Lights Out – As we’ve mentioned before, “Joy” is a relative term when discussing the FX boxing drama. It was an excellent episode this week, but it was almost entirely depressing. But rather than dwell on the mounting tragedies for Lights, we’d like to give some credit to one of our favorite performances – the great Reg E. Cathey as Barry K. Word. Cathey, who used to be a regular on Square One, of all shows, is probably best known as Martin Querns on Oz or pollster Norman Wilson on The Wire. He’s just fantastic as a crooked boxing promoter – sort of a small-time Don King. Barry is the one pushing Lights to get back in the ring, but on his terms. And anybody who crosses Barry ends up in the hospital – last week, one poor guy ended up with every single bone in his hands broken for trying to book a fight without Barry. He’s pure sleaze, and it is awesome to watch him do his thing.
