As you watch the first episode of "Political Animals" (10 p.m. Sunday, USA), the core characters might seem familiar. The soapy and satisfying limited series features a no-nonsense secretary of state, married to a cheating, popular Southern ex-president.

Yes, you are supposed to be reminded of Hillary and Bill which is part of the fun of this show. Haven't we always wanted to know what was really going on with those two?

In this fictionalized version, we meet Elaine Barrish (Sigourney Weaver), just as she is losing an election. The defeat clarifies things for her, especially that she wants out of her marriage to Bud Hammond (Ciaran Hinds). Fast forward and she's serving as the chief diplomat to President Garcetti (Adrian Pasdar), the man who defeated her; her family is dealing with its own issues.

The American Experience documentary on Bill Clinton, which starts tonight on UNC-TV, opens on the darkest days of the Clinton presidency: in the thick of the Monica Lewinsky scandal as the president sheepishly admits to the American people that he lied about his relationship with the White House intern.

The Lewinsky scandal should have been the knockout blow for Clinton, both personally and professionally. And for most anyone else, it would have been. But not Bill Clinton.

The scandal is touched on briefly at the opening of "Clinton" (and revisited later) because it's the obvious place to emphasize an important recurring theme in Clinton's life -- loss and recovery -- and ask the question, where does Bill Clinton's capacity for Lazarus-like resurrections come from?

The past 12 months have been hectic to say the least. Gone, it seems, is the slow pace of life so many people long associated with rural living. As eastern Wake County has become more suburban, the pace of life — and news — has increased.

Here's a look at some of the biggest news stories of 2008. Feel free to comment if you think we've left something out.

The nation's biggest big-box made news throughout the region in 2008. Wal-Mart pulled out of plans to anchor a new shopping center in Knightdale. That decision effectively scuttled the entire project for developer Rick Rowe. He faced stiff opposition from neighbors who didn't want the commercial development in their backyard. Meanwhile, in Zebulon there were no such problems with neighbors as Wal-Mart opened its store on N.C. 97 at U.S. 264. The opening of that store has brought with it several other chains, including Alltel, RadioShack and Murphy Oil.

Business news was a regular part of the news junkie's diet in 2008 as the housing market crumbled and banks started admitting problems with risky subprime mortgages. No banks in eastern Wake County have shuttered their doors, but the pace of residential development has slowed to a crawl as developers find it difficult to gain access to credit. The biggest victim of the credit crunch appears to be the developers of Wendell Falls who have all but stopped work on a project that would triple the town's population.

The past year also saw an historic election. Barack Obama defeated John McCain for the presidency, becoming the first black person to ever win that office. Before Obama defeated McCain he had to fend off a challenge from former first lady Hillary Rodham Clinton who entered 2008 as the prohibitive favorite to win the Democratic nomination. Her campaign included a barnstorming visit to North Carolina by her husband, former President Bill Clinton, who held a rally in downtown Zebulon just a few days before the North Carolina primary in May.

Next week's print edition of the Eastern Wake News will include a closer look of what made the headlines in 2008.

Earlier this month, it seemed as if Alejandro Escovedo's perpetually rotten luck in career matters was holding true to form when health reasons forced some dates to be canceled -- including what would have been his first-ever performance on CBS' "Late Show With David Letterman." But he has landed a pretty great substitute. Tonight, he'll open for Hillary Clinton's speech at the Democratic National Convention in Denver, performing his song "People (We're Only Gonna Live So Long)." That's supposed to happen at 7:45 p.m. Eastern Time, and I'm crossing my fingers that at least one cable news channel carries his performance.

Meanwhile, Escovedo is also still scheduled to play Cat's Cradle on Oct. 23.

ADDENDUM (9/10/08): Convention diary.