Party Down

"Party Down" is pervasively bleak - and even depressing at times - but it is also riotously funny. In a sense, it's the perfect show for our troubled times - at the height of an economic recession, with all these disasters occurring over the past few years, never has apathy and pessimism seemed so natural. As such, the show really taps into a broken-down, bitter attitude, using the LA wasteland as its source of inspiration...but it remains strangely optimistic because of the relationships between its cast members, whose characters struggle with their awful catering job but, at the end of the day, stick by each other. There's a sense of family amongst these broken-down rejects, and that's why we love watching their weekly miseries.

Adam Scott (a seriously underrated actor) is the "straight man" for the show - he enters season one as Henry, a new employee of Party Down Catering. He's a failed actor out of Hollywood who has finally accepted that he's too old and past his prime to ever achieve his dreams of becoming a star, so he has resorted to bartending for the company. Scott is wonderful at playing apathetic, and gives some of the best facial expression reactions I've seen in comedy. I'm used to seeing him as the meaner or wackier characters in titles like "Step Brothers" or "Eastbound and Down," but here he plays a very empathetic and human character, and is really the heart of the show.

Lizzy Caplan is the other relatively normal character in the show. She plays Casey, a stand-up comic treading water. As the season progresses, she becomes romantically involved with Henry, who is essentially her (and our) anchor amidst all the other crazy and eccentric people they encounter.

Ron Donald (Ken Marino) is the manager for Party Down, but the show avoids giving us the clichéd mean boss: he is painfully nice and sincere, with a perfectly goofy Brendan Fraser-style haircut that looks like someone just evened off the top rather lazily. Toward the end of season one he has a bit of a relapse with liquor and by season two his hair has grown out and he's smoking pot and drinking all day and lamenting his failed love life.

The rest of the cast consists of geeky Roman (Martin Starr), an aspiring elitist sci-fi writer whose writing actually rather sucks; Kyle (Ryan Hansen), a vain pretty-boy with another ridiculous haircut; and Constance (Jane Lynch), who exited season one to join the cast of "Glee" and was replaced in S2 by Lydia, a character played by Megan Mullally, who, it must be said, actually did a pretty good job filling in the void.

News spread yesterday that "Party Down" was canceled after the season two finale because it barely nabbed 700,000 viewers. Starz mishandled this show from day one, from not securing actors' contracts correctly (Adam Scott, unsure of whether the show would be renewed months ago, joined "Parks and Recreation" instead, and Ryan Hansen was also rumored to be moving on) to not really advertising it very much -- and then relying solely on viewing numbers instead of Netflix streams or illegal downloads. (Because they were dumb enough to NOT provide legal downloads on iTunes, which probably would have worked really well for them.) I've heard a lot of positive word-of-mouth lately, with everyone I talk to streaming it on Netflix's website. I don't know a single person who even subscribes to Starz. I'd say 700k views for a season finale on a premium channel that no one watches is pretty good! But I'm actually kinda glad that they went out on a good note rather than running the show into the ground. They provided two very consistent seasons, and with Adam Scott's definite departure from the show, it really just wouldn't have been the same. Hopefully the show will pick up some more word-of-mouth and become a cult hit on DVD, and Starz will do some kind of special a couple years down the road (like Ricky Gervais and Steve Merchant did with the British "Office") - then the full cast could return. Even though I'm glad the show didn't outstay its welcome, I liked these characters enough to be interested in where they'd be at in a few years.

"Party Down" is destined to be one of those titles you'll see on critics' "canceled-too-soon" lists over the next few years, right up there with "Arrested Development" and "Freaks and Geeks." It was a pleasure to watch every week, oddly reassuring in its pessimism, finding humour in the strengths of likable and empathetic characters, even when they were suffering through some pretty rough times. I feel like much truly great comedy finds the truths in common human weakness, causing us to laugh at misfortunes that we can relate to, and "Party Down" excelled at doing so.

Where to even begin. I stumbled upon this when browsing New TV Comedies on Watch Instantly from Netflix and decided to give it a shot. And I am very glad I did. I have burned through all my TV Comedies forty times over. The Office, It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, 30 Rock, Arrested Development, and all of those. This one easily fights for my number one spot of favorite TV Sitcoms. The show doesn't try any quirky gimmicks (which drove me quickly away from watching too much 30 Rock), or anything over the top. The film is based on a Motley Crew of Caterer's of has-beens or aspiring actors who do the dry waiting job while they wait for their big break.

Every character is hilarious and none are annoying. Granted, some will have their episodes where they are the heel, but the writers have a great punishment regiment in each episode which makes you feel like you weren't harassed the entire episode by horrible writing just to create an annoying personality.

The show has enough story to sync them all together and to keep you interested in the chronological history of everything, but not so much that it becomes a drama or a sinking point. The comedy is purely adult with minimal if any at all slapstick. It's namely realistic and witty humors launched from all sides with realistic and sideshow situations.

Over all this show is great for those like me who have exhausted all the better comedy shows out there and need something new and unique. I have never seen a show like this one or sell it like this.

I only recently discovered this show, so I know 10 episodes is the limit, and that's a shame. It's an engaging, sardonic ensemble comedy with a terrific cast (including several actors who went on to more successful series) and really interesting guest stars. It's sharply written, it's quite funny, and it's got a prickliness to it that I love but that probably was one reason it didn't make it.

This show is so great already and has even more potential. The first episode was just OK but man after that each episode keeps getting better and better. The show is about a group of caterers that go to their events but always end up being sidetracked by themselves. Every character has a unique personality and they all mesh perfectly. I wouldn't have thought that Starz could get so many actors and actresses that are hilarious but they managed to nab 3 actors from the Apatow crew (needless to say they are funny) and the Mean Girls lesbian and the dude from Wet Hot American Summer. If you have Starz this is a must watch show.. Premium Channels are saving comedy one show at a time.

Here is a show I've been meaning to binge but I kept forgetting in favor of other better known titles. I'm so glad I finally remembered! The show centers on a crew of misfit caterers and each party they work. As someone who worked in the catering industry for years I find a lot of relatable circumstances here. The writing is sharp and funny. Each episode is one party. The party guests fill out the scenery and make this show quick and funny without becoming too full of itself. Many of the actors have gone on to bigger projects and there are even some huge names we know today filling out smaller roles. PD is like a small entertainment time capsule one would find on a back shelf of an old blockbuster video store. We see Adam Scott, Lizzy Caplan, Martin Starr (who looks and sounds like he is still completing puberty here), Jane Lynch, Josh Gad, JK Simmons, And many more all one or two projects away from their big breaks here. For that reason alone makes Party Down a fun watch. You will see many more easily recognizable faces as well. I recommend sitting down one day and taking this show in. You will laugh at the dated technology and un-PC dialogue knowing this isn't that far in the past.