CRANK UP THE DVR:

It isn't a long shot that David Milch's newest series for HBO, called Luck, will be on par with his HBO series Deadwood. It's a sure thing. HBO sent out all nine episodes of the show's first season for preview, so there's no guesswork here.

The racetrack is at the center of Luck, with every character and plot line orbiting around it. But you don't have to like horse racing -- or even understand it -- to get pulled in and swept along. The show examines the track, and its various intrigues, from every possible perspective -- from the owners and trainers of the horses to the jockeys riding them and the gamblers betting on them. We go from the executive suites to the stables, getting to know the people and problems of each. It's like Downton Abbey with thoroughbreds.

And speaking of thoroughbreds, that description extends to just about everyone working on Luck. And what a collection of collaborators: David Milch hit it big, before Deadwood, with NYPD Blue in the '90s. Movie director Michael Mann produced two visually stunning TV series, Miami Vice and Crime Story, in the '80s. One of the two biggest stars of Luck, Nick Nolte, became a star thanks to the Rich Man, Poor Man TV miniseries in the '70s. And the other biggest star of Luck, Dustin Hoffman, is new to series television -- but his stardom stretches all the way back to The Graduate in the '60s.

And now, here they all are, doing great work at the same time.

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