I had tonsillitis last week. Not pretty. Severe pain, high fever, and hallucinations. I thought I saw a Mexican-American elected president of the United States. A woman was named anchor of the CBS Evening News. The images and names of Tom Cruise and Katie Homes officially banished from the pages of every entertainment magazine and talk show on the face of the Earth. Sadly, the real hallucination was the last; if you don’t count the twinkly, angel-like entity that came to me as I lay in bed whining, wondering when the tonsil growing out of my neck was going to explode. Which is all a long-winded way of saying I don’t remember much of what I watched on TV last week, though I do know one thing: I hate it when two series with suspiciously similar titles and premises come on the air at the same time. How do you keep them apart, particularly in an altered mental state? I thought that would be the case with the premiere of Heist (NBC) and Thief (FX). Thankfully, the confusion was cleared when I watched both. The bottom line, Thief is better. Heist‘s Steve Harris (The Practice) might be great, but Andre Braugher (Homicide: Life on the Streets) is fine. Joining Braugher are Yancey Arias (Kingpin, American Family) with Clifton Collins Jr. and Malik Yoba as the four members of a band of thieves who use cunning, trust, and skill to work the big jobs. Besides the strong performances (the chemistry among the four men is white hot), the scripts are just better. While Heist is working its way up to a big job in Beverly Hills, Thief goes from job to job. There is one hitch: The job that launches Thief made an Asian mob boss angry, and now he seeks revenge. Furthermore, Nick Atwater’s (Braugher) life is complicated by the death of his wife, who leaves a resentful stepdaughter (the fabulous Mae Whitman, Arrested Development) to forge an already prickly relationship with Atwater, while he tries to keep his covert work together in the face of sudden personnel changes.
Set in New Orleans, scenes of the still devastated city serve as a hardworking metaphor for a damaged life built on lies. Going straight is bandied about from time to time, as is carrying around guilty consciences and seeking redemption. But it is the well-tempered mix of the covert work with the raw nerve endings of the public life, along with the previously mentioned performances, that grip by the throat.
Heist airs on Wednesdays at 8pm on NBC. New episodes of Thief air Tuesdays at 9pm on FX. Check local listings for additional air times.
Watch This!
Season two of the critically acclaimed, locally produced TV series Downtown premieres this week. By the time you read this, the snappy public premiere party will have taken place. I’ll be sure to fill you in on the festivities in next week’s “TV Eye.” In the meantime, here’s a glimpse at the first three episodes of the new season:
April 13, “Urban Density – Lesson #2”: First Night Austin’s first night; “Uneasy Riders”: Austin’s intrepid bike messengers (Austin has bike messengers?).
April 20, “Downtown Dancing”: ballroom, salsa, line, two-step and more (like a BMX Bike Ballet, or pas de deux in the dirt at Duncan Park – go on a beat ride with an Austin bike cop); Art From the Streets, a creative outlet for the homeless.
April 27, “Our Collective Souls”: Explore the “soul of the city,” Barton Springs. Experience Mexic-Arte’s Dia de los Muertos Parade. Find out what your trash and treasures say about you.
Downtown airs Thursdays at 7:30pm with additional show times on subsequent Fridays and Wednesdays on PBS. Check local listings.
This article appears in April 14 • 2006.