Movies: Leave the World Behind

I can’t remember the last time I reacted this negatively to a film’s ending. The premise: A vacationing family led by Julia Roberts and Ethan Hawke find themselves in an unraveling world — a ship barrels ashore while they are luxuriating on a beach; then cell phones and internet quit working (the ultimate horror). It goes further downhill from there in a what’s-going-on puzzle that continually teases the viewer with vague clues such as mysterious animal behavior. Meanwhile, another couple arrives to add cultural and political tension to the mix (groans). 

The movie strongly reminded me of M. Night Shyamalan’s notorious The Happening (with less wind) and, to a lesser extent, Stephen King’s novel Cell. At its best, Leave the World Behind weaves several tense threads together in thrilling fashion and achieves a compounding sense of dread, but the film then simply ends as things appear on the verge of greater calamity without providing any resolution apart from the daughter's quest to see the final episode of Friends. I know that sometimes a filmmaker wants us to be left with a puzzle to ponder, but it just doesn’t work here. It’s an infuriating ending, and, while I do not condone violence, it left me wanting to throw large objects at director Sam Esmail.

Now streaming on Netflix  //  2 hours 21 minutes  //  2.5 stars out of 5

Movies: Oliver Stone's W.

Verdict: &&&1/2

It turns out that George W. Bush and I do have something in common — a taste for Dr. Pepper, that most addictive of beverages (even if I'm now confined to the caffeine-free version). It's one of the rather mundane details that director Oliver Stone makes clear in W., a film in which I believe Stone has fairly pure intentions (this is no Michael Moore-style ambush). I went to the movie seeking a bit of catharsis — a purging of some of the emotional disappointment of the past eight years — as well as perhaps a few insights into how Bush II came to be. Check the expectations at the door, and there's fun to be had here.

Weaving past and present, Stone shows us the young W. as a man who indulged in the privileged fun life while continually struggling to gain the approval of his accomplished father. Fast-forward to the 2000s, and the current W is seen planning the war in Iraq, devising the "axis of evil" rhetoric and puzzling over those elusive WMDs. One of Stone's missteps is focusing almost exclusively on Iraq and ignoring the highly disputed and suspect election outcome in 2000.

A serious challenge for this movie is that it's just about impossible to stop evaluating the cast's approximation of their respective characters and fully give in to Stone's narrative. Josh Brolin, at least, owns his character; the first time he did the Bush laugh, it was so true to life that I wanted to rewind and hear it again. Also precisely on the money is Scott Glenn as Donald Rumsfeld; in a great scene in which the principles are commiserating about the absence of WMDs over lunch, Rumsfeld is singularly focused on the pleasures of a fabulous slice of pecan pie. Toby Jones also rises to the occasion as political weasel Karl Rove, the man who knew how to help Bush push the people's buttons (at least before 2008, anyway). From there, it's a decidedly mixed bag: Thandie Newton, as Condoleezza Rice, turns in a sub-Janet Jackson-on-SNL effort; Jeffrey Wright makes a reasonable stab at Colin Powell's voice of reason; and James Cromwell is impossible to separate from James Cromwell in the role of George H.W. Bush.

Stone comes closest to revelatory in the scenes in which W. consults with his church pastor, seeking to light his inner fire. Someone who went so single-mindedly in the directions Bush did must have felt some divine anointment. Stone aims to tie it all together in a series of fantasy interludes in which Bush stands before a stadium full of roaring baseball fans. It's high-concept and a noble attempt, but it's not the grandiose spiritual revelation audiences crave, particularly when it leaves the movie feeling as if it doesn't have an ending.

Quick takes: Fall TV

Back to You
FOX, Wednesday 8/7c
Know what I liked most about this show? The retro-chic opening title sequence, which had an endearing, classic feel. Whether anyone would say the same about the sitcom that followed is in doubt. On the upside, it boasts the ever-reliable Kelsey Grammer (Cheers, Frasier) and the affable Patricia Heaton (Everybody Loves Raymond) in a broadcast newsroom environment, which is rich with comedic possibilities. On the other hand, the premiere, which was funny if somewhat crass, lacked the appealing warmth of Frasier — both the long-running character and the series. // Verdict: &&&

Moonlight
CBS, Friday, 9/8c (Premiere date: Friday, Sept. 28)
Another variation on the well-worn reluctant vampire theme may struggle to be met with open arms — Lestat and Barnabas Collins are probably chuckling at the notion in their coffins. But the charm with which Alex O'Loughlin embraces the character, who works as a private investigator, goes a long way toward melting viewer resistance, and the premiere episode displays considerably more cleverness than its Friday-night partner series, Ghost Whisperer. // Verdict: &&&

Survivor
CBS, Thursday, 8/7c
The producers go to the trouble of taking Survivor to a refreshingly interesting locale, China, but still set the action on another island? That disappointing move is matched in episode one by the players, as one of the most potentially interesting characters, Chicken, is promptly voted off. At least there's the consolation of knowing sly New York waitress Courtney and predictable Christian radio talk show host Leslie are destined to come to blows. // Verdict: &&&

Pictured: Grammer, Heaton and Fred Willard ham it up on FOX's Back to You

TV preview: Swimming with Shark

When: Season 2 premiere airs at 9 p.m. Central Sunday (Sept. 23), the show's new timeslot, on CBS.

Premiere episode verdict: &&&

James Woods' snarky performance as a jaded defense attorney seeking redemption on the other side in the district attorney's office helped make Shark a somewhat surprise hit last season. The second season brings a few cast tweaks, with Jessica Devlin (Jeri Ryan, Star Trek: Voyager's Seven of Nine) out of the DA's office, having just been ousted by the voters. Judging by the season premiere, however, viewers will still see plenty of sassy borg goodness bouncing off Sebastian Stark. Taking her seat as DA is slimy Leo Cutler (Kevin Pollak), another calculated foil for Stark, and joining Stark's team is Danny Reyes (Kevin Alejandro), an overly aggressive punk who wandered over from the Organized Crime Unit. The season two premiere, centering on a double homicide case in which the witness is killed by a car bomb, is far from the smoothest Shark installment to date, but Arnold Vosloo is effective as a perfectly chilled Russian mobster, and Stark's relationship with his daughter continues to provide a welcome warm counterpoint to Stark's shyster antics.

Pictured: James Woods as Sebastian Stark

TV on DVD: Kidnapped

• One of the unfortunate casualties of the TV season gets life on DVD.

Genres: Drama, brilliant but canceled
DVD released: April 24, 2007
Cast: Jeremy Sisto, Timothy Hutton, Dana Delany, Will Denton, Delroy Lindo, Doug Hutchison, Carmen Ejogo, Michael Mosley, Linus Roache, Otto Sanchez
Verdict: &&&&1/2

Kidnapped was, hands down, my favorite new show of the 2006-07 season, and, in just 13 episodes, became one of my favorite TV viewing experiences ever. It was a victim of unfortunate timing, coming in the post-Lost glut of serials that, in hindsight, have been declared too demanding of viewers (Studio 60, The Nine, etc.). That's a shame — heaven forbid that we ask viewers to have an attention span. Down-and-out NBC, suffering from an itchy trigger finger, axed the show after three episodes, banished it to Saturday night and ceased airing it altogether after five shows. Fortunately for fans, the show does completely wrap up the main plot in its 13 episodes (with the door cleverly left open for more, despite the cancellation), which have miraculously been released on DVD. Kidnapping is not even a theme that particularly interests me, but I was instantly drawn into this complex drama, which feels more like a long, intricately crafted feature film than a network television show. The kidnapping victim is 15-year-old Leopold Cain (Will Denton), son of wealthy businessman Conrad Cain (Timothy Hutton). The family hires Knapp (Jeremy Sisto), a renegade former FBI agent who specializes in the return of kidnapped children by working outside the law. The bad guys are a teasing enigma who kill their own minions who carried out the crime; especially effective are the cold assassin The Accountant (James Urbaniak) and the smooth-talking Schroeder (Doug Hutchison, who played Eugene Tooms in The X-Files). Just about everyone in Kidnapped has a secret or dark side casting doubt on his or her motives, and these are sprinkled throughout, keeping the viewer guessing as to what's a red herring. There's arguably just a tad of meandering between the first half dozen episodes and the final three, in which a motive the viewer doesn't see coming, yet makes perfect sense, is revealed with nail-biting brilliance. Some of the best scenes take place in Mexico, where a conflicted pair of overseers keep Leopold Cain handcuffed to a bed and struggle to keep their secret. Aiding the smart writing is an impeccable cast from top to bottom, with the likes of Dana Delaney as the mom, Ellie Cain; Delroy Lindo as Latimer King, the FBI agent who puts retirement on hold to take the case; and Carmen Ejogo as Turner, Knapp's wily assistant. It does nothing for my faith in television that a show this good cannot succeed. // DVD notes // The show looks and sounds smashing on DVD. A featurette, "Ransom Notes," offers brief cast interviews and details the meaning behind the names of characters.

From the vault: The Twilight Zone Seasons 2 and 3 (1986-89)

• Unlike the cold 2000s revival, The Twilight Zone was fun in the '80s.

Genre: Quirky-twisty drama, anthology
DVD released: June 28, 2005
Cast: Tom Skeritt, Joan Allen, Joe Mantegna, Gina Gershon, Fred Savage, Norman Fell, Shelley Duvall, Jeffrey Tambor, Louise Fletcher, William Sanderson, Janet Leigh, Terry Farrell, Dean Stockwell, et al
Verdict: &&1/2

The 1985-1989 version of The Twilight Zone, also known as The New Twilight Zone, rates more stars / medals in my heart than I can give it in a review. A handful of episodes captivated me when I was around 12 to 14 years old and likely shaped my interest in dark and clever tales that often don’t end happily — I wouldn't be surprised if a young M. Night Shyamalan was also a fan. Season one of the '80s Twilight Zone is stronger than the two subsequent seasons included here — the short bit of season two that aired on CBS before cancellation and the third, which consists entirely of 30-minute episodes. After CBS axed the show, the additional episodes were produced to pad the series for a syndication package. These featured different writers and Robin Ward taking over the narration previously done by Charles Aidman. One could argue that the best thing about the series was its creepy, mysterious imagery during the opening title sequence combined with The Grateful Dead's outstanding take on the theme music. Another strength was in casting; in addition to top-tier television talent, the series lured impressive names like Janet Leigh, Shelley Duvall and Joe Mantegna. Behind the camera, there's early directorial work by horror workhorse Wes Craven. Many of the scripts are undeniably beneath the starring talent, and the shift to 30-minute episodes didn't help. The hour-long format had allowed flexibility for segments as short as 10 minutes or as long as an hour, and the constricting half-hour format seems a likely factor in the uneven quality — a number of installments simply feel under-written. High points among the episodes include "The After Hours," in which a shopping mall's mannequins have an after-hours life; "The Curious Case of Edgar Witherspoon," in which an eccentric old man's junk collection keeps the universe in balance; "The Hellgramite Method," in which an alcholic tries an unorthodox cure; and, particularly, "Cat and Mouse," the story of a woman scorned who exacts a very clever Twilight Zone kind of revenge. One story, "Special Service," feels like a forerunner of a mediocre '90s movie, The Truman Show, as an ordinary man played by David Naughton discovers his life is voyeuristic entertainment for others. A number of installments, including "Something in the Walls" and the unimpressive "A Game of Pool," are rehashes of original Twilight Zone stories. It's a mixed bag, to be sure, but anyone who enjoyed watching this as a child of the '80s will enjoy being in the zone again.

// DVD notes // This seven-disc set contains a wealth of episodes but scant extras. A very small selection of deleted scenes are included, and about a half dozen installments feature commentary by directors and writers such as Craven, Philip DeGuere and Alan Brennert. The attractive set's booklet offers a synopsis and writing and directing credits for each episode.

// Related //
• Season 1 Jeblog review
• Postcards from the Zone - an episode guide for The New Twilight Zone

Random reviews

• Quick takes on new and recent TV odds and ends.

TV The Ri¢hes (FX, 9 p.m. Mondays)
The pilot of FX's new drama found fertile material in the screwed up lives of thieving gypsies / travellin' folk / con artists. Here's hoping the Eddie Izzard and Minnie Driver-fronted series doesn't lose its edge as the Riches and their two children assume the lives of a recently departed, well-to-do family. Premiere: &&&1/2

TV on DVD Battlestar Galactica Season 2.5
Since I don't have Sci-Fi on cable, I've just finished up last season while the rest of the world is basking in late season three and news of renewal for the fourth. Season two continued to raise the bar for un-geeky sci-fi and still is, for my money, the best drama on television today from any broadcast outlet, cable or otherwise. Loaded with weighty plot points — President Roslin's bleak struggle with cancer, the fate of the hybrid baby and the pivotal presidential election pitting Roslin against a former ally — this season continued the trend of getting impossibly richer as the series progresses while maintaining its earthiness and toaster (cylon) sexiness. The last three episodes tease and twist beautifully; just when a viewer could get a tad complacent, a shocking new direction is cast. Verdict: &&&&&

DVD A Life in Pop
"Chris (Lowe) and I share in the fantasy that was and is the Pet Shop Boys," says Neil Tennant in this lengthy UK documentary on the career of PSB. Fans can rightly quibble that this or that album or issue gets glossed over, but this doc is made essential by frank interviews with the likes of Brandon Flowers (The Killers), Tim Rice-Oxley (Keane), Trevor Horn, Robbie Williams and, of course, Tennant and Lowe, who have refused to play by the rules over the course of nine albums. Verdict: &&&&

TV on DVD Seinfeld Season 4
"It's going to be hard to even watch Seinfeld now," a friend of mine said after the bizarre Michael Richards incident, but I'm not boarding that train — I'm still happily whisked away to the world of Seinfeldian minutiae. After perfecting its tone in season three, a confident boldness blossoms in season four with outstanding episodes such as "The Cheever Letters," "The Contest," "The Airport" and "The Outing." And it bears repeating that the Seinfeld DVDs are the gold standard in packaging and extras, enhancing an already sublime experience. Verdict: &&&&&

DVD: The Prestige

• 'The Prestige' pulls lots of tricks but doesn't make much magic.

Genres: Drama, period
Director: Christopher Nolan
DVD released: Feb. 20, 2007
Cast: Hugh Jackman, Christian Bale, Michael Caine, Scarlett Johansson, David Bowie
Verdict: &&

This hocus-pocus period piece seems to have worked for many critics and audiences, but I'm not among them. No one enjoys a smart plot deception more than I, but I've grown really weary of the last-minute twist in movies — something that no viewer could possibly have dreamed up, even if they were trying — to cast the two hours of mess we just endured in a shocking new light. The one thing that's abundantly clear throughout The Prestige is that Hugh Jackman and Christian Bale portray magicians who hate each other to the point of violence. Each spends the movie trying to upstage and sabotage the other, and the best parts of the movie take place onstage as they attempt to pull off increasingly difficult illusions. Jarring jumps in time do nothing to aid a plot that aspires to be too clever for its own good, even if that device worked for Nolan in the also-overrated Memento. By the time the movie finally reaches its own contrived "prestige" — a term for the payoff at the end of a magic trick — I could only shake my head and wish for the 130 minutes back. // DVD notes // Bonus material explores the director's alleged sleight of hand, but I couldn't get it out of my player quickly enough.

DVD: Stranger than Fiction

• Will Ferrell's latest is surprisingly existential and shockingly good.

Genres: Comedy-drama
Director: Marc Forster
DVD released: Feb. 27, 2007
Cast: Will Ferrell, Emma Thompson, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Dustin Hoffman, Queen Latifah
Verdict: &&&&

Like Groundhog Day and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Stranger than Fiction is a movie that tinkers with the nature of existence and creates something profound in the process. It's not a stretch to imagine Bill Murray in the role — the disaffected protagonist certainly fits the mold of the lead characters in Lost in Translation and Broken Flowers. However, Will Ferrell, who has a previous filmography as appealing as a forgotten, years-old fruitcake found at the back of a dark pantry, manages to shed his usual silly persona (the movie still has laughs, though) to convincingly portray a boring urbanite — IRS auditor Harold Crick, who hears a voice talking about him while brushing his teeth one morning. He gradually realizes that the voice is a narrator (Emma Thompson) and that he is a player in a narrative out of his control. Or is it? Aided by a literature professor (Dustin Hoffman), he eventually becomes aware that the voice is a real-world novelist (also Thompson) who ultimately kills off her central characters. He sets out to confront her, but not before falling in love with an anarchist baker (Maggie Gyllenhaal) whom he audits as the voice begins to torment him. Emma Thompson is perfection as the narrator and novelist Kay Eiffel, and the narrative is one of the great pleasures of the movie. What sounds like a gimmick in the trailer is full of beautifully descriptive passages that cast Crick's boring existence in a different light as the omniscient voice precisely enunciates the tale of Crick (and his wristwatch, which becomes a pivotal character). It's wholly believable that these passages flow from the typewriter of an accomplished novelist, and Thompson is delightfully unhinged as the writer trying to keep the words flowing. As the movie forces the viewer to think about the value of a life versus the value of a great piece of art, a delicious anticipation builds for the inevitable climactic scenes. A superb supporting cast and vivid visuals, such as the occasional graphical user interface that reflects Crick's mathematical auditor's mind at work, serve to enhance an unexpectedly captivating movie that is unconventional, existential and highly recommended. // DVD notes // One deleted and one extended scene offer more of the funny book chat show featured in the movie. Featurettes are numerous and exhaustive, covering topics such as how they made that snazzy graphical user interface.

TV preview: Jericho season 1.5

• CBS' post-nuclear drama returns on Wednesday.

Genre: Drama
Logistics: CBS, 7 p.m. Wednesday
Cast: Skeet Ulrich, Gerald McRaney, Pamela Reed, Lennie James, Sprague Grayden
Episode: &&&

Jericho seems to slyly reference one of its obvious inspirations, 1980s TV miniseries The Day After, with the title of its return episode, "The Day Before." The serial is back after an annoying midseason hiatus long enough for the fans to lose interest (Lost, anyone?). I didn't stick with Jericho past the first few episodes, although the premiere was a superbly crafted hour of television, and its nuclear-holocaust-in-the-2000s premise was bizarre enough to pique my interest. Enjoyable but not pulse-pounding, this season 1.5 premiere jumps back to the day before the bombs hit. We see Jake (Skeet Ulrich), struggling with past demons, trying unsuccessfully to make a respectable living, while the mysterious Rod (Lennie James) becomes further mired in viewer suspicion as it becomes clear that he is no innocent. He spends most of the episode engaged in cloak and dagger webcam conversations and trying to round up his children against the wishes of his estranged wife. Meanwhile, Mayor Johnston Green (Gerald McRaney) ponders his political future in Jericho. This episode is unlikely to win over any new fans, but it hints at possibly interesting things to come.

TV preview: 3 LBS

• CBS hopes brain doctors add weight to medical drama.

Genre: Medical drama
Logistics: CBS, 9 p.m. Tuesdays; debuts Nov. 14
Cast: Stanley Tucci, Michael Feuerstein, Indira Varma, Armando Riesco
Pilot verdict: &&&

TV needs another doctor or lawyer show like a hole in the head, but CBS offers the neurosurgery drama 3 LBS (it's the weight of the brain and, perhaps, the lead character's ego) to fill a slot vacated early on by Smith, which arguably was the better show. That's not to say this isn't worth watching, though: Stanley Tucci and Mark Feuerstein (Once and Again, The West Wing) are strong leads who have a sort of running good doc-bad doc routine. Tucci portrays a somewhat cold neurosurgeon, while Feuerstein is the new understudy who brings compassion to the ward. The pilot has some nice flashback-like sequences that are atypical of the genre: A young lady who has a brain tumor that affects her speech sees a ceiling covered with words. She climbs onto a chair, reaching for them, but they stay just beyond her grasp. Tucci, meanwhile, is haunted by images of a young girl in what is likely to be a major thread of the series. If 3 LBS can avoid the obvious brain tumor of the week drama, this show might get in some viewers' heads.

Pictured: Stanley Tucci

TV: Dexter

• Showtime's new drama has a killer hook.

Genres: Serial killer, detective, drama, crime scenes
Logistics: Showtime, 9 p.m. (Central) Sundays
Cast: Michael C. Hall, Jennifer Carpenter, Lauren Velez, Julie Benz, Erik King, David Zayaz, James Remar
Verdict: &&&&

You can't beat the concept: Dexter Morgan, a blood spatter expert for the Miami Police Department, moonlights as a serial killer who slices and dices other killers — people who deserve to die. That's how his late father (James Remar), a good policeman himself, taught young Dexter to control his dark urges and channel them for good. Michael C. Hall (Six Feet Under) brings just the right combination of handsome, smart politeness and ambiguity to the role, making Dexter something of a kindred spirit to that other great dignified villain, Hannibal Lecter. When Dexter's dark mind yields hunches about crime scenes, he feeds tips to his sister, Debra (Jennifer Carpenter of The Exorcism of Emily Rose), a green Miami cop who's anxious to blaze the trail in homicide. Through the first three episodes, it is apparent that the ice truck killer story arc, which comprises the main plot of the very good source material, Jeff Lindsey's novel Darkly Dreaming Dexter, will serve as the season's backdrop while various subplots (a cop killing, Dexter's feigned love life) provide padding. Dexter senses a connection with the ice truck killer and struggles to hide his playful interest from his sister and coworkers as it becomes clear that the killer is teasing him. That's on top of his daily struggle to mimic human emotions. Episode two meandered a bit with the cop killing and a double date with Dexter's sister, but episode three was the best yet as Dexter revisits his first father-approved kills, including an evil nurse, and tracks a potential new victim. Showtime has just given the nod to a second series of episodes, and it will be interesting to see if season two follows the arc of the second novel, Dearly Devoted Dexter. Either way, I can't wait to see who'll be next to get the knives and Saran Wrap treatment.

// Related // Darkly Dreaming Dexter by Jeff Lindsey

TV: Drowning in drama

• Quick takes on some of the new season's many dramas.

Kidnapped (NBC, 8 p.m. Saturday) • It figures that my favorite new drama has already been given a death-sentence and shipped off to Saturday's rerun wasteland to burn off the remainder of its 13 episodes (last season, I was into Invasion and Surface). The show has a cinematic quality that doesn't feel like an NBC drama, and the characters and plotting are rich. Fifteen-year-old Leopold Cain (Will Denton), son of a wealthy family, is abducted, and Jeremy Sisto excels as a former FBI agent who works outside the system to recover kidnap victims by whatever ruthless means necessary. Interesting things going on include father Conrad Cain (expertly captured by Timothy Hutton) confronting old enemies and the kidnap mastermind having his minions murdered by a cold assassin. I'm completely hooked, and this show deserves a better fate. Verdict: &&&&1/2

Ugly Betty (ABC, 7 p.m. Thursday) • Despite having one of those killer no-holds-barred timeslots, Ugly Betty, based on a Univision telenovela, has "breakout hit" written all over it. The title sparks curiosity, and that soapy-cheesy telenovela sensibility is appealing (I loved the scene last week in which Betty's father was seen watching a telenovela). You can't help but root for Betty (America Ferrera), who's just landed an editorial assistant gig at Mode, a fashion magazine full of cutthroats. When she gets in a bind, her hilariously spunky, "no you di-in!" sister, Hilda (Ana Ortiz), comes to the rescue. Verdict: &&&

Shark (CBS, 9 p.m. Thursday) • James Woods perfectly nails Sebastian Stark, a shyster defense attorney who converts to the DA's office after seeing one of the clients he saved from a murder conviction with blood on his hands. Among Stark's foils are Star Trek: Voyager's Seven of Nine (Jeri Ryan) as his former nemesis in the DA's office and a team of young, green prosecutors. Boston Legal may do the smarmy shtick best, but Shark acquits itself well. Verdict: &&&1/2

Smith (CBS) • Reports indicate CBS has already sent Smith to the trash heap. The premiere was a well-crafted actioner with Ray Liotta leading a team of surgical strike criminals while coming to the realization that he must drop his double life and be a family man. Verdict: &&&

Men in Trees (ABC, 8 p.m. Friday) • This music-happy Anne Heche vehicle comes across as a quirky sex/relationship drama with a dose of Northern Exposure-wannabe quirkiness. My favorite exchange from last week's episode: She: "What's that thing on your hand?" He: "That's a condom machine." Verdict: &&1/2

All times central. Photo: Kidnapped/NBC

TV preview: Jericho

• Nuclear drama in 2006? Yep, and Jericho does it well.

Genres: Drama, suspense
Logistics: CBS, 7 p.m. (Central) Wednesdays
Cast: Skeet Ulrich, Gerald McRaney, Pamela Reed, Lennie James, Ashley Scott, Spraque Grayden, Michael Gaston, Brad Beyer, Kenneth Mitchell, Erik Knudsen, Shoshannah Stern
Verdict: &&&&

A mushroom cloud blossoms on the horizon of the small western town of Jericho. Is it an accident? An attack? As the panic-stricken denizens ponder these questions, it's hard not to marvel that a producer would want to mine this territory now. It's not giving away too much to say that it is, indeed, an attack of some sort — by the end of episode two, there are some clues, but no clear answer — making this a sort of The Day After for the terrorism age. But the prospect of a nuclear attack surely doesn't speak to the viewer in the same way that it did in 1983, when that infamous television miniseries aired. The good news is that Jericho gets off to such a promising start that it shouldn't matter, and the underlying curiosity of where this story is going is sustained. Episode two, "Fallout," is stronger than the pilot, as Mayor Johnston Green (Gerald McRaney) tries to get his townsfolk herded into basements and the old fallout shelters before the radiation clouds arrive. His son, Jake Green (Skeet Ulrich), returned to town just before the bomb hits, and finds himself swept into the unfolding drama before he can get back out of town. A tense subplot in "Fallout" finds Emily (Ashley Scott) unwittingly in the company of two escaped prisoners posing as deputies; her attempt to escape culminates with the arrival of the fallout. A former St. Louis cop (Lennie James) manages to get an old radio working and decodes a Morse code message, but he stuffs the paper in his pocket and tells no one what he has learned. Just what's going on here? Will the citizens survive underground and try to carry on? With the hope that this will be more than just a story of rebuilding, I'll tune in to find out.

TV: Three Moons over Milford

• ABC Family debuts another oddball original.

Genre: I honestly don't know.
Logistics: ABC Family, 7 p.m. (Central) Sunday
Cast: Elizabeth McGovern, Rob Boltin, Sam Murphy, Nora Dunn
Verdict: &&1/2

The moon has split into three pieces and anything could happen. What would you do? In Milford, people are inclined to act on impulses and turn downright wacky — that's the sketchy premise of Three Moons over Milford, which has a capable cast and a quite aimless storyline. The antics include some amateur adolescent witchcraft that burns down a school, a duel between feuding neighbors, and a flirtation between a 16-year-old and a woman twice his age. Three Moons chiefly centers the madness around Laura Davis (Elizabeth McGovern), whose husband suddenly skips town, and her two teens, Alex (Sam Murphy) and Lydia (Teresa Calentano), as they contend with losing their home and switching schools. It would be great to see more of the real estate agent Michelle Graybar (the hilarious Nora Dunn in a supporting role) and less of attorney and potential Laura love interest Mack McIntyre (Rob Boltin) — this show doesn't need goofy courtroom scenes. Three Moons is a marginally better effort than the newly aggressive net's much-hyped original Kyle XY, about a teen with extraordinary abilities, even if there's never really any explanation of the moons thing; the viewer is left to pick that up from dialogue and some news headlines shown during the opening credits. Dwell on that too much and you may find yourself wondering why you're watching ABC Fam in the first place.

// Linkage // Official site

TV: Kyle XY

Genre: Drama, unintentional comedy
Logistics: ABC Family, 7 p.m. (Central) Monday
Verdict: &&

If the American Broadcasting Company wants to use one of the networks it owns to show 24-hour footage of grass growing or janitors cleaning up the Desperate Housewives set, that's their business. More power to them. But let's don't completely misrepresent what a network is all about. I'm no prude, but when I recently came across the film Igby Goes Down showing on ABCFam, I did more than a double take. It's a fine movie, but its sexed up antics have no business on a network with "fam" in its name. Then, thumbing through my copy of Entertainment Weekly, I see several consecutive pages of ads for a new series called Kyle XY. The ads focus exclusively on young actor Matt Dallas … his blue eyes and, most provocatively, a close-up of his midsection as he pulls up his T-shirt. Granted, he has no bellybutton, but isn't that a convenient excuse? Just what are we up to here? Sex sells, of course, and apparently that's openly applied to family programming in the 2000s. But what of the show, you ask. "Kyle," a mysterious blank slate, is found wandering aimlessly and is taken in by the Trager family, which conveniently includes a predictably snide teenage daughter and son. Somewhat interestingly, Kyle has the ability to soak up knowledge such as languages very quickly, but, less interestingly, the show focuses on obvious gags such as Kyle standing at the refrigerator, discovering food. The son's running commentary on why Kyle is an alien is sometimes funny, but you can see the very special episode with the discovery of hormones coming six miles away. A guilty summer pleasure? Perhaps. Family programming? Maybe, but something is warped in the ABCFam psyche.

TV: Windfall

Genre: Drama
Logistics: NBC, 9 p.m. (Central) Thursdays
Verdict: &&&

It taps into an everyman fantasy: Winning tons of cash, more than you can find ways to spend. It provokes imaginings of the different ways you might gleefully sever yourself from your employer and what might be the first self-indulgent major purchase. For me? A car, obviously, or maybe Sony's SXRD HDTV or a new Apple computer. That's just half the fun of NBC's summer series Windfall, which sees a group of friends win a huge lottery jackpot, only to have all kinds of problems come their way as a result. You can imagine the writers having their roundtable, dreaming up all the dirt to throw at these new millionaires. Then, they up the payout by filling the cast with hotties and basing the plot as much on their relationships as their issues with managing millions. From the moment Luke Perry was jumping around barefoot on his front lawn in celebration, I wanted to hate Windfall, yet I was pulled in as if by a horrendous car crash. Among the best plot threads: A rebellious teen steals his neighbor's mail order bride so that she can collect the cash for him, and a young man with a shadowy past convinces a straight-laced woman to claim his share of the cash in order to protect his identity. Like a cheap scratch card where you can lose ever so easily and a win isn't worth all that much, Windfall isn't a bad ticket for an idle summer evening.

DVD: Mysterious Skin

Genre: Drama
DVD released: Oct. 25, 2005
Director: Gregg Araki
Cast: Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Brady Corbet, Elisabeth Shue, Michelle Trachtenberg
Verdict: &&&&

Not a movie for anyone who has delicate sensibilities or is offended by sexual themes, Mysterious Skin reveals Third Rock from the Sun's Joseph Gordon-Levitt as a tremendous dramatic actor while brilliantly blending the notion of repressed memories of childhood sexual abuse with elements of contemporary alien abduction mythology, such as nosebleeds, missing time, and visions of tall, shadowy figures. As young boys, Neil (Gordon-Levitt) and Brian (Corbet) shared a common disturbing experience as members of the same little league baseball team. Ten years later, Neil is a cold-hearted street hustler, and Brian is a slightly dorky young man who is obsessed with the idea that he was abducted by aliens. As their stories unfold separately, Brian is drawn closer to the truth and, finally, Neil, who helps him connect to a past experience even more horrifying than he imagined. There's a searing realism here that will particularly resonate with certain audiences. // DVD notes // Rather surprisingly has a dts soundtrack, but I can't recall any use of the surround channels.

DVD: Good Night, and Good Luck.

Genre: Drama, docudrama, politics, black and white
Director: George Clooney
DVD released: March 14, 2006
Verdict: &&&

If anyone should have won an Oscar for George Clooney's quiet and thoughtful rendering of Edward R. Murrow vs. Joseph McCarthy in Good Night and Good Luck, it's David Strathairn, who, as Murrow, is more expressive sitting silently as smoke curls from the cigarette dangling between his fingers than many actors are in a movie's worth of dialogue. Television journalist Murrow took on the Communist witch-hunt of Sen. McCarthy, and the movie portrays the paranoia of the time and the behind-the-scenes turmoil at CBS news, all through an unending haze of cigarette smoke, lest we forget it's the '50s. While the crisp and attractive black-and-white images convey a sense that this is a world far removed from us in time, the movie illuminates how little, in some ways, things have changed: Murrow's speech about modern complacency that bookends the movie could be made today and no one would bat an eye, and the depiction of how big-money advertising can interfere with news fits modern times, as well. There's some dead weight in a subplot involving the romance of a couple of CBS staffers, though, and I was left with a feeling of "Is that it?" as the credits rolled.

DVD: The Constant Gardener

Genre: Drama/thriller
Director: Fernando Meirelles
Cast: Ralph Fiennes, Rachel Weisz, Danny Huston
DVD released: Jan. 10, 2006
Verdict: &&&&

Expect nothing presented on a silver platter in The Constant Gardener, a challenging thriller based on a story by John LeCarré, a familiar name whose spy novels I've never tried. Before her death, Justin Quale (Fiennes) sees clues that his wife, Tessa, is involved in something scandalous she's hiding from him. After her death in Africa, he seeks to learn her secret and discovers a horrifying injustice involving government collusion with corrupt pharmaceutical makers who are taking advantage of a weak population. Anyone who gets in their way tends to turn up dead, and Justin finds himself threatened and even attacked. Everyone's motives and trustworthiness are uncertain. I didn't really buy the opening scenes, in which Tessa and Justin go straight from verbally sparring in a public forum to a stilted tryst. It doesn't take long to get drawn in, however, as the film smoothly shifts between past and present, weaving the back-story of Tessa's idealistic crusade into Justin's dangerous quest for the truth. The look of the movie is gritty yet beautiful thanks to the Kenyan setting. The themes of deception in marriage and medical abuse are strong, but I can see why this didn't make the shortlist for best picture: Smart and intriguing as it is, it certainly doesn't tug at the heart in the way some of the nominees do. // DVD notes // A decent assortment of deleted scenes. // Second-guessing Oscar // Nothing against Weisz, but her performance doesn't say "Oscar" to me. And, backtracking to Crash, how did its moving music not get nominated? But what do I know. I would have nominated Ian McDiarmid for best supporting actor for Revenge of the Sith.