Kings (NBC)

Loosely based on the biblical tale of David and Goliath about a shepherd who rises to become king, Kings offers a kind of big-screen spectacle that's rarely seen (on television or elsewhere) these days. Egan's Shepherd is simple enough, and certainly seems believably out of his element when dealing with all of the court plotting and politics. But the star here is McShane, who seems born to play a scheming, controlling ruler, a modern-day version of the kings of old whose word was law and all feared to cross.

Placing Silas' feudal kingdom in the early 21st century is both jarring and entertaining, creating a world that's familiar on the surface but different enough that it's hard to discern the hidden agendas -- and there are many. Don't expect everything to make sense in this alternate world, because there are some things that are just different enough to make it hard to predict how people will react (as well as some twists that defy logic but are necessary to make key plot threads move forward -- would the king's only son really be held prisoner in a loosely guarded tent just 100 yards beyond the poorly defended front lines?). But the show's inconsistencies also help make Kings fun to watch: It's a modern soap opera with modern conflicts, but set in a time that has long passed.