More than any other show of its type, "Deadwood" knows how to make use of an ensemble cast. There are any number of forgettable characters on "The Sopranos" -- characters who even play somewhat large roles get lost under the weight of the major players like Tony and Christopher. But on "Deadwood," even with characters like Al Swearengen who can't help but demand your attention, even the most marginal bit player is absolutely pivotal and amazingly memorable. And more importantly, they all get their little moments.

This season in particular has demonstrated that very point, as so-called minor characters like the drug addict Leon, Hostetler the livery owner and Steve the drunk have had some of the most dramatic and even poignant moments in the entire season.

Of course, the big showdown of the season has been between Al and gold mining magnate (and all-around asshole) George Hearst, who Gerald McRaney, yes Major Dad himself, plays impeccably. Perhaps the best moment of the season as of yet was the fight in the thoroughfare between Hearst's man, Captain Turner, and Al's right hand, Dan Dority. More than any other moment in movies or television, I was unsure who was going to die in that fight. It was nerve-wracking, it made you want to turn away, and it was brilliant.

Perhaps even more brilliant was Dan's reaction to the fight -- not a victory celebration, but instead a regression into a depressed shell after seeing the light go out of the man's eyes. The show never goes out of its way to explicitly explain why Dan reacts this way -- it kind of lets you figure it out for yourself, and frankly, it's about time something started respecting its viewers' intelligence as much as this show does. A+.

The Venture Bros. Season 2

I remember sort of not getting this show when it first premiered a few years ago. I wrote it off as a Johnny Quest parody of little substance and kept watching Adult Swim for the crazy non-sequitur humor of your Aqua Teens and your Sealabs and your Havey Birdmans.

Which was a terrible mistake, of course. Yes, the pilot episode of "The Venture Bros." is probably the weakest, but even it has an overriding intelligence about it that puts it far above anything else Adult Swim's ever aired, with the exception of maybe "Futurama."

This season of the show has been distinctly different from the first in terms of the types of stories writers Jackson Publick and Doc Hammer are putting out there. The first season seemed to intentionally shy away from big adventure for more of a focus on family conflicts and the pathetic life of one Dr. Thaddeus "Rusty" Venture. This season seems to be a constant one-upping contest between the two of them to see who can cram the most into one episode. And it's worked beautifully for the most part. Some of the episodes have been a little overly busy, but hey, they're just trying to give us our money's worth.

Some of the biggest accomplishments of the season so far, I think, has been the continuation of some great character-based humor with the zaniest shit I can think of ever having seen. For example, in the episode "Escape to the House of Mummies Part II" (there was no part one) a scene where Dr. Venture is reminded of how much of an influence he had on other kids of his generation is immediately followed by one where professional badass Brock Samson is forced to cut Edgar Allen Poe open so that Hank Venture can be stuffed inside to survive a snowstorm.

Let me repeat that. Brock Samson slices open Edgar Allen Poe so that Hank can get warm inside his body. And then, as icing, Brock says, "And I thought they smelled bad...on the outside!"

I don't really think I need to say anything else, honestly. A.

Lucky Louie

I've liked Louis C.K. for a long time. I even remember going out of my way to watch a Comedy Central special of his that had like, little cow puppets in it and stuff years ago. And I really liked "Pootie Tang," even though I probably shouldn't have.

So I was excited to find out he had a new traditional sitcom-style show coming on this summer on HBO. It sounded like a little be of a weird idea to me, sure, but I thought it had potential.

And, at this point, I still kind of feel that way.

The show is genuinely funny, I'll certainly give it that. But the conventional format is actually sort of difficult to get past. Maybe it's because it seems that all the cursing and explicit sex talk and nudity (mostly male) in the show is only there to get a rise out of the live audience. If this was going on in a single-camera show with no studio audience, I'm sure I'd have a different reaction to it. Sometimes the show has the uncomforable feeling of being just like any other regular sitcom on TV, except they can say "fuck."

The show has been getting better, though. A recent episode in which Louie and his wife discover that their daughter is an asshole was actually really great and unlike any other sitcom.

One thing that I do really like about the show is that it does a great job of showing how hard life in a family that's down on its luck can be. This Salon article probably explains the appeal better than I can. But basically, if your family has ever had a horrible night of screaming because you couldn't figure out where to go to eat a birthday dinner, you can likely relate to the show.

It's too bad that some of the appealing things about the show are the same things that make it hard to watch. The set is (intentionally) very ugly, the characters often unlikable, the situations maybe a little too close to home. Yes, it's funny, but funny in that "man, I remember when I felt that terrible" sort of way. Which can also, unfortunately, just make you feel terrible. B-.

(P.S.: Can anyone explain to me what happened to Laura Kightlinger's face? She plays one of the friends on "Lucky Louie," and man, did it get puffy. Like somebody inflated it with helium. Yikes.)

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