Wonderland on DirecTV
(Wednesday, Jan. 28, 2009)
In addition to Friday Night Lights, DirecTV rescues another beloved-by-the-fans baby of writer/director Peter Berg's: 2000's Wonderland. We forgive you if you don't remember the former Thursday night ABC series; because unlike Lights, which has (so far) averted cancellation, Wonderland only lived to see two of its episodes aired. Well … until now. DirecTV's the 101 Network has swooped in and agreed to air all eight episodes — yes, that means six eps are boob-tube virgins! — of the unsettling, sometimes horrifying drama that depicted day-to-day life in a mental institution. It delivered the perspective of both the patients (like Jay O. Sanders, a suicidal fella) and the doctors (like Ted Levine, head of the ward). Plus, the wife of the head of the ward, who's fighting for custody of their sons, well-played by Patricia Clarkson. Despite disturbing behavior such as a patient harming a pregnant doctor, what leaves us wincing is how unlikable the doctors are.
YESTERDAY'S DO-IT: It's the year of the Boss!