Alright. Now that's a solid season premiere. I wasn't high on last season much at all, and I still feel like season four - well - the first half - is the high mark for the series. But this time it looks like the writers are digging...deep. A very promising start.

Also saw one of those TV spots for Billy Ray's "Shattered Glass" follow-up, "Breach," which I saw six or seven months ago. I had forgotten all about it, actually, though I did speak to Ray about the film last February for the NY Times. The film is a tight, interesting cat-and-mouse drama with Chris Cooper tackling a deeply conflicted and daunting character. Lots of great religious overtones permeate the script, and though it isn't the most penetrating follow-up to what was a solid and righteous debut for the writer/director, it is a decent enough thriller. Things certainly may have been tweaked and nuanced for the better since the cut I screened. Regardless, Ray has a great head on his shoulders (he points to the films of the 70s as what inspired his desire to be a writer) and I think he's got a long, versatile career ahead of him.