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llcoolvadNetwork summer TV is generally miserable, right? Original programming consists of lame reality shows, game shows, and endless "Dateline" episodes. Then there's pay channel stuff, like "The Sopranos" and "Deadwood", but those work on their own Very Special Schedule, and really have nothing at all to do with summer programming.
For the last few years, cable channels have been taking up the slack and rolling out a few originals, shows like "Rescue Me", "The Closer", "Saved", "The 4400", and "Psych" — these are all pretty great shows, and there are just enough of them to give you one thing to watch per night that doesn't suck (besides baseball, natch!).
But my very favorite show this year is from a completely unexpected quarter. It's "Hustle" — it's on AMC, it's British, and it is just plain crazy genius. The story is about a really good group of grifters. Each week brings a different mark and a different con, and usually there's some kind of cool theme, too, that takes the show into inspired lunacy territory. This week's mark is a mean miserable rich man (played by the very hot — he's on the right — Silas Carson) who loves Bollywood films, and had wanted to be an actor in his youth. Our gang uses this weakness as their entry into his wallet, and by the end of the episode there's an inspired lengthy dance number, complete with slave girls and rose petals and silly song lyrics, and I found myself clapping my hands in sheer joy, bouncing in my seat!
The cast is inspired, the writing is great, the directing is top-notch, and this is season two! I am so going to try to find season one!
So what gets YOU through the summer doldrums? I am looking for passionate recommendations, here! And none of that "I love to take long walks with my significant other, and sometimes we ride our tandem bicycle to the beach and let the dogs run in the surf!" crap. I want to know what television you are watching right the heck now that is blowing your skirt up!
For the last few years, cable channels have been taking up the slack and rolling out a few originals, shows like "Rescue Me", "The Closer", "Saved", "The 4400", and "Psych" — these are all pretty great shows, and there are just enough of them to give you one thing to watch per night that doesn't suck (besides baseball, natch!).
But my very favorite show this year is from a completely unexpected quarter. It's "Hustle" — it's on AMC, it's British, and it is just plain crazy genius. The story is about a really good group of grifters. Each week brings a different mark and a different con, and usually there's some kind of cool theme, too, that takes the show into inspired lunacy territory. This week's mark is a mean miserable rich man (played by the very hot — he's on the right — Silas Carson) who loves Bollywood films, and had wanted to be an actor in his youth. Our gang uses this weakness as their entry into his wallet, and by the end of the episode there's an inspired lengthy dance number, complete with slave girls and rose petals and silly song lyrics, and I found myself clapping my hands in sheer joy, bouncing in my seat!
The cast is inspired, the writing is great, the directing is top-notch, and this is season two! I am so going to try to find season one!
So what gets YOU through the summer doldrums? I am looking for passionate recommendations, here! And none of that "I love to take long walks with my significant other, and sometimes we ride our tandem bicycle to the beach and let the dogs run in the surf!" crap. I want to know what television you are watching right the heck now that is blowing your skirt up!
