#6. Show Me a Hero
I do not know how the people of the world, especially those TV-viewing Americans, continue to ignore everything drama mastermind David Simon does. ‘The Wire’, one of the greatest shows of all time, is only appreciated in hindsight. ‘Treme’ caught much of the same slack. Now there is ‘Show Me a Hero’, Simon’s six-part miniseries about the real-life story of Yonker’s youngest mayor Nick Wasicsko and his fight to build public housing developments in the middle class burbs. The process, both legal and logistical, run about as smoothly as you would imagine. Those accustomed to the plot pacing of ‘Empire’ may find ‘Hero’ dull, but a closer look reveals something truly special, something Cookie and Lucius cannot even dream of recreating: drama with purpose. Simon’s work may not be flashy, but his writing reveals something true and genuine about our society’s politics and people. It get ugly, as things tend to go when you present scared people with something they are not familiar with. Carrying the story along is a stacked cast of phenomenal performances, from Alfred Molina’s obnoxious conservatism to Catherine Keener’s converted member of the white middle class to Oscar Isaac’s emotionally complex and beautiful leading performance as Wasicsko. Throw in a killer Springsteen soundtrack and you have yourself the most thought provoking show of 2015.
I do not know how the people of the world, especially those TV-viewing Americans, continue to ignore everything drama mastermind David Simon does. ‘The Wire’, one of the greatest shows of all time, is only appreciated in hindsight. ‘Treme’ caught much of the same slack. Now there is ‘Show Me a Hero’, Simon’s six-part miniseries about the real-life story of Yonker’s youngest mayor Nick Wasicsko and his fight to build public housing developments in the middle class burbs. The process, both legal and logistical, run about as smoothly as you would imagine. Those accustomed to the plot pacing of ‘Empire’ may find ‘Hero’ dull, but a closer look reveals something truly special, something Cookie and Lucius cannot even dream of recreating: drama with purpose. Simon’s work may not be flashy, but his writing reveals something true and genuine about our society’s politics and people. It get ugly, as things tend to go when you present scared people with something they are not familiar with. Carrying the story along is a stacked cast of phenomenal performances, from Alfred Molina’s obnoxious conservatism to Catherine Keener’s converted member of the white middle class to Oscar Isaac’s emotionally complex and beautiful leading performance as Wasicsko. Throw in a killer Springsteen soundtrack and you have yourself the most thought provoking show of 2015.