"Cracker" is back-er, "Hack" does "House," two gems from HBO and hide the kids, it's sweeps month!
All times Central.
MONDAY
It has been 11 years since Jimmy McGovern wrote an episode of “Cracker,” the wry psychological crime drama that made Robbie Coltrane a favorite on both sides of the pond (and led to an unfortunate ABC knockoff in 1996). McGovern has remained busy with other shows, but it's clear from the two-hour “Cracker” movie (9 p.m. on BBC America) that he still finds his defective detective Eddie Fitzgerald (Coltrane) a wicked bit of clay to work with. Back from Australian exile to his old stomping grounds of Manchester, Fitz finds himself in a gripping intrigue involving murder, PTSD and the long arm of “the troubles” by way of 9/11. He seems to lurk in the shadows most of the film, jumping out at times to remind all he's the smartest bloke in the room. Then again, that's what he is, and he's the one who brings it home in style. (For you fans of the UK's other TV crime-solver, the next and last “Prime Suspect” is in November.)
Another writer worth watching is Jim McKay, whose last project for HBO was “Everyday People,” set at a Brooklyn diner. “Angel Rodriguez” is even more a slice of life: one tiny, volatile slice. Rachel Griffiths stars as a social worker and newcomer Jonan Everett plays Angel, a teenager with a talent for computers and for blowing every chance given to him. The drama isn't force-fed, but in its quiet, unhurried way “Angel Rodriguez” makes a point about the limits of intervention, even for those we care about. It's at 8 p.m. on HBO, reairing at 7 p.m. Wednesday on HBO2.
Finally, an extra helping for those with TiVo: “Friday Night Lights,” the show critics have discovered but viewers haven't, gets a lift from NBC when it airs in the “Studio 60” time period for one week only, at 9 p.m. on KSHB (Channel 41).
TUESDAY
Well, after all that (and we haven't even mentioned the next episode of “The Wire,” which goes up on HBO On Demand Mondays), you're going to be playing catch-up on Tuesday. But don't miss the start of a six-week story arc on “House” at its new time period of 8 p.m. on Fox 4. It features David Morse (he was “Hack”) as a patient who's got something up his you-know-what, literally, courtesy of Dr. You-Know-Who.
THURSDAY
This is the night the first big Nielsen ratings blitz begins. In what is no doubt my futile effort to offset a month's worth of shrieking promotional excess, may I recommend “Iconoclasts,” the engaging Sundance Channel series that pairs celebrities from different fields in a mutual-admiration format. Think of C-SPAN's “AfterWords,” only with production values. At 8 p.m. on Sundance (digital cable), Alice Waters, organic foodie goddess and proprietor of Chez Panisse in Berkeley, chats with and visits the New York artspace of her old friend, dancer Mikhail Baryshnikov. Upcoming pairings include actress Isabella Rossellini and Segway wonk Dean Kamen (Nov. 16) and Dave Chappelle with Maya Angelou (Nov. 30).
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