One of two intense medical dramas NBC introduced in the fall of 2009, "Mercy" had all the advantages its one-named rival "Trauma" did not. First, it had talent behind the scenes. Liz Heldens from "Friday Night Lights" created the show and led the writers, proving once again that the best way to dramatize the real world is to show it realistically"”ugliness and all. Second, it had attitude and guts to stay true to its revolutionary premise, the well-informed notion "that nurses remain [not only] more generous caregivers, but that they are more intuitively apt, smarter, more committed and as technically able as their [physician] superiors, with none of the accompanying arrogance." In a winner-take-all ER smackdown, you always would go all-in with the Mercy Hospital nurses. The main character, nurse Veronica Flanagan Callahan, has just returned from a tour in Iraq, where she clearly learned more in each day than the pompous, presumptuous doctors learned in all five years of medical school. Of course, Veronica gets neither the respect nor the reward she deserves, but "Mercy" dangles the possibility of true love as just recompense for Veronica's skill and compassion. Taylor Schilling plays Veronica with exactly the right balance of toughness and vulnerability, skillfully juxtaposing her consummate skill as a nurse with her intrepid ingenuousness in matters of the heart. If only "Mercy" had survived into a second season, all the tangled threads in the story might have come to their proper denouement. If only.

Take a set of twin sisters who've been at odds for many years. Add in the fact that one of them suddenly disappears. And then show that one of them is full of mystery and intrigue, and on the run from some mysterious mob. Here we have Siobhan and Bridget. Two sisters who have been living apart and out of touch for the past eight years, with one taking a road that winds up leading her onto a path that is unsafe and definitely different from the norm that her twin has followed. When the two sisters take a boat trip Siobhan suddenly disappears overboard. Now Siobhan discovers her twin Bridgit has been leading a double life and hers will never again be the same. Siobhan is attacked by some evil men who evidently are part of the mob when she stays in her sister, Bridgit's house. So did one of the twins really die or simply disappear to avoid the mob? Sarah Michelle Geller (Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Scooby-Doo) stars as both twins and she has her hands full when she discovers her twin was leading a life full of mystery and fear. Nestor Carbonell (Smokin' Aces, The Dark Knight) is FBI agent Victor Machado who finds his job of keeping Bridget safe a dangerous one. Action packed with top quality writing and actors.

4 Blocks is a German TV series that follows the story of a Lebanese family living in Berlin. The show premiered in 2017 and ran for three seasons, ending in 2019. It revolves around Ali "Toni" Hamady, who attempts to leave his criminal past behind and start a legitimate business, but his efforts are hindered by his brother's recklessness and a rival gang's thirst for power.

Those familiar with Law & Order will appreciate the concept of approaching legal cases from more than one perspective. In The Whole Truth we see each case from both the prosecution and the defense angles so have an opportunity to decide whether a defendant is guilty or innocent judging by the evidence presented to us and to a judge and jury. One memorable episode includes the addition of Judd Hirsch (Taxi) to the cast as a beloved judge who has been charged in a murder. Seems he approved a wiretap on a dangerous drug lord before it turned into a far larger problem involving federal charges. Rob Morrow (Numb3rs, Northern Exposure) portrays Jimmy Brogan is the prosecuting attorney for the state of New York (actually the filming was done in Los Angeles, California) and Maura Tierney (ER) is Kathryn Peale a strong advocate of personal and legal rights for her clients. The two attorneys are on opposite sides of the courtroom in each episode and we must decide who we think has the upper edge or who puts on the best case for their clients, then we see the results in the finale.

Empire is a television series that first aired in 2015 and ran for six seasons. The show centers around the Lyon family, who run a successful music company called Empire Entertainment. The patriarch, Lucious Lyon, is a former drug dealer turned music mogul who is diagnosed with a terminal illness at the beginning of the series. As he struggles to choose which of his three sons will inherit his business, tensions rise and family secrets are revealed.

"Spartacus: Gods of the Arena" - different gladiator, same sex and violence. Starz' deliciously decadent"”salacious, violent, often flat-out brutal"”"Spartacus: Blood and Sand" recently went on extended hiatus, leaving its legions of loyal fans "jonesing" for their weekly doses of decapitation and bare breasts. The Spartacus team satisfied fans' craving with "Spartacus: Gods of the Arena," a six-episode prequel to the continuing saga of Batiatus and Associates. Starting with a flashback montage of "Blood and Sand's" greatest hits, more precisely Batiatus's life flashing before his eyes in the moment before his death, "Spartacus: Gods of the Arena" shows Batiatus's rise to prominence and power with the assistance and support of his all-pro gladiator Gannicus. Because these stories represent "a more ruthless time"¦where honor was just finding its way into the arena," the writers and producers feel free to elaborate and experiment with their already-established characters, and they feel similar artistic license with super-slow-motion gore and fun-fantasy sex. They clearly are perfecting their craft. One particularly insightful viewer concluded his review of "Spartacus: Gods of the Arena" with a sage observation: "I think that's one of the smart decisions putting it on a Friday night since it's an ideal end of the work week thing to watch."