Last night, Showtime premiered the first episode of its mystery-drama The Affair — a series that demands a closer viewing than pretty much any other drama on television. (If you missed it, or don't subscribe to Showtime, you can watch the first episode here.) Yes, The Affair is about an affair — an apparently ill-fated one, since both Noah (Dominic West) and Alison (Ruth Wilson) have been forced to describe its details to a police detective.