Over the first three hours of FX's "The Bastard Executioner," we see several pitched battles involving swords, spears, and flaming arrows. We witness limbs and heads sliced clean off, sit through men in dungeons being flayed alive, watch naked woman wander through scenes of incredible carnage, and see hallucinatory images of demons, snakes, and other creatures haunt the show's eponymous hero. The series is not skimping on graphic, macabre imagery. So why is it all so dull? "Bastard Executioner" (it debuts tonight at 10) was created by Kurt Sutter, the man responsible for the biggest hit in FX history, "Sons of Anarchy." Early in its run, particularly in its second season, "Sons" was one of TV's best, tightest dramas. But as the show went along, it got too big in every way, with plots contorted past all interest, and episodes expanded nearly to feature film length many weeks. Still, it was an enormous commercial success,
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