TV.com

show: Big Love

The Bottom Line: "Fair"

This show is very well written (to an extent), executed and acted. I appreciate the complexities of the dialogue and plot lines, but there is an inherent creepiness that I have trouble with. All the religious mumbo jumbo is hard to watch - especially against the hypocrisy of religious fanatics who have multiple wives. I know that's part of the point - part of the dynamic of the show, but still. One thing I don't get and I don't think is adequately explained is why would someone want more than one wife. The financial and other burdens are enormous, as the show illustrates. There are allusions to religious reasons, but that's about as far as it goes.

What is the upside? What would compel someone to do this? What is the motivation? What is the motivation for these women to enter into such an arrangement? These things go largely unexplored. What sane person would say I would like to buy three houses all in a row, make them a compound, have three wives (and then find three women willing to do this), have a bus load of children, and then spend most of my life trying to cover this up?? There certainly must be some serious mental disorders that accompany such behavior, but this is never addressed.

Ultimately, the "good" guys on the show are as despicable as the bad guys. With the Sopranos there is some acknowledgment of the hypocrisy they are living, here there isn't. It's incredulous.

I suppose that's part of the point - inject audacity - but even though the show is extremely well done because of the strange life style it is often difficult to identify with the characters. And it's not just because it's an "alternative" lifestyle, it's the hypocrisy of it. Ultimately, the "good" guys on the show are as despicable as the bad guys. With the Sopranos there is some acknowledgment of the hypocrisy they are living, here there isn't. It's incredulous.

I suppose that's part of the point - inject audacity - but even though the show is extremely well done because of the strange life style it is often difficult to identify with the characters. And it's not just because it's an "alternative" lifestyle, it's the hypocrisy of it.

show: Weeds

The Bottom Line: "Perfect"

Pound for pound the greatest light-hearted drama series of all time. Why do I feel this way? Every regular character of this show connects with the viewer. You find yourself rooting for everyone at some point, from Celia rebounding every time she is down, to the kids on the show achieving small measures of success despite obstacles, the folks in Agrestic pull at you. The rampant sex is great. Every match you can imagine in the storyline seems to happen at the right time. The plot? Superb. Thirty air-tight minutes every episode that leave you thirsting for the next episode, and now, the next season. Twists and cliff-hangers lead to a high-charged environment without the graphic violence of cable shows like the Sopranos. Try it for 2 episode and you will never leave it.

show: Dexter

episode: Born Free

The Bottom Line: "Perfect"

Directed and acted to a fare-thee-well (literally), it was everything I was hoping for and more.

Best of all, it answered a question that has lingered in the background throughout the series: if tempted to stray outside the dictates of "the Code of Harry," would Dexter give into the temptation, or would he still remain a "monster with a set of standards?" I'm not telling what I know, but I can guarantee you this: if you stuck around this long waiting for a satisfying payoff, your patience will be richly rewarded. I just can't wait to see what new challenges and perils he'll have to face in Season Two!

show: 30 Rock

The Bottom Line: "Perfect"

After the last few lackluster seasons of Saturday Night Live, I was worried that this show would suffer from the same affliction as those terrible SNL-based films, like The Ladies Man, Superstar, Coneheads, Night at the Roxbury.... but 30 Rock is actually a character-driven comedy, rather than a gag-driven one like those films.

Tina Fey managed to put together a great cast using classic sitcom archetypes. Alec Baldwin is hilarious and subdued as the meddling nitwit boss, Tracey Morgan is genuinely brilliant as the wild and crazy black guy, and newcomer Jack McBrayer is thoroughly enjoyable as the creepy intern. Of course, the whole show is centered on Tina Fey, the constantly put-upon producer of an SNL-type late night comedy show. She has great comedic sensibilities, but she has wisely surrounded herself with a fantastic ensemble cast.

The show is literally jam-packed with laugh-out-loud gags, so even when one joke doesn't work, there's at least two other jokes that do work around the corner. After Tracey Morgan's last sitcom flopped, I feared that we'd seen the last of him. As the Martin Lawrence-esquire egocentric star of the show-within-a-show, Morgan excels. Without the burden of carrying the entire show, Morgan is able to fully realize his potential playing 30 Rock's a psychotic, preening celebrity host. The real gem on the show is Alec Baldwin, who usually gets the best one-liners as the idiot-savant NBC executive who can manage a big business but not his own life. But what really makes the show work is its cast of veteran comedic character actors who staff the fictional comedy show, including Scott Adsit of HBO's Mr. Show and Judah Friedlander from the film American Splendor.

30 Rock premiered on NBC at the same time as the similarly themed Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, another SNL-based series. While Studio 60 took the dramatic route, 30 Rock went comedic. In the end, 30 Rock is better, however. Studio 60 suffers from too much moralizing and a large cast that the scripts can't quite manage to service.