HOMELAND:  Sunday 10PM on Showtime WHERE WE WERE:  Wincing, as bipolar CIA agent Carrie Mathison (Claire Danes) underwent electroshock therapy, which we knew was going to make her forget the proof she had that former POW, current Congressional candidate and all-around American hero Nicholas Brody (Damian Lewis) was actually a deep-cover terrorist, working for […]

  RECTIFY:  Monday 10PM on Sundance Channel (2-hour premiere at 9PM on April 22) Taking a leaf from the Hollywood studio playbook, Sundance Channel is promoting its new series RECTIFY as being “from the producers of Breaking Bad,” and it’s even airing reruns of the AMC series alongside Rectify episodes to reinforce the connection.  While […]

  THE 100:  Wednesday 9PM on CW THE 100 started as almost defiantly derivative of every post-apocalyptic, dystopian YA fantasy around (plus more than a little Lost, Battlestar Galactica and Lord of the Flies), but it proved to be a surprisingly sturdy piece of storytelling over the course of its season.  Series creator Jason Rothenberg […]

  Read All Our Fall Pilot Reports here and Midseason Pilot Reports here. WE ARE MEN:  Monday 8:30PM on CBS – Change the Channel It hasn’t been a great fall for new sitcoms.  On CBS, WE ARE MEN (which could have better been called We Are Mediocrities) joins Mom, The Crazy Ones, and The Millers, […]

  James Ponsoldt’s SMASHED (not to be confused with NBC’s Smash), which premiered in the Dramatic Competition at Sundance, is a new spin on a fairly old story.  The concept goes back (at least) to 1962’s Days of Wine and Roses:  a couple (Mary Elizabeth Winstead and Aaron Paul), very much in love with both […]

  THE NEWSROOM:  Sunday 9PM on HBO In the end, just about everyone seemed to be ambivalent about THE NEWSROOM, and that includes its auteur and shining star, Aaron Sorkin.  The Season 2 finale felt like it could well have wrapped up the series, and reportedly Sorkin had to be talked into returning for an […]

  THE INSPECTION (A24 – November 14):  Back in 1983, Robert Altman directed the film version of David Rabe’s play Streamers, about a Vietnam-era boot camp that turned even more violent and vicious with the catalyst of one recruit’s closeted homosexuality.  Elegance Bratton’s The Inspection tells a similar story for the “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell” […]

  MURDER IN THE FIRST:  Monday 10PM on TNT – If Nothing Else Is On… Steven Bochco practically invented modern television with Hill Street Blues and NYPD Blue, so even though it’s been a while since his glory days were in full swing, attention must be paid when he takes another turn at bat.  His […]