"Dexter" finally goes too far

Heather Havrilesky — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 12:15:00 PST

I don't think I've ever seen an episode of any show that depressed me more than the "Dexter" finale did Sunday night.

So your marriage is like an inflamed bunion

Heather Havrilesky — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 00:16:00 PDT

Marriage is like an inflamed bunion. It requires a lot of care and attention, but all it does is make you itch and wince in return. You can never get away from it, but you can't touch it as often as you want to, either. You're not supposed to ignore it, but if you look too closely at it, it'll only make you nervous.

Finale wrap-up: "Dexter"

Heather Havrilesky — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 12:18:00 PST

Is Dexter Morgan an ordinary man or a murderous beast? As the third dark but capricious season of "Dexter" came to a close on Sunday night, loyal viewers were forced to ask themselves that question once again, but it was tough not to see Dexter (Michael C. Hall) in an unusually human light. After all, the man has taken small, somewhat reluctant baby steps towards becoming a real human being this season, from marrying his longtime love Rita (Julie Benz) to becoming a father to making his first real friend, assistant defense attorney Miguel Prado (Jimmy Smits).

I Like to Watch

Heather Havrilesky — Sun, 23 Dec 2007 04:00:00 PST

Merry Christmas, Happy Chanukah and Happy New Year, inflatable geniuses! 'Tis the season to festoon our residences with several miles of blinking lights and then blow up seven to 10 giant Christmas characters for our front yards, festive polar bears and jolly snowmen, most of which light up and swivel and hiss, because big, tacky overzealous displays of Christmas cheer aren't just for lunatics anymore! 'Tis the season to deck the halls with photos of awkward, smiling families in their cutest Christmas-themed Cosby sweaters! 'Tis the season to roll out our most exaggerated, hideous impressions of all of our relatives, with their weird verbal tics and their lazy eyes and their fishy breath and their mercilessly long anecdotes! 'Tis the season to engage in interpretive readings of the latest "Dear Friends and Family" letter to arrive in the mail, heartlessly mocking every sweet little detail about Madison's first steps and Henry's latest display of adorably bratty remarks and uncanny athletic prowess, already demonstrating that he'll grow up to be just as much of a bloviating, self-satisfied crotch tugger as his daddy.

I Like to Watch

Heather Havrilesky — Sun, 30 Sep 2007 06:00:00 PDT

Sally Field is right that mothers really should rule the world. Mothers, as we all know, feel more empathy than other human beings. We love more completely. We're overflowing with compassion and understanding.

TV Daily

Fri, 28 Sep 2007 03:00:00 PDT

Weekend Pick

Photo: Showtime

So many dramas, too little DVR space

Heather Havrilesky — Mon, 21 Aug 2006 05:00:00 PDT

SHOW	STARS	PREMISE	SEE ALSO	WHY WATCH	WHY SKIP IT
ABC's "Daybreak"	Taye Diggs	Our hero is framed for murder, has to repeat the same day over and over until he can figure out how to clear his name.	Lost in time!	"Groundhog Day" meets "The Fugitive." Diggs has a nice torso.	Repetitive. Only Bill Murray can make us want to repeat the same day again and again.
CW's "Runaway"	Donnie Wahlberg, Leslie Hope	Our hero is framed for murder, has to take his family and run from the law until he can figure out how to clear his name.	Lost in America!	"One Tree Hill" meets "The Fugitive." Donnie Wahlberg's brother Mark used to have a nice torso.	Running from the law is exhausting. Plus, if they keep skipping towns, how will the teenagers ever fall in love or join the cheerleading squad?
Fox's "Vanished"	Gale Harold, Ming-Na, John Allen Nelson, Rebecca Gayheart	The wife of a politician is kidnapped, and a devil-may-care FBI agent is determined to get her back.	Lost my wife!	Conspiracies abound, plus lots of twists and tricks pump up the suspense.	Between a possibly shady politician and a possibly cheating wife, it's tough to care about anyone here.
NBC's "Kidnapped"	Jeremy Sisto, Dana Delany, Timothy Hutton	The son of a rich man is kidnapped, and a professional renegade is hired to get him back.	Lost my kid!	A professional renegade is always fun, particularly when it's Billy from "Six Feet Under."	How many crime-based serial dramas are we supposed to watch this season, anyway?
ABC's "The Nine"	Scott Wolf, Kim Raver, Tim Daly	Hostages of a bank robbery are bonded by their shared experience.	Lost in post-traumatic stress syndrome!	We're left uncertain what happened during the robbery, want to find out. Also, this premise might just hold our attention.	"Lost" does the flashback-based drama proud. Can anyone else really compare?
CBS's "Smith"	Ray Liotta, Virginia Madsen, Amy Smart, Shoreh Aghdashloo	A gaggle of criminal masterminds collaborate on sophisticated heists.	Will they pull off the big score?	Like AMC's "Hustle," except you can understand what people are saying.	More heisty criminal masterminds in action? Really?
NBC'S "Heroes"	Milo Ventimiglia, Leonard Roberts	Assorted freaks discover their true calling as superheroes.	It's not easy to be-hee meeee!	If you love "The X-Men" you might like it.	Melodramatic. If you think "The X-Men" is overrated, you'll hate it.
Fox's "Justice"	Victor Garber, Kerr Smith	Law office takes on high-profile, media-heavy court cases.	Bruckheimer takes on the law!	All of the dizzying camera work and flashy effects of "CSI" focused on splashy, O.J.-like cases. If you love "CSI" you'll like it.	Too fast-paced and melodramatic; tons of pointless CGI tricks. If you hate "CSI" you'll hate it.
ABC's "Six Degrees"	Erika Christensen, Bridget Moynahan, Dorian Missick	Six strangers, linked by fate, picked to... do something, we're not sure what.	Will we find out which one of them was in a film with Kevin Bacon soon?	Unique premise, but how will they keep things interesting?	A character-driven drama in which the characters aren't all that compelling.
NBC's "Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip"	Matthew Perry, Bradley Whitford, Amanda Peet, Steven Weber	Aaron Sorkin revisits "Sports Night," except this time it's about a comedy show and there's a bigger cast.	"The West Wing" of West Hollywood!	If you love Sorkin, you'll love this show; Perry and Whitford are great at pulling off Sorkin's dialogue.	Same old walking-and-talking routine. A few of the actors are not so great at making Sorkin's dialogue believable.
CBS's "Jericho"	Skeet Ulrich, Gerald McRaney, Pamela Reed	America is attacked by nuclear bombs, and the people of Jericho, Kansas, have to work together to stay alive.	Lost in Kansas!	Nuclear bombs in the distance! Eerie last calls from dead parents in the big city! Bonus: The mayor is Hearst from "Deadwood"!	What's not to love? It's like watching those scenes on "24" where everyone starts panicking, but with a little "Everwood" thrown in.
ABC's "Men in Trees"	Anne Heche, John Amos	A relationship advice expert's life and livelihood fall apart when she discovers her fiancé is cheating, so she decides to move to Alaska.	Sex in... a very small town in Alaska!	"Northern Exposure" meets "Sex and the City." Charming, quirky, sweet little storylines by SATC writer Jenny Bicks.	Can Anne Heche really compete with John Corbett as the small-town Alaska radio personality?
CBS's "Shark"	James Woods, Jeri Ryan	Sleazy, high-priced defense attorney gets a conscience, takes a job prosecuting crimes in the district attorney's office.	Idealistic yet brutal lawyer learns important life lessons!	Replacing the usual sanctimonious lawyers with a ruthless hard-ass played by James Woods? Sounds good to me.	Will every single episode end with a teary courtroom confession?
Fox's "Standoff"	Ron Livingston, Rosemarie DeWitt	FBI negotiators... in love!	Idealistic yet brutal negotiators learn important love lessons!	Livingston and DeWitt will hold your attention; kind of like "Moonlighting" with higher stakes.	How many times can we see the nutty guy hold a gun to some poor kid's head while the SWAT team moves in?
ABC's "Brothers & Sisters"	Rachel Griffiths, Calista Flockhart, Sally Field, Balthazar Getty	Large family sorts out its many issues.	Daddy never understood me!	Rachel Griffiths	Calista Flockhart
NBC's "Friday Night Lights"	Kyle Chandler, Connie Britton	New high school football coach is under major pressure to take his kids to the championship.	Don't mess with football in Texas!	Original, well-produced, smartly written. Combine suspenseful games, great music, and almost Altman-like realism, and you've got a shinier, more compelling "OC."	If you hate football, Texans, Christian rhetoric and hot teenagers, this show probably isn't for you.
Showtime's "Dexter"	Michael C. Hall	Ultra-creepy forensics expert murders people who've committed crimes and gotten away with it.	What's he going to do with that hand saw?	Extremely original: It's as if David of "Six Feet Under" went nuts and turned into that creepy guy who tortured him.	A hero who delights in torturing and murdering people? Thrillingly perverse, but who has the stomach for it?