Oh the Drama!

It’s as dry as a pissed Brit’s sense of humor out there, slightly more of a chill to the air and yeah the leaves are prone to show a little golden color. It’s Fall alright. So what’s worth watching when the sun goes down at 6:30pm?

Hits and a miss of the Fall 2007 Dramas:

Dexter - Showtime
Cunning, fast, deceptive, engrossing and full of dead emotion, the second season of Showtime’s Dexter is off to a methodically stellar start. The motive and mystery of the Ice Truck Killer are behind us now but the intensity has reached new heights. The uncovering of the craft from the depths, the constant observance of co-workers, the Feds, the live in unstable sister, trouble with the lady friend, coming to terms with the kill (how did I loose it?), playing detective to himself and fighting an addiction? It’s a bloody mess and Dexter is beginning to unravel and question himself (my mask is slipping off). But, with Dex manning the scalpel you can rest assured that it will all clean up nicely.
It’s a killer.




Brotherhood - Showtime
And the mighty show face when the tables are turned…
After a better than expected initiation year, the incumbent is still winning them over in year two. This New England king of the streets drama depicts a corrupt town too twisted to see what is happening before their eyes. Cops in debt to thugs, thugs in debt to councilmen, councilmen in bed with mistresses, mistresses hitting the hard drugs, hard drugs turning the once pleasant streets into filth. Brotherhood presents itself much as The Wire does, mixing plots and revealing the truth of the American streets, just without the gut wrenching performances and taking it to the youth.
Family is all you’ve got, but sometimes it’s the first to throw you to the curb.




Mad Men - AMC
The boys in the front office have really cooked up something this time. The ad gods of Madison Ave. at the surging peak of male chauvinism in the US, Mad Men balances corporate savvy with adulteress seduction and makes a ‘sells itself’ pitch. Possibly the best cast on TV today, the family run second tier firm has the brains and know how to seal the deal with anyone in town, it’s the secrets they hide between their sheets that may very well be their downfall.
Mad Men’s demo is male, mid twenties to mid forties, single and/or wed, employed, sophisticated, culturally aware with a hint of pro-male, ‘the way things used to be’ styling. AMC has really hit on something here with its first major leap into original series production.
I’m buying what they’re selling.




Californication - Showtime
Sex has never made for such a good read, or watch. The ‘more hip than you’ new show has plenty of solid and stunning actors with some much enjoyed cameos to keep the sauce nice and spicy. A troubled author coming to terms with the woman he should have married, the daughter he wants to be a better father to and an agent he deeply wishes he could give his best work to. Did I mention the woman he should have married is engaged and that Moody (lead man, former X-filer) unknowingly had his way with that man’s daughter, who is now pitching his new masterwork as her own to the assistant of Moody’s agent? Threesomes, one-night stands, cheating, drugs, love circles and constant twists and disasters. This is without a doubt the surprise hit of the Fall, a bestseller that won’t end up on Oprah’s book club list but should be on your must read.
Get in bed with this one, and bring the secretary…it might get naughty.




Hereos - NBC
Everything that made the first season click, Save the Cheerleader Save the World, has been lost, but the show has still made a heroic return. Not so predictably scripted now, i.e. not all leading up to a known inevitable this second season is far more dark and much more intriguing. All the faces are back, with a few more welcome additions. The focus has moved onto a bigger objective this time leap around where Siler is now seen as more of a pawn, but its still got my attention. I will say, despite the entertaining quality of this show it runs shallow. Really it’s nothing more than X-Men, the Matrix, The Ghost and every cheesy teen sci-fi flick rolled into one. But it does somehow rise above the norm and again and again as it swoops in at the last instant and saves the day from all the monotonous evil on the tube.
Come get saved and find the Hero within.




Friday Night Lights - NBC
Like many a sports analysts, columnists and bloggers I pumped this show up and predicted a wowing run to the title game. So far it’s made Notre Dame look BCS ready. All that was on the fringe of making the show bad news in the Freshman year is now calling audibles on fourth and short. Where is the FOOTBALL? The first episode was a disaster, teen angst and throwaway script. What a waste. Many feared this show would be cancelled and be off the air before mid point of the season. I don’t think anyone has to worry about this one getting benched; it can easily be picked up as a free agent by the Lifetime network.
Get the stands with the real deal on Friday nights, don’t watch the remake on TV.