Seconds

There is something in the national character of America, open to all who join it, that yearns for the ephemeral--that beauty and finality that is often found in Europe and especially France. That concept of no happy ending but a final, intense, majestic one. Stephen Dillane, shown above, conveyed that type of nuance in HBO's John Adams as Thomas Jefferson. The long series is very interesting and moving, especially the slow tension of the Continental Congress scenes.

Click here to read the real letters of Jefferson. The show's score has some great moments as well, try the extended tense and moving 'opening theme' and the exciting 'The Militia Passes By' and the fun, playful 'Street Shanty/Finding Palmes'.

He does equally excellent work in the tv show of G.R.R. Martin's Game of Thrones as Stannis, despite not being more showcased by the script. He's simply too good for anything he does. I commend him.