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.

"Body of Proof" will bring at least one more strong female lead to network television, bringing the sum total to approximately two. Too bad they will compete head-to-head in the same time-slot; good thing we have DVRs. "We need to have more smart women characters on television," says Dana Delany as she prepares to play medical examiner Megan Hunt in ABC's new drama, "Body of Evidence." As plots unfold on the new show, Dr. Megan Hunt's brilliance never will become an issue"”if anything she sometimes is too smart for her own good; but her compassion and human kindness frequently will be in doubt. Dr. Hunt brings a few issues to the autopsy room: Five years ago, she lost everything in the wake of a serious car accident"”her marriage, custody of her daughter,; and, most importantly, her extremely successful practice as a neurosurgeon. Promos for "Body of Evidence" are slick, stylish, sexy, and sassy. Ms. Delany looks seductively into the camera, promising, "Don't believe everything you've heard. The truth is much worse." Adding even more spice and power, Jeri Ryan ends her peripatetic travels across the dial, settling down to play Dr. Kate Murphy, the medical examiner. Set for debut on March 29, 2011, "Body of Evidence" promises to become a Tuesday ten o'clock favourite.

Olivia Pope has dedicated her life to keeping public figures scandal free but that's a difficult task when some of them have another agenda. Kerry Washington from The Last King of Scotland and Ray, plays Olivia Pope, a woman on a mission with plenty to work on as she is a crisis management expert with recurring crisis situations going on around her continually. Loosely based on Judy Smith who was President George H.W. Bush's administrative press aide, this TV series attempts to show how chaotic life in the political arena can be. Also starring in Scandal are Henry Ian Cusick (After The Rain, Lost) as Stephen Finch, a womanizer attempting to "turn over a new leaf". Tony Goldwyn (Without A Trace, The Mechanic) plays President Fitzgerald Grant, and Harrison Jones who is played by Columbus Short from Cadillac Records, Stomp the Yard). Created by Shonda Rhimes who is behind Grey's Anatomy and Private Practice, Scandal gives an interesting peek into backroom politics.

One critic characterized "Breaking Bad's" dark humor as "Thelma and Louise as seen by Dostoyevsky" and that was one of the perkier, more optimistic descriptions. A seven-part AMC series, "Breaking Bad" TV show tells the story of Walt White, high school chemistry teacher turned methamphetamine cooker and dealer. Of course, as Glenn Frye crooned, "The lure of easy money has a very strong appeal," but "Breaking Bad" does not allow for even a split-second of sunshine through the abysmal darkness. In this corner of the universe, crime never-ever pays. Walt, expertly portrayed by Bryan Cranston of "Malcolm in the Middle" fame, is neck-deep in problems, complications, and flat-out ugliness from the minute he lights the Bunsen burner. Although the writers have woven-in some amazingly ironic lines, known in the trade as "comic relief," the characters deliberately deliver their quips in such a super-slow, slack-jawed drawl they seem more tragic than funny. Of course, "Breaking Bad" TV series make some pretense toward allegory of the American middle class struggling through the throes of deep recession, and it scores some hard hits. Most of all, though, "Breaking Bad" shows that even when fine writers, directors, and actors can find humor and pathos in displaced white-collar workers' undignified struggle for dignity, it still looks awfully damned dreary and ugly.

For several years, "Law and Order: SVU TV show" has reigned as the most popular title in the "Law and Order" franchise. As the opening intones, In New York's war on crime, sexually-based offenses are considered especially heinous.," and the Special Victims Unit works round the clock on the city's most gut-wrenching cases. "SVU" has held onto its legions of loyal viewers by delivering hard-hitting, compelling and complicated plots week after week. Over the years, the characters have evolved, but the core cast has remained constant. The consistency and continuity undoubtedly contribute to viewers' dedication to Detectives Elliott Stabler (Christopher Meloni) and Olivia Benson (Mariska Hargitay). "Law and Order: SVU TV show" also attracts high-powered stars for special appearances in every episode, and it challenges the guests to step well outside their comfort zones, demanding they play parts radically different from roles that made them famous. In recent years, Julie Bowen and Luke Perry co-starred in an episode that told the story of a woman who unwittingly married the man who raped her. Cynthia Nixon of "Sex and the City" fame played a woman with multiple personality disorder; and superstar Sharon Stone has done a stint as Deputy District Attorney. "SVU's" combination of an exceptionally strong core cast plus great guest stars plus intriguing, engaging, labyrinthine plots often "ripped from the headlines" takes viewers on a weekly thrill ride, keeping it riding high in the ratings.

"The Handmaid's Tale" is a TV series based on a novel of the same name by Margaret Atwood. It takes place in a dystopian society called Gilead, where a fundamentalist Christian group has overthrown the US government and created a new society based on strict religious laws. Women are treated as property, and many are forced to become "handmaids," whose sole purpose is to bear children for wealthy families.