Lost Podcast

I am pleased to say that Lost has gotten much better in these past few episodes. The show finally got its momentum back. The introduction and development of Juliet’s role has really pumped up Lost and made it even jucier. Last week when we saw her help out Sun in determining her date of conception (D.O.C. episode), we realized that Ben is somehow forcing Juliet to go along with whatever plan he has concocted. It was extra creepy when we saw her go back after the ultrasound and record her findings for Ben. It makes you wonder why they are tracking the survivors so closely and what the purpose could be.

More importantly, what was with the parachuted woman, Naomi, who fell from the sky into the jungle? She knew Desmond’s name and said that there was no way Hurley and the other survivors could possibly have been on Oceanic flight 815 since rescuers found the plane and there were no survivors. That’s extra creepy. However, although it may allude to the idea that the survivors may be in purgatory, loyal fans know that cannot be true since the writers and creators promised this would not happen.

After a little bit of confusion, I decided to log onto ABC’s website and listen to the show’s most recent podcast narrated by executive producers David Lindeloff and Carlton Cuse. They confirmed that the island is in fact not purgatory, though they fail to give much else for an explanation. Possible suggestions are that Naomi is lying (highly unlikely) or that it was all part of a conspiracy so that people would stop looking for them…though they refuse to really expand on anything they add that more will be revealed on this Wednesday night’s upcoming epside, The Brig.

The executive producers know people have been frustrated and they promise to reveal some major secrets in the next couple of episodes leading up to the finale, but of course, as expected not all of them since Lost always keeps viewers guessing even after major secrets have been revealed. We also discover from the podcast that the Other’s interest in children goes beyond women’s inability to successfully give birth to children if they are conceived on the island. Lindeloff and Cuse say that along with fertility issues, the Others are also interested in children who have”special abilities” like Walt for example. They say that is part of the reason for why the Others spent time trying to kidnap him and why they forced him to perform tests and answer so many questions.

All in all, this week’s podcast was not only entertaining, but also somewhat helpful on a small scale. I cannot wait for this week’s episode to air…only a few more left until the season finale which is sure to reveal something good that we have been hoping for all year long. Hopefully the writers will incorporate Jacob (the mysterious man with more power than Ben) into the mix and reveal what’s going on in terms of Oceanic flight 815 supposedly being found with no survivors.

Gray Grey’s

i have watched grey’s anatomy from the beginning. i have seen every episode of every season and haven’t been this disappointed yet. For 3 seasons viewers have been waiting for McDreamy and Meredith to be happy and together. why, after only a few episodes of them being together, are they already trying to pull them apart again? this is the thing about television writers that i don’t like. they love to mess with the lives of our favorite characters. mcdreamy and meredith deserve one season of non-threatening relationship drama. take christina and burke for example, for almost the entire show these two have been together. we have watched them overcome obstacles and fall madly in love with one another. yes they have their drama but i don’t think i’ve watched one episode of grey’s and actually feared that christina and burke might brake up. you just sort of know that they will work out whatever problem they have in the end and surprise surprise they always do. but meredith and derek can’t ever get that kind of a break. i understand the whole dramatic effect that television needs but why not mess with burke and christina? why not give them something worry about instead of meredith and derek all the time. it just gets to the point where it’s not dramatic anymore between them it’s just old. i think it would better serve the writers to focus on christina and burke or even focus more on the addison/alex/mcsteamy love triangle (that only lasted like 2 episodes - there was such a build up of addison and alex and with in like 3 minutes they did it and alex was an ass and that was that). I just don’t like what the writers are choosing to focus on. The battle for chief is a great idea but why put derek and meredith’s relationship in the middle of that. i know it creates conflict but derek is the romance guy. he’s the one that does the right thing, that treats meredith right and takes care of her and suddenly he’s throwing away everything he’s done to get her back in order to be chief? the mcdreamy that i know would never do that, it just simply wouldn’t matter. if it came down to chief or meredith derek would chose the girl - mark would chose chief, even burke, but not derek. it’s just not in his character to do that. so why are the writers doing this to him?
after asking myself these questions over and over again i decided that maybe i was missing something. something from one of the previous seasons that i just didn’t remember. maybe derek was extremely work oriented like burke and i just forgot because i wanted him to be with meredith so badly. so i went back and re-watched the second season. i was right. derek is not the man the writers are making him out to be. yes his work is important to him but they’ve always made it seem more enjoyable for him instead of a job. his relationships were what he put most of his energy into - addison, mark, meredith, etc. but now suddenly he’s all about the job and burke is all about wedding cakes. i dont understand why the writers are messing with the dynamics of the characters but they shouldn’t. they need to let the characters be what they are and create drama somewhere other than meredith and mcdreamy. people are starting to get tired of meredith and mcdreamy and if the show is going to be successful for a long period of time then they have to focus more on the other characters in the cast.
I also have a problem with the izzy george relationship but that would need to be a whole other blog in itself.
I fear the worst for Grey’s. Please don’t ruin a good thing!

Heroes Returns!

Heroes returns!  And with it an abundance of answers, yet with those answers, an abundance of questions.  

 Much of Monday’s return focused around Linderman and the revalation that he is not only a nortorious mobster in Las Vegas, but a gifted hero himself.  However, Linderman’s views on how to use his powers are somewhat skewed, doing very evil and deadly things, but all under the notion that he is pushing humanity forward, cutting our losses and continuing the evolutionary process. 

Mrs. Patrelli’s character recieved a little more definition on Monday, as well, but the writers took the character in a somwhat unexpected direction.  Portrayed as more of an adversary rather than an allie, she convinces Clair that she must leave her family and go into hiding if she is to ever have a chance at a normal life. 

The most interesting thing about Monday’s show, however, was the teaser for next week’s episode.  It appears that even though they just came back from a long break, they are going back and using yet another filler episode before the end of the season.  The episode will take place in the future, five years to be exact.  It will revolve around the premise that the heroes fail and Peter explodes in the middle of New York City.  Hiro and Ando explore new New York and look for clues as to how they failed in the past to they can fix their mistakes.  I think that the episode is random and a little unnerving because it automatically gets ride of one option that could have occurred at the end of the season.   I mean, no, I don’t think anyone really thinks that the season would have ended with New York exploding, but now we know that this will definitely not happen because, presumably, Hiro and Ando figure it out and then try to fix the problem in the last three episodes of the season.  With a lot of season finales, I feel like there is always one option that the writers could go with that is completely out of the question, but the viewers always think, “what if?”  What if it did end that certain way that would be catastrophic for the characters.  Well, now, that “What if?” is completely taken away and one door is completely closed.

 Granted, I know I’m taking a lot for granted, but this episode idea was so strange to me.  Its unlike anything I have ever seen, which I give them credit for, but at the same time, I just see it being more humerous and honestly confusing than interesting and plot driving.  I could be, and hope that I am, completely wrong.  I dont want to see the show go down hill so quickly but decisions like this just leave me scratching my head.  I guess we can all find out tomorrow night…

Blurring the Boundaries in Betty

Blurring the Boundaries in Betty

I have to begin by confessing that I have not yet watched the last few episodes of Ugly Betty; with the craziness of the end of the semester, they’re still sitting on my DVR. While this analysis relies on a more general view of the show, one that’s not necessarily dependent on the specific narrative developments of the last few episodes, I just felt that I should point that out as a reason why I may not use the very latest examples.

In my first post on SmuTube, I attributed Ugly Betty’s success on American television to it’s successful blending of telenovela qualities and elements of American comedy. In thinking more about that assessment over the course of the semester while watching the “fresh” episodes of this spring, it struck me that it is not just in format that Ugly Betty blurs the lines – it also does it in characters, setting, and aesthetic style. In blending these areas and “borrowing” elements of narrative and style from different types of television, Ugly Betty is a fascinating example of the postmodern “pastiche” on American primetime television.

While some characters on Ugly Betty are for the most part clearly defined “good” or “evil,” such as Betty (good) and Wilhelmina (evil), more than shows like The Sopranos, lines are blurred along several other axes. Take Betty, for example. As the title of the show blatantly claims, she is “ugly,” although merely in terms of her physical appearance. But the show is constantly reminding her and viewers that she is “beautiful” on the inside. And viewers are arguably very aware that the actress that plays her, America Ferrerra, is beautiful in real life.1 This sense of obvious “acting” for Betty alludes to elements of camp within the show, although not necessarily playing with the lines of gender. That does happen with other characters very clearly, however. As discussed briefly in my last post, other characters on the show are presented along blurred gender lines as well, notably Marc, the teenage boy who likes musicals and high fashion. In addition, Alexis (formerly Alex), who underwent a sex change operation to become a woman, also presents several blurred lines of gender both within the diegetic world of the show and in real life. Characters in the show, especially Daniel, struggle with ways to accept Alexis’ change, not knowing how to react or relate to her. Other characters in the show, such as Betty, constantly confuse the pronouns of “he/she” and “him/her” when referring to Alexis, presenting the diegetic struggle with the lines of gender in Alexis. However, Alexis is played by an actress, Rebecca Romijn – a woman pretending to be a woman who used to be a man. Talk about queering. But does the fact that this former man is played by a woman, one that America has previously accepted as a beautiful woman even before her role on the show, make it easier to accept the character as a woman?2 Does that actually serve to lessen the blur of gender lines? I’m not sure of the answer, but it is definitely a great example of questionable categories.

The physical world within the show is also breaking down certain lines as well. In the offices of Mode magazine, walls are made of clear glass, serving to visually open up lines and barriers in the office. Betty’s post outside of Daniel’s office contains no walls, and and allows her a perfect view into Alex’s office at all times. Even Wilhelmina’s office is made of clear glass walls. The locations in the New York setting of the show also embody breaking down of lines. Betty is constantly identified hailing from Queens, denoted as the working class location, while working and spending time in Manhattan, identified as high-class. The characters venturing back and forth between Queens and Manhattan presents not only crossing lines of location but also of class. However, in some cases, these lines are sometimes not presented as blurred as much as they are crossed by some of the characters awareness of the stark definitions of these lines. For instance, when Daniel comes to the Suarez house for Christmas, Marc points out the irony in Daniel spending Christmas in Queens, which in some cases serves more to point out the fact that Daniel is out of place in the working class location.

Ugly Betty also plays with this blurring in its aesthetics and style. The opening montage of the show, with the face split into three sections that move between different people’s eyes, nose, and mouth, quite literally serves to blur lines in sense of beauty and overtonally in terms of identity. This part of the opening montage, along with the loud colors and large font taking up the whole screen seems to be an example of postmodern pastiche as well, borrowing from other genre styles outside of the United States. However, for younger audiences (myself included), it’s sort of a simulacra, because I know I’ve seen that loud style with big font before, but I just can’t put my finger on exactly when or where. Clearer versions of pastiche within the show are brought in other ways that not only “borrow” from other genres, but also serve to blur lines between media texts. In Ugly Betty, the Suarez family is always watching a telenovela on television, one that exhibits the prototypical elements of the genre in Latin America, including dialogue in Spanish, dramatic music, and overdramatic acting and narrative. In another interesting blur, Salma Hayek, Ugly Betty’s producer, actually plays a character in the telenovela, appearing as an actress in a tv show within the show that she’s producing. In addition, there’s also a “FashionTV” show that the characters watch within the show, namely Justin, whose content comments on events going on at Mode magazine. In this way, Ugly Betty not only “borrows” this element of high fashion tv (with a queered tv host presenting celebrity news), but this pastiche also serves to progress the narrative of the show by providing narration for actual events within the show (like Alexis’ return and Bradford’s arrest). These are both fascinating examples of postmodern pastiche and concurrent boundary blurring in terms of television texts.

It is this constant blurring of lines and playing with definitions of beauty and identity that keeps bringing me back to this show. Despite the fact that Ugly Betty presents somewhat conflicting ideas of ideology (another postmodern characteristic) in that while presenting alternative ideas of beauty and identity in Betty and other characters, it also at the same glamorizes high fashion magazines and life within the world of material beauty, I am still drawn to watching the show and rooting for Betty. These overlapping ideas, definitions, and locations, to me at least, are indicative of our real lives, where we women are constantly negotiating several different lines and categories at once.
————–

1 - Ferrerra’s appearance on the Emmy’s and the SAG awards presented her as dressed up and beautiful, not to mention the wealth of coverage in the popular media about Ferrerra’s process to become “ugly” on the show.
2- Rebecca Romijn is a well-known model in America, who’s been featured in Sports Illustrated Swim Suit issues (2006), and has been identified by FHM magazine as one of the “100 Sexiest Women.”

Grey’s Anatomy Gaining Speed

The writers finally started eating their wheaties again and it showed. The show’s idiosyncratic parallel plotlines with underlining themes was back in this episode. Although Grey’s did not invent this method of having a narrator who ties each plot line together, they did do it eloquently and with their own twist. For instance, Carrie Bradshaw did this in Sex and the City long before Meredith came to Seatle Grace Hospital. The reason it works in Grey’s anatomy is because of the eclectic cast. No one really cares about Meredith all that much. This is one reason why this episode was better than recent ones with bad ratings. The writers finally stopped focusing on Meredith so much. The show may be named after her, but she’s no Carrie Bradshaw. The writers were smart to focus on other characters this time.

Furthermore, viewers weren’t so much mad that the show was focusing on Meredith during the “limbo” episodes but because of the content, lengthiness, and the shift in style of the episodes. No one wants to watch Meredith die and come back to life. Yes, Grey’s is a Medical drama, but viewers tune in for the social drama. It is important, just like any other show, to proliferate other story lines through the characters. However, the thing that sets Grey’s apart from other medical dramas is the social drama. In other words, viewers of Grey’s are more likely to go to the bathroom during the action scene than the sex scene between Meredith and McDreamy. Every other aspect of the show should remain secondary to the social drama and they shouldn’t experiment so much. I’m glad that the writers finally realized this with last weeks episode because after all.. if it ain’t broke don’t fix it.

They did, however, fix the the show making it more like the “old Greys.” The rhythm, characters, and tone were the same again. The main focus was on Izzy and George which are characters that audiences usually respond well to. Callie is a character that people either love or hate, but I think most people do not see her and George’s relationship being realistic. So, I think viewers probably like it that their marriage is not working. At first when George and Izzy got together it seemed absurd, but after seeing “Time After Time” it was aparent that maybe there are true feelings there. I think this was a bold move for Greys to do. It seems too easy to set up two friends and people probably want to see more characters develope. However, the Izzy and George thing actually seems real. I could see them having a “Chandler and Monica” relationship.

I am finally happy again with the way the show is going, but only with one episode. If the writers continue to keep the same style and stick with the juicy plotlines, they should end up being marathon runners. So, while Greys is gaining speed..I just hope that they can continue to do that time after time.

All Things Unoriginal

After admitting my family background, I must admit, something else, I don’t watch a lot of TV because I am not a very big fan of serial style narratives. Watching Star Trek (not DS9) was the closest to serial, and even Voyager can be watched out of order, the only real thing that changes episode to episode is how many tens of light years they have advanced in there hopeful but equally bleak 70,000 light year journey. However I have started to enjoy the serial of “The Riches,” maybe I can follow because they have a minute and a half long recap that recaps the season so far, however, this isn’t too hard because they are only on episode seven. Nor do I watch a lot of reality TV either; I prefer the good old comedy sitcom, sit down, and watch 30 minutes of TV and your done.

So I have read a few reviews about “The Riches” and I keep hearing that this show is unoriginal. I have no frame of reference, but maybe it is…. SO WHAT?! There’s not a lot of original and new stuff on TV, and I don’t need a CTV degree to see that! Three “CSIs,” five “Law and Orders,” five “Star Treks” and countless other direct spin-offs; those aren’t original either, but for the most part seem to be doing quite well in the case of “CSI.” One thing learned in TV class is there is very little new stuff, almost everything is based off of something else that came before it, especially now that there are so many channels and only so many hours a day, do the math, I have 100+ channels, others have more, every day that passes is 100 days of TV lineup. Everyone is looking for that something new, but everyone also seems content with rehashing the old stuff… “American Idol” is followed by a whole lineage of copycat shows, showcasing a supposed talent to the endearing fans. They’re all the same! Cable is no different, there are countless dating “reality” shows, but they are all the same too, just with different “twists.” Reality shows became very popular here in the US in the new decade, but only if you never flipped on a foreign channel. But even those can find roots in 1950’s games shows.

“Married with Children” may have been new, but how original is it to get an idea by starting out saying, “We’re not the “Cosby Show,’” may make for something new, but still unoriginal. Taking a list and changing the positives to negatives still equals the same thing, just negative. It has originality; it does things previously unable to be done on TV, much like HBO leads the way with “The Sopranos” or “Sex and the City.”

For those up on history, the originality of TV becomes even less remarkable when radio is factored into TV’s history. The serial format itself is old, dating back to early radio. Reality shows could be found on “candid microphone” shows as well as trivia and game shows.

Originality aside, the premier of “The Riches” raked in 3.8 million viewers and another 1.35 million in an encore presentation. Of those first 3.8 million, 3 million viewers were previously tuned in to “The Day After Tomorrow.” I don’t know where to find more current ratings, so that will have to do.

The show is somewhat predictable, but general plot lines often are (back to the originality problem). The first few episodes were rough, but once they were finally beginning to even think about calming down, the “old family” finally catches up at the end of episode four, didn’t take long did it? The family had to catch up some time, they new it was going to happen with in the show. FX could have allowed more time to reunite the families, however the reemergence of the family in episode six provides “The Riches” with an easy end to the series if it would ever need to be ended in less then one show.
SPOILER… but not really… Wayne is announced as the front-runner for leader of the old family. The Malloys fail, they go home, they clear up a big mess started at the end of episode five, and our beloved family with Eddie Izzard as patriarch lives on happy as the leader of the gypsy travelers and the whole family is armed with new life experiences and school for the children.

None of the general plot line is new though, but then again, if you want to generalize everything, almost nothing is new at all, the world has been around for just to long, new things are generally improvements on the old with new twists. What is the Internet but an extension of the early radio days when anyone with some electrical know how could be on the airwaves communicating with other people? To me, and apparently everyone else, it’s the specifics that is what matters… Are they dancing, singing, skating, eating worms? They are all the same format, just different specifics, and as far as I am concerned, a gypsy family with no education jumping into the rich, highly educated life, with nothing more then a branch through another man’s heart is pretty original on the specifics.

So what if it is unoriginal? So is the majority of what else is on TV, get over it and go watch YouTube, but if you look real close, how much of that is distinctly original?

Karen Hayes is notified by Hock of the Justice Department that the information has been brought up about her husband, Bill Buchanan, releasing Fayed from custody for lack of evidence two years ago allowing Fayed to killed 13,000 American.  She has been accused of covering this information up.  Someone has to be responsible so she has to decide whether she takes the blame and President’s administration suffer, or Buchanan takes the blame and has to step down as head of CTU in a crucial time. I thought it was interesting that she had to decide between her job and protecting her husband; she chose to fire Buchanan. Tom Lennox said, “That’s politics.” I thought politics was passing legislation, international relations, etc not deciding who takes the blame, “protecting” the administration, and firing a capable leader for releasing Fayed while innocent.

 

Before Buchanan is escorted out of CTU, he appoints Nadia as his successor. Why her? Within four hours, she goes from being falsely accused and interrogated of leaking information to terrorist because of Muslim descent to becoming head of CTU. Maybe Buchanan did it so he would not eventually get sued for discrimination by Nadia further destroying his image.

 

Cottage cheese-face Vice President Daniels’ down low relationship with his secretary and follow perjurer is revealed. You ever heard of the phrase, “A couple that prays together, stays together”? In their case: a couple that lies together, stay together. That had to worst kissing scene in television history. Before the kiss, he claimed that he can’t stop thinking about her… He needs to think about calling Proactive Solutions to treat his face disease or think about the incriminating tapes of perjury potentially being released by
Lennox instead of getting some ass.  Although Lennox claimed he wouldn’t use the tapes against him, the fate of the VP becoming a jail bird remains in
Lennox’s hands.  If he does anything that
Lennox doesn’t like, VP Daniels will have to find a mate in a cell block instead of in the White House personnel.

 

Morris has requested to be transferred from coms because he lost the war of words with his ex-boo, Chloe. Instead of being separated, they really just need to get-it-on one last time.  If Vice President Daniels can get frisky in the Oval Office, why can’t Morris release some sexual frustration in CTU? But anyway, I’m glad the bickering between the two has ended because it just drags episodes along when all I really want to see is Jack, despite cracked ribs and gunshot wounds, win 5 on 1 gun battles and fist fights.

Not Lost

recently, since every show i decide to watch ends up getting canceled, i decided to start watching LOST. it has been said that if you haven’t watched LOST from the beginning there is no point in trying to start watching it now. I have to disagree because I have never seen the first season, or the second, or the beginning of the third. I started watching this show about two episodes into the third season and for the most part understand what’s going on. Now there’s a good chance that’s because I have someone that watches it with me who has seen the whole series, but I don’t think that’s the only reason. Frequently, throughout the show they do a sort of recap when talking to other characters. For example, on the most recent episode, Claire gets really sick and Juliet has to save her. The whole time they are talking about a previous character that died, Ethan. They explain that before Claire had her baby, she was kidnapped by Ethan and tests were done on her but she doesn’t remember much of anything. Juliet reveals that what they were actually doing was helping her so that she could give birth (because no other woman on the island has been able to give birth). Even though i hadn’t seen any of the past stuff they were talking about and I didn’t know who Ethan was, I still picked up on what was going on through their dialog. So the point I’m trying to make is that serial dramas like Lost are not impossible to jump into mid-way through, you just have to pay attention. I think this aspect makes serial dramas more appealing because the viewer gets the intense, seriousness and complex story of the serial drama but also has the opportunity to leave and come back as long as they’re willing to pay close attention to the dialog to figure out what’s going on. It’s actually a lot like a soap opera in the sense that there is always a lot going on so it’s easy to get lost but easy to pick back up too. I’ve always thought that about serial dramas, they’re the day time of night time, so why do so many audiences feel like it’s impossible to join in on a long running serial drama? I’m really glad that I gave Lost a shot because it really is a great show, and I’m definitely not lost.

The housewives are ridiculously endearing

The ridiculous housewives have finally returned to Wisteria Lane in the insane, eye-catching grandeur that we previously so admired and despised.

It’s been a while since ABC treated us to the pleasure of a new episode of Desperate Housewives, and after watching Sunday night’s episode (a couple of days late I’ll admit but, hey, The Sopranos and Entourage came back, I had to make some important decisions here,) I missed the gals, and am glad to see that Marc Cherry and co. have recaptured the fading flame of a seven-year (or three year in this case, but you get the metaphor,) marriage.

What attracted the high ratings to DH in its first ever-popular season were its clever, intelligent writing and the incredible behavior that these seemingly average housewives were capable of. Edie (Nicolette Sheridan) squeezing out a wet sponge on her chest while washing her car is a classic example of an absolutely silly stunt that made these women so wonderfully watchable in its heyday, not to mention the fashion show of Agent Provocateur’s newest collection of lingerie on Eva Longoria. Good news for good TV fans and boys everywhere: Sunday’s episode had all of that (except Edie was taking all her clothes off this time).

Even though one of my favorite housewives didn’t make an appearance in this episode, (Marcia Cross just had twins. I guess it’s alright she didn’t have to deal with her fictional teenage daughter’s unplanned pregnancy,) the antics of the four other abnormally attractive suburban housewives (I say abnormally attractive because I have yet to see a residential block with so many women and men that are that easy to look at,) satisfied my craving for what drew me to this show during its first season.

I like this show, I do, but I don’t love it. I don’t think its great, but it is good. None of the issues it deals with are particularly groundbreaking, even though they are somewhat controversial. Where DH marvelously succeeds is its execution of ideas and plots. Intrigue is never in short supply, neither is entertainment. I am encouraged to care about these women. Even if I find Teri Hatcher anorexicly obnoxious, I care about her, too, and I want her to be happy.

But what makes this show so special are the unbelievable lengths these women go to, and the mistakes they make. Susan (Hatcher) is a klutz, known for tripping, stumbling, accidentally burning houses down, and getting locked out of her house completely naked. This week she accidentally sets her future proper British mother-in-law on fire and spills wine all over her shirt. She then catches her future proper father-in-law wearing her bra and nightgown.

Gabrielle (Longoria) steals clothes from the closet of her boyfriend’s ex-wife’s closet by slipping about ten dresses underneath her coat after her closet full of immaculate clothing is immaculately destroyed. Upon finding out, Mrs. Ex-wife makes Gaby strip in the bathroom and leaves her in a bathroom stall in her skivvies.

Edie’s three-week sex drought has brought her attention to Carlos (she brilliantly compares buying too much lingerie while horny to buying too many groceries while hungry,) and resorts to bribing her son and breaking part of his model airplane to get some alone time with Carlos, and then shoves her boobs in his face. And amazingly he doesn’t jump at her rack.

And here is why this show works—the outlandishness of the women leads them to find out a bit more about themselves, and allows us to respect and understand them on another level.

Susan shows how much she loves her fiancé, Gaby opens up to the man she was trying to resist, and Edie reveals herself (emotionally and physically) to Carlos. This episode presented a great deal of character development that had been lacking in recent episodes, mostly in season two where disconnection to the characters that were supposed to feel like good friends were unrecognizable.

Stealing the dream

Changing tracks from the paternally inept, but mostly law abiding David Gold to law avoiding but paternally excellent Wayne Malloy (Eddie Izzard) is not what this paper, excuse me, blog, is about, but felt like a good opener as my last installment was on the dumb dad of sitcoms. This paper, however, is about The Riches, a show of a family trying to “steal the American Dream.”

Ratings for the premiere on Mach 12, 2007 counted 3.8 million viewers, of those, 2.5 million viewers fell in the 18-49 age range demographic. Other critical reviews tend toward favorable, however The Riches has been criticized for being unoriginal, but there is not much of anything original out there.

For those who have not caught this new series from FX, tonight at 10pm CST on FX is a full marathon of all past shows, so if you have 5 hours to spare or a DVR, I do not think your time will be wasted. The Riches were a family moving from Tampa, Florida to Baton Rouge, Louisiana, but were killed in rout in a terrible road accident when forced off the road by a “rival family” that was chasing the Malloys. After investigating the wreck and finding that the Riches were currently moving, and decides that he and his family will assume the life of the Riches – who are, in fact, very rich – and thus attempt to steal the American Dream, upward mobility and a satisfying and successful life.

Wayne’s draw to this rich lifestyle comes from hints about his past, including being called a “half-breed” meaning that he joined the gypsy marriage through his “royal” wife of the Malloy family (the Malloys are the leading family of the gypsy campy). Wayne seems to possess a high school education, well beyond his own family and the gypsy camp. Wayne is also a huge risk taker, the last event ending with a two-year jail sentence for his wife. However, Wayne is a motivated provider for his family and felt the risk was worth the benefit he could then provide for his children.

An intelligent and street smart family, The Malloys consisting of parents Wayne Malloy (assuming the life of Doug Rich, played by Eddie Izzard) and Dahlia Malloy (assuming the life of Cherien Rich, played by Minnie Driver, have three children (exact ages unknown) of eldest son Cael (15-17?), daughter Dehliah “Di Di” (14-16), and cross dressing son Sam (7-10).

Previously Irish gypsy travelers, the Wayne Malloy family begins to chafe under the new responsibilities and complications of moving from living “off the grid” lower class lifestyle to an “on the grid” upper class lifestyle. While the parents must assume the lives of Doug and Cherien Rich, the children are able to act as themselves with a new last name as the Riches were childless.

The main motivator behind The Riches is not getting caught and being sent to jail – again for Dahlia – and figuring out how to maintain the Rich lifestyle with no previous experience. Wayne’s abilities of quick thinking and adept spinning of truth and lie successfully obtains a job as a lawyer with a Southern, slightly corrupt, arrogant big business man. With no training of his own and Doug Rich’s credentials, Doug “rollercoasters” through the job with the help of an aspiring lawyer and his liquid silver tongue. Dahlia follows Cherien’s career path to discover Cherien was a well-educated dental hygienist. Shown working only twice, once dominating a man with a secret BDSM fetish with the suction straw after “checking” his teeth by pulling on them with her fingers, Dalhia quits her job after her boss commits suicide. With no shoes to fill, the children are mostly dissatisfied with being forced to attend school, and not any school, but a prestigious private school. Di Di meets a boy, while Cael finds the “trouble” kids and helps them break into the school to change their grades.
Cael and Dahlia are most suspicious of the new life, while Di Di stands behind her father rather then her drug addicted mother, and Sam is young enough to come along for the ride, but is enjoying the new opportunities the life allows him.

The Riches attacks prison drug addiction by depicting Dalhia’s struggle that apparently began in prison. She has been shown drinking cough syrup, attempt to inject Crystal Meth, smoking pot, and stealing prescription drugs from anyone she can. Dahlia is constantly looking, stealing, or begging for drugs in a losing battle of self-control.

The inclusion of a young cross dressing boy is interesting, a quick yahoo search on cross dressing children on TV turned up bump kiss and I’m not surprised. In the first few episodes, Sam bounces back and forth between boy and girl or combines them by wearing boy clothes with bright pink slippers; he is forced to choose when going to school and decides to be a girl.

The more I write, the more I wonder how The Riches is considered unoriginal when it is budding with originality. Can you count on two hands how many shows involve a gypsy family assuming the rich life of a dead couple? Plus I am fairly sure that there are a very small number of under 10 year old cross dressers on TV, however I don’t want much current TV, so for all I know there could be 20 other shows filled with cross-dressing little boys traveling the country and stealing mansions from dead people. I also don’t know too many of these occurrences in life either, however the Riches seem to be fairing well, their mistake came when Cael led an old g/f home reconnecting the Malloy’s with the gypsy camp they stole from and left behind. If this was not original and was based on reality, then I want to wonder how many of my prestigious private school friends are actually gypsies in disguise.

The Riches is still very new, episode six airs this Monday, April 16th 2007 at 10pm on FX.