Every era has their Hollywood good guys and their Hollywood bad guys. Back in the early days we had Nazis to pit against our heroes. When they didn't quite fit the bill, we had the Japanese. For much of the Cold War, we had great Russian villains to test the mettle of our heroes. Terrorists fit the bill a lot today, but perhaps the only group hated by large segments of American audiences more are the 1%ers. Anyone who makes an obscene amount of money must have cheated to get there. It doesn't hurt that financial power companies have been immersed in the last couple of economic disasters. Michael Douglas taught us that greed is good, and while every single one of us wants to be at the top, it's not quite the politically correct thing to express... at least out loud. Billions gives us the kind of power broker who is just too much fun to hate. It's the classic struggle of good guys versus bad guys. Of white hats versus black hats. But nothing is that simple in Billions, and if you haven't yet spent some time with the likes of Paul Giamatti and Damian Lewis as Chuck Rhoades and Bobby "Axe" Axelrod  you're missing one of the more compelling dramas on television right now. Get yourself caught up and join us for Billions: The Complete Fourth Season out now on DVD from CBS Home Entertainment.

Meet Chuck Rhoades, played brilliantly by Paul Giamatti. When we first met Chuck, he was the US Attorney for the southern district of New York State. In that position he loved to take down the arrogant, rich power brokers who scoffed at the laws and made their fortunes any way they could. His white whale has been Bobby Axelrod, played by Damien Lewis. He runs one of the most powerful firms in the world and makes deals of hundreds of millions of dollars like he was ordering a Whopper from Burger King. For the first three years of the series we watched this cat-and-mouse game unfold. The obsession of these two men toward hurting each other drove the drama. Stuck in the middle of all of this contempt has been Chuck's wife, Wendy, played by Sons Of Anarchy veteran Maggie Siff. She's a therapist who complicates the whole thing, because she works for Axelrod as his sales team inspirational coach and his own father confessor. She's known Axelrod longer than her husband, and she's being forced into the middle of this brewing confrontation. I have to say, I never liked Siff in Sons Of Anarchy. I always thought she was a weak character. This time I found she provides a crucial voice here that allows the show to move so effortlessly between these two worlds. This is the kind of role I wish I had seen in Sons. It's been rather delightful watching these two powerhouses fight until it nearly destroyed them both. But now things are different.

The setting for Gunsmoke was the by-now-famous Dodge City, circa 1870’s. Phrases like “get out of Dodge” would enter the popular lexicon as a result of this resilient series. Marshall Dillon (Arness) was charged with keeping the peace in Dodge City. The only other character to see the entire 20-year run was kindly Doc Adams (Stone). Star Trek’s own Doc, Leonard McCoy, took many of his traits from Doc Adams. He was the humanitarian of the city, always looking to help someone. Like McCoy, he had a taste for bourbon and a soft heart underneath a rather gruff exterior and was always ready with free advice. Dillon’s love interest throughout most of the series was Miss Kitty Russell (Blake). While there were certainly a few romantic undercurrents, the romance never came to fruition. Miss Kitty was a prostitute on the radio and was likely one here as well, but CBS chose to underplay that aspect of her character as a “saloon girl”. Finally Dillon’s faithful sidekick deputy was Chester (Weaver). Chester often found himself in trouble and was the naïve son figure to Dillon.

Gunsmoke is the longest-running scripted live-action television show in history. The series ran from 1955 to 1975. At first it was a half-hour black-and-white show that evolved into a color hour by 1967. It actually started before the days of television, premiering on radio in 1952. Then it was William Conrad as the tough-as-nails Marshall Matt Dillon. When television came into its own, Gunsmoke made the jump to the bright living room box and made history. Westerns would ride across our small square screens for the next three decades, making it the most successful genre of that time, and it was Gunsmoke that started it all. The television version of Gunsmoke was originally conceived as a vehicle for John Wayne, who opted to remain in movies. Yet it was Wayne himself who suggested James Arness, and it turned out to be a career for the one-time “carrot” monster from The Thing. Gunsmoke started before all of the big westerns and was around when most of them had departed.

"It's what I do."

What David Boreanaz does is create iconic television characters. He has had no trouble getting work over the years. He has had the ability to jump from one successful series to another and enjoy longevity in those roles. Unlike many actors who have had big television roles, he doesn't get at all pigeonholed or typecast. In Buffy The Vampire Slayer he originated the role of the vampire Angel, who spun off to his own series for several years. Immediately after that he took on the role of an FBI agent and partner to the title character on Bones. That job lasted a decade. Before the remains of Bones could be laid to rest, he was already working on his next new series. Now he's the field leader of a Navy Seal team, and if the first season of Navy Seals is any indication, he's going to be dodging bullets and RPG's for the foreseeable future. CBS has a big tradition of long-running shows, and I wouldn't be surprised if a decade from now I'm talking to you about the 10th season of Navy Seals.

The Good Fight just keeps getting better with every new season. It has become one of my guilty pleasure shows. Though it does tend to take quite a few jabs at our president and likes to emphasize alleged depravity, beyond that is a show that is very relevant to today’s society, and this season is no different as the show hits the ground running in the first episode with a storyline that has long reaching effects on the firm, as well as a member of the main cast. This storyline is obviously a reality-based storyline used for the purposes of highlighting the MeToo movement, as well as addressing implications this movement has had on certain celebrities’ images, particularly Bill Cosby’s fall from grace. I believe the proper term for this is “ripped from the headlines.”

After appearing to have found their footing, the firm of Reddick, Bosemon, & Lockhart find themselves facing an image problem when during a documentary honoring founding member and civil rights legend, Carl Reddick sexually assaulted multiple women within the firm and several women not affiliated with the firm. Obviously, this comes as a shock to the firm, but no one is more shocked than his daughter, who is also a partner at the firm. With this storyline, Season 3 had me hooked from the very first episode, mainly for the affects that this revelation has on Audra McDonald’s character. Best I can tell, this was the first emotional story arc the character has undertaken in the series, and she handled it beautifully in my opinion. It also provided another side to how this crime of incident affects all parties involved. We are used to seeing how it affects the victims, but this season showed that the children of the perpetrator are also victims, as Liz’s perception of her father is forever changed, and she is forced to make an impossible decision about how to address her father’s actions.

When it comes to shows that simply sneak up on you and manage to suck you in, This Is Us would be a show I never saw coming nor expected to simply fall in love with.  As a show that is on network television it stands toe to toe with the best that cable has to offer. But what is most surprising is that what sets this show apart from the rest of the pack isn’t a complex antihero or dragons; instead, it is as simple as being a show that feels as real as anything I’ve seen on television in some time.  As the title would suggest This Is Us is simply about a family and the struggles and successes that come day to day, though as many of you can understand and relate, there is nothing simple about life and the constant hurdles that are thrown at us on a day-to-day basis.  I was hesitant when I first began the series, but I was quickly moved by its characters and their stories.  I was impressed by the first two seasons, and I’ve wondered if it can maintain its level of quality moving into a third season level.  After another 18 episodes and plenty of tears, I was a little let down by the first part of the season, but it came together in the end, delivering some of the best moments in the shows run to date.

Dan Fogelman (Crazy, Stupid, Love) has created a show about the Pearsons, Jack (Milo Ventimiglia) and Rebecca (Mandy Moore) as they go about their journey raising their three kids who all happen to share the same birthday with their father. This season we start off with the siblings turning 38. There is Kate (Chrissy Metz) who is continuing to follow her interest in singing as well as enjoying the newly married life with Toby (Chris Sullivan), Kevin (Justin Hartley) who is on his way to becoming a respected actor after the success of his new film, and then we have Randall (Sterling K. Brown) who seems to finally have a handle on his life and family.  Everything seems to be going well for the Pearsons, but of course, that is all going to change.