What You Should Have Watched #2

Okay, as of the writing of this piece I’m not even through with the first season yet, but I think this is my new favorite show. There’s so much to enjoy about this not-at-all family friendly show, but because of that family unfriendliness I can’t really express it in this blog. I have some class, right?

David Duchovny’s character Hank Moody who is a writer from New York who moved to L.A. after one of his novels was made into a movie. He hates L.A., loves the engaged-to-another-man mother of his child, and fills the emptiness in his soul with sex and drugs. He’s a smart ass. He loves his daughter and tries to be the best father he can be. He’s struggling to write again after his move to L.A. He’s not the sort of guy you want as a role model for your kids, but he’s an engaging character that you root for.

The supporting characters are just that. Nobody really stands out, but they’re very good at doing their job: supporting the star. I actually don’t like his daughter, played by Madeleine Martin (known mostly for stage work) all that much. She’s very robotic and sometimes a bit creepy, and I don’t think that’s what the goal is for her character. I do, however, really like Hank’s agent and best friend Charlie Runkle, played by Evan Handler (Sex and the City). They play extremely well off of each other and are a great pair.

The music, in just the first 11 episodes, has been awesome and varied. Among others, you’ve got the Stones, My Morning Jacket, The Doors, Betty Davis, Harvey Danger, Bob Dylan, and so many others. The ninth episode ended with Foo Fighters’ “The Pretender,” and it was awesome.

Now, some of the sex has to be talked about. There’s a lot of it, and most would be considered non-traditional. There’s punching, squirting, a devil’s threesome (thank you for that term Barney Stinson), domination, and oral sex from a nun. It’s definitely not played to be sexy, and is always funny as hell (the squirting scene especially).

One of the running gags that I’m thoroughly enjoying is when Hank wakes up from one of his extremely vivid dreams shouting gibberish.

I’m so excited that there are a full two more season of this show that I get to catch up on. Of course, when new episodes start airing again they’ll be airing on Showtime, a channel I don’t get, so I have no idea how I’ll get past that hurdle. Mmm, smart and funny TV shows, the reason I spend so much time on my couch.