Blood Brothers
Politician, criminal: There's a difference?
Will the Caffee family of Providence ever achieve the mythic status of Jersey's Sopranos clan?
Probably not. Which shouldn't keep you from the darkly compelling world of Brotherhood (Sundays, 10 pm/ET). Showtime's morally ambiguous family saga (substituting thick Irish brogue for Italian swagger) is richly plotted and totally absorbing, one of summer TV's best surprises.
Shot distinctively on location, Brotherhood paints Providence as a cesspool of political chicanery and violent disorganized crime — each subculture embodied by a Caffee brother.
Tommy (Jason Clarke) is the good, responsible son, a family man and ambitious state representative, local hero to his decaying working-class neighborhood, "the Hill." He tries to maintain integrity in a backstabbing climate of ethically murky deal-making.
Older brother Michael (Jason Isaacs) has no such qualms. A charismatic criminal with a contempt for weakness, he returns to town after a seven-year absence, determined to reclaim his position of influence in the underworld.
"It's not about love," Tommy says of his volatile, complicated bond with Michael. As their paths inevitably collide, often under police scrutiny, the fallout embroils many vivid characters, including their brassy mom, Rose (Fionnula Flanagan), and Tommy's recklessly dissatisfied wife, Eileen (the excellent Annabeth Gish), who turns to extramarital sex and drugs to quell her depression.
Her boredom is not contagious. I've seen all 11 hours of Brotherhood, and I found myself hungry for 11 more.
King's Things
Welcome to Stephen King's personal twilight zone. The supernatural anthology lives on in Nightmares & Dreamscapes: From the Stories of Stephen King (Wednesdays, at 9 pm/ET, TNT), with eight tall tales airing back-to-back over four weeks. As always in this genre, the results are uneven, but King's spooky hooks are as simple and effective as the production is impressively elaborate.
The premiere story, "Battleground," airs commercial-free, allowing no breaks in the wordless cinematic carnage, as a hit man (William Hurt) is besieged by an army of toy soldiers, payback for his execution of the toy company's CEO. Grisly suspense, but little actual surprise.
The night's creepier yarn, "Crouch End," is an H.P. Lovecraft homage in which honeymooning Americans get lost in a London suburb, a gateway to a weird, unearthly dimension. Enter if you dare, or care.
