'Centre St.' earns a favorable verdict
"100 Centre St.," the intelligent and emotionally honest series about the lawyers and judges of New York's rough-and-tumble night court, returns for a second season at 8 tonight on A&E. Alan Arkin and LaTanya Richardson star in the series directed by the legendary Sidney Lumet. Lumet honed his craft doing live TV dramas in the 1950s before going to Hollywood to direct "Dog Day Afternoon," "The Verdict" and the greatest movie-about-television of all time, "Network." "100 Centre St." was originally pitched to NBC, which turned it down, probably because Lumet refuses to make his characters gallop at the manic pace dictated by network shows like "The Practice" and "Ally McBeal." Also, the characters don't shout at one another as they do on the networks. Lumet's people talk - and talk and talk - in conversations that have a natural sound and rhythm to them. That may have something to do with the way Lumet shoots each scene. He uses three high-def cameras working in tandem, as opposed to the usual single-camera method that forces actors to recite the same lines over and over, disrupting the flow of conversation. It's great to see a long-overlooked actor like Arkin step into the role of Joe Rifkind, a night court judge accused by his enemies of giving out lenient sentences. But Richardson is even better as an African-American judge who is tough on crime, yet warm and understanding toward her old friend Rifkind. This season two more appealing characters join "100 Centre St.": Bobby Cannavale as J.J., a fast-talking assistant D.A. so full of himself you can't help but like him; and Michole Briana White as Fatima, a luscious lawyer - and devout Catholic - swept up in J.J.'s wake. Back in Action 1: "Ed" returns for a second season at 7 Wednesday on NBC (Channel 41). Early on, Nancy (Jana Marie Hupp), who has just quit her job, announces that she is finally going to get around to reading A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius. Perfect: A quirky book for a quirky TV show. "Ed" will be followed at 8 by the "real" season premiere of "The West Wing." Back in Action 2: "Roswell," the show about teen-age space aliens, mysteriously vanished from the WB schedule this summer - only to reappear on another network. Its third season begins at 8 p.m. Tuesday on UPN (Channel 29), following "Buffy the Vampire Slayer." Local treasure "Rare Visions and Roadside Revelations" embarks on its fifth season of exploring chain link sculptures, gingerbread houses, big balls of twine, questionable medical devices and assorted folk-art creations. It airs at 7:30 p.m. Thursdays on KCPT, Channel 19, through Nov. 8. To reach Aaron Barnhart, phone (816) 234-4790 or visit the TV Barn Web site at www.tvbarn.com. @ART CAPTION:Alan Arkin @ART:Photo (color)
