Andre Rison in the "30 for 30" documentary "Broke."

Credit: ESPN

It never made sense to me that ESPN decided to ditch the "30 for 30" documentary name. Yes, Bill Simmons had come up with the idea to celebrate the network's 30th anniversary. But the original run of "30 for 30" films ran well into ESPN's 31st anniversary year, and sometimes, a brand name transcends its literal meaning. (20th Century Fox didn't suddenly change to 21st Century Fox, for instance.) When "30 for 30" ended, ESPN continued to put out some good documentaries under the "ESPN Films Presents" banner, but they appeared irregularly, you couldn't set a DVR season pass for them, and it didn't have that same cumulative feeling that the original series had. I made a point to watch nearly all the "30 for 30" docs (skipping the Red Sox one for partisan reasons and missing one or two others due to scheduling), and that same completist's impulse simply wasn't there for the "ESPN Films Presents" movies that followed.

Kelly Macdonald and Steve Buscemi in "Boardwalk Empire."

Credit: HBO

HBO has renewed "Boardwalk Empire" for a fourth season.

The Prohibition era gangster drama hasn't been the awards juggernaut HBO might have hoped for (though it was a surprise winner for the Emmy drama directing award this year, even without Martin Scorsese behind the camera), but it's been a solid hit, with the pay cable channel estimating that 7.2 million people have watched the third season premiere on various platforms.

“Terry Winter, Martin Scorsese and the rest of their outstanding team continue to produce a stunning show thatnever fails to surprise and entertain,” HBO president Michael Lombardo said in a statement.  “We are excited to bring this unique series back for a fourth season.”

Daniella Alonso as Nora and Tracy Spiridakos as Charlie Matheson in "Revolution."

Credit: NBC

A quick review of last night's "Revolution" coming up just as soon as I Shawshank my way out of here...

On "How I Met Your Mother," Barney imagines married life with Quinn.

Credit: CBS

A review of last night's "How I Met Your Mother" coming up just as soon as I name your lady parts...

Week 2 of the TV season is a bit slower, with one of the bigger premieres (the final season of "30 Rock") something we didn't get a screener for. Still, we have two shows we're happy to see the return of, and then we have lots of time to discuss other recent episodes, early ratings, and more.

The line-up: 

"Raising Hope" (00:01:15 - 00:10:55)

"30 for 30" (00:10:55 - 00:23:45)

Oscar host Seth MacFarlane (00:23:45 - 00:31:40)

Early Ratings (00:31:40 - 00:40:30)

"Sons of Anarchy" (00:40:40 - 00:50:15)

"The Office" (00:50:15 - 00:54:05)

"How I Met Your Mother" (00:54:10 - 01:00:45)

Listener mail - Guest Appearances (01:01:10 - 01:04:15)

Listener mail - "Life" (01:04:15 - 01:07:15)

"Homeland" (01:07:15 - 01:14:00)

 

As always, you can subscribe to The Firewall & Iceberg Podcast over at the iTunes Store, where you can also rate us and comment on us. Or you can always follow our RSS Feed, download the MP3 file or stream it on Dan's blog.

Claire Danes in the "Homeland" season premiere.

Credit: Showtime

"Homeland" is back for a new season, and I have a review of the premiere — plus a few thoughts from producers Alex Gansa and Howard Gordon — coming up just as soon as I love Julia Roberts...

Steve Zahn and John Boutte in "Tremé." 

Credit: HBO

A few quick thoughts on tonight's "Tremé" coming up just as soon as I set a date to set a date...

Rachael Taylor in "666 Park Avenue."

Credit: ABC

"666 Park Avenue" is one of this week's new shows I didn't write a review of. As I said on Thursday's podcast, campy gothic horror/soap opera isn't generally my kind of show, and this one's not so well-done to transcend my disinterest. Of course, I'm also not a fan of either "Once Upon a Time" or "Revenge," the two ABC shows this one is kind of mashing up, but I know many of you are. (And FWIW, Fienberg liked "666 Park," while Liane was mixed.)

So for those of you who tuned into "666 Park," what did you think? Were Terry O'Quinn and Vanessa Williams chewing up enough scenery for you? Did you like Rachael Taylor and Dave Annable, or find them too naive to care about?  Did you find the show creepy or just goofy? And will you watch again?

Have at it.

Charlie Cox and Bobby Cannavale in "Boardwalk Empire."

Credit: HBO

A review of tonight's "Boardwalk Empire" coming up just as soon as I can find an insult in a bed of roses...

Jennifer Carpenter and Michael C. Hall in "Dexter."

Credit: Showtime

I posted my review of the new season of "Dexter" yesterday. Now it's your turn. Given the unhappiness so many "Dexter" fans had with the last season (if not the last two, or even three of the last four), were you satisfied enough with how the show dealt with the Deb/Dexter cliffhanger to put those bad feelings aside? Or are you always going to feel skeptical about the show from here until the end? Is anyone done with the show now, and/or has anyone been roped back in after giving up, like I was? Have at it.

My Sunday plate's too full to put "Dexter" back into the rotation, but I'll definitely be back to discuss the season after the finale, and possibly once or twice in between if something notable happens.