Lisa Gay Hamilton

For the first time in over a decade, my favorite television shows are NOT on HBO, but on TNT. Sigh. In some ways, I attribute this to the gnawing reality that my days are numbered in the 18-49 demo and watching Vinny Chase defile models has gotten old.

Mostly though, TNT's "Southland" and "Men of a Certain Age" are both solid shows in their own unique ways and are worthy of being tied for first place on my TV favorites list. The first 15 minutes of the season premiere of "Southland" was better than the last four seasons "Law & Order."

Meanwhile, "Men of Certain Age" has quietly crafted one of the most authentic-feeling portrayals of male friendship I've ever seen. I am not quite the age of the characters on the show; but as I watch my friends start families and I make plans for this next phase of adulthood, the show feels familiar. It's not entirely frightened by the idea of aging, but not completely comfortable with the idea either.

However, this post isn't really about TNT, or the shows; it's about Lisa Gay Hamilton.

Hamilton plays Melissa Thoreau, wife of Andre Andre Braugher's Owen Thoreau Jr. character on "Men of a Certain Age." Hamilton playing a suburban mom, in a mostly-white community, while sporting natural hair is a breath of fresh air. How she got away with not letting the producers slap a shiny, synthetic wig on her head is beyond me.

In some ways, it is that natural truth about Hamilton that has made me a fan of her work. She seems like someone I'd be friends with; educated, talented and conscious. Kimberly Elise has the film career I imagine Hamilton would have if more than one black actor of a certain type could be successful at one time.

The show's Thoreau clan is an example of what can be done when writers approach diversity without the notion of exoctism. The Thoreau's along with Brian White's portrayal of salesman Marcus are the most well-rounded African-American characters we've seen in some time. Hamilton's character is often at the center; like women sometimes have to be.

Hamilton, instead of falling into banal wife, or "strong black woman" archetypes, has crafted a too seldom seen version of black femininity. Her character, in a word, is ordinary. How refreshing. She's not magical. She's not nursing her white friends back to health. She's not climbing the corporate ladder. She's just an average woman making it happen for her family in the 'burbs. Hamilton has skillfully breathed life into this character, making it special.

Because of the lack of extreme violence, sex, or perhaps young people, the show, while successful, doesn't get a lot of buzz. Add that to the fact that Hamilton isn't the kind of actor we see all over the blog sites (or on her own show's website for that matter). It could be easy to overlook Lisa Gay Hamilton.

After years of putting in work as an actress and director (Did you catch "Beah: A Woman Speaks?") I just wanted to give her a little shine and point you to a great show you might not be watching.

Phill Boogie

Awww Sookie Sookie Now: True Blood

This week, The Ill Professors chop it up on HBO’s latest drama; “True Blood.” Centered on vampires, the show examines the complexities of love and human rights. The show has quietly become a hit. The second season opener drew the largest audience for HBO since “The Sopranos” finale two years ago. Created by Alan Ball and based on a series of novels by Charlaine Harris, it’s one of the best shows on TV right now.

Read our thoughts below and click our link to hear our podcast on “True Blood.”

Randy Bandit’s Take:

To say that True Blood, the HBO series based off Charlaine Harris’s bestselling novels, is just another Vampire TV show is to call The Sopranos just another Mafia show or The Wire just another cop show with drug dealers. In short, True Blood is one of the most provocative shows on right now and is on its way to becoming one of the most watched shows on TV. 3.7 million people tuned in to its second-season premiere. Not bad for a “Vampire” show, and definitely not bad for a fellow Mississippi writer.

For the uninitiated, True Blood is a story based around Sookie Stackhouse, a telepathic barmaid, who is played by Academy Award winner Anna Paquin. If Sookie’s life wasn’t already interesting, add to the plot the fact that there is a Vampire civil rights movement in progress, stimulated in large part by the wide distribution of a Japanese synthetic blood beverage ironically called “True Blood,” which supposedly tastes like crap but keeps Vampires from killing all of humanity.

Of course every Vampire doesn’t want to assimilate, nor do many of the town people feel comfortable in the presence of Vampires. That’s what makes this series so interesting. The idea of a civil rights movement about Vampires taking place underscores the various civil rights movements that have played out or are playing out in American society now. And true to form, there is a religious Right that balances out the Vampires who still prefer to taste of human blood. Metaphorically, the show lends itself to a variety of interpretations, all of them ultimately left to the viewer’s own personal views on the subject matter.

One that is difficult to overlook, however, is the idea of assimilation and what it means to a group that is less than “mainstream.” All of the members of Sookie’s small town represent the diversity in society, while maintaining their individual senses of self. In walks Bill, a Vampire who was made during the Civil War, who seeks to assimilate into the community that was his residence long ago. The duality of being both Vampire and citizen was something never anticipated by W.E.B. DuBois when he wrote about double consciousness in The Souls of Black Folk, but it does raise some interesting issues when one considers being Vampire as a metaphor for being black, immigrant, disabled, or homosexual.

Matters are further complicated by some humans’ sexual attractions to Vampires (people referred to as “fang-bangers”), or their desires to take Vampire blood as a hallucinogenic drug, or even their desires to construct some kind of exploitive relationship with the Undead. In a setting like this, witch doctors, flamboyant short-order cooks, shape-shifters, and intelligent, yet sassy, best friends make the show even more enjoyable to watch.

True Blood, the show not the drink, is a veritable Louisiana gumbo with big, juicy chunks of seafood and a thick roux that smothers the bland rice of less innovative TV programming.

Phill Boogie’s Take:

Alan Ball’s latest creation, the mysterious, witty and sexy drama “True Blood” is an example of what HBO does best. Networks seem to be abandoning scripted programming in favor of low cost reality shows. The scripted dramas that remain are primarily procedurals; the cop, lawyer and doctor shows. HBO understands that audiences like characters. Sure, the plots on “In Treatment” and “Big Love” are stellar, but equally important is the development of the main players. The same applies for “True Blood.”

“True Blood” is essentially a vampiric soap opera. What makes the show special is how it holds a mirror up to the audience; entertaining while making people think. I didn’t catch “True Blood” when it ran last season. All of the first season episodes were On Demand and I decided to give it a try recently. I thought that maybe if I liked the show, I could watch them over a couple weeks. I ended up watching the entire season in one night. I admittedly fell asleep during the last episode, but woke up and finished it the next morning before I did anything else.

The show centers on the relationships between vampires and humans in small Louisiana town. The main character Sookie Stackhouse, played Anna Paquin, meets and falls in love with a vampire named Bill. That relationship is the anchor for the show. While the show gets it right with the character development, it does suffer from “Will & Grace” syndrome. The supposed main character is the least interesting. The most interesting stories and performances come from the supporting cast. Most notably, the black cross-dressing, drug dealing, short order cook, escort, adult website owner Lafayette stands heads and shoulders above the rest.

Addressing social issues surrounding basic civil rights, humans are the majority, the norm. The vampires are a metaphor for blacks, gays, the disabled etc. In the midst of that, it is hard not to recognize Lafayette, played brilliantly by Nelsan Ellis, as almost a third group. He isn’t a vampire (yet) and while he is human, he still is set apart by his size, race, sexuality and demeanor. For me he represents the “Other.” You don’t have to be a cross-dressing escort to connect to that feeling of being stigmatized for being different.

Religion serves as a character in the show and most of the church’s attention is placed on keeping vampires and humans separate. You can’t help but notice the statement being made as the church leaders decry vampires marrying humans. Proposition 8 anyone? Hell, let’s take it back a bit more. It was only in 1967 that the Supreme Court ended all race based legal discrimination on marriage. As you watch the show, you start to wonder how long it will be before the majority loses it’s need to subjugate those who are different.

While the show does make you think, let me be honest...it’s sexy too. This isn’t a docudrama. I watch it for the statements, just as much as I watch it to see Sookie and Bill get it on. There is just enough wit, drama and sex to give the show an energy that never lets it get dull. Alan Ball has this down to a science. He did the same thing with “Six Feet Under.” If you haven’t started watching this show, give it try. You won’t be disappointed.

Go to illprofessors.com to hear our podcast on “True Blood.” Be sure to subscribe to the podcast and leave comments.

The Wire

PHILL BOOGIE'S TAKE: PASSING WITH HONORS

"The Wire" was TV at its best. Only a handful of show have that sort of magic. In recent years, I believe that "The Sopranos" and "Mad Men" have been the only other shows to reach that level of greatness. It's not just about the writing, or acting. Everyone involved is skilled. The attention to the most minute detail makes the difference.

Unlike, "The Sopranos" and "Mad Men," "The Wire" was virtually ignored by award shows and never received the attention it deserved. I believe I know why that is, but we live in a "post-racial" America now (smirk), so I'll just leave it alone.

Well...I have to say this. Jon Hamm is amazing in his role on "Mad Men," but he's not even coming close to the work

Michael K. Williams did playing Omar. Period.

RANDY BANDIT'S TAKE: PASSING WITH HONORS

"The Wire" has to be the best television show that I have ever watched. Previously, that title had been held by "The Sopranos" and even some of the earlier seasons of "Lost." The funny thing about "The Wire" is that the fourth season had already aired before I decided that I needed to rent season one and see what all of these people were talking about.

I was blown away. In viewing the first season, I fell in love with the fact that the characters were drawn so realistically. The lines between good and bad had been blurred to the point all one could see was different shades of grey. Whether it was McNulty and Bunk going back and forth with curse words to solve a cold murder or a kid catching a conscious about the violence involved in drug dealing or a gangsta Robin Hood who went by the name Omar, it was more than a little intriguing and exciting.

I ended up buying all of the seasons and watching them on my iPhone, often replaying sections that blew me away. In the podcast, I go into a lot more depth about what I loved about the show, but know this, the show was anything but predictable, without being unrealistic.

Now that the show is off the air, I'm left wondering what the next big show will be and wondering if it will ever take me to the level of entertainment that "The Wire" did. Maybe I should take Phill's advice and check out "Mad Men." We'll see.