TNT takes us INTO THE WEST one last time

So may usual opinion on TV is that if it's on... I probably don't want to watch it. Many of you know I lived 4 consecutive years without cable, and thus no television, so moving in with Erin a few years ago brought me into a whole new world of reality garbage, docudramas and ... well Fox news. Not that Erin watches Fox news, certainly not, just that it was on ... and the way TV can be used to manipulate stupid people... it all disgusts me. Even seemingly innocent shows such as American Idol manipulate people into buying cds attending concerts of so-called 'stars' who are only stars because they are on TV.

In the past two years I have really come to appreciate sports TV, I find it an easy area of common bonding that I may do with my fellow human (i.e. we can't all agree on who should be running this country, but we can agree that the Chicago Cubs will never be able to win the world series). And it was in my quest to be in the know with the NBA playoffs that I became aware of TNT's summer blockbuster mini-series INTO THE WEST. Now truth be told, my initial reasons for watching were pretty self centered: I have a screenplay on the backburner about an Indian Chief ... so I thought I should check it out.

Well, 10 hours later I tempted to call INTO THE WEST the best television mini-series since V. Each episode has pulled me in tighter, as it plows across (so far) 50 years of US history told from a very balanced view. Characters come in and out of the story, have children who grow up before our eyes, and are exchanged for older actor versions of themselves. It is the kind of story that could only be told this way... over 6 2 hour episodes. I think I have finally found a purpose for TV. Certainly this is the draw of a shows like 24 (which I still have never seen) and I must admit I got adicted to the new Sci-Fi channel version of Battlestar Galactica. You can take as long to tell a story as you need, and you can do the kind of character development that many movies lack... and you can dialogue. And you don't have to have an explosion or a fight scene every 10 minutes.

Anyway, the final episode of INTO THE WEST debuts tonight on TNT... if you haven't caught the first 5 I'm sure you'll be completely lost but TNT may re run them and certainly a DVD is due in the future - check it out.