January is typically a dead time for film releases, with maybe one or two films that could possibly catch the public eye.

Mostly, this post-holiday winter month grinds out art house movies to be seen nowhere outside of limited urban pockets.

Television, and particularly cable, is ready to step into the breach with plenty of new movies and series. Hey, it’s cold outside, so let’s stay in for some cozy home theater. Having a few laughs is another good idea.

Just in time to sweep away the winter blues is the third season of Showtime’s “Episodes,” a delightfully offbeat comedy series of nine half-hour episodes about the foibles and follies of the television industry.

Right off the bat, if you value precious hours, nine viewings of a full season of “Episodes” is roughly half the extra amount of time necessary to sit through just one screening of “The Wolf of Wall Street.”

The cost benefit analysis, to say nothing of sheer entertainment value, tells me that “Episodes” is a much better deal and a lot more fun because anything skewering the pretensions of Hollywood is nearly irresistible.

Coming into the third season requires you only to know a few things. It all began when the married British writing team of Beverly and Sean Lincoln (Tamsin Greig and Stephen Mangan) were lured to America by slippery network executive Merc Lapidus (John Pankow).

Back home, the Lincolns won critical acclaim for a hit TV series called “Lyman’s Boys” about the headmaster of an elite boarding school. Lapidus wants them to create an American version for the States. What could go wrong?

Not seeing a train wreck coming fast, the clueless Brits are soon mortified that their show is hijacked by fools and turned into an unrecognizable mess called “Pucks!,” the story of a hockey coach working at a boys’ school.

Even worse, they find the star of their new show is Matt LeBlanc, who portrays a twisted version of himself, still cashing in on his fame as Joey on “Friends” and acting very much like an egregiously bad tabloid version of a faded TV star.

Fast forward to Season Three, and the Lincolns have survived trouble in their marriage, namely that in Season Two Beverly succumbed to a sexual interlude with Matt LeBlanc, who proves to be a manipulative cad.

For his part, Sean has always been seduced by the trappings of Hollywood, while Beverly is easily repulsed by the deceit and trickery of the industry. This dynamic sets the stage for continuing conflict, as Beverly is eager to return to Britain after “Pucks!” plunges in the ratings.

Season Three of “Episodes” poses many challenges for its key players. Matt LeBlanc fights for custody of his kids, though his destructive behavior, such as a getting a DUI and sleeping with a stalker, undermines his efforts.

While Sean and Beverly remain aghast at Hollywood’s treatment of their TV show, Matt tries to get “Pucks!” cancelled so that he can selfishly pursue a more lucrative offer at another network.

TV executive Merc Lapidus is unceremoniously dumped from his post, only to be replaced by untested creative talent Castor Soto (Chris Diamantopoulous), who is suffering a dire mental state that may be controlled only if he stays on medications. And that’s a big if.

Meanwhile, Carol Rance (Kathleen Rose Perkins), the second-in-command to Lapidus, with whom she had an affair, remains the second fiddle to Castor Soto, for whom she holds an unrequited crush. Yeah, Hollywood is just like “Peyton Place.”

Oh, it’s even more twisted as Matt has been dating Merc’s blind ex-wife Jamie (Genevieve O’Reilly), a situation made worse when a vindictive Merc steals her valuable paintings, replacing them with graffiti-marked canvases.

As the season moves along, “Pucks!” teeters on the brink of cancellation, not just because Matt would wish it so. At least, this allows Castor a chance to go nuts at a board meeting as he pitches some crazy ideas to fix the network’s programming.

“Episodes” continues to strike the right notes as a wonderful spoof of the television industry, both behind and in front of the camera. The show is so good that Showtime has already announced a return for season four.

While the actors are terrific, good writing has a lot to do with the series’ success. The creative team behind the scenes is David Crane (co-creator of “Friends”) and Jeffrey Klarik (“Mad About You”) knows how the wheels turn in this business.

By the way, you could binge watch the first two seasons in less time than it would take to sit through “The Lord of the Rings” trilogy, and I think that’s going to be more fun.

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

CLEARLAKE, Calif. – Second Sunday Cinema's first film of 2014 will be “We Steal Secrets: The Story of Wikileaks.”

The film will be shown on Sunday, Jan. 12, at Clearlake United Methodist Church, located at 14521 Pearl Ave. near Mullen in Clearlake.

Doors open at 5:30 p.m. with the film at 6 p.m.

Admission is free.

Bring a pillow for your chair, for this film is two hours, 10 min. long.

“We Steal Secrets: The Story of Wikileaks” is a fast-moving, fascinating film by Oscar-winning Dir. Elex Gibney (“Taxi to the Dark Side”).

It introduces viewers to the early days and subsequent  development of the famous organization and to two high-profile leakers, Julian Assange and Bradley (now Chelsea) Manning.

This film is controversial because it is not approved by either Assange nor Manning, and neither is made to appear as a perfect hero on a white horse.

The film is packed with information and suspense, and has garnered a 95 percent “Fresh” rating from critics on Rotten Tomatoes.

A review in Digital Spy states, “The range of Gibney's subjects, the rigour of his research and the complexity of his questions make We Steal Secrets breathlessly compelling, but it's the moments of psychological probing that haunt the most.”

THE SECRET LIFE OF WALTER MITTY (Rated PG)

To say that Ben Stiller’s “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty” is based on the famous short story by James Thurber has a kernel of truth only insofar as the film’s titular character is, indeed, a socially awkward man who daydreams of performing heroic acts.

Pulling double duty as director and star, Stiller has been on both sides of the camera with films like “Tropic Thunder” and “Zoolander,” both of which were flat-out comedies. His work here is a more nuanced bittersweet comedy, slightly eccentric and reminiscent somewhat of “Greenberg.”

The daring exploits of Walter Mitty (Ben Stiller) bear little resemblance to the odd detours of Thurber’s version. The on-screen Walter’s lapses into fantasy are mostly geared to romancing a pretty co-worker or triumphing over danger with the passion and confidence of an action hero.

Whatever the reason for flights of fancy, Walter is a nebbish consigned to the increasingly unimportant task of managing the photo department of LIFE magazine, recently taken over by snotty corporate downsizing experts who are determined to shut down the print operation for good.

Sporting beards and sharply-tailored suits, the arrogant corporate types, led by the unctuous, detestable Ted Hendricks (Adam Scott), are hell-bent on eliminating many of the publishing empire’s jobs during its swift transition to the digital age.

Scrambling to revamp the media operations, management plans one final print issue of LIFE where the magazine’s cover image will carry great cultural significance. The assignment falls on Walter’s shoulders, a parting shot for the photo editor’s talent.

Out in the field and only intermittently reachable by phone or letter is noted war photojournalist Sean O’Connell (Sean Penn), who has shipped to Walter a set of negatives, one of which is deemed to be his best work ever.

The problem is that Walter is unable to find this mysterious negative in the roll of film that has arrived from an undisclosed location. Now he has to dodge the odious Ted Hendricks, trying to buy time in a frantic search for one lousy frame.

Meanwhile, Walter has developed a fruitless crush on lovely, clueless colleague Cheryl (Kristen Wiig), a single mother with a young son, who hardly takes notice of his clumsy, pointless efforts to initiate a conversation.

Walter also has to contend with moving his aging, meddling mother (Shirley MacLaine) into an assisted living facility, while enduring the taunts of his oddball sister (Kathryn Hahn).

Thurber’s Walter Mitty was a henpecked husband whose fantasies carried him away from the constraints of his marriage. Stiller’s version is a modern bachelor dreaming of romance and trying to make a connection on an Internet dating service.

There’s amusement in Walter’s attempts to create a profile for eHarmony, since he’s never done anything or been anywhere of interest. Walter fields the occasional phone call from his excited eHarmony advisor (Patton Oswalt) who tries to spur him into action.

What finally dislodges Walter from his reveries is not just looming unemployment, but the absolute devotion to his craft of running the photo department in all of its analog world glory. To that end, he must find the missing negative, in a hurry.

At this point, “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty” undergoes an almost complete tonal shift, as Walter must suddenly act in an unaccustomed role of being a doer rather than an inattentive observer on the sidelines.

Life for Walter must quickly take the shape of LIFE magazine’s famous motto, emblazoned on its building, which in part encourages people to “see things thousands of miles away.” It may be uncharacteristic for him, but Walter plunges into a reckless search for the elusive Sean O’Connell.

Following up on a few leads, Walter flies off to Greenland, only to find himself a few steps behind the famous photojournalist. From Greenland he ends up on a fishing trawler but not before having to swim with sharks in the ocean.

After the boat docks in Iceland, Walter’s next adventure takes him skateboarding in the direction of an erupting volcano, only to be rescued at the last moment by a passing motorist in a hurry to evacuate from the path of billowing smoke and lava.

The search must continue onto even more treacherous terrain as Walter makes his way to the remotest mountain region of the Himalayas, where finally he locates Sean O’Connell on the verge of capturing an image of a nearly extinct wild animal.

By this point, Walter is no longer a “Walter Mitty”-type character, having blossomed into an intrepid adventurer willing to go to great lengths in pursuit of a goal, becoming more like his idol Sean O’Connell.

“The Secret Life of Walter Mitty,” though clever and amusing, is not easily pegged as the standard comedic vehicle for Ben Stiller. Instead, it’s a humorous fantasy adventure layered with conflicting emotions, resulting in an enjoyable confection.

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

NORTH COAST, Calif. – The Fort Bragg Center for the Arts Music Series presents violinist Kay Stern, the concertmaster of the San Francisco Opera, and pianist Joan Nagano.

They will perform works by Beethoven, Ravel, Amy Beach, Camille Saint-Saens and others on Sunday, Jan. 19, at 3 p.m. in Preston Hall, Mendocino.

Advance tickets ($20) are available at Fiddles & Cameras and Harvest Market in Fort Bragg, at Out of This World in Mendocino and at the door for $25.

Violinist Kay Stern was a founding member of the famed Lark Quartet and has toured throughout the U.S., Europe and Asia.

Of her critic Michelle Dulak said “Indeed, her's was about the most attractive violin playing I’ve heard in years.”

Pianist Joan Nagano is a founding member of the Beaumont Ensemble and has performed with Composers, Inc., the San Francisco Contemporary Music Players, New Music Works, and the Empyrean Ensemble.

The duo has delighted audiences for over 12 years with their passionate performances of classical repertoire for violin and piano.

Critical acclaim has described their playing as “sassy” and electric,” combining “delicate nuance” and “magnificent bravado.”

The San Francisco Classical Voice has described them as having “impossibly impressive technique,” and “dash and elegance."

One of our first columns, published in 2005, had to do with a pair of high-heeled red shoes, and some trouble they brewed up, and now, at last, we have a pink pantsuit to go along with those dangerous pumps.

This delightful poem is by Nancy Simpson, who lives in North Carolina.

Pink Pantsuit

It hangs around the wardrobe
for days, dull,
or reclines in the hamper

like a flattened flamingo.
I wash it in soft water.
I give it new life, and what thanks?

It walks out the door with my legs,
through the gate,
headed straight for the racetrack.

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 2010 by Nancy Simpson from her most recent book of poems, Living Above the Frost Line, Carolina Wren Press, 2010. Poem reprinted by permission of Nancy Simpson and the publisher. 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.

KELSEYVILLE, Calif. – Start the New Year fiddling around at the Ely Stage Stop.

The Old Time Fiddlers Association continues its monthly First Sundays Fiddlers Jam sessions hosted by the Ely Stage Stop and Country Museum on Sunday, Jan. 5.

Fiddlers will meet in the Ely barn to perform their wonderful Americana music.

This is a free, family friendly event for all to enjoy, so bring young and old alike.

Enjoy the music with hot beverages and tasty treats. Bring your own wine and sip it in Ely Stage Stop wine glasses that will be available for purchase. Clap your hands, tap your toes or get up and dance.

The fun begins at the museum at 11 a.m. with the Fiddlers playing from 1 p.m. through 3 p.m.

Donations will be happily accepted to benefit the Ely Stage Stop and The Old Time Fiddlers Association. Note that rain will cancel the event during the winter months.

The stage stop is located at 9921 Soda Bay Road (Highway 281) in Kelseyville (near Clear Lake Riviera, just north of Hwy 29-Kit's Corner).

Current hours of operation are 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. each Saturday and Sunday.

Visit www.elystagestop.com or www.lakecountyhistory.org , check out the stage stop on Facebook at www.facebook.com/elystagestop or call the museum at 707-533-9990.