The FOX television network is coming off a season of struggling series and declining ratings. On top of that, the longtime head of entertainment, Kevin Reilly, suddenly departed the network last May, leading to speculation about the stability of FOX’s executive leadership.

For this summer’s gathering of the nation’s TV critics, Peter Rice, the Chairman and CEO of Fox Networks Group, was asked only one question about Kevin Reilly and it had to do with the perception that he wanted the pilot season to be eliminated.

The answer was a kind of “yes and no” response. So let’s move on.

More interesting is that not one question was asked about FOX’s most promising new drama series for this fall.

That would be “Gotham,” an origin story of the great DC Comics villains and vigilantes that form the essence of “Batman,” which now has a long history of various cinematic iterations.

The only time Peter Rice even mentioned “Gotham” was to note that it will be paired with “Sleepy Hollow,” a returning sophomore series and one of the network’s few successes from last year, in a time slot on Monday nights, because as Rice observed the network has found success by “being the only dramas on Monday night.”

Advance viewing of the first episode of “Gotham” for critics was so closely guarded that the only opportunity occurred on a sunny afternoon on the Warner Brothers studio lot, following a catered lunch and a press conference or two on reality programs I have already forgotten.

As it happens, DC Comics-based programs, whether television shows or movies produced by Warner Brothers, are always cloaked in secrecy prior to public release.

There’s a strong desire to protect this intellectual property from the inevitable bootleg copies that would soon find their way to street vendors along Canal Street in New York’s Chinatown community.

Mark your calendar now for Monday, Sept. 22, at 8 p.m. for the series debut of the one-hour drama “Gotham,” starring Ben McKenzie (“Southland”) as the fresh-faced police detective Jim Gordon, assigned to the homicide squad in Gotham’s police department.

“Gotham” is described as an origin story because Jim Gordon is the city’s future police commissioner during the heyday of Batman’s vigilante crusade to rid the corrupt, rotting metropolis of a hodgepodge of super-villains and their thugs, henchmen and assorted criminal followers.

As a rookie, Gordon is partnered with the brash, shrewd police legend Harvey Bullock (Donal Logue), a veteran detective whose methods seem unorthodox.

For one thing, Bullock has a somewhat unusual relationship with gang boss Fish Mooney (Jada Pinkett-Smith), a ruthless underworld character.

Gordon and Bullock stumble upon the city’s highest profile case ever, the murder of local billionaires Thomas and Martha Wayne.

At the scene of the crime, Gordon meets the sole survivor, Bruce Wayne (David Mazouz), the intense 12-year-old son of the murdered couple.

Moved by the boy’s profound loss, Gordon vows to catch the killer. What does Fish Mooney know about the heinous crime? What about her devious, scheming henchman, the Penguin (Robin Lord Taylor), soon to become one of the greatest villains in “Batman” lore.

We also get our first glimpse of the lurking future Catwoman (Camren Bicondova) and the Riddler (Cory Michael Smith), who starts off with a respectable day job.

“Gotham” will follow Jim Gordon’s turbulent and singular rise through the Gotham City police department, but will also focus on the unlikely friendship Gordon forms with the young heir to the Wayne fortune, who is being raised by his unflappable butler, Alfred (Sean Pertwee).

Another drama of great promise is actually a ten-part mystery event series based upon a British program of a different name.

“Gracepoint,” now located in a small California seaside town, seems to mirror the British hit crime drama “Broadchurch.” David Tennant, who was on the British series, stars as detective Emmett Carver.

Resentment is in the air because Carver’s police colleague is detective Ellie Miller (Anna Gunn), who resents that Carver is an outsider recently hired to fill a high position in the police department.

When a young boy is found dead on an idyllic beach, a major investigation gets underway, and the death is soon deemed a homicide.

That such a horrible thing would happen in Gracepoint sparks a media frenzy, which throws the boy’s family into further turmoil and upends the lives of all of the town’s residents.

Everyone is pulled into the investigation. One of the fascinating suspects is Nick Nolte’s Jack Reinhold, a private man who runs the kayak rental service on the beach.

Then there’s the mysterious woman (Jacki Weaver) who lives in the RV park near the coast. “Gracepoint” has the potential to pull you in for every riveting episode.

FOX is heavy with drama this fall. “Red Band Society” is set in the children’s ward of a hospital and its story is narrated by a kid in coma.

This is a coming-of-age drama that follows a group of adolescent patients facing life-threatening medical challenges.

The young actors are most likely unknown to adult audiences. “Red Band Society,” which emanates from Steven Spielberg’s Amblin Television, may be best described as “Breakfast Club” for kids stuck in a medical institution rather than detention. One of the few adult stars, Octavia Spencer is the nurse running the pediatric ward.

At least there’s one new comedy on the schedule and it’s “Mulaney,” a story that is not unlike “Seinfeld.” John Mulaney, a stand-up comic, is the show’s titular star, working and living in New York and whose pals and wacky neighbor (Elliot Gould) insert themselves into his life.

Mulaney is looking for his big break on the comedy circuit, but his life is drastically altered when self-centered comedy legend and game show host Lou Cannon (Martin Short) hires the comic as a writer.

“Mulaney” looks to be promising for the comic’s stand-up routines and the perpetual clashes with his obnoxious boss.

The wild card on the FOX schedule is “Utopia,” an experimental reality series based on a hit Dutch program.

Fifteen pioneering Americans will be moved to a remote location and forced to create a society from scratch. They’ve got limited supplies, wildly diverse backgrounds, and zero bathrooms.

This disparate group will have to build a community without any rules. So what could go wrong? Plenty, I would assume, unless they’ve got some people as wise as our Founding Fathers.

“Utopia” just may turn out to be an adult version of “Lord of the Flies,” and that just may get people to tune in.

Tim Riley writes film and television reviews for Lake County News.

LAKEPORT, Calif. – Lake County Theatre Co. will hold auditions for the original play “Snow White and the Christmas Card” on Tuesday, Sept. 2, and Wednesday, Sept. 3.

The auditions will take place from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Lake County Arts Council office, located at 325 N. Main St. in Lakeport.

There are parts for nine youth, age 10 and up, and seven to nine adults, minimally three females and four males.

The audition will consist of a cold read and auditioners will be asked to demonstrate the ability to perform easy movement to music.

They will be premiering an original work by playwright Suna Flores, making this cast the original play cast.

Recorded accompaniment will be by Mannheim Steamroller.

Performances are scheduled for December 6, 7, 13, and 14, at the Soper Reese Theatre in Lakeport.

For information, call Suna Flores at 707-279-2595 or Sue Garrett at 707-998-0224.

Here’s a fine poem by Heather Allen, a Connecticut poet who pays close attention to what’s right under her feet. It may seem ordinary, but it isn’t.

Grasses

So still at heart,
They respond like water
To the slightest breeze,
Rippling as one body,

And, as one mind,
Bend continually
To listen:
The perfect confidants,

They keep to themselves,
A web of trails and nests,
Burrows and hidden entrances—
Do not reveal

Those camouflaged in stillness
From the circling hawks,
Or crouched and breathless
At the passing of the fox.

American Life in Poetry is made possible by The Poetry Foundation ( www.poetryfoundation.org ), publisher of Poetry magazine. It is also supported by the Department of English at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Poem copyright 1996 by Heather Allen. Reprinted from Leaving a Shadow, 1996, by permission of Copper Canyon Press, www.coppercanyonpress.org . Introduction copyright © 2014 by The Poetry Foundation. The introduction's author, Ted Kooser, served as United States Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress from 2004-2006. They do not accept unsolicited manuscripts.

THE HUNDRED-FOOT JOURNEY (Rated PG)

Going hungry to the movies is probably not advisable with the plentiful gastronomical pleasures on display in “The Hundred-Foot Journey.”

Buying a large tub of popcorn and assorted snacks of dubious nutritional value will not satiate the palate.

The culture clash of rival dining establishments in a bucolic, sleepy village in the picturesque South of France has all but guaranteed that this charming, enchanting Disney film has all of the substance and staying power of a really nice soufflé from even the best of French cuisine.

“The Hundred-Foot Journey,” which by its title alone explains the chasm to be breached between ethnic divisions, has a zest for life that is expressed most potently by the Kadam family, natives of Mumbai that are forced to flee their homeland as the result of incendiary instability that closes down their restaurant.

Wandering through Europe in search of destiny, the family, under the tough but loving guidance of the patriarch, Papa (Om Puri), comes upon a quaint village when they are stranded due to vehicular breakdown.

Though the small town of Saint-Antonin appears to be the most unlikely place to start an Indian restaurant, the headstrong Papa impulsively decides to buy a run-down mansion that once served as an eatery that did not survive the vagaries of discriminating patrons.

The inevitable clash comes when the Kadam family sets up its culinary operation across the street (hence, the hundred feet of distance) from Madame Mallory’s (Helen Mirren) exquisite palace of French haute cuisine, Le Saule Pleureur, which is striving for the coveted second Michelin star.

Stubborn, officious and firmly set in her ways, the uptight widow Madame Mallory is not so much threatened by the sudden appearance of an Indian restaurant as she is disturbed by the loud and brash behavior of Papa Kadam, who has a fondness for blasting Bollywood music.

Pestering the unflustered town mayor (Michel Blanc) with complaints, Madame Mallory is vocal in her distaste for the garish new Indian restaurant, Maison Mumbai, decked out with bright lights, across the road, finding the place offensive to her sense of taste and decorum.

Gallic tradition is under assault, and she won’t stand for it.

Early on, there is an amusing rivalry between Papa Kadam and Madame Mallory, as each one attempts to one-up the other.

The first volley in the culinary war is when Madame buys up all the crayfish at the local farmer’s market, thereby causing Papa the headache of scrambling to find enough substitutes for his opening night celebration.

Meanwhile, the star member of the Kadam clan is the humble and sensitive son, Hassan (Manish Dayal), who long ago acquired from his deceased mother the extraordinary gift of culinary talents so impressive that it’s only a matter of time before he’s discovered by gastronomes (yeah, that means lovers of good food).

As with many young men, Hassan’s ambitions are somewhat tempered by the fact that he is immediately smitten with Marguerite (Charlotte Le Bon), the enchanting young woman who befriends his family when they first arrive in town.

It turns out that the lovely French girl is actually a sous-chef at Madame Mallory’s establishment. The relationship between Hassan and Marguerite blossoms because of their mutual love and admiration of the esteemed tradition of French cooking.

Late at night, Hassan can found in his bedroom devouring voluminous French cookbooks borrowed from Marguerite, and though romantic tension simmers between the two cooks, he is most determined to master the magical art of French cuisine, which he is also eager to season with a nice helping of Indian spices.

Some nasty business occurs when a bunch of hateful thugs attack Maison Mumbai, almost burning it down and spraying graffiti on the street wall with racist taunts.

This disturbing event serves to bridge the gap between Madame Mallory and the Kadam family, and soon enough Papa and the lady are dancing and a tender warm glow of mutual attraction follows.

When the barriers come down between the haughty French snob and the tacky Indian clan, Madame Mallory realizes that the gifted Hassan may be her ticket to obtaining the second Michelin star.

So she offers him a prime spot in her kitchen where he’ll work side-by-side with Marguerite, ensuring some more romantic tension for this comedic drama.

With Hassan adding his own touch to classic French dishes like Beef Bourguigon and Pigeon aux Truffes, the culinary world takes notice.

Soon enough and not surprisingly, Madame Mallory’s Le Saule Pleureur gets the coveted recognition she craves.

Along with fame comes a significant detour in this otherwise predictable journey. Hassan ends up in Paris, plying his trade in a sterile, glass-and-chrome fancy restaurant that caters only to food snobs. It doesn’t seem like it will lead to a happy ending.

But then, “The Hundred-Foot Journey” finds its way back to the feel-good slice of culinary delights that comes from the sentimental cultural exchange of fine French and Indian customs. The prodigal son returns to the village.

Food is often about presentation, and here everything is beautifully on display. Besides, Helen Mirren is always a delight to watch, and Manish Dayal and Om Puri are equally fun.

“The Hundred-Foot Journey” is a cinematic excursion worth taking.

Tim Riley writes film and television reviews for Lake County News.

CLEARLAKE, Calif. – Lake County Poet Laureate Casey Carney and poets Sandy Stillwell and Margaret Rawson be reading at the Third Friday Gala at The Art House Gallery on Friday, Aug. 15.

The event will be held from 6 to 8 p.m. at the gallery, 15210 Lakeshore Drive Clearlake.

Enjoy spoken word, light refreshments, and the work of local artists in mediums including wood, pastels, acrylics, oil, pastels, mosaics, gourds, watercolor, jewelry and more.

Admission is free.

For more information contact the Art House Gallery, telephone 707-994-1716.

Jonathan Greene, who lives in Kentucky, is a master of the short poem, but while he prunes them down to their essentials he never cuts out the wonder and delight.

Here’s a good example from his most recent book. Can you feel the exclamation point that’s suggested at the end? You can’t see it, but it’s there.

One Light to Another

The storm
turns off
the lights.

The lightning
lights the whereabouts
of the flashlight.

The flashlight
takes us to matches
and candles, the oil lamp.

Now we’re back,
revisiting
the 19th century.

American Life in Poetry is made possible by The Poetry Foundation ( www.poetryfoundation.org ), publisher of Poetry magazine. It is also supported by the Department of English at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Introduction copyright 2014 by The Poetry Foundation. The introduction's author, Ted Kooser, served as United States Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress from 2004-2006. They do not accept unsolicited manuscripts.