I was a little leery at first when getting ready to watch this because I haven't had much luck with American versions of great British shows. In the states we try to hard to Americanize already good television because it has to fit a format. The Office is a prime example, to replace a comedic genius in Ricky Gervais with the least funny, funny man I believe I've ever seen (Steve Carrell), just to make the character somewhat likeable, was a travesty. Granted the emergence of Dwight (Rainn Wilson) made the show somewhat watchable in my eyes, but it still lacked the uncomfortable greatness of the original. Don't even get me started on the American version of Life on Mars, Ugh!!! that may make me break down and cry.
This, however, was a very pleasant surprise. I laughed more in the first 2 minutes of the pilot episode than I have at a network comedy since Seinfeld. But that's not where the greatness of the show was. The emotion that I felt in every episode, the sympathy that I had towards each character, and the attachment that I developed with them was unexpected. Every character was complex enough that you hated them one minute and wanted them to succeed in everything they ever wanted the next. Some episodes were tear jerking and depressing while others were roll on the ground funny. The swing in emotions that I felt in just a 12 episodes made this instantly one of my all time favorites.
William H. Macy played Frank Gallagher, a father of 6 children but do to his drunken lifestyle was anything but. The responsibility of raising the children fell on the shoulders of his oldest daughter Fiona (Emmy Rossum) who selflessly sacrificed herself time and time again for the betterment of the family. The rest of the children all had intricate parts in this poverty level family and did what ever they could to survive. Ian (Cameron Monaghan) and Carl (Ethan Cutkosky) had moments where they made you laugh and others where they made you cry but the children that I enjoyed the most were Lip and Debbie.
Lip (Jeremy Allen White) was literally a genius. He would sell his brain for cash on the side, by doing book reports, tutoring, and taking SAT's. However his love for his family kept him grounded in south Chicago. The dynamic between he and his father always made for great television as did his relationship with his girlfriend Karen (Laura Wiggins). Karen is a whole nother story that I would love to get into but I feel you need to discover her for yourself. Her story is hilarious at times but is also tragic and heartbreaking.
Debbie (Emma Kenney) just wanted her fathers love. She would do anything for him and even tho she had a few episodes where she came of as a stark raving lunatic, she had such a big heart. She was a lot more aware of the surroundings than most of the characters who seemed to be blinded by whatever their goals where. Her interaction with Frank, Fiona and Steve (Fiona's boyfriend) were some great television moments.
Other notable characters were Fiona's boyfriend Steve (Justin Chatwin), the neighbors Kevin (Steve Howey) and Veronica (Shanola Hampton), virgin cop Tony (Tyler Jacob Moore) and neighbor hood bully Mickey (Noel Fisher) and his sister Mandy (Jane Levy) all had shinning moments. However, Sheila (Joan Cusak) stole entire episodes with just one scene much like Alyson Hannigan did at the end of American Pie.
All in all I would give this a 5+ out of 5 stars. The season finale was very weak and lacked a cliff hanger but a couple of episodes during the season really picked up the slack. Most notably the episode Daddyz Girl that literally ran the gamut of emotion. That episode was so good I've watched it alone 6 times, it had moments where I had to rewind and watch again because even at the sixth time watching it I laughed so hard I needed to see it again. It also had feelings of overwhelming sadness towards a couple of characters and joy for others that made it one of the single best hours of television I've personally ever seen.
No comments:
Post a Comment