack Bauer (about the first 13 hours) who is heartless and almost robotically precise. This pattern is disrupted a little by spoileroid elements that I would rather skim over for the time being. The cast has undergone a marked improvement, apart from that awful Cherry Jones in the role of President Taylor. Apart from a few familiar faces, it’s Annie Wesching as Renee Walker who the role of Bauer’s partner fits like a glove and you are reminded of the good old Jack from the days when he still had a reason to live. She’s also pretty foxy and at last somebody to look at again in this series. Together with Elisha Cutherbert who proves to grampa Jack that she’s like him, thus nicely overturning one of the good old clichés of the series. Others who shone quite brightly include Colm Feore, the occasionally slightly annoying, but in the end solid Jeffrey Nordling and also Carlos Bernart who returns again as Tony Almeida. Tony’s storyline is probably the most interesting of all because, as a former stiff, he has a lot to explain. Not forgetting, of course, Jon Voight who outdoes almost every villain so far from previous seasons with his perfect embodiment of the pleasantly unhinged Jonas Hodges. Setting this season in Washington helped a lot and laid the ground for a few great scenes (the episodes in the middle in the White House), as well as a couple of really nice shots of the Capitol with changes in how the light falls on it (the orange is replaced by a cold blue) etc. I hope that moving the action to New York will have a similar and maybe even better effect, because NY offers lots of space (a shooting Jack running through the Rockerfeller Center) for very interesting experiments. It just remains for me to wish Kiefer best of luck in court and hope that the creators have that president dame killed on day eight. Date Eight: Now I’m almost on the brink of tears and so if this review turns into sentimental gibberish, you are more than welcome to stop reading. Jack Bauer begins his last day on TV on a clean page. Happy and with his family. We aren’t used to this. But, as usual, a terrorist attack comes knocking on the door and, despite all his efforts to prevent it, Jack is pulled back in again. President Hassan, the target, reminds me of good old Palmer and he’s quite a nice guy. Renee Walker is back, transformed into a killing machine and her role is to be the catalyst for the last few hours of the day. Of the new faces, I would like to highlight Freddie Prinze Jr. for being such a convincing action hero. He just needed the chance. And now to the story. The first three-quarters is the classic as we know it. Nothing really special, but still better than most of the regular competition. The then we reach a turning point that sits you right down in your seat and that’s when the ending that all of us fans wished for begins. Jack starts a kind of inferno that we haven’t seen for a long time and the dead bodies begin piling up. The political storyline is better than ever and that dumb president starts developing into a darn interesting character, under the influence of good old Logan (the again perfect Gregory Itzin), whose presence make me look forward to every sycophantic smile, trick, half-truth and subterfuge. As the diametric opposite of Jack, he is the perfect villain for the last few hours. The last episode maybe isn’t as action-packed as I had hoped (because “Events occur in real time" we miss out on lots of things, which is a darn shame), but it’s still a great episode. I was close to tears during the final scene and... darn, I need a tissue. I’m gonna miss ya, Jack. DAMN IT! Day Nine: So the clock started ticking again after all, and the authors take you briskly into the story. 8 days was too long, but everything is relatively well explained even for those who have only just jumped on the band wagon. This loaded twelve part series offers all that’s good (and bad) in the last series just with less stuffing. The terrorist mother is pretty familiar, but tries to offer something new from a drone’s point of view. Heller’s gang is back, after all they got a bit left out in the sixth series, but mainly Jack is back. Pissed and nasty. Just the way we like him. Tension is at breaking point in the last episodes stretching to the limits of endurance. The series is pretty creative in working with the viewer’s assumptions and deals him several surprises. The last episode is uncompromising and ends with a samurai sword and the ten minute epilog is a fine way to say farewell, with the ending that touches your heart. But only after the fadeout.

Pilot: Absolute top-notch series competing with True Detective to become the series of the year. Soderbergh lets the reality of the environment work to the full. During the first operation I couldn’t finish my dinner. Story-wise, very interestingly outlined subplots. Concentrated acting performances, Clive Owen excels, of course. This kind of role was just what he needed. Season one: The following episodes don’t achieve the perfection of the first one, but The Knick just maintains the event of the year standard in each of its ten episodes. Perfect work with characters, the setting of the mood flawless. If you find True Detective too bookish try The Knick – it has more or less the traditional structure of a series and doesn’t put so much stress on viewer’s attention. Acting performances spotless, except Owen the black guy - Holland draws the attention. A dark reflection of traditional medical series. You may find Gray’s Anatomy and Dr. House a bit of a weak broth in comparison. Soderbergh rules. Season two: Hospital pleasures, economic games and social troubles ingeniously interconnected (an effort to make the story follow the concept of season one) through the investigation of the death of a medical inspector. On top of that, whites and blacks mingle and not everybody is happy about that. Women discover feminism and squeeze men’s balls (literally) to get what they want and then also, oh yes...the beginnings of pornography. The evolution of the characters is getting more and more interesting and viewers sympathies are fluid and constantly changing direction. The Knick introduces something very refreshing in the shape of familiar procedures and predictable development which the authors skillfully disrupt at the last minute or turn it around and wait and see what happens. It is about taking on challenges, discovery and also obsession. About death, life and reality. This season was less shocking, still in the same style – the brain operation is incredibly chilling – it still has a lot to offer and is absolutely engrossing. I’d love to be able to see a third season, but the ending of this season would make for a perfect unscrupulous circus-like finale.

The first non-cartoon series that I ever started to watch (if you don’t count the kids good-night show, Krakonoš – Lord of the Forest) and it’s really found a place in my heart. It had style, great actors and characters who I fell in love with when I was little. And now, ten years later, the series is over and I’m just sitting here and remembering. There were great episodes, there were some awful episodes and there were average episodes. The main protagonists came and went (died), and now it’s all over. I know there is still a pretty solid spin-off Atlantis, but it will never be the same. The magic is gone and this is the end. Too bad. I’m gonna miss it. So farewell. P.S.: I’m beginning to think that this series is living its golden years here in the Czech Republic only after it ended. Sometimes I have a feeling that wherever channel I tune into, Star Gate is playing. At least there’s something to watch. Sci-fi fans are having a real feast at the moment. Space adventures are so trendy right now.