Enlightened

So here we have Mike White doing what he does best: spearheading a project that's one part subversive, one part cynical, one part hopeful and one part lethally and blackly comic.

Enlightened works on many levels because of this but it's also this uber-quirky quality that turns a lot of people who don't have the patience or the understanding of what they're watching off.

Dern's Amy Jellicoe character is not likable, which is a huge gamble from the get-go,especially for a female character; men on TV shows - as in real life - tend to be given far more leeway, to say the least. All the characters on the show are deeply flawed, of course, but these people are not caricatures, they're all three-dimensional and doing the best they can at their respective levels of consciousness.

It's interesting how Amy, beginning in season one, had been trying to find some sort of inner peace but soon as she returns to work at her vile company, that intention flies out the window.Rather than quitting her job, as anyone who genuinely was seeking peace would most likely do, she stays and takes on a new, seemingly better, more 'important' ego identity: agent of change. This is hilarious to me, because in substituting one ego identity for another she is still as lost and as fragmented as she was in the very beginning, if not more so. I'm hoping that White understands this, because I'm not sure how enlightened he actually is(because the actual subject of the title has not been dealt with in anything but superficial terms), but either way it plays as good television.

My favorite episode was the one in season two called The Ghost Is Seen, where White's basically sadsack character Tyler narrates instead of Amy, sharing with the audience about how he feels invisible, how he's lonely, how his life has been empty, until he meets Eileen, played beautifully by the always wonderful Molly Shannon. Ironically, of course - this is a Mike White show, remember - he's in the process of betraying her as they speak, breaking into her computer to get lethally damaging evidence against the company. This episode was brilliantly written and enacted, with White's voice-over narration being profoundly moving.

I only hope he gets a chance for a third season; in light of all the garbage that gets renewed - like Girls, for instance - I think this show warrants another shot, at the very least. UPDATED 3/20/13: Cancelled. Too subversive for HBO, apparently. Not surprised.

The show is about one very flawed woman's struggle to become a better and healthier person. She's clearly lost, but dedicated and passionate in a way which makes you admire her and be annoyed by her at the same time. The show does a neat trick of manipulating the viewer into alternatively mocking her because of her naivete and flakiness, and cheering for her out of empathy, both back and forth within single episodes. You come to expect her to crash and burn in a tragic and comedic fashion. Yet in the end, she claims small victories of enlightenment that put all of us in touch with our humanity and teach us a little bit about growth. The show is not preachy, yet makes its points poignantly and powerfully.

I'm excited with anticipation as to where the show may go and hope it is renewed despite the poor ratings so far. Definitely my favorite new show of the season.

Enlightened is about a woman who was unable to cope with a series of accumulated stresses in her life and decided to seek treatment. She returns to her life with a new awareness and feels compelled to share and engage people in that awareness to effect positive change around her, but she finds herself running up against resistance due to fear of change. The people around her are all coping with stress in their lives in various other ways. It's about confronting the loneliness and isolation that you can feel when your perspective differs from those around you, and how that loneliness is at odds with your desire to connect, help, and heal those around you. At the end of the day it's about the serenity prayer, about Amy learning the wisdom to know the difference between what she can change, and what she can't. A lot of mistakes are made in the process, but her heart is in the right place, and any introspective viewer will be able to relate to the struggle. I highly recommend it.

I read somewhere that this show was one of the best new shows of the year, so I started watching it on demand. I find it to be a very interesting mix of humor, drama, and intrigue. Laura Dern is great as an almost completely unpredictable person. It's almost scary to say that her character is like more than a few people I've met in my life.

This show covers work, home, friends, and life matters in a pretty realistic way. As in life, sometimes it's the verbal and sometimes it's the nonverbal communication that conveys the best message. The actors are doing a great job with the material, and I'm now on episode 7 and the show feels like it's getting even more interesting. I have to say, I'm pretty addicted to wanting to get to know these people more...and seeing where it all goes.

Enlightened is very well written and Laura Dern is excellent in her role as the protagonist.

A character that is hard to like, and actually annoying, and yet you still feel empathy for her and she fumbles through life, trying to do good.

It's a great mix of social commentary, satire and a dark humor brought to life with a mix of interesting, awkward, sad and oblivious characters.

I do find it leaves me feeling a little uneasy and pensive, and yet I still want to watch more because it is so well done.

If you are all about feel good, pure entertainment - then this is not a show for you.