Tuesday, March 13, 2007
The Riches-Series Premier
I've watched the commercials for months. They have been showing these attached to Nip/Tuck or Dirt, which are two shows I enjoy. They also did this with Dirt before it premiered, but The Riches has two things going for it that Dirt missed. First, Dirt commercials featured that EXTREMELY annoying song during the commercials. Second, The Riches features Eddie Izzard.
I have been a fan of Izzard's for a while. Unfortunately, others haven't latched onto his genius. Appearances are rare enough that it would make a good drinking game, if I drank more that is. "Oh! There's Eddie Izzard in Shadow of the Vampire! Take a drink." "Oh! There's Izzard in his HBO special! Take a drink." "Look! There's Izzard in... what the hell is this?!? The Avengers?! Oh god! Turn the channel. Take a drink." Fortunately the people have have caught on are some pretty big names. John Cleese has said Izzard is the only funny person around right now. Pretty high praise, if you ask me.
Combine Minnie Driver and Eddie Izzard, who both handle comedy well, and add in commercials that make the show sound funny, and it sounded like this was going to be a hilarious look at conmen. The actual show was MUCH less funny than the commercials made it seem. In fact, I can't recall laughing once. But that's okay. Instead was an extremely well written drama about a family of Travellers who accidently cause a man's death. The man was on the way to his new house and he has not met anyone before that point. They completely take over the man's life. They are trying to deal with their guilt, hide from other Travellers, hide the secret from their neighbors, and learn how to cope with their new-found wealth. At one point in the show, one of the children, who have always helped them in their cons, asks "Who are we bleeding?" They are so used to pulling a scam or con on somebody that they cannot fathom a con where they aren't directly stealing from somebody.
This show is quite well written, and the acting is top-notch. It used to be that HBO ruled the Emmys, but I would be very surprised if FX isn't replacing them as the leader. If you're not watching this show, you should be.
I have been a fan of Izzard's for a while. Unfortunately, others haven't latched onto his genius. Appearances are rare enough that it would make a good drinking game, if I drank more that is. "Oh! There's Eddie Izzard in Shadow of the Vampire! Take a drink." "Oh! There's Izzard in his HBO special! Take a drink." "Look! There's Izzard in... what the hell is this?!? The Avengers?! Oh god! Turn the channel. Take a drink." Fortunately the people have have caught on are some pretty big names. John Cleese has said Izzard is the only funny person around right now. Pretty high praise, if you ask me.
Combine Minnie Driver and Eddie Izzard, who both handle comedy well, and add in commercials that make the show sound funny, and it sounded like this was going to be a hilarious look at conmen. The actual show was MUCH less funny than the commercials made it seem. In fact, I can't recall laughing once. But that's okay. Instead was an extremely well written drama about a family of Travellers who accidently cause a man's death. The man was on the way to his new house and he has not met anyone before that point. They completely take over the man's life. They are trying to deal with their guilt, hide from other Travellers, hide the secret from their neighbors, and learn how to cope with their new-found wealth. At one point in the show, one of the children, who have always helped them in their cons, asks "Who are we bleeding?" They are so used to pulling a scam or con on somebody that they cannot fathom a con where they aren't directly stealing from somebody.
This show is quite well written, and the acting is top-notch. It used to be that HBO ruled the Emmys, but I would be very surprised if FX isn't replacing them as the leader. If you're not watching this show, you should be.
