Check out our story from today's N&O about Kraig Bantle, a Raleigh business owner whose Garage Brothers enterprise is the focus of a new reality program debuting tomorrow evening on the DIY network. "Garage Gold" airs at 7 p.m.

Journalists don't have the best reputations, but I'd have to guess that if you separated foreign correspondents from other reporters in polls, the favorable numbers would be higher.

They should be. I'm not devaluing local news, but it takes a special breed and a special kind of courage to go to far-flung places and cover stories where the danger is evident.

"Vice" (11 p.m. Friday, HBO), an edgy news magazine, is chock full of that special breed of journalist and is focused on the stories that take a lot of effort and a lot of bravery to cover. It makes for a fascinating and illuminating half-hour.

You might have heard of "Vice" recently; that North Korea trip by "Celebrity Apprentice" and former NBA star Dennis Rodman was done for this show.

Hosted by Shane Smith, the Vice media company's founder, the first episode features a look at political assassinations in the Philippines. Reporter Ryan Duffy follows a candidate registering for re-election in a country that has has 1,200 political assassination in a decade. He uses that journey as a way of examining the country's gun culture (nearly 70 percent of the population owns guns) and how opposition groups teach children to use guns and kill.

That detail connects the story to the second report, about children suicide bombers in Kabul. Children are used because they can get past the checkpoints easier; 80 percent of the attacks are now done by teenagers, ignorant of the true teachings about suicide in the Koran, and duped by the Taliban to believe either that they will survive the bomb strapped to their chests or to think the vests are full of documents.

Smith manages to get interviews with some of the children captured, and it's clear and sad to see that they are indeed children. And there are hundreds of them. Some of the people fooling them are imams, religious leaders co-opted by the Taliban. Smith even gets an interview with a senior Taliban leader.

A second episode I screened had stories on an underground railroad that helps people escape North Korea and the volatile Kashmir border that separates India and Pakistan.

These stories are scary, but important, the kind of news you need to know but that you don't want to know because they let you know how precarious peace and safety are. Thank goodness for the journalists at "Vice" for being brave enough to bring these stories to us.

Nikita (8pm, CW) - Nikita and Michael learn about a new prosthetic hand that could help Michael return to his old self, but it comes at a steep price.

Profile for Murder (8pm, Lifetime) - A serial killer escapes from prison and stalks the retired criminal profiler who helped put him away.

Happy Endings (8pm, ABC) - Two more "Happy Endings" episodes tonight. In the first, Jane and Alex recommend Max to their longtime hairdresser, who dishes some juicy gossip about the ladies and triggers a sisterly war. In the second, Penny reaches out to her estranged father in advance of her wedding. Andy Richter plays her dad (he's kinda young for that, right?).

Grimm (9pm, NBC) - Rosalee is called up for jury duty and enlists Nick and Hank to stop a Wesen defense attorney from overturning a murder case.

Michael Feinstein's American Songbook (9:30pm, UNC-TV) - Season 3 opens with a look at American musicals with help from Steven Sondheim, Christine Ebersole and Angela Landsbury.

Blue Bloods (10pm, CBS) - Danny investigates a murder in a cemetery and discovers that the victim was a religious woman who was hiding her interfaith romance from her family.

Vice (11pm, HBO) - A new newsmagazine program offering stories from around the world debuts with a visit to the Philippines to examine the violent rivalries that erupt between political opponents. Also, a report on kids who are recuited by the Taliban to be suicide bombers in Afghanistan. Adrienne has a review of "Vice".

Parks and Recreation (8:30pm, NBC) - Leslie accompanies Ben on a trip to his hometown of Partridge, Minn., where he has been offered a key to the city. Ron deals with a lawsuit filed against him by Councilman Jamm.

Person of Interest (9pm, CBS) - Finch goes undercover at a corporation to investigate its leading tech executive, while Beecher provides incriminating evidence against a fellow detective.

The Mindy Project (9:30pm, Fox) - On a night out on the town by herself, Mindy meets a handsome man -- who just happens to be a prostitute. But the experience could pay off when she needs a date for Danny and Alex's dinner party, so she gives him a "Pretty Woman"-style makeover.

Hannibal (10pm, NBC) - In what looks to be NBC's best new scripted series in years -- and in my opinion, the best new broadcast network show of the 2012-13 season -- gifted criminal profiler Will Graham teams with cunning psychiatrist Hannibal Lecter to solve a string of brutal murders. The series is based on characters from the very well known novels by Thomas Harris and stars Hugh Dancy, Laurence Fishburne and Mads Mikkelsen (at right). Read more in my review of "Hannibal."

Scandal (10pm, ABC) - Olivia's team look for a mistake in one of their old cases, realizing an error could put them in grave danger.

Chef Wanted with Anne Burrell (10pm, Food Network) - Burrell helps a Raleigh restaurant group interview executive chef candidates, who must create sweet and savory crepes and cook a rabbit. The episode was filmed at Coquette at North Hills.

Archer (10pm, FX) - Cheryl travels to the Bermuda Triangle with her brother and his girlfriend in part one of the two-part Season 4 finale.

Watching the first five episodes of NBC's new series "Hannibal," I kept coming back to something I saw a few weeks ago on Twitter (if I could remember who said it, I'd credit them): "Hannibal" is everything Fox's serial killer drama "The Following" wants to be and everything its pilot falsely promised us it would be.

But it's also more.

This highly anticipated drama (by me at least), based on the well-known Hannibal Lecter character from Thomas Harris' novels (and of course, from the films), stars Mads Mikkelsen (left) as Lecter. Mikkelsen is an exceedingly magnetic Danish actor best known for playing a villain in the James Bond film, "Casino Royale."

In the NBC series, Dr. Lecter is a highly respected practicing psychiatrist recruited by Jack Crawford (Laurence Fishburne), the head of the FBI's Behavioral Sciences Unit, to assist his top consultant, Will Graham (Hugh Dancy, pictured below). But Hannibal's primary purpose isn't to help Will profile sick killers, he's mostly there to help Will manage his own fragile mental and emotional state.

Dancy's Will Graham is really the central character in "Hannibal," possessing an almost supernatural ability to profile serial killers, which he does for the FBI in addition to lecturing. And in today's television vogue, we all know that any crime solver with uncanny deductive skills is likely to be presented as being on the Autism spectrum -- something Will almost confirms in the first episode ("My horse is hitched to a post that is closer to Aspergers and autistics than narcissists and sociopaths," he says). But unlike some other fictional crime solvers I could name, Will's particular condition isn't presented to make him seem quirky or magical; his is a very, very dark burden.

In fact, Will's particular gift-slash-burden is that he over-empathizes to such a degree that he is able to imagine himself as the killer and "experience" the crime being committed. The viewer sees what Will experiences when he mentally transports himself, which is Will acting out atrocious crimes so that he can better understand the motive and the murderer.

As you might guess, spending a lot of time inside a psychopathic killer's brain takes a toll, and Will wears down, both physically and psychologically, as the episodes progress. Dr. Lecter is brought in as a sort of safety net (for Will or for the Bureau, we're not always positive) in case Will seems about to snap.

I absolutely love this show, but I made some incorrect assumptions about it as I watched the first episode, particularly in regard to any role Hannibal may or may not have in the series of crimes being investigated. By episode two, I realized my mistake and settled into the show's storytelling groove. By episode five, all of that is upended with a revelation that left me salivating for the next installment.

In addition to the inventive storylines and excellent acting (Mikkelsen in particular is mesmerizing), "Hannibal" distinguishes itself from anything else on network television by being beautifully and imaginatively filmed. (It's developed, executive produced and written by Bryan Fuller, the creator the exquisite "Pushing Daisies" and "Wonderfalls.") The violence and crime scenes are graphic, but not gratuitously so, in my opinion.

In fact, some of the most chilling scenes involve no apparent violence at all: Dr. Lecter preparing and serving food to guests. Knowing what we know -- or think we know -- about Hannibal Lecter, it's impossible to watch Will take a bite of homemade sausage or see Crawford eat a bite of "loin" without freaking out a little. Even more disconcerting than the way Lecter's guests devour his scrumptiously prepared gourmet meals is the way he studies them as they take those first bites.

"Hannibal" looks and feels like a show you would see on cable, which is about the highest compliment you can pay a network program these days. And it's by far the best show NBC has introduced in years, as well as the best new broadcast network show of the season. It's in a killer timeslot, though (so to speak), up against "Scandal" on ABC and "Elementary" on CBS on Thursday nights at 10.

But if you're a fan of the murder mystery TV genre, just do whatever you have to do to check this one out.

***
"Hannibal" debuts on Thursday night at 10 on NBC.

Coquette, a French restaurant at North Hills in Raleigh, will be featured in Thursday night's episode of "Chef Wanted with Anne Burrell" on the Food Network. The show airs at 10 p.m. and repeats at 1 a.m. Before you watch, be sure to read Andrea Weigl's article about Coquette's TV experience.

Our "Dancing with the Stars" correspondent Lenni G has the lowdown on last night's elimination.

Lenni G: Other than the results, my favorite part of the night was a taped dance routine from choreographers Nick Flores and R. J., which featured not only great moves, but those same great moves backwards. Love it when technology and art come together for a great show.

We also had songs from Huey Lewis and the News as well as Demi Lovato, and lots of dancing from lots of folks.

Viewers votes resulted in Zendaya and Jacoby being chosen as Prom King and Queen. Judges scores and viewer votes also resulted in Zendaya and Val, and Jacoby and Karina being declared safe for next week. Others safe included Kellie and Derek, D. L. and Cheryl, Sean and Peta, Victor and Lindsay, Ali and Mark, and Ingo and Kym, which meant that Lisa and Gleb, Andy and Sharna, and Wynonna and Tony were in jeopardy.

When I saw the promotions for "Forever Young" (10 tonight, TV Land), I rolled my eyes. Putting seniors and 20s omethings in the same house seemed gimmicky and lame.

Well, it is gimmicky and it's not the bold social experiment the producers (including Ashton Kutcher) would like you to believe it is, but "Forever Young" is a sweet, little show that proves that each group can learn something valuable from one another, if only they took the time to talk.

The cast on the under 30 side includes Mike, a cancer survivor; Andree, a pretty Latino; Angelina, a tough girl; Sam, a so-called 'crunchy' guy; and Christian, who's gay. The over 70s are Arthur aka Double A, the godfather of racquetball; Shirley, a former showgirl; Lou, a former pro football player; Emileen, a recent widow; and Eugene, a quiet and amiable veteran.

No doubt about it, you'll like the seniors immediately. They are active, spunky, funny, everything you hope to be when you grow up. The 'kids' come across, at first, as brats. The ladies, in particular, are rude and they all don't seem very bright. In the first episode, there's a game show contest between the groups in which the seniors must answer questions the 20 somethings would know and vice versa. It's telling that the questions aimed at the seniors are all pop culture related ("Who is Brangelina? "What is a bromance?") while the questions aimed toward the 20 somethings are historical facts like "Which war came first: the Civil War, Vietnam or World War II?" And the 20 something asked doesn't know the answer. (By the way, it seems the best age to be is between 40 and 60. You can use a map, a GPS & you know about Brad & Angie.)

But as the show continues it gets less gimmicky and gains a lot of heart. You learn more about some of the cast (Eugene gets left out for the most part, sadly) that deepens your understanding of their behavior, you see some defenses come down, and true connections are made.

That's not totally surprising; it's often easier to get along with your grandparents than your parents. They usually love you a little differently, with a little less judgment.

One thing I disliked: there's a financial element to the show that doesn't make sense, doesn't seem necessary and cheapens the effort.

But it doesn't ruin the sweet message of the show: we never stop learning and wisdom can come from many places.

The Middle (8pm, ABC) - The season finale of "The Bachelor" disheartens Frankie, so she sulks about it for several days.

Nature: What Plants Talk About (8pm, UNC-TV) - Ecologist J.C. Cahill leads this look at plants, which he contends are as busy and complex as humans. He explains how they "talk" to allies, eavesdrop on one another and call in mercenaries to protect them.

How to Live with Your Parents (For the Rest of Your Life) (9:30pm, ABC) - This new sitcom will be lucky if from here on out I type "How to Live With Your Parents," because how obnoxious is that long title?? Anyway, this overly titled new sitcom has a young single mom (Sarah Chalke) moving back home to live with her eccentric parents (Elizabeth Perkins and Brad Garrett). I'm not a fan of the voice-over narration, but it has some funny bits.

Southland (10pm, TNT) - Gangsters emerge for the funeral of a high-level drug dealer, leading to chaos on the streets. Meanwhile, Lydia and Ruben unearth police corruption while probing a murder, and Ben has suspicions about Sammy.

Forever Young (10pm, TV Land) - A new reality series that makes housemates of five people over 70 and five twentysomethings, and chronicles what they can -- and can't -- learn from one another. Adrienne likes it. Here's her review of "Forever Young."

The Americans (10pm, FX) - A routine mission goes sideways for Philip and Elizabeth. Meanwhile, an FBI agent disappears.

Chicago Fire (10pm, NBC) - Despite Severide's support, Mills faces resentment from his colleagues about his desire to join Squad.

CSI (10pm, CBS) - A body is discovered near a forest reserve and the investigation leads the CSIs to uncover what may be a serial killer's secret.

It was another great night of dancing for North Carolina native Kellie Pickler. Our "Dancing with the Stars" correspondent Lenni G has the full recap below.

Lennie: It was Prom Night and once again our homie, Kellie Pickler, and her partner, Derek Hough, were brilliant dancing a jive. As Carrie Ann said, it was the fastest routine she'd ever seen and was just "ridiculously amazing." Bruno loved how crisp, tight and precise the whole thing looked. Even Len had to declare her, "Queen of the Prom." I would go one step further, Len, and declare her, "Queen of the Night." Judges scores - 8's from Carrie Ann and Bruno, 9 from Len for a total of 25.

Ali and Mark started the evening with a Viennese waltz that looked great. Len said he was very impressed. Bruno was swept away with the romance and great expression. Carrie Ann commented on the amazing quality of movement. I just love how Ali's personality is growing every week and that she's gotten away from being a robotic gymnast in her performances. Judges scores - 7 from Carrie Ann, 8's from Len and Bruno for a total of 23.