When the cable channel HBO first appeared in my home about 20 years ago, I was extremely excited. I would be able to watch movies all day, every day. They were, after all, called the Home Box Office for a reason. Every time I turned on the TV and flipped the dial (no remote control for the cable box back then) to HBO, I was sure to catch a movie in progress or about to start. I was in heaven! Then HBO gradually started changing their programming. Instead of just showing movies, they started showing sports. I admit that my memory is a bit spotty, but I believe that Wimbledon used to be broadcast on HBO back in the day. Sometimes a change in programming causes a network to lose viewers or become the butt of cultural jokes ("Remember when they used to show videos on MTV?"). Sometimes, however, a change in programming works. For HBO, the latter is definitely true.

HBO now shows many original comedy and drama series. If you've ever heard of The Sopranos, Sex and the City, Deadwood, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Six Feet Under, or Entourage, then you know what kind of great shows HBO puts out there. Almost every single one of these shows has been nominated for various industry awards, including Emmys. Several of the shows and individual actors have won Emmys, Golden Globes, and other awards in recent years. These days, we expect HBO to lead all other networks in Emmy Award nominations.

So what's the secret? How is it that a cable channel can be so dominating year after year? I think it's because HBO is not subject to the same censorship and restrictions as the free networks. This obviously gives the writers for HBO shows a lot of flexibility with their scripts. They can be more original because they aren't expected to conform to the same standards as the shows on the "big 4" networks.

For example, a big part of the show The Sopranos deals with a dysfunctional home life. Of course we've seen dysfunctional families on TV for a long time, so it seems like there's no new angle to pursue there. We would expect to see tired, cliched problems that get resolved before the final credits roll. But that's not the case. The head of the Soprano family just happens to also be the head of the New Jersey mafia. So the problems he faces "on the job" and the problems he faces at home are not the same problems that you would see cropping up on regular network shows. Plus, the dialogue sounds much closer to reality since the characters are allowed to curse and say things that you or your friends would say.

I love HBO programming. These are basically the only television series I watch now because I know I will get to see fresh, original scenes that I haven't seen a hundred times already. I just wish other cable shows would follow in HBO's footsteps.