All TV: Getting to know 'Nimrod Nation'

Today's column previews the new Sundance Channel documentary series "Nimrod Nation":

"Deer season just got over with, and now it's basketball season."

And in those 11 words, you pretty much have life in Watersmeet, a small town in Michigan's Upper Peninsula that's the subject of the new Sundance Channel documentary series "Nimrod Nation" (tonight at 9).

For men like brothers Jeff and Phil Zelinski, it's a simple, glorious life: You raise your kids, you hunt and fish, and when the sun goes down, you head to the local high school to watch the Nimrods.

The Nimrods - the nickname derives from a great hunter in the Book of Genesis, as Watersmeet is prime hunting country - were the subject of a series of ESPN commercials in 2004, with the tag line, "Without sports, who would cheer for the Nimrods?" The ads were directed by Brett Morgen, who was so taken with the unpretentious people of Watersmeet that he returned to chronicle the beloved hoops team's 2005-06 season.

There's also a short preview of season two of "Notes From the Underbelly," which I still dislike. To read the full thing, click here.

By the way, last night's "Dexter" was the first one I didn't get to see in advance, so I won't be able to post on it until later today, if not tomorrow.