Entertainment

falltv

Think multigenerational New York Irish-Catholic cops. Now, think Tom <a href="/topics/Tom_Selleck">Selleck</a>. Now, mash them all together and you have "Blue Bloods." 
Selleck as NYPD Commissioner Frank Reagan is a bigger-than-life boss who lost a son - a uniformed cop - in the line of duty; he's also a widower. One surviving son, Danny (<a href="/topics/Donnie_Wahlberg">Donnie Wahlberg</a>), is a detective; another, Jamie (Will Estes), is a newly minted cop; daughter Erin (<a href="/topics/Bridget_Moynahan">Bridget Moynahan</a>) is an assistant D.A. 
In Friday night's episode, a little girl is snatched off the street. Danny to the rescue. But his policing methods are brusque, and his sister has to explain the law to him. 
MY SAY 
Networks that put new shows on Fridays at 10 are typically sending a message - to viewers and showrunners - and it's not often an encouraging one. But not necessarily at CBS. "Numb3rs" propped up this TV graveyard for years, now "Blue Bloods" is on duty. CBS has reason for optimism. Its producers are Mitch Burgess and Robin Green; Burgess was a hugely important member of "<a href="/topics/The_Sopranos">The Sopranos</a>'" creative team. 
Selleck has a loyal fan base, too, and he looks great here - his trademark 'stache and chin cleft as prominent as ever. The New York City we see in "Blue Bloods" is not a Potemkin village on some back lot. Shot here, the show bleeds street life and culture in just about every scene. However, the dialogue is surprisingly plodding and unrevealing. 
BOTTOM LINE 
Forgive the pun, but this brass needs polishing. The Green/Burgess team is one of TV's best and we hope they'll make this show as sharp and compelling as it should be. 
GRADE 
B-

ETBLUE24

Tom Selleck runs the NYPD in 'Blue Bloods'

THE SHOW "<a href="/topics/Dexter_%28show%29">Dexter</a>"
WHEN | WHERE Sunday at 9 p.m. on <a href="/topics/Showtime">Showtime</a>
REASON TO WATCH Fifth-season launch.
WHAT IT'S ABOUT Dispatching the Trinity killer at the end of last season, <a href="/topics/Miami">Miami</a> PD blood spatter-pattern analyst/serial killer Dexter (<a href="/topics/Michael_C._Hall">Michael C. Hall</a>) returns home to discover that Trinity had been doing some dispatching of his own. His wife Rita's (<a href="/topics/Julie_Benz">Julie Benz</a>) femoral artery had been cut, and she had bled out in the bathtub, while baby Harry sits in a pool of blood on the bathroom floor.
Sunday's episode picks up almost immediately where last December's finale left off, with the arrival of the police, who witness Dexter's own almost remorseless and inscrutable response. His sister Deb (<a href="/topics/Jennifer_Carpenter">Jennifer Carpenter</a>) is also perplexed, though it is left to Dexter to sort out his own feelings and responses to them. "It doesn't matter what I do," he muses in voice-over. "This is fate." 
MY SAY Appraising a full season of "Dexter" via the first episode is like looking at the sky through a straw. Much will happen that only the first hour hints at; but what this one hints at, exactly, is almost as unreadable as Dex himself. The major story arcs are to come - <a href="/topics/Jonny_Lee_Miller">Jonny Lee Miller</a> and <a href="/topics/Peter_Weller">Peter Weller</a>, for example, join up later - while fans need to decompress and mourn Rita's loss. Dex's evolution has been toward normalcy - or (better word) accommodation. Rita, at least, emotionally helped him bridge his newfound suburban dad self with his slasher/psychotic self. 
But with no Rita, now what? Dex is wondering the same thing himself, and answers are elusive. He must first mourn; he knows that much, but the mourning process for him is different from the rest of humanity (surprise, surprise). 
BOTTOM LINE Sunday's episode is a necessary decompression episode after last season's intense finale. 
GRADE B+

ETDEX24

The serial killer suffers a killing

Jules (<a href="/topics/Courteney_Cox_%28actor%29">Courteney Cox</a>) is going through an emotional jag, so she sees a shrink. There's much to talk about - her precious boy, Travis (Dan Byrd), getting ready for college, while she still feels a need to take care of her father. Her shrink, Glenn (<a href="/topics/Jennifer_Aniston">Aniston</a>), is the empathetic sort. She has, after all, someone of her own that she cherishes and dotes upon, too. 
MY SAY 
If there were an Emmy for Most Improved Series of 2010, it would be hard to think of a more deserving recipient than "Cougar Town." Starting with its worst foot forward, the show improved as the season went on, and is now reliably amusing. 
Enter Aniston to further seal that deal. She hardly ever does TV anymore, yet when she does, her guest roles almost seem like favors - and more often than not favors to pal Cox. 
On Wednesday's season premiere, Glenn saunters into her session with Jules in a full-body muumuu, uttering New Ageisms, and quickly establishing that she's the one in need of a shrink. The loopy and narcissistic Glenn, clearly, is a character with "legs." Some "Cougar Town" fans will watch and hope that Cox can lure Aniston back for a few more favors. 
BOTTOM LINE 
Aniston glows. 
GRADE 
A

ETCOUG22.WEB

Jennifer Aniston is one crazy 'Cougar'

A management wannabe (Ben Rappaport) is sent by his <a href="/topics/Kansas_City">Kansas City</a> novelty company to run its call center in <a href="/topics/India">India</a>, where everything is so foreign to him! 
MY SAY 
First, there's horror. Then there's heart. Then horror again. "Outsourced" is the season's most mixed bag when it comes to judgments of comedy, taste, sensitivity and even commercialism. 
"Outsourced" panders shamelessly to viewers who find foreign people and customs so gosh-durn weird. Americans faced with Indian entrees in this show's cafeteria demean them as "yellow and green stuff." 
Funny ha ha! Or insulting. But who's it insulting? Indians for liking "strange" food? Or Americans, for being naively provincial? I'm not sure if "Outsourced" intends it both ways or neither. 
The whole show is like this, sort of oblivious to global reality, as if making some giant step toward culture-clash understanding. Which it may be, if only thanks to charming actors of South Asian heritage and Rappaport's Teflon skill at seeming as if he means well. 
But "Outsourced" also seems to think an Indian accent is, in and of itself, a punch line. 
REASON TO WATCH 
Rare TV take on office life outside these United States, employing a host of interesting South Asian actors. 
REASON NOT TO 
Offensive ethnic cliches, gas-passing jokes, hot-babe leering. 
BOTTOM LINE 
Though American tastes are mocked here, too, laughing at your own group doesn't necessarily excuse laughing at others. 
GRADE 
C

ETOUT23.WEB

In 'Outsourced,' the accent is on mockery

Class of 2000 high schoolers in Austin, <a href="/topics/Texas">Texas</a>, tell a docu-film crew about their dreams. 
Ten years later, which means today, the crew returns for an update on whatever became of them. The success-minded overachiever is now a surfer. The nerd is a teacher desperate to have kids of his own. The science girl went into law and politics. The punk chick married the jock who went into Army action. 
MY SAY 
How many of those could you see coming? Then, you'll also love the rich guy whose beauty queen wife is oh-so-disaffected. That's the broad-stroke level at which "My Generation" paints its portraits, feeling false and forced from the start. Then, it throws in every single Big News Moment of the past 10 years, from 9/11 to the recession, from <a href="/topics/Enron_Corporation">Enron</a> to TV's reality-show craze. 
But as the premiere hour progresses, the impressive young ensemble - largely unknowns - starts filling in their characters' colorations. And you can actually come to care about them, despite the show's condescending construction. 
REASON TO WATCH 
Young actors working hard to weave an emotional tapestry of their varied characters' past 10 years-in-the-life. 
REASON NOT TO 
Too-cute stereotypes whose rough edges get rounded off by the show's pseudo-documentary conceit. 
BOTTOM LINE 
While it's nice to see a show that isn't cops / docs / lawyers, it'd be nicer if the show was better. 
GRADE 
C

ETGEN23.WEB

Grads of 'My Generation' are flunking life

Maura <a href="/topics/Maura_Tierney">Tierney</a> ("ER") is a tenacious New York prosecutor, Rob Morrow ("Numb3rs") is a flashy defender, and they have a personal history. 
That's how this lickety-split show tells its stories - this side prepares, that side prepares, each investigates, there's personal banter, then courtroom action and, finally, a coda that reveals who really dunnit. 
MY SAY 
"The Whole Truth" plays like the whole game delivered by <a href="/topics/ESPN">ESPN</a> in a minute-long highlight reel. Everything is so compressed, so breakneck, so on-the-move, so choppy. Tierney becomes TV's latest woman over-obsessed by her job. ("It is the only thing I am good at. Just ask anybody who's unfortunate enough to be involved in my personal life.") And do we really need another straight-faced procedural? 
But - the stars are solid (supporting cast and guest stars, too), the case in the pilot is intriguing, and the New York-based production exudes a feeling of textured reality that's instantly immersive. 
BOTTOM LINE 
"The Whole Truth" equals "<a href="/topics/Law_%26_Order">Law &amp; Order</a>: The Next Generation." It's still just a little too overeager and needs to mature. 
GRADE 
B

ETWHOL22.WEB

A rush to justice in 'The Whole Truth'

They may not be the only honest <a href="/topics/Las_Vegas">Las Vegas</a> defense attorneys, but they absolutely have the biggest, gaudiest billboard over the Strip. 
Nick Morelli (<a href="/topics/Jim_Belushi">Belushi</a>) and Pete Kaczmarek (<a href="/topics/Jerry_O%27Connell">Jerry O'Connell</a>) are squared off in the ad like a pair of boxers, ready to fight for the rights of the poor, the underprivileged, the wrongly accused. 
They have "complicated" personal lives, but their professional ones are uncluttered: They do the right thing, or at least do whatever they have to do to get a client off the hook. When new attorney Lisa Tyler (Jurnee Smollett) joins their firm, Kaczmarek recalls the pep talk he got from Morelli, who was impressed by his early passion about the casework: "I'll be damned - I thought I was the only dumb one to care so freaking much." 
MY&nbsp;SAY 
After reading the foregoing, you may be left with the impression that "The Defenders" is some sort of old joke in search of a punch line. "Two honest <a href="/topics/Las_Vegas">Las Vegas</a> defense attorneys walk into a bar . . . " To be sure, the premise sounds at best naive (and at worst, idiotic). The "defense" side can be complex, sticky and not always blessed with moral or ethical clarity. And then, there's Las Vegas. 
With the right actors and tone, "The Defenders" just might work, CBS reasoned, and the network was mostly right. Jowly, world-weary and eyes bleared by one too many martinis, Belushi's Morelli strikes a plausible balance of idealism with avarice. In a way, he and Kaczmarek are like "Nip / Tuck's" Sean McNamara and Christian Troy, who were in it for the money, glory and women, but really did want to make clients prettier and happier. 
BOTTOM LINE 
The show is an old-fashioned courtroom procedural, but the pilot has enough sharp writing and well-greased plot twists to suggest future promise. 
GRADE 
B+

ETDEFE22.WEB

What happens in Vegas gets defended by Jim Belushi

Diligent older sister&nbsp;<a href="/topics/Jennifer_Finnigan">Jennifer Finnigan</a>&nbsp;("Close to Home") lives happily in a longtime, unmarried relationship. Impulsive younger sister JoAnna Garcia ("Reba") meets a guy, gets pregnant, gets engaged in mere weeks. Pushy parents&nbsp;<a href="/topics/Debra_Jo_Rupp">Debra Jo Rupp</a>&nbsp;("That '70s Show") and Kurt Fuller ("Psych") go whole hog for the latter, which consternates sister former. 
MY SAY 
What is it with all the words on screen this season? Even comedies are now into Chyrons, those graphics on the lower third of the screen to tell you where you are, when you are, who they are, et al. "Better With You" uses them to specify how long its three couples have been together - nine years, 71/2 weeks, 35 years - which at least quickly places its three perspectives on love and marriage. 
And those start to take on some interesting shape, once "Better With You" gets past its too-frantic introductory scenes. These actors are serious sitcom pros, and their show is actually about something genuine - sibling bonding / rivalry, parental button-pushing, relationship-building. It's nice to see some emotional meat in a live-audience staging again, feeding off the energy and reactions of real people. 
BOTTOM LINE 
"Better With You" gets even better with time. 
GRADE 
B+

ETBETT22.WEB

Baby sister is having a baby in 'Better With You'

There are 24 new series gasping and grasping for attention over the next few weeks, but here's the shortest guide to the entire fall season you'll read anywhere: "<a href="/topics/Hawaii_5-0">Hawaii Five-0</a>" and <a href="/topics/William_Shatner">William Shatner</a>. 
They need no introduction (which is the entire point), but just in case: The former is a high-octane thriller that has crammed more special effects into a single frame than the original 1968-80 series probably deployed over its entire run. The latter is an iconic actor who has been a cherished presence on TV screens for much of the past 40 years, but in his new show, "$#*! My Dad Says," grumbles and shuffles his way through a sitcom based on a tweet. 
Both shows could not be more different, and yet together share the core trait that sums up the entire 2010 fall season - a sweet smell of numbing familiarity. 
The familiar . . . the recognizable . . . the deeply, insistently known. Network TV has a message for you: Experimentation is dead. Don't come to us - the networks seem to be saying - for anything wildly different or groundbreaking. Don't worry about complex narratives or never-ending arcs or postmodern comedies. 
We have two basic items on our menu - meat and potatoes. Take your choice. 
Nothing wrong with meat and potatoes, except that you may have a hard time the next morning recalling what cut of meat or type of potato you sampled the night before. Take some of the new series: "<a href="/topics/Detroit">Detroit</a> 1-8-7" seems a little like a Motown "NYPD Blue." "Lone Star" has a whiff of "Dallas." "Raising Hope" raises memories of "Malcolm in the Middle." "Undercovers" feels like "Moonlighting" meets "Alias." <a href="/topics/Dana_Delany">Dana Delany</a>'s "Body of Proof" feels like "CSI" meets "CSI." 
These are, by the way, competent shows, and some of them the best of the fall crop. But exciting . . . groundbreaking . . . innovative . . . different? 
Unh-unh. 
(There is one truly exciting new series - "Boardwalk Empire," a limited-run drama about Prohibition-era <a href="/topics/Atlantic_City">Atlantic City</a> starring <a href="/topics/Steve_Buscemi">Steve Buscemi</a>. But it's on <a href="/topics/HBO">HBO</a>.) 
The major commercial networks are in a nesting mood, and there are reasons for that. <a href="/topics/NBC">NBC</a> is still recovering from Le Debacle du Leno. CBS knows its older audiences like older franchises and stars, so why change that formula? <a href="/topics/ABC">ABC</a> is allergic to anything that seems like "Lost" (which bled viewers through the years with its increasingly convoluted story lines) and gets an angina attack from anything remotely like "FlashForward." Fox, meanwhile, would probably be content just to have another "<a href="/topics/Family_Guy">Family Guy</a>" spinoff. 
We've been through retrenching periods like this before, and as long as there are networks, we'll keep going through them. Like everyone else, networks need to catch a breath, take stock, consolidate gains or - in this case - stanch losses. Not like everyone else, they need to keep advertisers happy, and these are advertiser-friendly lineups, indeed. 
As you look at this new crop - then perhaps yawn, and go back to sleep - remember: These shows are "pilots," and not the full creative efforts that may one day blossom into something really good. Yes, indeed, there could be some late bloomers in this crop. It's just, at this early stage, it's kind of hard to say which those are. 
Five to watch (click show title for video preview) 
"<a href="http://www.newsday.com/entertainment/tv/lone-star-1.2286970">Lone Star</a>"(Fox) 
"<a href="http://www.newsday.com/entertainment/tv/hawaii-5-0-1.2151808">Hawaii Five-0</a>" (CBS) 
"<a href="http://www.newsday.com/entertainment/tv/raising-hope-1.2286992">Raising Hope</a>" (Fox) 
"<a href="http://www.newsday.com/entertainment/tv/detroit-1-8-7-1.2286946">Detroit 1-8-7</a>" (ABC) 
"<a href="http://www.newsday.com/entertainment/tv/the-event-1.2144002">The Event</a>" (NBC) 
 Five to miss (click show title for video preview) 
"<a href="http://www.newsday.com/entertainment/tv/outlaw-1.2214357">Outlaw</a>" (NBC) 
"<a href="http://www.newsday.com/entertainment/tv/outsourced-1.2214374">Outsourced</a>" (NBC) 
"<a href="http://www.newsday.com/entertainment/tv/running-wilde-1.2287010">Running Wilde</a>" (Fox) 
"<a href="http://www.newsday.com/entertainment/tv/chase-1.2177313">Chase</a>" (NBC) 
"<a href="http://www.newsday.com/entertainment/tv/mike-molly-1.2144702">Mike &amp; Molly</a>" (CBS) 
&nbsp;

ETTEL19.WEB

'Five-0.' '1-8-7.' Fall TV is going by the numbers

&nbsp; 
<h4>ALREADY AIRING&nbsp;</h4> 
"90210" (Monday, 8 p.m., CW) 
"<a href="/topics/Gossip_Girl">Gossip Girl</a>" (Monday, 9 p.m., CW) 
"<a href="/topics/One_Tree_Hill">One Tree Hill</a>" (Tuesday, 8 p.m., CW) 
"Life Unexpected" (Tuesday, 9 p.m., CW) 
"Parenthood" (Tuesday, 10 p.m., NBC) 
"<a href="/topics/America%27s_Next_Top_Model">America's Next Top Model</a>" (Wednesday, 8 p.m., CW) 
"Survivor: <a href="/topics/Nicaragua">Nicaragua</a>" (Wednesday, 8 p.m., CBS) 
"Cops" (Saturday, 8 p.m., Fox) 
"<a href="/topics/America%27s_Most_Wanted">America's Most Wanted</a>" (Saturday, 9 p.m., Fox) 
&nbsp; 
<h4>MONDAY</h4> 
&nbsp; 
"Dancing With the Stars" (8 p.m., <a href="/topics/ABC">ABC</a>) 
"Castle" (10 p.m., <a href="/topics/ABC">ABC</a>) 
"<a href="/topics/How_I_Met_Your_Mother">How I Met Your Mother</a>" (8 p.m., CBS) 
"<a href="/topics/Rules_of_Engagement">Rules of Engagement</a>" (8:30 p.m., CBS) 
"<a href="/topics/Two_and_a_Half_Men">Two and a Half Men</a>" (9 p.m., CBS) 
"House" (8 p.m., Fox) 
"Chuck" (8 p.m., NBC) 
&nbsp; 
<h4>TUESDAY</h4> 
&nbsp; 
"<a href="/topics/NCIS">NCIS</a>" (8 p.m., CBS) 
"<a href="/topics/NCIS">NCIS</a>: <a href="/topics/Los_Angeles">Los Angeles</a>" (9 p.m., CBS) 
"Glee" (8 p.m., Fox) 
"<a href="/topics/The_Biggest_Loser">The Biggest Loser</a>" (8 p.m., NBC) 
&nbsp; 
<h4>WEDNESDAY</h4> 
&nbsp; 
"The Middle" (8 p.m., <a href="/topics/ABC">ABC</a>) 
"<a href="/topics/Modern_Family">Modern Family</a>" (9 p.m., ABC) 
"Cougar Town" (9:30 p.m., ABC) 
"<a href="/topics/Criminal_Minds">Criminal Minds</a>" (9 p.m., CBS) 
"Hell's Kitchen" (8 p.m., Fox) 
"<a href="/topics/Law_%26_Order">Law &amp; Order: SVU</a>" (9 p.m., NBC) 
&nbsp; 
<h4>THURSDAY</h4> 
&nbsp; 
"<a href="/topics/Grey%27s_Anatomy">Grey's Anatomy</a>" (9 p.m., ABC) 
"<a href="/topics/Private_Practice">Private Practice</a>" (10 p.m., ABC) 
"<a href="/topics/The_Big_Bang_Theory">The Big Bang Theory</a>" (8 p.m., CBS) 
"<a href="/topics/CSI_%28show%29">CSI</a>" (9 p.m., CBS) 
"<a href="/topics/The_Mentalist">The Mentalist</a>" (10 p.m., CBS) 
"Bones" (8 p.m., Fox) 
"<a href="/topics/Fringe">Fringe</a>" (9 p.m., Fox) 
"Community" (8 p.m., NBC) 
"<a href="/topics/30_Rock">30 Rock</a>" (8:30 p.m., NBC) 
"<a href="/topics/The_Office">The Office</a>" (9 p.m., NBC) 
&nbsp; 
<h4>FRIDAY</h4> 
&nbsp; 
"20/20" (10 p.m., ABC) 
"Medium" (8 p.m., CBS) 
"<a href="/topics/CSI%3A_New_York">CSI: NY</a>" (9 p.m., CBS) 
"<a href="/topics/Smallville">Smallville</a>" (8 p.m., CW) 
"Supernatural" (9 p.m., CW) 
"<a href="/topics/The_Good_Guys_%28TV_show%29">The Good Guys</a>" (9 p.m., Fox) 
&nbsp; 
<h4>SATURDAY</h4> 
&nbsp; 
"48 Hrs. Mystery" (10 p.m., CBS) 
&nbsp; 
<h4>SEPT. 26</h4> 
&nbsp; 
"America's Funniest Home Videos" (7 p.m., ABC) 
"Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" (8 p.m., ABC) 
"<a href="/topics/Desperate_Housewives">Desperate Housewives</a>" (9 p.m., ABC) 
"Brothers &amp; Sisters" (10 p.m., ABC) 
"<a href="/topics/60_Minutes">60 Minutes</a>" (7:30 p.m., CBS) 
"<a href="/topics/The_Amazing_Race">The Amazing Race</a>" (8:30 p.m., CBS) 
"Undercover Boss" (10 p.m., CBS) 
"<a href="/topics/The_Simpsons">The Simpsons</a>" (8 p.m., Fox) 
"<a href="/topics/The_Cleveland_Show">The Cleveland Show</a>" (8:30 p.m., Fox) 
"<a href="/topics/Family_Guy">Family Guy</a>" (9 p.m., Fox) 
&nbsp; 
<h4>SEPT. 28</h4> 
&nbsp; 
"Dancing With the Stars" results show (9 p.m., ABC) 
"The Good Wife" (10 p.m., CBS) 
&nbsp; 
<h4>OCT. 1</h4> 
&nbsp; 
"Human Target" (8 p.m., Fox) 
&nbsp; 
<h4>OCT. 3</h4> 
&nbsp; 
"<a href="/topics/CSI%3A_Miami">CSI: Miami</a>" (10 p.m., CBS) 
"<a href="/topics/American_Dad%21">American Dad</a>" (9:30 p.m., Fox) 
&nbsp; 
<h4>TO BE ANNOUNCED</h4> 
&nbsp; 
"Rookie Blue" (ABC) 
"V" (ABC) 
"<a href="/topics/American_Idol">American Idol</a>" (Fox) 
"<a href="/topics/Kitchen_Nightmares">Kitchen Nightmares</a>" (Fox) 
"Lie to Me" (Fox) 
"Parks and Recreation" (NBC)

ETDATES19.WEB

Fresh starts for your returning TV favorites

Steve McGarrett (<a href="/topics/Alex_O%27Loughlin">Alex O'Loughlin</a>) is asked by <a href="/topics/Hawaii">Hawaii</a> Gov. Pat Jameson (<a href="/topics/Jean_Smart">Jean Smart</a>) to head a no-strings-attached task force to get the bad guys off "my island." 
Top of his class at Annapolis, and a decorated SEAL, McGarrett wants to assume investigation of the brutal murder of his father, John - played all too briefly by terrific veteran character actor William Sadler - so he agrees. 
His team: Det. Danny Williams (<a href="/topics/Scott_Caan">Scott Caan</a>), who had to relocate from New Jersey to be close to his daughter; Det. Chin Ho Kelly (<a href="/topics/Daniel_Dae_Kim">Daniel Dae Kim</a>), forced to leave the force because of trust issues with his commanding officers; and Chin's cousin Kona Kalakaua (<a href="/topics/Grace_Park">Grace Park</a>), ready to graduate from the police academy. 
MY SAY 
There's good and bad here, and being in a charitable mood, let's get the bad out of the way first. "Five-0" is too violent. You'll count 10, maybe 15 kills in the first four minutes. Add another seven or eight over the rest of the pilot, and the question will occur to you as it did to me: Are producers getting paid by the body count? 
Beyond this, the news is all good. This is an excellent remake featuring two actors - <a href="/topics/Scott_Caan">Caan</a> and O'Loughlin - who almost seem made for each other. As "<a href="/topics/Entourage">Entourage</a>" fans know, <a href="/topics/Scott_Caan">Caan</a> is a dazzling talent with a gift for portraying prickly characters who draw blood and elicit contempt. He's a little more cuddly here, but just barely - a hotheaded tough guy who permanently misplaced his shaving kit and manners. Still, he's perfect for O'Loughlin - a cool, distant type who had trouble breaking through the screen in previous failed TV efforts for exactly that reason. <a href="/topics/Scott_Caan">Caan</a> makes O'Loughlin more human, appealing, and you suddenly realize why CBS has stood by him through all these years; with "Five-0," the network's faith will likely be rewarded. 
BOTTOM LINE 
All the requisite beauty shots, but the two leads steal the show. A winner. 
GRADE 
B+

ETHAW20

The new 'Five-0': Book it on your schedule, Danno

Tough cities need tough homicide detectives, but they especially need experienced ones, and the men and women of this unit have many years on the job. 
All except newbie Det. Damon Washington (<a href="/topics/Jon_Michael_Hill">Jon Michael Hill</a>), whose pregnant wife constantly alerts him to changes in her prenatal condition via cell phone. The ringtone invokes top 40 radio, which drives his partner, Louis Fitch (<a href="/topics/Michael_Imperioli">Michael Imperioli</a>), nuts. 
But Fitch, a 10-year veteran, was already a little unbalanced to begin with. He is particularly poor at communicating his feelings, and instead calls up Washington, who sits a yard or two away to either scold or offer counsel. But Fitch, as a colleague notes, "gets results" on the street and in the squad room. 
MY SAY 
Ever since "<a href="/topics/Hill_Street_Blues">Hill Street Blues</a>" reinvented the cop show back in 1981, there have been dozens of variations, but many usually get back to the genesis show's most enduring innovation - the hand-held camera. "1-8-7" - the term is cop code for murder, and is also deeply embedded in hip-hop culture - came by way of its style almost by accident. This was to be a faux-documentary drama until a little girl in <a href="/topics/Detroit">Detroit</a> was killed while a camera crew for A&amp;E was following around the cops. 
There was an outcry in Detroit over the idea of camera crews tailing the police force, and so ABC decided to drop the "faux" but retain the gritty visual style. It's done "1-8-7" a world of good, too. Absent the overworked conceit of actors glancing at the camera to register annoyance or irony, this has turned into just another well-produced cop show with some excellent actors, like Imperioli or James McDaniel, who plays Det. Jesse Long and played Lt. Arthur Fancy on "NYPD Blue." 
BOTTOM LINE 
"1-8-7" can't resist the poisonous network TV urge to wet some eyes in the viewing audience with emo music tracks or utterly implausible - but heart-tugging - climaxes. But despite a flawed pilot, there's real promise here. 
GRADE 
B

ETDET21.WEB

On '1-8-7,' Imperioli plays an odd number

Pool maintenance dude Lucas Neff would like to make something of himself, unlike the downscale Southwest parents (<a href="/topics/Martha_Plimpton">Martha Plimpton</a>, <a href="/topics/Garret_Dillahunt">Garret Dillahunt</a>) and looney-tune grandma (Cloris <a href="/topics/Cloris_Leachman">Leachman</a>) with whom he lives. 
Dude gets his chance when a crazed one-night stand with a felon results in a baby he's determined to raise: "I'm sick of people looking at me like I don't have a purpose. This is my chance to do something good." 
MY SAY 
"Raising Hope" has heart to go along with its trashy-nutso comedy - just like "<a href="/topics/My_Name_is_Earl">My Name Is Earl</a>," the previous creation from Greg Garcia, who seems to be forging his own genre of shabby-chic. Garcia's got a feel for working-class (or maybe not-working-class) life, and also a demented sense of humor that's truly good-natured. Not many comedy writers can bring a car to a screeching stop with a non-tethered infant hurtling inside, and get from it not only a huge laugh but instant audience forgiveness, too. 
Garcia's single-camera editing amplifies the comedy inherent, rather than being a crutch to create it. And the casting here is as good as "Earl," which is saying something - even if Leachman goes a bit off the rails as wacked-out "mamaw." 
BOTTOM LINE 
"Raising Hope" certainly raises hope for the future of single-camera comedy. 
GRADE 
A-

ETRAIS21.WEB

'Raising Hope' is where the heart is

<a href="/topics/Bob_Allen">Bob Allen</a> (James Wolk) is an oil patch grifter who's figured out a way to build a Ponzi scheme out of oil well leases he doesn't own. 
While that may be complicated enough for most con men, he's got another scam going - this one with a major oil company run by hard-bitten Clint Thatcher (<a href="/topics/Jon_Voight">Jon Voight</a>). To make this all more challenging, he's married in Houston to Clint's daughter, Cat (<a href="/topics/Adrianne_Palicki">Adrianne Palicki</a>), but is also keeping house across the state in Midland with his fiancee, Lindsay (Eloise Mumford). 
This is not the life he's chosen but was chosen for him by dear old dad, <a href="/topics/John_Allen">John Allen</a> (<a href="/topics/David_Keith">David Keith</a>), who wants a score big enough to get him to that "island full of topless women" of his dreams. Unfortunately, Bob wants to go straight. Finally, this: He's in love with both women. 
MY SAY 
If this episode is any indication, "Lone Star" could become a vertiginous balancing act - not just as Bob veers perilously between both lives as he tries to make things "right," but a balancing act in your head, too. Let's put it this way: How would you make <a href="/topics/Bernard_Madoff">Bernie Madoff</a> sympathetic in a TV show? Well, first, you'd cast a young, attractive actor - Wolk will do nicely. You'd write him as "conflicted" and fundamentally decent and reduce the scale of his crime by a few zeros. (We never quite learn how many millions Allen has scammed - but if he's as skillful as everyone insists he is, figure at least a few mill.) But how to make a two-timing bigamist sympathetic? 
BOTTOM LINE 
Ah, that's the rub. Let's say "Lone Star" has its work cut out for it, and so does Wolk. His portrayal is too nice - too romantic, too good-hearted, too bland - to make Allen interesting, or at least convincing. 
GRADE 
B-

ETLONE20.WEB

Oily 'Lone Star' hero has two women, more scams

After a long, hot summer, New Directions is back at McKinley and also back to square one - the bottom of the social hierarchy, begging for recruits and money. 
The loss in the regionals to Vocal Adrenaline didn't help, nor has a sharp budget cut. Both the Cheerios and ND are hit hard because new football coach Shannon Beiste (Jones) convinced Principal Figgins (Iqbal Theba) to give her program more money. Will Schuester (<a href="/topics/Matthew_Morrison">Matthew Morrison</a>) and Sue Sylvester (<a href="/topics/Jane_Lynch">Jane Lynch</a>) form an unprecedented pact to unseat the interloper. 
Two newcomers are being recruited for the glee club - Philippine exchange student Sunshine Corazón (Charice) and transfer student Sam Evans (Chord Overstreet). The big set piece tonight is <a href="/topics/Jay-Z">Jay-Z</a> and <a href="/topics/Alicia_Keys">Alicia Keys</a>' "Empire State of Mind," while Sam covers <a href="/topics/Travie_McCoy">Travie McCoy</a>'s "Billionaire." 
MY SAY 
Second-season expectations for "Glee" are almost too high. Potential reality series, movies, spinoffs, tours, record contracts . . . the surround sound that's jacked up around this hit is now officially deafening. Unrelenting distractions can push series off their game, and there's evidence tonight "Glee" is off its game. 
There are some discordant, borderline-cruel B stories, while poor Rachel Berry (Lea Michele) for some reason turned into a sociopath harridan over the summer. The episode, entitled "Audition," can't make up its mind whether to laugh at Jones' he-woman Beiste (pronounced "Beast") or empathize with her. But she should be a good addition once "Glee" figures out what to do with her. 
Same with Charice, 18, a vocal prodigy, who was hailed as one of Oprah's "most talented kids in the world" a couple years ago. If tonight is any indication, that was not hyperbole. When Sunshine covers Beyoncé's "Listen" from "Dreamgirls," you instantly realize what made "Glee" so magical in the first place. 
BOTTOM LINE 
"Glee" feels a little hoarse. 
GRADE 
B

ETGLEE21.WEB

'Glee' return hits a few bum notes

"Chase" wants it all. Chases, gunshots, hand-to-hand combat. Plus savvy wisdom dripping like barbecue sauce from the purty lips of Kelli Giddish, TV's latest rail-thin, model-pout babe avenger. She's got purty guys working for her, too (<a href="/topics/Cole_Hauser">Cole Hauser</a>, <a href="/topics/Jesse_Metcalfe">Jesse Metcalfe</a>, Amaury Nolasco), in this latest product from producer <a href="/topics/Jerry_Bruckheimer">Jerry Bruckheimer</a>'s procedural factory. 
MY SAY 
Their show arrives already on life-support - a too-slick, too-fast mishmash without a heart. The action pauses only to drag out some mangy "back story" that's supposed to deepen Giddish's character, but instead adds to the odor of prefab, perfunctory retread. 
Sure, future episodes of "Chase" could calm down, chill out and can the cliched aphorisms. But there's no "there" there to fall back on. 
REASON TO WATCH 
Relentless action as U.S. marshals hunt Texas bad guys. 
REASON NOT TO 
Dialogue like this: "Learn some music - it's the quickest way into a person's soul." 
BOTTOM LINE 
The characters couldn't be more bland, and atmospheric Texas settings are ill-used. 
GRADE 
D

ETCHAS20

Hunting Texas crime cliches in "Chase"

<a href="/topics/Chicago">Chicago</a> beat cop Billy Gardell ("Yes, Dear") meets grade-school teacher <a href="/topics/Melissa_McCarthy">Melissa McCarthy</a> ("Gilmore Girls"), and finds they have more in common than Overeaters Anonymous. 
They not only fancy each other, but share an abundance of annoying friends and family members - her sweet-eating mom (<a href="/topics/Swoosie_Kurtz">Swoosie Kurtz</a>) and stoned sexpot sister (Katy Mixon), and his punch line-factory partner (Reno Wilson) and African immigrant diner guy (Nyambi Nyambi). 
MY SAY 
Gardell and <a href="/topics/Melissa_McCarthy">McCarthy</a> are two of the more realistic-feeling, instantly appealing sitcom personalities in ages. They're enough to make it worth drudging through the sludge tonight's pilot considers comedy writing. 
The jokes range from cheesy to offensive. They're more like show runner <a href="/topics/Chuck_Lorre">Chuck Lorre</a>'s "<a href="/topics/Two_and_a_Half_Men">Two and a Half Men</a>" than his sweet "Big Bang Theory." 
REASON TO WATCH 
Lovable characters tiptoeing toward sweet romance. 
REASON NOT TO 
A jumbo supply of fat jokes. References to "the chub club" are considered hilarious here. 
BOTTOM LINE 
"<a href="/topics/Mike_and_Molly">Mike &amp; Molly</a>" deserves every chance CBS is giving it in its Monday comedy lineup. 
GRADE 
B

News

ETMIKE20.WEB

'Mike & Molly' fat jokes are slim pickin's

To make this as simple as possible, two separate time lines are in the pilot - current time and "Eight Days Earlier" time. 
Starting with Eight Days Earlier, Sean Walker (<a href="/topics/Jason_Ritter">Jason Ritter</a>) and his girlfriend, Leila Buchanan (Sarah Roemer) go off on a romantic cruise in the <a href="/topics/Caribbean">Caribbean</a>. Everything is ducky, when . . . now, to Current Time, Sean is seen hijacking a passenger jet en route to Brazil to prevent who-knows-what from happening. 
Back to Eight Days Earlier: the U.S. president, Elias Martinez (<a href="/topics/Blair_Underwood">Blair Underwood</a>), wants to release 97 detainees at some Alaskan mountain fortress, where they have been imprisoned for reasons not clearly established, but he's getting resistance. . . . Back to current time: that darn jet again. Both time lines gradually converge. 
MY SAY 
Addressing you now in current time, "The Event" is much better than the foregoing indicates. Producers promise that the time-frame manipulation - so 2007, after all - will dissolve, and a straight-ahead narrative will take over. They also promise answers to all the questions, and simplicity and even promise to tell you what the "event" is, and ... yeah, yeah, yeah. We've all heard promises before. Simple truth is, "The Event" would have been in vogue four years ago, or before "Lost" pretty much sated - or exhausted - the audience's appetite for guessing games. Therefore, the most important question the pilot needed to ask, and then answer, over these 44 minutes was this - do we care enough about Sean and Leila to come back next week to find out what happens to these poor kids? Sure. 
"The Event" definitely deserves another look. After that, all bets are off. 
BOTTOM LINE 
Lots of eye candy, mystery, intrigue, questions, and superlative production values. But who's ready to jump back in this pool again? 
GRADE 
B

ETEVEN20.WEB

'The Event' may become a viewing event

<a href="/topics/Will_Arnett">Arnett</a> plays a lovable - sorry, loathe-able - rich layabout more naively self-obsessed than, well, humanly possible. <a href="/topics/Keri_Russell">Keri Russell</a> is his lost love, the daughter of a housekeeper who has matured into a - how can I say this? - daffy environmental activist. He wants her back, so he tricks her into moving into his mansion with her daughter, Puddle, who narrates the series. Did I say she hasn't spoken in six months? 
MY SAY 
See how annoying all my verbal backtracking is? Welcome to the pilot of "Running Wilde," where self-satisfied characters edit their sentences on the fly, while declaiming as if speechifying rather than speaking to the person next to them. 
Everything in this half-hour from "<a href="/topics/Arrested_Development">Arrested Development</a>" auteur Mitch Hurwitz is contrived - zillionaires throw "Price Is Right" theme parties? - to be cute and quirky. <a href="/topics/Will_Arnett">Arnett</a>'s tics fitted fine as a piece of "<a href="/topics/Arrested_Development">Arrested Development</a>'s" dysfunctional family puzzle, but he's too intense to wear well as a series lead. Poor Russell is just out of her element acting wacky. 
REASON TO WATCH 
If you loved <a href="/topics/Will_Arnett">Will Arnett</a> as Gob in "Arresting Development." 
REASON NOT TO 
This show is - oops, not allowed to say that in the newspaper. Sigh. Lemme think. Something else, something else . . . 
BOTTOM LINE 
There's not a whiff of actual life here, no grounding character like "Arrested Development's" <a href="/topics/Jason_Bateman">Jason Bateman</a>. There's just frantic, false and tiresome. 
GRADE 
F

ETRUNN21.WEB

You won't be wild about 'Running Wilde'

Cable has a big fall season now, too. Witness FX's recent premiere of its scruffy mystery "Terriers," plus the returns of its gritty drama "<a href="/topics/Sons_of_Anarchy">Sons of Anarchy</a>" and wacko comedy "It's Always Sunny in <a href="/topics/Philadelphia">Philadelphia</a>." 
Now comes Sunday's ambitious <a href="/topics/HBO">HBO</a> epic - "Boardwalk Empire," a multimillion-dollar miniseries about the <a href="/topics/Atlantic_City">Atlantic City</a> underworld during Prohibition times. It's produced by big-screener <a href="/topics/Martin_Scorsese">Martin</a> <a href="/topics/Martin_Scorsese">Scorsese</a>. 
"<a href="/topics/Dexter_%28show%29">Dexter</a>" rears its bloody head next weekend, as <a href="/topics/Showtime">Showtime</a>'s gripping serial killer saga with <a href="/topics/Michael_C._Hall">Michael C. Hall</a> starts its fifth season. 
And there's more to come. 
No longer scurrying for the rerun zones of summer or winter, cable launches shows into the teeth of the new network season. And late-summer returnees like "Weeds" and "<a href="/topics/Mad_Men">Mad Men</a>" keep originals running well into fall. 
But cable tends to spread the wealth around, scattering major premieres through <a href="/topics/Thanksgiving">Thanksgiving</a> week. It's also got more "reality" and documentary offerings than the broadcast networks, many of which, nonetheless, showcase celebrity names to cut through the clutter of today's hundreds of channels. 
<h4>Top attractions</h4> 
&nbsp; 
BOARDWALK EMPIRE (Sunday at 9 p.m., <a href="/topics/HBO">HBO</a>) 
<a href="/topics/Steve_Buscemi">Steve Buscemi</a> stars in "the dark side of the American dream," as producer <a href="/topics/Martin_Scorsese">Martin Scorsese</a> describes it. His colorfully sketched 1920s gangster saga, developed for TV by Terence Winter ("<a href="/topics/The_Sopranos">The Sopranos</a>"), was shot on a full-size boardwalk set erected in Greenpoint, Brooklyn. <a href="/topics/Martin_Scorsese">Scorsese</a> directed Sunday's pilot. 
DEXTER (Sept. 26 at 9 p.m., <a href="/topics/Showtime">Showtime</a>) 
If you thought last season put the screws to the head of <a href="/topics/Michael_C._Hall">Michael C. Hall</a>'s serial-killer-next-door, wait until you see him as a single dad, trying to raise kids alone, blaming himself for his wife's death and dodging suspicions among those close to him about the nature of his extracurricular activities. Guest cast includes <a href="/topics/Julia_Stiles">Julia Stiles</a>, <a href="/topics/Jonny_Lee_Miller">Jonny Lee Miller</a> and <a href="/topics/Peter_Weller">Peter Weller</a>. 
SISTER WIVES (Sept. 26 at 10 p.m., TLC) 
This real-life "<a href="/topics/Big_Love">Big Love</a>" spends seven episodes with <a href="/topics/Utah">Utah</a>'s Kody Brown, his three wives, their 13 children and a prospective fourth wife with her own three kids. 
TEACH TONY DANZA (Oct. 1 at 10 p.m., A&amp;E) 
The sitcom star teaches 10th-grade English in a tough <a href="/topics/Philadelphia">Philadelphia</a> school - for real and for this docusoap. 
THE REAL HOUSEWIVES OF BEVERLY HILLS (Oct. 14 at 10 p.m., Bravo) 
This group includes <a href="/topics/Kelsey_Grammer">Kelsey Grammer</a>'s separated wife, Camille, and sisters Kim and <a href="/topics/Kyle_Richards">Kyle Richards</a>, former kid stars and aunts to <a href="/topics/Paris_Hilton">Paris Hilton</a>. 
THE WALKING DEAD (Oct. 31 at 10 p.m., <a href="/topics/AMC">AMC</a>) 
Zombie apocalypse! The Image Comics books by Robert Kirkman come to dramatic life / death with Andrew Lincoln and Jon Bernthal. 
TOP GEAR (TBA, History) 
<a href="/topics/United_Kingdom">Britain</a>'s biggest hit on wheels (seen here on <a href="/topics/BBC_America">BBC America</a>) gets translated into a rowdy U.S. version, where hosts Adam Ferrara, Tanner Foust and Rutledge Wood test the latest, fastest, priciest vehicles around. 
MOGULS &amp; MOVIE STARS: A HISTORY OF HOLLYWOOD (Nov. 1 at 8 p.m., TCM) 
<a href="/topics/Christopher_Plummer">Christopher Plummer</a> narrates this seven-part docuseries tracing the growth of America's movie capital from silent films through the '60s adult-content upheavals. Weekly episodes are followed by <a href="/topics/Hollywood">Hollywood</a> classics. 
<a href="/topics/Conan_O%27Brien">CONAN</a> (Nov. 8, 11 p.m., <a href="/topics/TBS">TBS</a>) 
Former "<a href="/topics/Tonight_Show">Tonight Show</a>" host <a href="/topics/Conan_O%27Brien">Conan O'Brien</a> strikes back in his cable debut from L.A. 
SARAH PALIN'S ALASKA (Nov. 14 at 9 p.m., TLC) 
The <a href="/topics/U.S._Republican_Party">Republican</a> lightning rod eschews politics to lead viewers on a personal tour of her vast state. 
&nbsp; 
<h4>Returning shows</h4> 
&nbsp; 
SEPT. 26 "Bored to Death" (10 p.m., <a href="/topics/HBO">HBO</a>); "<a href="/topics/Eastbound_and_Down">Eastbound &amp; Down</a>" (10:30 p.m., <a href="/topics/HBO">HBO</a>) 
OCT. 1 "WWE Friday Night Smackdown" (8 p.m., Syfy) 
OCT. 5 "Caprica" (10 p.m., Syfy) 
OCT. 6 "South Park" (10 p.m., <a href="/topics/Comedy_Central">Comedy Central</a>) 
OCT. 25-26 "In Treatment" (9 p.m., <a href="/topics/HBO">HBO</a>) 
OCT. 27 "<a href="/topics/Friday_Night_Lights">Friday Night Lights</a>" (9 p.m., The 101) 
NOV. 10 "Psych" (10 p.m., USA) 
NOV. 11 "<a href="/topics/Burn_Notice">Burn Notice</a>" (10 p.m., USA) 
DECEMBER "Men of a Certain Age" (<a href="/topics/TNT">TNT</a>)&nbsp; 
<h4>More new shows&nbsp;</h4> 
FISH HOOKS (Friday at 9 p.m., Disney) 
Animated high school comedy. 
THE INCREASINGLY POOR DECISIONS OF TODD MARGARET (Oct. 1 at 10 p.m., IFC) 
Comedy written by and starring <a href="/topics/David_Cross">David Cross</a> as American liar running <a href="/topics/London">London</a> company. 
HARRY LOVES LISA (Oct. 6 at 10 p.m., <a href="/topics/TV_Land">TV Land</a>) 
Reality series with <a href="/topics/Harry_Hamlin">Harry Hamlin</a> and <a href="/topics/Lisa_Rinna">Lisa Rinna</a>. 
BRET MICHAELS: LIFE AS I KNOW IT (Oct. 18 at 9 p.m., <a href="/topics/VH1">VH1</a>) 
Family docusoap. 
NICK SWARDSON'S PRETEND TIME (Oct. 12 at 10 p.m., <a href="/topics/Comedy_Central">Comedy Central</a>) 
Sketchfest led by "Reno 911!" co-star. 
LUTHER (Oct. 17 at 10 p.m., <a href="/topics/BBC_America">BBC America</a>) 
Detective thriller with <a href="/topics/Idris_Elba">Idris Elba</a>.&nbsp; 
<h4>Movies and events</h4> 
SHARKTOPUS (Saturday at 9 p.m., Syfy) - Movie with <a href="/topics/Eric_Roberts">Eric Roberts</a>. 
THE HUB (Oct. 10) - New kids channel (replaces <a href="/topics/Discovery_Kids">Discovery Kids</a>) 
BET HIP HOP AWARDS (Oct. 16) 
GROWING THE BIG ONE (Oct. 23, Hallmark) - Pumpkin movie with <a href="/topics/Shannen_Doherty">Shannen Doherty</a>. 
DEAD SET (Oct. 25-29 at midnight, IFC) - Horror-reality-comedy series. 
AMITYVILLE: THE FINAL TESTAMENT (Oct. 31, A&amp;E) 
MRS. MIRACLE 2 (Nov. 27, Hallmark) - Doris Roberts holiday movie 
LARRY KING LIVE (Dec. 16, CNN) - The show ends its run. 
OWN, OPRAH WINFREY NETWORK debuts (Jan. 1, replaces <a href="/topics/Discovery_Health">Discovery Health</a>)

ETCABLE19.WEB

Cable: 'Boardwalk' doesn't have a monopoly on quality

If all you end up doing this fall is watch PBS, you'll be just fine. Public TV is bursting with good stuff: 
 CUBA: ACCIDENTAL EDEN (On "Nature," Sunday at 8 p.m., <a href="/topics/WNET">WNET</a>/13; Sept. 30 at 8 p.m., <a href="/topics/WLIW">WLIW</a>/21) 
"Nature" gets an extended look inside Cuba, with this warning - as tourism rises, as it will when the trade embargo ends, what happens to this island's "stunning biodiversity?" 
THE TENTH INNING (Sept. 28-29 at 8 p.m., <a href="/topics/WNET">WNET</a>/13 and 10 p.m., <a href="/topics/WLIW">WLIW</a>/21) 
<a href="/topics/Ken_Burns">Ken Burns</a> and Lynn Novick "complete" the classic 1994 "Baseball" documentary series. It's an overview of the last 15 years, beginning with the 1994 strike. 
<a href="/topics/Elia_Kazan">ELIA KAZAN</a>: A LETTER TO ELIA (Oct. 4 at 9 p.m., <a href="/topics/WNET">WNET</a>/13; Oct. 10 at 3:30 p.m., <a href="/topics/WLIW">WLIW</a>/21) 
In this "American Masters" film, <a href="/topics/Martin_Scorsese">Martin Scorsese</a> undertakes a "personal and poignant meditation" on director <a href="/topics/Elia_Kazan">Elia Kazan</a>. 
MICHAEL FEINSTEIN'S AMERICAN SONGBOOK (Oct. 6, 13 and 20 at 8 p.m., <a href="/topics/WNET">WNET</a>/13) 
The master interpreter of Gershwin and the Great American Songbook takes viewers on a tour of its glories. 
GREAT PERFORMANCES: MACBETH (Oct. 6 at 9 p.m., WNET/13; Oct. 17 at 3:30 p.m., <a href="/topics/WLIW">WLIW</a>/21) 
The great <a href="/topics/Patrick_Stewart">Patrick Stewart</a> in his Tony-nominated performance. 
GOD IN AMERICA (Oct. 11-13 at 9 p.m., WNET/13; Sundays at 9 p.m., beginning Oct. 17, WLIW/21) 
A six-hour examination of religious life in the United States, from the earliest times to present; it's a "Frontline"-"American Experience" co-production. 
MASTERPIECE MYSTERY! <a href="/topics/Sherlock_Holmes">SHERLOCK</a>: A STUDY IN PINK (Oct. 24, 31 and Nov. 7 at 9 p.m., WNET/13; Oct. 26, Nov. 2 and 9 at 9 p.m., WLIW/21) 
The producers behind "<a href="/topics/Doctor_Who">Dr. Who</a>" have created this re-imagined 21st century <a href="/topics/Sherlock_Holmes">Sherlock Holmes</a>, starring <a href="/topics/Benedict_Cumberbatch">Benedict Cumberbatch</a> ("Atonement") as <a href="/topics/Sherlock_Holmes">Holmes</a>, <a href="/topics/Rupert_Graves">Rupert Graves</a> as Inspector Lestrade and <a href="/topics/Martin_Freeman">Martin Freeman</a> (the U.K. "Office") as Watson. 
CIRCUS (Nov. 3, 10 and 17 at 9 p.m., WNET/13; Nov. 6, 13 and 20 at 8:30 p.m., WLIW/21) 
A six-hour tour-history of the circus. 
LENNONYC (Nov. 22, WNET/13, 9 p.m.) 
"American Masters" looks at <a href="/topics/John_Lennon">John Lennon</a>'s solo career during the New York years, with interviews of <a href="/topics/Yoko_Ono">Yoko Ono</a>, <a href="/topics/Elton_John">Elton John</a>, <a href="/topics/Ringo_Starr">Ringo Starr</a> and many others.

ETPBS19.WEB

Cuba to 'Circus': PBS has the greatest shows on Earth

It's a big fall for kids' TV, too. Here's a look at the best: 
 THE CAT IN THE HAT KNOWS A LOT ABOUT THAT! (Weekdays at 9 a.m., <a href="/topics/WNET">WNET</a>/13; 11 a.m. on <a href="/topics/WLIW">WLIW</a>/21, already on) 
Voiced by <a href="/topics/Martin_Short">Martin Short</a>, <a href="/topics/PBS">PBS</a>' major new preschool show is based on Dr. Seuss' book, with a focus on learning, particularly the natural sciences. 
PAIR OF KINGS (Wednesdays at 8 p.m., Disney XD) 
Live-action comedy about 16-year-old twins raised by their aunt and uncle in <a href="/topics/Chicago">Chicago</a>, who must move to the curious island of Kinkou. 
FISH HOOKS (Fridays at 9 p.m., Disney Channel) 
Animated comedy series about three fishy friends who go to Freshwater High - a school in a fish tank at a pet store. Lots of teen issues explored. 
T.U.F.F PUPPY (Saturdays at 11 a.m., starting Oct. 2, <a href="/topics/Nickelodeon_Network">Nickelodeon</a>) 
About the adventures of Dudley Puppy - voiced by "iCarly's" Jerry Trainor - who's a sweet dim pup recruited to become a spy. 
PLANET SHEEN (Saturdays at 11:30 a.m., starting Oct. 2, <a href="/topics/Nickelodeon_Network">Nickelodeon</a>) 
Sheen Guevera Estevez from "The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron, Boy Genius," gets his own series. Sheen borrows a rocket and gets stranded on a strange planet. 
SHAKE IT UP (November, Disney Channel) 
Liveaction comedy about a pair of friends, CeCe Jones (Bella Thorne) and Raquel "Rocky" Blue (Zendaya), who become background dancers on a popular local dance show in <a href="/topics/Chicago">Chicago</a>.

ETKIDS19.WEB

'Cat in the Hat' and one 'T.U.F.F. Puppy' for kids

p2TV

The blue-gray fog rolls in off the cool Atlantic, and out in the water, a sloop is immobile, awaiting a shipment of Canadian Club. 
Somewhere beyond the gloom, the destination for this cargo awaits - a big, rollicking, glamorous resort where people are getting drunk and intend to continue getting drunk, even though Prohibition looms. 
That's your opening scene of this 12-episode series, based on the Nelson Johnson book of the same name, about Prohibition-era <a href="/topics/Atlantic_City">Atlantic City</a>, bootleg capital of the East, and ruled over by one man - Enoch "Nucky" Thompson (<a href="/topics/Steve_Buscemi">Steve</a> <a href="/topics/Steve_Buscemi">Buscemi</a>) - with help from his brother, Sheriff Elias Thompson (Shea Whigham) and others. 
Nucky Thompson is the city's treasurer, which is sort of like putting the fox in charge of the henhouse. He's a political fixer and party boss and runs around town with his hand out; his singular insight at the outset of Prohibition is this: People will pay more for something they cannot legally get. His job thus expands, as he oversees various illegal stills, including one run by Chalky White (<a href="/topics/Michael_Kenneth_Williams">Michael Kenneth Williams</a> - Omar Little on "<a href="/topics/The_Wire">The Wire</a>") who runs the city's burgeoning black community. 
Meanwhile, Nucky's driver and assistant - back from the Great War - is baby-faced, blue-eyed killer Jimmy Darmody (<a href="/topics/Michael_Pitt">Michael Pitt</a>), who overreaches and draws the attention of the Feds - most notably Agent Van Alden (<a href="/topics/Michael_Shannon">Michael Shannon</a>.) This production was conceived by Martin <a href="/topics/Martin_Scorsese">Scorsese</a> and produced by Terence Winter, longtime executive producer of "<a href="/topics/The_Sopranos">The Sopranos</a>." The masters' touches are evident throughout. 
MY SAY 
After watching cherished character actor <a href="/topics/Steve_Buscemi">Steve Buscemi</a> for nearly 30 years, you'd assume we've seen all there is to see in his bag of tricks. Those great Coen brothers films - from "The Big Lebowski" to "Barton Fink" - edged him nicely with that paranoid-psychotic bent we've come to love and (frankly) expect. His comic chops got a nice workout in a bunch of more recent films and then he stormed back with Tony Blundetto in "<a href="/topics/The_Sopranos">The Sopranos</a>" - as perfect a match of actor to character as any in that classic's run. 
But with "Boardwalk Empire," all assumptions are demolished. The Valley Stream-raised <a href="/topics/Steve_Buscemi">Buscemi</a> is a leading man here, with an entire series resting on his shoulders, and that means you have to completely, utterly - unquestionably - buy his portrayal of Thompson as a genial crook with the slightest sentimental streak. 
The miracle is, you probably will. In fact, you pretty much have no choice. There's another major star here besides <a href="/topics/Steve_Buscemi">Buscemi</a> - the gorgeously re-imagined lost world of 1920s <a href="/topics/Atlantic_City">Atlantic City</a>, which Thompson glides through like king and pasha. They almost seem made for each other, and in Scorsese and Winter's estimation, they clearly were. There probably are some antecedents here. The Coens' "Miller's Crossing," also set during Prohibition, comes to mind, or Scorsese's "Gangs of New York," another lavish period piece. But "<a href="/topics/Mad_Men">Mad Men</a>" is an obvious one, too. To believe that world, you must first see it. In "Boardwalk Empire," you see, hear, smell and very nearly taste it. 
BOTTOM LINE 
The most entertaining - and beautiful - new series on TV this fall. 
GRADE 
A+ 
<h3>Who's who on "Boardwalk Empire"</h3> 
ENOCH "NUCKY" THOMPSON (<a href="/topics/Steve_Buscemi">Steve Buscemi</a>) - All-powerful treasurer of <a href="/topics/Atlantic_City">Atlantic City</a>, he's canny and corrupt 
JIMMY DARMODY (<a href="/topics/Michael_Pitt">Michael Pitt</a>) - <a href="/topics/World_War_I">World War I</a> vet and Nucky's protege 
MARGARET SCHROEDER (<a href="/topics/Kelly_Macdonald">Kelly Macdonald</a>) - Married to an abusive husband, she has a powerful effect on Nucky 
NELSON VAN ALDEN (<a href="/topics/Michael_Shannon">Michael Shannon</a>) - Special IRS Agent out to enforce Prohibition 
COMMODORE LOUIS KAESTNER (<a href="/topics/Dabney_Coleman">Dabney Coleman</a>) - Nucky's mentor, Atlantic City's former political boss 
ELIAS THOMPSON (Shea Whigham) - Nucky's brother, Atlantic City's sheriff 
EDDIE KESSLER (Anthony Laciura) - Nucky's beleaguered assistant 
AL CAPONE (Stephen Graham) - The infamous gangster at the beginning of his career. 
LUCKY LUCIANO (Vincent Piazza) - Another young gangster on the rise. 
ARNOLD ROTHSTEIN (Michael Stuhlbarg) - Notorious gangster and gambler who "fixed" the 1919 <a href="/topics/World_Series">World Series</a>. 
CHALKY WHITE (<a href="/topics/Michael_Kenneth_Williams">Michael Kenneth Williams</a>) - Bootlegger and leader of Atlantic City's black community. 
MICKEY DOYLE (Paul Sparks) - Another Atlantic City bootlegger 
LUCY DANZINGER (Paz de la Huerta) - Nucky's lover 
GILLIAN (<a href="/topics/Gretchen_Mol">Gretchen Mol</a>) - Showgirl who shares a complicated past with Nucky

ETTEL17

A toast to HBO's new 'Boardwalk Empire'

Remember back in the day when "The Apprentice" actually featured Trump supplicants who really wanted a job and weren't quasi-famous celebrities looking to write a check to their favorite charity? Thursday, we arrive back at the future with a more or less classic "Apprentice" edition featuring people you've (likely) never heard of, but may empathize with. 
These 16 are - with one exception - out of work. The winner gets a job with the <a href="/topics/Trump_Organization">Trump Organization</a>, and everyone else gets job interviews at top companies. The first task is to design downtown office space, and - yes - someone will get fired. 
MY SAY 
Back in the Roaring '00s, when "The Apprentice" was born, you almost needed <a href="/topics/Prada">Prada</a> sunglasses to watch this show. The Trumpster's palace and boardroom were gold lame symbols of that Gilded Age, while the host - that genius of effortless if also studied self-promotion - was its spokesman. (Who wouldn't want to work for The Donald, The Donald wondered?) Thursday, there's a bit of a reversal. Swaddled in grim beige and dark tones, the boardroom is tomblike, while the host has become a high priest of empathy. "I hate looking at what I'm seeing, and I'm going to do something about it," Trumpster declares. 
But get past the sobriety, and you'll come to the same conclusion I did: This is the same old "Apprentice." It all unfolds the way we remember, while the boardroom showdown dissolves into a cacophony of bitter recrimination and catcalls. Ah, some things never change. 
BOTTOM LINE 
Almost public TV-like by current reality-show standards, this new edition is actually a lot like the original, absent the Velveeta. True-blue fans will rediscover its pleasures. 
GRADE 
B+

ETTEL16

The Donald gets back to Job One in 'The Apprentice'

Remember Matt <a href="/topics/Santos%2C_Ltd.">Santos</a> (Smits), the liberal senator who won the <a href="/topics/White_House">White House</a> on "The West Wing" by blasting the conservative- portrayed-as-troglodyte Arnie Vinick (<a href="/topics/Alan_Alda">Alan Alda</a>)? He's back, at least in spirit. 
Supreme Court Justice Cyrus Garza is a super-conservative member who got there because his Supreme Court justice father - the exact political opposite - was killed in a car crash. A conservative president appoints the son, who has a conversion: "After the accident, it feels like I'm hurting people I should be protecting." He quits the court, becomes a liberal lion and goes after real justice. First case - a death row inmate wrongly convicted of murder. 
MY SAY 
Whether you embrace "Outlaw" or not depends upon your appetite for the implausible. If that appetite is bottomless, then good luck and Godspeed - have we got a show for you. If the idea of a justice with a gambling problem and an aversion to neutrality smells like week-old bologna, then move along, friend. In fact, "Outlaw" isn't bad as much as bogus. The whole faulty premise creaks and groans under the weight of a now-you-see-it-now-you-don't shell game, as key plot points zip by, then are quickly tucked back under their shell in the vain hope you won't remember them, or maybe take them at face value. Smits as Garza? I'm tempted to say what I'd do with the character, and yielding to temptation, that would be this: Make him duplicitous, troubled, complex and fallible. Make him - in other words - an interesting heavy in a flawed show as opposed to cardboard cutout in a flawed one. 
BOTTOM LINE 
A not-terrible show with a premise as hole-y as a hunk of <a href="/topics/Switzerland">Swiss</a> cheese. Smits, and you, deserve better. 
GRADE 
C

ETTEL15

In 'Outlaw,' Smits' character should be shot down

Season 3 ended in a cloud of doom and gloom and (I suppose) boom, too. Poor Chuck Bass (<a href="/topics/Ed_Westwick">Ed Westwick</a>) thought he was spurned by Blair (<a href="/topics/Leighton_Meester">Leighton Meester</a>) at a rendezvous at the Empire State Building. After sleeping with Jenny Humphrey (<a href="/topics/Taylor_Momsen">Taylor Momsen</a>), he learned it was all a big misunderstanding with B. But Blair discovered his infidelity just as he was about to propose, and dumped him (again). Last we see of Chuck, he is in a <a href="/topics/Prague">Prague</a> alleyway - shot by thugs, left for dead. Meanwhile, B and Serena (<a href="/topics/Blake_Lively">Blake Lively</a>) are off to <a href="/topics/Paris">Paris</a> for the summer. 
WHAT THIS EPISODE IS ABOUT 
Lights! Fountains! The <a href="/topics/Louvre">Louvre</a>! Oui! That's <a href="/topics/Paris">Paris</a>, all right. B has commandeered the Right Bank, Serena the Left and, befitting the spirit of their favored geographic locales, Serena has become the libertine - dating any guy she comes across - while B stands posed before a Manet, day after day, waiting for a prince charming to suddenly appear. She silently pines for Chuck, but Serena seems to have forgotten entirely about Nate (Chace Crawford) - back in NYC, also eagerly following the demands of his libido. Major cliffhangers will be resolved, sort of, including Chuck's grim fate. 
MY SAY 
The Parisian episode is titled "Belles de Jour," and it's kind of hard to imagine that this is in homage to the Luis Buñuel 1967 film of (nearly) the same name - about a housewife by night who turns into a prostitute by day. But with "GG," you can't be too sure. The show is often sly and witty enough to lift it out of the dregs of prime-time soapdom. So maybe this episode really is about repression, erotica and split personalities. Or maybe it's just a good excuse for the show to shake the dust out, ditch the inferno of summertime New York and wander amid the glories of <a href="/topics/Paris">Paris</a> while exploring the discreet bourgeois charms of Blair and Serena. Either way, it's a lot of fun. 
BOTTOM LINE 
Keep an eye on newcomer Juliet Sharp (<a href="/topics/Katie_Cassidy">Katie Cassidy</a>). She's verrrry interesting. 
GRADE 
B+

ETTEL13

A new season to gossip about

The 21st edition divides into two tribes - the Espada, who are over 40, and the La Flor, 30 and under. 
The other new twist is "The Medallion of Power." The team that holds this gets some sort of advantage during immunity challenges - which could level the playing field for Team Geritol. 
MY SAY 
Getting old isn't for sissies, nor for "Survivors" either. The only conventionally "old" winner - by TV standards, anyway - was <a href="/topics/Bob_Crowley">Bob Crowley</a>, who was 57 when he aced "Survivor: Gabon." Otherwise, youth - under 40 - has ruled. 
Is the outcome preordained? "Espada" means "sword" and "La Flor" is "flower," so perhaps CBS is hinting that conclusion-jumping is unwise. This new edition is designed to emphasize wisdom over stamina. Who knows? Bob may have company before too long. 
THE CONTESTANTS 
"<a href="/topics/Nicaragua">Nicaragua</a>" has an excellent cast, and the grizzled vets made the difference. Here are my picks for most intriguing: 
&nbsp; 
<ul> 
 <li>Dan Lembo, 63 - Bay Ridge-born Lembo is a Manhattan real-estate executive, who values his personal wealth at "over $5 million." He was recruited by the show after a producer spotted him. He's a tough guy. Really. "I decided I would play it the same way I play the game of life," he said in a recent chat, "which is to be nice to everybody - [except] when it came to people where we had to do what we had to do."&nbsp;</li> 
</ul> 
<ul> 
 <li><a href="/topics/Jimmy_Johnson">Jimmy Johnson</a>, 67 - Twice <a href="/topics/Super_Bowl">Super Bowl</a> champ as <a href="/topics/Dallas_Cowboys">Dallas Cowboys</a> coach, <a href="/topics/Jimmy_Johnson">Johnson</a> also played the Nice Guy card. "When things were kind of rough and we were lying on the bamboo at night, they'd say, '<a href="/topics/Jimmy_Johnson">Jimmy</a>, give us a football story.' We really had a great relationship."</li> 
</ul> 
<ul> 
 <li>James Tarantino, 48 - This Gloucester, Mass., commercial fisherman submitted a one-minute video, and fans voted him their favorite would-be contestant. Easy to see why - he's all charisma and swagger, and "character" writ large. Expect him to go far.</li> 
</ul> 
<ul> 
 <li>Kelly Bruno, 26 - Because of a congenital deformity, her leg was amputated below the knee when she was a child. This <a href="/topics/University_of_North_Carolina">University of North Carolina</a> medical student later became a world-class triathlete. (Her father, a doctor, was killed during the recent Haitian earthquake.)</li> 
</ul> 
<ul> 
 <li>Tyrone Davis, 42 - Like <a href="/topics/Jimmy_Johnson">Johnson</a>, this Inglewood, <a href="/topics/California">Calif</a>., fire captain cites Sayville winner (and former fireman) <a href="/topics/Tom_Westman">Tom Westman</a> as his favorite contestant. Like Lembo, he's tough and strong.&nbsp;</li> 
</ul>

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