(Photo: Ron Tom/Courtesy of ABC)

Debut
Anna Friel, Pushing Daisies
Although the critics love Pushing Daisies (ABC) more than the public does, there can be no disagreement about Anna Friel, who brings a pure heart, nimble leg, and lascivious eye to her role as love interest. I’m tempted to say, “Not since Carole Lombard”—so I will.

Stinker
John from Cincinnati (HBO).
From the David Milch who gave us blue cops and dead wood and the Kem Nunn who invented the surf-noir cult novel, we may have expected to be perplexed, even confounded, but probably not embarrassed. And yet, whatever could have gone wrong with a dramatic series about surfing, angels, and heroin addiction promptly did so.

Related:

• Archive: “Art Features”
• Articles by John Leonard
• Table of Contents: December 17, 2007 issue of New York | Subscribe!