The Spoils of Babylon

Yeah, after watching the first three episodes of The Spoils of Babylon all I have to say is: I just don't get it. I don't get why there are so many negative reviews, to which, in my consideration, is one of the most interesting comedies this season. There are many factors which makes this, besides of a pretty hilarious sitcom, an amazing work that flirts with films and art on behalf of the most bizarre form of parody.

First, we're introduced to the false premise of an old writer whose finally gotten to release the TV adaptation of his novels, The Spoils of Babylon. Of course, as it's expected, the writing is not always something as good as it could be, which generates some pretty hilarious scenes in which all logic is questioned, mixed with the chaotic film techniques that the director (and also producer, writer, etc) decides to apply given his moods and whatever he feels suits the current mood of the scene, it proves to be a recipe for disaster. However, which makes more interesting is that there's actually some character development through all this non-sense, a story which plot, if rather weird, could only get better from the low point it begun.

If you enjoyed, like me, great series like the Mighty Boosh or the never ending parodies in Saturday Night Live, you'll probably love this.

Simply stated, the first 2 episodes of this mini-series have entertained me and made me laugh were very little else has of late.

There is a lightness and subtleness to the comedy that I really appreciate. The look, feel, lighting and soundtrack are perfect. Despite it being 2014, the use of models has a refreshing honesty.

I am not a huge Will Ferrell fan, but his intro\outros fit well. You do get tones of SNL. However, where SNL skits bore and wander, this show is continually moving.

When you consider the amount of tripe on TV from reality shows, laugh queue sitcoms, rich kid\witch\vampire\alien\werewolf\mutant teen melodramas and "learning" shows voiced by monster truck announcers over metal soundtracks...how can one not enjoy such a refreshing and creative 22 minutes of entertainment? Truly.

I've never been a fan of the romance genre, it's probably because most of the time it's done wrong more than right, like an undercooked meal. This is another under the radar gem that to me is one of the better parodies out of most recent ones that have been just one big line of disappointment. This mini series is a parody on romance novels from Harlequin, Danalle Steel, and any others you can think of. As well as the day or nighttime soaps like "Dallas" some of the plot line of that show is similar to the story in the parody; let alone the fact the parody genre is parodying on the romance genre which is something that hasn't been done much or at all. This parody I feel captures all the yuck and clichés we had to endure or forced to endure whenever we had to sit though a bad romance comedy with our girlfriend or our mom watched a soap.

I really like how the mini series has sort of a low budget and poor production value feel and it shows, which makes the mini series almost a character of it's own because you feel this was made by a person that didn't know what the hell he was doing. But most importantly creates a lot of visual humor. From the noticeable miniatures, model cars, screens, even set pieces it's all there. One of my favorite sequences is in episode 2 "The War Within" (not kidding that's the title) where Devon is in a fighter plane and is in a fight. I couldn't help but crack up in that sequence because you can easily tell it's not a cockpit but that he's sitting on a couch, the commutation device is a mike and not a radio, the joystick isn't a joystick, there's a table in front of him, and also the fact that he's able to take out a picture of water and a glass as his plane is going down, which was also really funny because it's so random.

Or one other visual gag is when a mannequin is trying to be passed off as a character. It's a parody on the typical generic significant other that pops in out of nowhere in the story for the main characters, whom by their nature are really just a filler device. But also it was also to show either the director couldn't afford another actress or just wanted to save money, probably one of the reasons why the production value on the mini seems off.

The pacing is good, there is a certain sense of intrigue as the show goes along you really do want to know what happens next. Or in other words you want to see how much worse the mini series really is.

But to me what really powers this parody are in the verbal humor and the cast that delivers it. The dialog in this mini series is fraking hilarious because it's so deliciously bad, it might take more than one watch to get it all.

The supporting cast is great, Val Kilmer has a small role as an army general but he says one great quote about the price of gasoline that just cracked me up because to me that price would be a dream come true. Will Ferrell is hilarious as an Orson Welles like creator of the Falux miniseries based on the Falux book he wrote; the dialog he has is just hilarious because you can tell the guy is clearly mad due to how delusional he is, in his mind he's a great writer but really a hack. He also has a great quote "This miniseries never made it to TV because it was too good for it.", wonder if he ever thought it was too bad.

The main cast is great, Toby Maguire is surprisingly funny as playing the typical tragic protagonist Devon Morehouse, he has some great lines one of my favorites is the speech he gives as his plane is going down, which is a parody on a speech just coming in out of nowhere usually at the most dramatic moment. But my favorite is comedic actress Kristen Wiig as Cynthia Morehouse, she is just fraking hilarious she's a real show stealer. I like that she's made to look kinda like actress Morgan Fairchild, she's the typical villain factor, a character that just wants everything no matter how she gets it. The rivalry and romance between both Devon and her is almost like the rivalry between both J.R. and Patrick Duffy's character (forgot his name) in Dallas, both compete for success while trying to destroy each other personally and conflicted with their feelings. She has some great lines but I just love how Kristen's over melodramatic performance which made me crack up, like the clichéd cry of "nooooo!" Overall, "The Spoils of Babylon" is like any spoil a real reward.

Rating: 3 and a half stars

Any fan of the Abraham-Zucker-Zucker send-ups who hated pretentious '70s mini-dramas should find some amusement in "The Spoils of Babylon." There's a ridiculousness to the entire project, including its heavy promotion, that plunges deeply into absurdity. This is parody that produces chuckles rather than guffaws, and the humor is in the details.

Effort was expended to make every scene excessively cheesy, although when sustained at this extreme level can dull the senses. An excellent cast can be commended for executing such ludicrous material in the straight deadpan manner required.

This is a show that doesn't work for those needing their satire to be clever or witty. Instead, TSOB bludgeons the viewer with the preposterous, from the overblown melodramatic dialog to the intentionally fake props and special effects to the blatant references to previous directorial styles.

To best appreciate TSOB, take it at face value and don't expect more than what it is, which is unadulterated spoof without refinement or sophistication.

"The Spoils of Babylon" plays nicely off the sweeping tropes of sweeping television dramas of the sweeping past, mostly relying on silliness and the absurd--and, it has to be said, UK spoof series "Garth Marenghi's Darkplace". This is crystal clear from the episode introductions, supposedly looking back on one artist's tragically lost TV masterpiece, and from the low-budget opening title sequence and home-made establishing shots, which call to mind the "striking" approach to the obviously cardboard Darkplace Hospital.

There are some wobbles to the concept here. While Darkplace maintained the trappings of a pitiful budget throughout, Spoils enjoys some stunning location shoots that don't quite make sense beside money-saving scale-model inserts. There is a similar competence on the part of the imaginary actors, who rarely chew the scenery quite as much as they might, whereas Garth's collection of pals were every bit as terrible as the show he built around them. However, the basic parody of the genre works and raises at least a smile along the way.