(S01E04) - Lives are more important than livelihood.

A major political leader's daughter has been kidnapped by militant insurgents and only one government insider can save her. Throw in a pair of electric nipple clamps hooked up to a car battery and a ticking clock, and it sounds like you've got an episode of 24.

This, however, was last night's Kings. Episode four takes a seemingly innocent decision to give Port of Prosperity to rival Gath and almost turns the whole affair into the white hot embers of a growing civil war within Shiloh.

King Silas' decision to give Gath the Port of Prosperity returns to bite him in the ass when its residents don't like their leader's use of eminent domain. So Silas puts our hero David Shepherd back in the spotlight to quell the growing insurgency and test his loyalty.

My television has missed Ian McShane since Deadwood went buh-bye. His cunning and devious but seemingly moralistic portrayal of Al Swearengen made for a great complex character who could be a villian or an angel, depending on the situation and how evil you are.

He's born to play gruff badasses with gravely voices and icy cold stares that could land a bruise without him lifting a finger. That complex character has returned in McShane's new utopian morality drama Kings, much more toned down, of course.

After all, this is NBC, network television. They have enough money troubles without having the FCC breathing down their neck.