The Wire

30 Rock made a M*A*S*H joke this week, and my friend practically threw a fit telling me all about her hatred for that show. She said every time her parents turned it on and she heard that famous theme song, she wanted to cry from boredom. I actually know quite a few people who feel that way, even though M*A*S*H is considered one of the best shows of all time.

Maybe it's an age thing — do teenagers love Mad Men as much as I do? Then again, I know plenty of people my own age who think Mad Men looks boring despite all its critical acclaim. And even though I'm a huge fan of The Wire, I know there are lots of folks out there who don't get it and don't care to.

I'm wondering: What critically acclaimed show — whether now or in the past — do you just not think deserves all the fuss?

Source

Politico knows! And I approve, so let's discuss. Believe it or not, the president watches more than Hillary Clinton speeches. He loves HBO. His favorites? Entourage and the best drug drama ever to be set in Baltimore, The Wire.

It's hard to imagine our president of PC laughing at Entourage's agent-to-the-stars Ari Gold making racist and homophobic quips to his gay, Asian assistant Lloyd, but we're going to assume he does. After all, the duo's repartee — along with Ari's even-more-undermining apologies — are what elevate the show to a comedy and stop it (short) from drowning as a self-indulgent love letter written by and for the entertainment industry. Mostly, anyway.

Maybe the president loves the idea of a poor, good-looking guy making it big? Whatever it is, it surely couldn't hurt that Ari Gold's character was inspired by real-life agent Ari Emanuel, brother of Rahm Emanuel, Obama's chief of staff.

To see what else he watches, read more

You know, I've seen a lot of clever "X TV Show in Y Minutes"-type videos in my day, but this one might be my new favorite. To promote the giant complete series set of The Wire, HBO has put together a summary of all five seasons of the series — in rap.

Seeing characters like Frank Sobotka and D'Angelo brings back all kinds of memories, of course, but I'm also getting a kick out of the lyrics — I mean, they manage to rhyme "his own" and "Brother Mouzone" at one point. And I don't know if I've ever heard a more concise summary of the whole first season than "the judge had heard enough/the witness goes down/the wire goes up." That about covers it, right?

To state the (very) obvious: If you haven't seen the whole series, this video will have tons of spoilers. But you knew that, right? To check it out, just read more

Welcome back to my Buzz Gift Guide series for all the entertainment lovers in your life. Yesterday I came up with some ideas for your coworkers, and today, I'm focusing on some splurge gifts for someone special: DVD box sets. These sets, whether a whole TV series or a collection of films, are pricier than the average gift, so they're definitely meant for that superfan who you know will cherish these DVDs forever.

I know many a Sopranos fan that would covet this giant box set that includes the complete series of the HBO show plus tons of special features — including creator David Chase and the cast talking about one of the alternate endings.

Fans of Freaks and Geeks will forever love anyone who gifts them this special "Yearbook Edition" box set. Also, the acclaimed series The Wire is available in its entirety now just in time for the holidays.

Finally, I personally would kill for this collection of films directed by Pedro Almodovar with eight movies including Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown, All About My Mother, Talk to Her, The Flower of My Secret, and Bad Education.

Check out HolidaySugar for all of our holiday coverage and gift guides.

One of the biggest reasons I'm excited for the new 90210 is the casting of Tristan Wilds. For two seasons on The Wire, Wilds played Michael, a tough and complex kid from the Baltimore streets. It was an incredibly nuanced performance from someone so young, one that had me hanging on his every word. When I heard someone that talented was making 90210 his new TV home as Dixon, the adopted son of Debbie and Harry Wilson (Lori Loughlin and Rob Estes), it made me take notice.

At the CW's party at the TCA press tour, I chatted with Wilds about making the transition from Baltimore to Beverly Hills. Here are highlights:

How did you find 90210 — or how did 90210 find you?
My manager called me and told me about 90210. I was a little skeptical about it, but I definitely wanted to show that I had a broader range than just Michael. Of course, when I went out for it, I found out that Dixon isn't really that much different than Michael. They both grew up with a really bad beginning — Dixon has been in and out of group homes his whole life, landed in Kansas, got into a little fight over something that got him in real trouble and that was going to send him to a juvenile detention center until the Wilsons came in and rescued him. They adopted him, so they saved him in a place where Michael really needed to be saved.

When you told your friends from The Wire that you were going to be on 90210, what did they say?
Actually, all they were saying was, "Really, you're on 90210? Wow!" They were all giving me accolades and all that. It was great.

What's it like going from a show like The Wire, which had a lot of acclaim but maybe not the viewers, to something like 90210 that has so much buzz?
It has so much buzz, and the way that we're shooting it — it's going to be edgy, it's going to be a little bit racy, but it's going to show the real lives of teenagers. Every character is a different aspect of teenagers' lives. I think that every teenager will be able to identify themselves with at least one character on the show.

To learn whether Wilds watched the original 90210 and what his experience was like on The Wire, read more

All of the new DVD releases hit stores (and Netflix) on Tuesdays. So each week in What to Netflix: New DVD Tuesday, I sort through the best of the batch and tell you what to add to your queue.

Smart People
I had high hopes for Smart People, mainly due to the stellar cast that includes Sarah Jessica Parker, Ellen Page, Thomas Haden Church, and Dennis Quaid.

The story takes place near the Carnegie Mellon campus and centers around a family headed by a widowed professor (Quaid) who are all having a terrible time relating to each other and the outside world, despite how book smart they are. When the professor's free-spirited brother (Church) crashes into their lives they all start to thaw out a bit and discover how far a little humanity can go.

The movie didn't quite meet my expectations but it's certainly a worthwhile rental if you're looking for a few laughs and a genuinely talented ensemble cast.

Special features include interviews with the producers, cast and crew of the movie, commentary from the director and writer, a collection of outtakes, nine deleted scenes and exclusive footage from the premiere of Smart People at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival.

Two more new options on DVD if you read more

• The Onion AV Club points me to a site where an artist is drawing characters from The Wire in the style of The Simpsons.
• The MTV Movies Blog has put together an incredibly bizarre talk show, hosted by, of course, Josh Horowitz.
• What now? According to Hollywood Insider, Project Runway will be moving to Los Angeles when it starts on Lifetime in the Fall.
• According to Cinematical, these are the seven children's books that need to be adapted to film immediately.
• Between the fictional MILF Island and the very real new cougar dating show on TV Land, TV Filter declares that it's officially the year of the cougar.
• One EW writer explains on Popwatch why she's OK with letting her kids watch Gossip Girl.
• Vulture uses Baby Mama to explore the history of the girlfriend — note: not chick — flick.
• Sun Kil Moon's Mark Kozelek gives a rundown of all the things he loves about San Francisco in the travel-meets-music feature Off The Record on AquariumDrunkard.
• Give Me My Remote has a clip of Ed Helms on The Tonight Show, complete with scenes from tonight's episode of The Office.

Source

• Popwatch is thrilled to see that Square Pegs, starring a baby-faced Sarah Jessica Parker, is finally on DVD, and wants to know what TV shows you're dying to see released on DVD. My vote goes to Ally McBeal.
• Cinematical has all sorts of South by Southwest film news and reviews, including a super great review of The Promotion, an indie comedy starring John C. Reilly and Sean William Scott.
• Goldie Hawn and Matthew Broderick have popped up on TV Squad's list of actors who should consider small-screen gigs.
• If you didn't watch The Bachelor's "where are they now" special, TV Filter tells us, um, where they are now.
• Idolator is pumped for the Pitchfork Music Festival, which will feature Public Enemy, Vampire Weekend, M. Ward, and Animal Collective, among others.
• With Fox seemingly rolling out a new show every night, The TV Addict delivers a make your own Fox show Mad Libs game.
• Check out PetSugar's adorable slideshow of her top 10 movies that star animals, including Best in Show and The Truth About Cats and Dogs, among others.
• Vulture has a shot-by-shot commentary on the final scenes of The Wire.