TV I'm Watching

You may notice I've updated the sidebar, with lots of downloady goodness. I'm in the slightly embarrassing situation of having more TV to watch than I have time available to watch it. However, so far I've caught the first episodes of:

Rome
HBO (with a bit of help from Auntie Beeb) gets its hands on the Roman Empire, with all the sex and violence that entails. So far, it's been an interesting blend of politics and violence, with two soldiers being caught up in the political machinations of Caesar and Pompey. The soldiers seem cast in the Lethal Weapon mode, one of them honorable and calm, working, reluctantly, with a total headcase. Most of the cast are British, many of them well-kent faces, and I'd have thought the material so far a bit dry for modern audiences. It's good, but at times it just feels a bit like a history lesson.

My Name Is Earl
This one's just weird. Jason Lee (of many, many Kevin Smith films fame) plays Earl, a criminal hick who discovers the concept of karma after losing a winning lottery ticket and his wife on the same day. The series revolves around his efforts to make amends for every wrong thing he ever done, and is a hoot. I suspect it's too weird to be around for long, so enjoy it while you can.

Prison Break
Here's the high concept: Michael's brother's on Death Row for killing the Vice-President's brother. Michael wants to get his brother out, so he robs a bank and gets himself sentenced to the same prison, intending to use his knowledge of the prison's layout to plan the perfect escape. See, Michael designed the prison...
Sounds whacked out, doesn't it? You're not far wrong. This is shaping up to be either terrible or great, and even if terrible, it may well be very terrible, which is itself great. Follow me? Ah well, please yourself...

Hopefully, we'll shortly be caught up with Lost, Smallville, Justice League, ER, and The West Wing. Phew!