MBD, for it is he, writes interestingly about John Adams. I have only caught two-and-a-bit episodes and enjoyed them, though I find Laura Linney (Mrs Adams) overcooks the marital-rock, mother-hen role. (I can’t forgive anyone who acted in Kinsey, surely the most nauseating major film of the last five years).

Another HBO show which might interest the TAC crowd is the forthcoming Generation Kill, a miniseries about Marines in Iraq from the creators of The Wire. Starts in July.