Lights Out

Sorry for the cliché. Yes, it's dark, and sure, it can be depressing. And for those approaching it with a video game mentality it's not exactly action-packed. But from a psychological standpoint, for insight into a man and a family cornered by bad luck and scummy people, this is some of the richest, truest material I've yet to see on the little screen.

Start - and really end - with Holt McCallany. As Patrick Leary this man gives one of the most layered, convincing performances I've ever had the pleasure to watch. Every gesture, every fleeting facial snapshot, exposes the hurt of a proud man who has to beg for a break, for things to work out just one more time. Watch him have to deal with his children, with his wife, and see the uncertainty of a hard man who hates what he's doing. Except that it's for them, and for himself, and the conflict eats him away like acid. I've never seen him in anything else, but I'd literally pay to watch McCallany as Lights Leary.

The supporting cast falls short. Catherine McCormack as his wife Theresa is a perpetual nervous breakdown in waiting. Her only emotion is quivering, moist-eyed brittleness. Stacy Keach has either lost his chops or, more likely, been hamstrung by his one-dimensional role as old-school hard ass. Reg Cathey as the Don King stand-in is such a leering caricature of cartoon villainy you can't take him seriously. Leary's brother Johnny - Pablo Schreiber - has the odd handicap of a face that seems stuck in a slightly goofy, what-me-worry expression that flattens most of his scenes. The one exception to this surrounding blandness, for me, is Eamonn Walker as the renegade trainer. As an oddball paranoid who's either been born or beaten out of round, he plays the role with an understated, slightly loony intensity that rings weird and true.

McCallany, not truly a physical heavyweight, has learned to spar and train convincingly. The buildup to his fights is slow, excruciating, and wracked with the fear and tension of real battle. The fight scenes grip, not for their verisimilitude but because of the psychological freight they pack.

But, oh - Holt McCallany. Whether you like family drama, boxing, or just studying the technique of a man immersed in character, he alone is worth the price of a ticket. You cannot afford to miss him in this.

I love this new show and I love Holt McCallany as an actor. He should have been cast in a lead way before this. I hope FX does not cancel this show. I will be watching this show every week. I can't wait to see more episodes. I like his wife Theresa too. I don't understand why major TV channels don't pick this show up. This is one of the best new shows on TV. I can't wait to see some fight scenes. This show is great. It's about time TV gets some exciting TV shows. I remember seeing Holt McCallany in a couple of Law and Order episodes and I thought he was a great actor then. I really hope FX renews this show next year because it stands out over the other new TV shows this year. I hope voting for it on this website helps keep it on TV. I am going to email FX too and tell them I really like this show.

I was told about this show by my cousin. It sounded good but my oh my I didn't expect it to be this good. You most likely already know the premise of the show so I won't spend time on that for now. But the writing is superb. Holt McCallany as the main character Patrick "Lights" Leary is a fine performance.

The beauty of this show is that it doesn't just focus on the boxing but on the boxer's personal life and the ins and outs of the murky world of professional boxing.

The makers of this show must have researched well since it feels like the real deal.

The scripting is excellent and unpredictable yet always believable.

My only one gripe with the show is that the boxers don't really look big enough to be heavyweights, they look more like middleweights.

I only sat down to watch one or two episodes but finished the entire season off in two nights after work, compelling stuff.

Looking forward to season two.

I started watching this show in a hotel room on a business trip to Dallas. I was instantly hooked. This show is about a man, a good man, and a great boxer, trying to keep his family together at all costs. The acting is first rate and the casting was spot on.

This show is also about boxing, as art. Boxing itself is a character in this show and the folks at FX do a great job of really making boxing quite compelling.

I must say that at the ripe old age of 28, Lights Out has me interested in boxing, really interested for the first time. Yes, it's brutal, but the show owns up to that and is unflinching in its portrait of this savage and beautiful sport.

I'm interested to see where the plot goes and how long FX can milk the whole 'comeback' aspect of the storyline. It has the potential to evolve into more than that. FX is making great shows and Lights Out is a testament to their creativity. You won't be disappointed with this one. It's a hit.

I'd given up on TV series except for the very popular 3 shows that always win awards (Breaking Bad, In Treatment, Dexter). But I'd heard about this show and noticed the first episode was free, so I watched. I was entranced immediately. The first episode opens on the fighter looking like Frankenstein, almost unrecognizably human. And his character builds from there, a sweet soul who finds himself having to do some questionable things to stay afloat.

I like the way this story is told, in a non-linear but very understandable fashion, giving us chunks of unseen information after its happened, as a flashback. And the writers are slowly building the stakes here, painting our champ into a corner so that you know what he's going to have to do to provide for his family.

Great soundtrack, too.