NBC's Hannibal strikes a comfortable tone. (With a warning to NBC on how NOT to screw it up.)

Serial Killers are en vogue right now, at least on TV.  A&E has “Bates Motel” which, if I were in charge of branding for A&E, I would’ve never let that get through.  It makes it seem as though the show is about the day-to-day operations of running a small, roadside motor hotel, in between the brutal murders of an embezzler, a police detective, and a third attempted murder.  Fox has “The Following,” with Kevin Bacon, which has ridden out many of the early hiccups and last-minute character alterations (I guess he’s… not an alcoholic anymore?) to have a fun, coherent, ever-changing show about a serial killer cult.  Showtime’s Dexter is wrapping up after this upcoming eighth and final season.  There are, of course, behavior science shows like SVU and Criminal Minds, but the other, more heralded and critically acclaimed hit is NBC’s Hannibal, a revival of Thomas Harris’s Hannibal Lecter character, including Jack Crawford as the director of the Behavioral Sciences unit at the FBI. There is a reason for why Hannibal has received its much deserved praise. The acting and plots have been fantastic, and the theme for the show, with a potentially insane criminal behavior forensic psychologist assisting the FBI, all add to the appeal. But, it is the tone in which the show is portrayed that truly sets it apart from the rest of the gory pack.

The Americans: "The Oath" Review

The penultimate episode of The Americans, “The Oath,” is jam-packed with plot developments.  I review it, but only after I’ve caught at least five grapes in a row, thrown from across the room by my daughter¹.

A Modest Proposal: We Need To More Quickly Jump To Prejudicial Conclusions

**Before you read, if you think what follows is to be taken at face value, then you, faceless internet reader, do not know me, a faceless internet poster. If you weren't aware, "A Modest Proposal" is a reference to Jonathan Swift, satirist. Carry on.**

I think it’s time we take a look in the mirror, America.  Let’s look at our big, beautiful, pudgy faces, probably smeared with a combination of chocolate and bacon grease, our hair a little askew, some type of bad mustache with a few stray hairs, and ask ourselves, when did we change?  When did we become something different than who we used to be? We never used to accept news coverage that was this shoddy, this rote, and this lacking in information.  As a country, we used to demand MORE.

As a country, do we really want to become the type of people who are afraid – and that’s what it is: FEAR – to jump to conclusions, and make wildly speculative, semi-to-fully racist accusations based on nothing other than our own internal prejudices and fears?

The Americans Review: "Covert War"

The Americans goes against orders (or does it?)  I review this week’s episode, just as soon as I understand that, in a covert war, there are rules.

The Americans: "Only You" review

Americanism and the Civil Rights Movement in The Americans’ “Only You.” It's time for another review of FX's Soviet-era Spy show, but first, I need to plant evidence in your apartment.

Modern Family Characters, Ranked.

This is a completely biased, personal ranking of Modern Family characters from least favorite to most favorite.  Your corrections, in the form of comments, are welcome.

A quick post about commenting

Please.  Engage me.  Reviews and opinions suck if they are a one-way street.  I'm not some 24 hour news network person.  I'm seeing around 20 people, on average, reading my piddling reviews of The Americans (more shows to be added!)  There isn't any comment approval, so unless you're trying to sell me viagra or a way to make money from home for just hours a week, I welcome the flaming/trollery discourse.

The Americans: "Safe House" review UPDATED!

Phil the Sick Day parent, John Denver, and the Potato that saved the Western Hemisphere. It’s time for my review of this week’s episode of The Americans, “Safe House.” But, first, I need to return some salacious answering machine messages…