Action

I never understood why this extremely funny and wonderfully cast show wasn't a bigger hit. It really was very, very good. Too bad it didn't get the audience it needed to continue. Oh well. Jay Mohr was perfect in the lead, and Ileana Douglas is a treat. Cameos by Sandra Bullock and others were hilarious.

If you like the current FOX TV series "Arrested Development" (perhaps even "Dream On") you would have liked FOX's "Action." Set in the intensely high-stress environment of Hollywood, this show had the same tone, feel and cynicism of "Arrested Development", but with humour a touch more risque - perhaps too risque for a 9:00 pm timeslot.

Critically well-received with decent reviews, the show was also aired on Bravo's "Brilliant But Cancelled" showcase. "Action" was simply too edgy, too offensive, and too jaded for its time, with wickedly dark humour and remarkable wit. In time it would have found its audience, but the plug was pulled too soon.

Those involved in the entertainment industry would, in particular, enjoy the loathsome humour and cynicism.

Rumour has it, it may be released on DVD.

The continuing story of high-pressure Joel Silver-type movie producer Peter Dragon's battle to produce a make-or-break actioner called "Beverly Hills Gun Club" in view of obstacles from financing through to the writer (who in true Hollywood fashion is nearly always at the short end of the stick) to his cast, with hilarious consequences. Seriously.

Shot on film without a laugh track and with enough strong language and adult content (such as Sandra Bullock berating our hero for making a tape of the two of them having sex and selling it as "While You Were Sleeping On My Face") to irritate America's Bible Belt and get it dropped after eight episodes - at the end of one episode our hero mentions that a show like this could be a big hit in a good time slot (in Britain it was given an even worse slot; Channel 4 never showed it before midnight. Isn't it ironic, don't you think?) - "Action" is often crude and continues Hollywood's apparent unwillingness to glamourise itself as much as everything else, but it's very, very funny if you can get all the references, with a nice line in caustic insults from Dragon. My favourites: Dragon seeing the pretty but overweight blonde MAW Reagan Busch (a funny name in itself) and pointing out to the writer, "Yeah, she's got a cute face... ON TOP OF BRIAN DENNEHY'S BODY!!!" (This can be seen as a comment on Hollywood body fascism, because she isn't really that fat. Which is not to say that when we see her post-liposuction it isn't nice...), and his suggestion that Matt Damon winning an Oscar was the first sign of the Apocalypse.

Harlan Ellison said of "Bracken's World," "It has the evil fascination of rotting fruit. And smells about the same." I think he'd have kinder opinions of this short-lived gem. And remember, Silver may have produced "The Matrix," but he also did "Xanadu"...

Wow! That's all you really need to say about this too-short-lived series.

But since I have the space, let me say this too: I don't think a funnier satire exists or has ever existed on TV. I pray for the day an uncensored DVD is released - this show has me laughing my @ss off for just about the entire time I'm watching it. It's amazing that it ever got made at all, what with all the jokes ripping on the Hollywood community, and everyone gets an equal dose - producers, actors, writers, you name it, this show makes fun of it. Jay Mohr is funnier in this series than in anything else I've ever seen him do, and Ileana Douglas is, as always, fantastic.

Watch it! And to the execs at Fox - put out the DVD, already!

This show is amazing. It breaks my heart to know, that people didn't have the humor for this. I mean is a show good only when there's an audience laughing in the background?! Maybe some people just don't know when to laugh without it. Anyway, I admit that for people who don't perhaps know much about the film making process, this could be somewhat of a question mark, but for any filmbuff, I would recommend this in a heartbeat! Jay Mohr is my favorite comedian and this is no question his best work. The way he portrays the sleezy film producer Peter Dragon is an enjoyment in itself. Add to that the body language, the cunning jokes and a terrific supporting cast and we're really onto a winner. That said, forget Boston Public. Forget C.S.I.. Forget Ed. These are just some of my favorite shows and even put together they couldn't measure the respect I have for this one. Bravo!