SERIES PREMIERE: This 10-episode drama series comes from Alan Ball, of both American Beauty and True Blood fame, but despite an exciting cast, Here and Now starts off a lot less enjoyable than either of those. Tim Robbins stars as Greg Boatwright, an academic and once-acclaimed author going through all the motions of a midlife crisis – but at the overdue age of 60. His wife, played by Holly Hunter, is an undiluted, undeterred liberal, and they have combined to raise a family, mostly through adoption, that is almost aggressively multiracial and multicultural. But there’s very little fun, insight or even credibility here, and the underlying mystery about the meaning of a numerical message or code doesn’t add up to much – not even in code. Robbins and Hunter are two of my favorite actors, and most of Ball’s work has pleased me greatly, but Here and Now isn’t even that entertaining here and there. But the sex scene with one of the couple’s children losing her virginity while wearing a horse-head mask – well, that’s a first, for sure. For full reviews, see Ed Bark's Uncle Barky's Bytes and David Hinckley's All Along the Watchtower.

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