Liars and Saints

 The extraordinary career of Jason Katims, which began in the "So-Called Life" era, has to do with small towns. In "My So-Called Life," the town takes the form of a high school; everyone is in everyone's business. One's decision to dye one's hair has substantial sociological implications. A love triangle becomes the talk of the town. Boundaries are crossed; seismic shifts may occur when a "good kid" needs to tutor a "bad kid" in math. Katims went on to "Friday Night Lights," the feather in his cap. Here, the "town," another high school, is the setting for anything and everything: extramarital flirtation, economic warfare, racial awkwardness, abortion fighting, theft, mental illness, drugs, power struggles. Essentially decent people make mistakes, and attempt cover-ups, and the farcical lying is always worse than the actual "crime." So "Parenthood" is a reasonable variation on a theme. It's h...

 My husband and I like to make fun of the TV adaptation of "Parenthood"--the difficult conversations, the swelling melodies, the weird mustache that someone selected for Jason Ritter. (If, anywhere on Earth, there is a "good" mustache, it's not the one that Jason Ritter is wearing.) Still, I think "Parenthood" is a fine showcase for (the writer) Jason Katims's special talent, and mainly I think this because the scripts center on a functional marriage. Katims made his name by looking at a sturdy pairing--the bond between Coach Taylor and Tami Taylor, in "Friday Night Lights"--and the "Taylor" scenes were so electrifying, they inspired at least one lengthy essay in the NY Review of Books. In "Parenthood," Katims basically takes the Taylors and gives them new names--Adam and Kristina Braverman. Often, TV dramas have a hard time with marriage. Benson, on SVU, is perpetually single; Dick Wolf seems to think that a romantic ...

 This is a rave for "As We See It," the new Amazon drama. Jason Katims is a major TV power-player--he seems to be in the ranks of Dick Wolf, or the Kings, or close by--and he now has three big triumphs ("Friday Night Lights," "Parenthood," "As We See It"). The Katims "formula" can become wearying. Major characters will gather in the season finale at a graduation, competitive event, or awards ceremony--and plotlines will intersect. At some point, the hero will receive an offer for a prestigious out-of-town job--and the offer will get rejected, because "ambition isn't everything." (I tend to dislike this plotline!) Secrets and lies and rumors will spread--and well-intentioned adults will struggle with privileged information, and sometimes innocent people will shoulder the burdens of injustice (as in actual life). "As We See It" is a weak title, but I understand what Katims wants to do: He wants us to grasp that his...