television

An eye on the small screen

Bill English, as Joel, ignites controversy in Cavemen. (Photo: ABC/Gale Adler)

Knuckle Draggers: disable drop cap
This fall ABC offers a choice: Watch a team of cunning ironists slip past social conventions with humor and lady-luring dance moves or wince through the bumblings of some dudes who give in to impulse, invite shame, and antagonize the females. One group is a trio of troglodytes—literally, with furry backs and cantilevered brows—and the other is a country-clubbing foursome who think they have mastered the universe. In a Darwinian twist, the Cro-Mags of Cavemen seem more evolved than the CEO's of Big Shots. By Ned Martel

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Carell takes a meeting in Encino, California. (Photo: Autumn de Wilde)

Fertile Mind: With The Office open for business and megabucks movie riles turning him into a brand name, Steve Carell is cornering the market on funny business. By Hudson Morgan

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Peter Krause and Zoe McLellan play a husband and wife on the brink. (Photo: ABC/Patrick Harbon)

family matters: In Dirty Sexy Money a principled young lawyer reluctantly takes on New York's richest family, and finds that power and privilege have their price. By Sara James

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Eric Dane above Sable Ranch in Canyon Country, California. (Photo: Richard Phibbs)

eric dane: the need for speed: Known to the ladies as McSteamy on Grey's Anatomy, Eric Dane is actually more of a guy's guy who is game for driving too fast, diving too deep, and running right up to the edge. This season's rugged gear hasn't slowed him down a bit. By Rebecca Dana

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Hugh Laurie kicks back in the mechanic's seat. (Photo: Raymond Meier)

doc Hollywood: On Fox's hit medical drama House, Hugh Laurie spends his days healing the sick and curing the wounded. But his experience outside the hospital has taught him the agony of success. By Troy Patterson

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Ken Burns and his daughter Lilly at a farm in Walpole, NH where he creates his films. (Photo: Julian Dufort)

eyes of a nation: With The War, his epic depiction of small–town America's World War II heroics, filmmaker Ken Burns proves that he's not just chronicling our past but making history himself. By A.O. Scott

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The cheerleading squad makes itself heard. (Photo: Van Redin/NBC Photo)

hail marys: Every week, a pigskin saga on Friday Night Lights lets its women run with the ball. By Ashley Muldoon

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Jon Hamm stars as Don Draper, an ad exec facing the end of an era.

executive privilege: Mad Men's Madison Avenue in its heyday was swinging, sexy—and ready for a fall. By Ashley Muldoon

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Kiefer Sutherland rides his horse, Yogi, across an open field at Ventura Farms, in Thousand Oaks, CA.

Minute Man

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Rupert Murdoch pays him $10 million a season on the hit show 24, and Bush's war council studies Jack Bauer's anti-terror tactics. It's no wonder Kiefer Sutherland has learned to make every second count. By Tim Adams

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James Purefoy of HBO's Rome

the last emperor

James Purefoy, the Mark Antony of Rome, HBO's $8-million-an-episode spectacle, talks of leading ladies and leading the troops.

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Bear Grylls in New York's Central Park (Photo: Max Vadukul)

out of the wild: Bear Grylls: The survivalist Bear Grylls of Man vs. Wild, wrestles man-eaters, devours reptiles, and keeps his spirits high in low moments. For a stint in the urban jungle, his double–layered jackets are more than business as usual—they're also made for the great outdoors. By Lauren Collins

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Alessandro Nivola behind the scenes at New York's David Zwirner gallery (Photo: Walter Chin)

old–school ties: Alessandro Nivola stars in The Company, is an Exeter and Yale grad with an eye for the classics, and has matured from a preening adolescent thespian into an actor to watch.

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Brian Williams writes a blog entry in his office at 30 Rockefeller Center

the life of brian: The NBC Nightly News anchor knows how to hug curves at 180 mph, what it takes to thump network rivals, and when to keep a president's confidences. His secret: To be taken seriously, you must make them laugh. By Ned Martel

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