"Justified" recap: As the Crowe lies...

Spoilers for this week's episode of "Justified" below. Don't click through if you don't want to know.

"Justifed" recap: Not without my baby!

Of the three episodes I've seen in advance, this week's "The Life Inside," might have been my least favorite, which is why this post is so late (and will be so short). Still, I did enjoy it, and will offer a few bullet point observations after the jump.

"Friday Night Lights" series finale recap: "Always"

Though I haven't written much (OK, at ALL) about "Friday Night Lights's" run on DirecTV this year, I'd be remiss if I didn't offer a few words on the show's series finale, which ran Wednesday night on the provider's 101 network. Spoilers ahead.

"Justified" recap: The Harlan Code

Spoilers for tonight's episode of "Justified" below. Don't click through if you don't want to know.

'Mr. Sunshine' a bit brighter than it used to be

When I saw the original pilot for ABC's sitcom "Mr. Sunshine" back in the summer, I was deeply mixed on it.

'Justified' returns -- and damn, it's good

As far as I'm concerned, FX's "Justified" was one of the TV highlights of last year. A well-acted, tightly written, witty drama about a deputy U.S. Marshal in Kentucky who battles criminals and his personal demons, the show was something you rarely see this days: a truly adult drama, light on gimmicks and heavy on sharp dialogue and interesting characters. The series returns Wednesday at 10 p.m. and fans will be happy to hear that it's better than ever.

A brief review of "The Chicago Code"

Some months back, I wrote a "Not For Review" piece on a mid-season series called "Ride-Along." It was a cop drama from Shawn Ryan, mastermind of the great FX series "The Shield," and I really loved the pilot. Well, they say don't fix what ain't broken, but, since then the show has been re-named "The Chicago Code," and the pilot episode has been revised. The series premieres tonight at 9 on Fox and, though I didn't feel it needed changing, none of the changes destroy what I loved about the show in the first place.
It tells the story of prickly, but decent, Chicago cop Jarek Wysocki (Jason Clarke), who regularly alienates his partners, engages in quasi-reckless behavior, but fiercely loves the city he has sworn to protect. One of the few ex-partners who doesn't bear a grudge against him is Teresa Colvin (Jennifer Beals), who happens to be the city's new police superintendent. She's quietly raging a battle against a corrupt alderman, play by Delroy Lindo, and also trying to clean up her department. Into all this walks Wysocki's new partner, Caleb (played by "Friday Night Lights'" Matt Lauria), an ambitious sort who sees his partnership with the volatile Wysocki as a learning experience, not a burden.
As you might expect from Shawn Ryan, it's a muscular, somewhat dark drama with lots of strong performances. As much as I liked the original pilot, I actually prefer the one you'll see tonight, as it makes Lindo's character more of a complex anti-hero than the slightly cartoonish villain he was before. At any rate, it's a smart, entertaining drama, and I encourage you to check it out.