Seemingly no one remembers HBO's "The High Life," but I think it was one of the boldest, most impeccably produced television shows of the 1990s. Directed by (the now justly appreciated) Peyton Reed, every show was positively beautiful to look at, (sort of like "The Man Who Wasn't There" as a sitcom.) The scripts dealt with problems of the 1950s, (the Ku Klux Klan, McCarthyism), which are often overlooked in a haze of nostalgia. This is to say nothing of the fact that the show was very funny. The cast was excellent, picking up the mannerisms and cadences of the 1950s perfectly. I guess viewers couldn't handle a period sitcom, so HBO cancelled it after a few episodes. Still, I'd love to see these shows turn up on DVD some day, as they are uncommonly lush and good-hearted in nature.
