The Lot

WEAK, WEAK, WEAK! Totally miscast and disinteresting. Whatever happened to those wonderful character faces seen in all those great movies about movies from the time period this half-effort attempts to portray? There has been so many better films and TV shows on this same subject that reigns mountains over this "flick" (to be polite). Remember "Bracken's World" (1969)? It's a shame American Movie Classics (AMC) chose to cancel "Remember WENN" in order to, according to their website announcement, make time available for "The Lot", a 4 part - 2 night time waster. Station "WENN" has everything "The Lot" ain't! Pray that this one goes no further.

Great TV it ain't, but pleasant nostalgia TV it definitely is. I enjoyed the overdone allusions to Hollywood's past particularly for that reason: they were overdone, and fun. All the regulars were good. I refuse to comment on the point that "Remember WENN" was replaced by "The Lot," because there's room for superb apples and pretty good oranges on AMC. I'd like to see "The Lot" brought back in a sharper form, same regulars -- but with stronger and more vivid writing about the foibles of old-time Hollywood. And while I'm writing this communication -- AMC: KNOCK OFF THOSE IRRITATING COMMERCIAL BREAKS IN THE MIDDLE OF YOUR PROGRAMS!! Otherwise you'll drive me to TCM.

Remarkable how The Lot, with each episode, just keeps sinking to lower and new found levels of incredibility. I put it on a par with "Plan 9 From Outer Space," director Ed Woods' best. This is one of the worst and most thoughtless presentations I've ever seen on TV and it comes from the NYUK channel, American Movie Classics (AMC). This probably explains, as far as I'm concerned, AMC's sudden decline in popularity and aimless descent into le potee. Also gone from AMC is their last remaining air of dignity, Bob Dorian, who always displayed himself as a knowledgeable and truly authoritative presenter. Thus leaving us with Wee Baby Burke and his sluggish monotoned delivery to tell us all about the picture we are about to see. I wouldn't doubt that most of the movies on AMC was filmed before he fell to earth. If you want to see a really good TV show about the struggle to "make it" in the movies, look for "Tales from the Hollywood Hills: A Table at Ciro's." This one hour show was combined and intercut with another and retitled "Power, Passion and Murder" and still shows up on TV occasionally. As for "The Lot," stay close to the flush handle.

It's hard to grasp why this silly series was ever made. AMC's weekly episodic promos indicate each show was patterned after an actual event. If there is any similitude to an actual historical Hollywood happening, public or clandestine, I can't find it. Somewhat disjointed story-wise, there are a few nice sets. Especially nice is the dungeon-appearing set in which character Colin Rhome (Michael York) displays his prowess as a master swordsman. Not many laughs to be had, but there is one particular funny moment when a Maitre'D presents the bar bill to a "dead" Colin Rhome. However the scene was abruptly interrupted by one of AMC's clumsy commercial breaks, destroying the moment and further displaying their inept degree of showmanship. Probably the most harmful aspect of this series is the abundance of vulgar insinuations, of which there are many. Of course the viewer must have his/her mind in the proper canal in order to catch on. It makes one wonder where the minds of the writers live.

This show is the most horrendous thing I've seen on television to date. Not only is it an insult to the heroes of Hollywood's Golden Age, it is an insult to every single viewer that has ever had access to a television. The dialogue attempts the art of the double entendre, but is ends up being lewd and vulgar; the plots are weak and thinly developed, often so predictable that any child with basic comprehension could punctuate each scene with a correct prediction of the next. In short, if you liked AMC's critically acclaimed, "Remember WENN", even if you like television in general, DO NOT WATCH "THE LOT". If this show is an example of the taste, style, and mentality of AMC programming executive Marc Juris (who cancelled WENN in favor of the bilge being reviewed at the moment), then we may have possibly seen the greatest example of stupidity in our time.