Thief

So what is there to like about this show? The same thing there was to like about "The Sopranos" and "The Shield" - great writing, insanely good acting, deeply troubled and deeply layered characters and a plot that will keep you glued to your seat.

"Thief" brims with strong, potent performances.

Braugher's performance as Atwater is intense, scary, seductive and astonishing in its range of emotions. It leaves little doubt that he is still among the best actors ever to grace the medium.

"Thief" doesn't levitate with genre-busting genius, but it is very FX, which means it's very real and well executed, a series that doesn't pander.

Hopefully this overkill of plot twists is just series finale syndrome in reverse--an opening-episode gambit to snag viewers--and the show will settle down to work on its more subtle elements.

It requires a certain patience to stay with "Thief."

Bores by being relentlessly glum.