HBO may gotten its start in movies and sports broadcasts, but the cable giant has now aired more than 100 series and 20 miniseries in its 42-year history. And looking at that lineup of shows, it's not anoverstatement to say the channel helped usher in the current golden age of television. We took a look at four decades of HBO shows (not miniseries) and picked our favorite 20.
HBO最初可能定位於電影放映和體育賽事播報，但現在這個擁有42年歷史的有線電視巨頭已經播出了超過100部美劇和20部迷你劇。看看HBO的節目表，毫不誇張地說，該頻道開創了當今的電視黃金時代。我們瀏覽了HBO四十年裡播放的所有節目(不包括迷你劇)，並挑選了以下20部最好看的美劇。
20. Boardwalk Empire
《大西洋帝國》
It's this wide-ranging spotlight, drifting from the highest levels of political office down to lowlybootleggers and prostitutes, that makes the show something special, offering up morality plays that hold the lives of millions at stake, while putting an actual face on those being affected.
無死角的聚光燈從最頂層的政客辦公室打到最底層的走私販和妓女，成就了這部獨一無二的道德倫理大戲，幾百萬人命懸一線，而事件所涉人物的真實面孔令人唏噓。
騰訊在線觀看(1-5季)：http://v.qq.com/detail/7/7fcxa8fme7l37nn.html
19. Oz
《監獄風雲》
Certainly a "water cooler show" if there ever was one, Oz made waves with its violence and sexual content early on and its equally deep and disturbing storytelling once people got over the fact that it was set in a maximum security prison.
如果世界上真的有「噱頭劇」的話，《監獄風雲》當然就是其中一部，它在早期掀起了一陣有關暴力和性慾內容的激烈討論，而一旦觀眾忘記了故事背景其實是最安全的監獄，其故事情節也是既意蘊深刻又令人心煩。
騰訊在線觀看(1-6季)：http://v.qq.com/search.html?pagetype=3&ms_key=%E6%AC%B2%E6%9C%9B%E9%83%BD%E5%B8%82&stj2=search.search&stag=txt.result
18. Sex and the City
《欲望都市》
It remains a phenomenon, and as cliché as it may sound, it opened the door for more complex narratives about women and sex, and it did so unapologetically thanks in large part to Kim Cattrall's role as Samantha Jones.
它已經成為一種文化現象，雖然聽起來像老生常談，但這部劇的確開了一個先河，讓人們可以用更複雜的方式來描述女人和性，而這毫無疑問很大一部分得益於金·凱特羅爾(Kim Cattrall)扮演的薩曼莎·瓊斯(Samantha Jones)一角。
17. Mr. Show with Bob and David
《鮑勃大衛二人秀》
Before alternative comedy was a recognized thing, there was Mr. Show with Bob and David, a geniussketch comedy show that had a criminally short run on HBO from 1995 to 1998.
在另類喜劇得名之前，就已經有《鮑勃大衛二人秀》了，可惜這部真正的小品喜劇只在1995年-1998年在HBO短暫上映過。
16. Eastbound & Down
《體育老師笑傳》
It's one of the few comedies I can think of where I was often afraid of what was about to happen, like I was watching a horror film or thriller.
這是少數幾部讓我常常擔心劇中情形會真實發生的喜劇之一，就像看恐怖電影或讀驚悚小說那樣。
15. The Leftovers
《守望塵世》
Few shows have ever achieved such intoxicating sensations of pure hopefulness and near-simultaneous hopelessness in its plots and themes.
沒有哪部劇能像《守望塵世》的情節和主題那樣讓人深深沉醉其中，既有純粹的希望，而與此同時又絕望不已。
14. Girls
《衰姐們》
The one thing I really love about Girls is that it refuses to conform to identity politics.
我真正喜歡《衰姐們》的一個原因是它從不認可身份「標籤」。
騰訊在線觀看(1-4季)：http://v.qq.com/search.html?pagetype=3&stj2=search.search&stag=txt.index&ms_key=%E8%A1%B0%E5%A7%90%E4%BB%AC