BigEd-4

Having seen the first episode, I think the creators are missing an opportunity to make this more than a smutty freak show. First, they wasted way too much time in setting up an obvious premise. Paris and Nicole are spoiled jet-setters who will be spending a month in the sticks. We get it.

The indulgent shopping spree and send-off party were really not crucial to the show. Brief in and out. The condescendingly hick announcer's voice-overs are indeed reminiscent of "The Beverly Hillbillies." The comparison is not necessary. Leaving the pickup with the keys and instructions was obviously unrealistic. Who does that? And with a camera crew, to boot. Sending them to the store as soon as they got there? What host does that to their guests?

A big help to make this work would be to apply leverage to the plot. In the first episode, the girls refused to involve themselves in chicken plucking. The results? Nothing. When they DID go to the store, for instance - nothing.

How about this:

If the girls refuse to perform a chore, they forfeit an item or privilege. Won't pluck a chicken? Say goodbye to the pooch, or a couple of pairs to shoes.

If they behave themselves and play along, they get to call Mommy, Daddy, friend, etc., and they get one item of their choice.

Now you've got a chance at a decent show.

A sometimes uneven romp is overtaken by a simply brilliant performance by Peter Falk. Don't miss this overlooked jewel. Falk stars as a writer of radio serials who has been both a success, and ridden out of town, from every decent station in the country. Now in New Orleans, we discover his secret for success, and his hysterical passion to pull everything together.

Nothing amuses me more than a quirky little wink at real life, and that's what this one is. Add two exceptional performances by Zelweggar and Freeman and you've got a little gem here.

Betty Sizemore's (Renee Zelweggar) only escape from her humdrum existence as the waitress wife of a sleazy, philandering car salesman is through her fascination with her favorite soap - a hospital show. Add her infatuation with the lead character (Greg Kinnear) to a dream of nursing, and Betty is barely in touch with reality. When viewing the bizarre death of her husband at the hands of hit men (Morgan Freeman and Chris Rock) puts her over that edge, she sets out to correct the errors of her fantasy past - traveling to Hollywood to patch things up with her true love, that dashing doctor. With the hit men on her heels trying to tie up loose ends, retrieve stolen drugs, plus realize Freeman's ever-growing fantasy romance with Betty, she heads West.

Betty's fascination proves fascinating to the Soap folk who assume she is nothing more or less than the perfect new love-interest for the show. Only by grasping Betty's lack of grasp on reality allow the hitmen, the local newspaperman (Crispin Glover) and Sheriff (Pruitt Taylor-Vince) to converge on Betty at the exact moment that she has relit in reality.

Zelweggar and Freeman show major chops in this one.