There’s no doubt that this year has been a pretty impressive year for dramatic TV. Between True Blood, Game of Thrones, and Boardwalk Empire, HBO has managed to be on of the top networks to deliver quality content throughout the entire year.

So why wouldn’t they want to celebrate that fact with a killer supercut of their 2011 successes. From clips of Curb Your Enthusiasm, Entourage, How to Make it in America, and plenty others, there are more than enough classic TV moments to tie together.

So why not feed into the joy of the network and take a look at their 2011 Image Spot after the jump, and see what they have to offer in 2012, including the highly anticipated sequel season to Game of Thrones.

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Here we are, less than a week away from Christmas, and you’re without a clue for those last two folks you have yet to buy presents for. What’s a loving friend to do? That’s where we are here to help, with some awesome gifts that will be a hole in one for that special geek in your life.

For Him

Sure, there have been plenty of cool gifts out this year, but what about the one that speaks to his inner TV, Fantasy, and Sci-Fi geek? Here’s a good start

Love a good gag? Then the Prank Pack gift box set is for you, complete with practical joke boxes like the iArm, Dream Griddle, or the Beer Beard. Definitely worth a laugh or two on Christmas morning. - $19.99 for 3

HBO has got some great ideas for you to fill those stockings as well. Here are some of the great ideas for guys.

Wish you were Kenny Powers? Then this baseball cap with built-in mullet is for you. – $29.99

Open letters like a true king with this Game of Thrones sword letter opener. Mail is coming. - $19.99

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Looks like HBO is doing some house cleaning before the new year as the network has decided to cancel several of its shows and give at least one another chance. That’s right, if you’re a fan of Hung, How to Make It in America or Bored to Death, you’re probably not going to like what I’m about to tell you: HBO has canceled all three of those shows.

The network has decided to give the Laura Dern comedy Enlightened at least one more season, however. So, if you’re a fan of that show, at least the day isn’t a total loss for you.

Of the three getting the axe today, I’m particularly sad to see Bored to Death go. I really liked it and its quirky blend of humor and drama. Plus, the three leads: Jason Schwartzman, Ted Danson and Zach Galifianakis really worked well together. Bummer.

I’m also a bit disappointed to see How to Make It In America go as well, mostly because it had the awesome Luis Guzman and the fetching Lake Bell in it. Plus, I was really interested in finding out, you know, how to make it in America. Now I’ll never know.

I gave the Enlightened pilot a chance, but it din’t grab me. Oh well, kudos to Mike White and star Laura Dern. You’ve got another season to make it sing. Break a leg.

Things may have been pretty explosive on the finale of Boardwalk Empire last night, the real excitement is a few short months away when the critically acclaimed series Game of Thrones returns for what should be an even more amazing second season.

We left off with some pretty big question marks, and even bigger exclamation points at the end of last season, and while we won’t see Sean Bean making a return (spoiler!), we hope to get some amazing storytelling and even more amazing twists this season.

The newest teaser for the season hit the air last night, and we’ve got it for you to check out after the jump. Catch the all new season of Game of Thrones on HBO starting in April.

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Even though this is technically a blog, we like to think of ourselves primarily as writers here at The Flickcast. Many of us have even been paid to write over the years and you can bet that pretty much everyone here has one or two screenplays, comic books or other literary works they are currently working on. It’s just the nature of things.

So, when the Writer’s Guild of America announces the nominations for outstanding writing for Television, we take notice and bring you all the details. That’s especially true when the top nominees are shows we really like.

One such show is Showtime’s freshman drama Homeland, which received 3 nominations including best drama series, best new series and best episodic drama. Homeland tied with perennial favorites Modern Family, Breaking Bad and Boardwalk Empire for the most nominations.

In addition to Homeland, Game Of Thrones, The Killing, New Girl and the Matt LeBlanc comedy Episodes all received nominations with Showtime getting a first time record of six for its shows. You may be wondering where Mad Men is in all of this?

Sadly, as the fifth season of the show was delayed, it didn’t make the cut for eligibility for this year’s awards. That’s probably okay as it gives a few other shows, like Homeland and Game of Thrones, a chance to shine. Can’t have Mad Men taking up all the awards, now can we?

The winners will be announced at the 2012 Writers Guild Awards on Feb. 19, 2012, at simultaneous ceremonies in Los Angeles and New York. Click through for the full list of nominee.

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I will admit something to you. When I first heard about HBO’s planned adaptation of George R.R. Martin’s Game of Thrones, I was skeptical.

Fortunately, that was put to rest almost immediately by the show’s awesomeness and since then it has become one of my favorites. Of course, if you’re a huge fan of the show like I am, you can’t wait for the new season to arrive. It’s coming early next year, but in the meantime, HBO has released a first-look trailer for it.

The trailer (or teaser if you prefer) includes footage from the fantasy series’ second season as well as comments by the series writers/executive producers David Benioff and D.B. Weiss.

Game Of Thrones returns with new episodes in April.

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When you think of quality drama on TV the network that probably comes to mind in HBO. With series like The Sopranos, Treme, Game of Thrones, True Blood and The Wire, HBO has and is the place where you can find some of the best shows anywhere.

Now an upcoming series is hoping to take its place among those great shows. That series is Luck, which is a horse racing drama from producers Michael Mann and David Milch which features Dustin Hoffman and Nick Nolte.

Over the weekend the network released a teaser trailer for the series and we, of course, have it for you right here. In it you’ll get a better idea of the show and how its all gonna go down.

Gotta say, it looks pretty interesting. Plus, with the cast and creative team involved, it wil definitely be worth checking out.

Luck is slated to premiere in January. Check out the preview after the break.

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When last we left Nucke Thomson and HBO’s Boardwalk Empire things seemed to be going pretty well for him. He had the girl and business was going the way he wanted it to go. Well, sorta.

The new season of the show debuts this Sunday and to get you ready we’ve got a whole slew of videos to bring to you. Among them are some previews of the new season, a clip from the premiere and several character profiles.

Boardwalk Empire has seen tremendous success on HBO and was given a second season after only airing one episode of its first. The show has built up quite a following and features a teriffic cast of characters.

Can’t wait to see what they do next. Fortunately, don’t have to wait too long.

Season two of Boardwalk Empire debuts Sunday night at 9/8C on HBO.

Click through for all the videos. And we do mean all.

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As if we didn’t get enough amazingness in the first season of HBO’s Game of Thrones, the folks at the network feel like they need to bring in a few surprises before they start shooting season two, as they have already announced a few special directors tasked with taking on the new episodes.

It looks like director Neil Marshall, who’s no stranger to armor and action from directing Doomsday, will be taking on an episode or two of season 2. From Deadline:

Feature director Neil Marshall (The Descent) is set to direct an episode from the second season of HBO’s fantasy seriesGame of Thrones. This marks the TV debut of Marshall, who a huge fan of the adaptation of George R.R. Martin’s books.

Other directors tapped for Season 2 of Emmy-nominated Game of Thrones include top TV helmers Alan Taylor, who worked on the series’ freshman season, and David Nutter as well as Alik Sakharov and David Petrarca (Boardwalk Empire).

There is still no word on what stories from R.R. Martin’s Song of Fire & Ice will be adapted for this season, but you can certainly expect to see some of your favorite actors (mostly just Dinklage) return for the next batch of episodes.

Over the weekend, I rewatched the 1967 Bedazzled, which, if you’re unfamiliar, features Dudley Moore and Peter Cook retelling the story of Faust, or at least using it as a springboard for a series of satirical skits. The movie itself isn’t really laugh-out-loud funny, but, as satire, it’s one of the best takes on the 1960s that aims and strikes at so any targets, it’s at once counter-cultural and conservative.

Cook’s generally regarded as the finest British satirist of the latter half of the 20^th Century, and after the film, I hopped onto YouTube to look up an old episode of the British Whose Line Is It Anyway? where Cook guest starred. Cook isn’t bad in it, but improv and satire are two distinct types of comedy, and Cook, being out of his element, plays it a bit too broad, trying to get laughs from funny voices and silly expressions.

It’s a trend you see when an older comic is asked to partake in something new that they’re not used to and is something I see now and then in Curb. It’s also the first thought that occurred to me when, tonight, Larry was paired with the overly effeminate son of his girlfriend.

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If you’re as big a fan of writer/genius Aaron Sorkin as we are here at The Flickcast, this news will make you very happy. HBO has picked up Aaron Sorkin’s hourlong cable news network pilot and will take it to series.

In case you haven’t been following the developments of this show, it is as yet untitled (but used to be called More As This Story Develops) and centers on a cable news anchor (Jeff Daniels), his new executive producer (Emily Mortimer), his newsroom staff (Alison Pill, John Gallagher Jr, Olivia Munn, Dev Patel, Thomas Sadoski), and their boss (Sam Waterston).

In true Sorkin fashion this ragtag team of individuals gradually comes together as they explore the world and the news taking place around the, and, in some cases, right in front of them. The number of episodes is yet to be determined but it is generally believed to be at least 10.

This is great news but not really that surprising. Sorkin is a well known commodity and coming off an Oscar win for The Social Network so it’s not hard to believe HBO would be interested in working with him.

It’s also a great deal for Sorkin as well as he can finally have a series on a newtork where ratings are not all that important. Sems like a good fit and we can’t wait to see the show.

I don’t know if Judge Horn was actually a real show, but I really wish it were. According to Larry, he’s a real judge, so it may not be the Perry-Mason-style show I was hoping it to be (and more likely to be a Judge-Judy kind of show), but damn, how great would that be? Especially if it were in black and white and really did feature Judge Horn yelling at the defense for not having their stuff together.

Likewise, I don’t know if Larry David was the one who dreamed up the brilliant fictional movies that peppered the Seinfeld universe (Chunnel and Firestorm being my personal favorites), but if he ever gets tired of Curb and wants a new project, in a perfect world, he could bring those gems to the screen (how many people would cheer at the line, “Everybody out of the Chunnel!”?).

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