Dirt

I wasn't planning on watching this show. Don't get me wrong, I like Courteney Cox, but it just didn't feel like my type of show, based on the previews. However, after coming down with the flu, I was left to a few sick days and I happened across the pilot. First the good, it drew me in. I was just flipping through and it caught me and made me want to watch. It was dark, it was edgy, it felt different from most other things on television. However, it also felt like either something was missing from the show or that I was the kid at the far end of the table left out of the joke. I liked the characters, quite a bit more than I probably should have, but something was not right with the story. I'm not sure whether it was the intentional choppiness to try and represent the story of the schizophrenic photographer, or the fact that it bounced back and forth too much between story lines.

I don't think I'm going to give up on this show. But, for it to stick, it needs a little bit of re-working and making the show something more than simply edgy.

The endless previews for the show got me interested. And I found it interesting that I was interested because when a network advertises the crap out of a show, I'm easily bored. I thought I would give the show a chance because FX always seems to give us racy, dramatic, unique shows. And I wanted to see Courtney Cox as a bitchy, lost editor in a hot red dress. I'll admit it.

The pilot was a little rocky, but most pilots are. I try to never judge a television show by the first episode because it takes time to develop the story lines and characters. This show could easily find a groove if it wanted to.

Courtney was fitting in her roll. She's got the tough, commanding demeanor about her. But it still seems as though she hasn't completely found the character. But maybe that's how it is supposed to be right now in the show. I think her character has many places to go in time.

I found that the real star was Josh Stewart who plays a failing actor who finds himself sucked into the world of a "celebrity". Stewart is that smirky, doomed, lovable rebel that Jason Dohring recently made a career out of on "Veronica Mars." As I mentioned before, the show is on FX, so obviously there is a lot of sex. A lot. I think this is one of the weaknesses of the show. The softcore porn distracts from the plot and the sweet camera shots that are accompanied by great music. I doubt that will go away.

The show has a message. We live in a messed up world. We are all awful. But has the world become so despicable that there is no humanity left? I have hope for this show but it could easily suck. I'll give it a few more chances, though.

Network: FX; Genre: Drama; Content Rating: TV-MA (for strong language, simulated sex, drug use and violence); Available: DVD; Perspective: Contemporary (star range: 1 - 4);

Seasons Reviewed: 2 seasons

Lucy Spiller (Courteney Cox-Arquette) is the ruthless producer of the salacious tabloid DirtNow Magazine who uses her schizophrenic best-friend photographer Don Konkey (an absolutely phenomenal Ian Hart) and fresh-faced, wide-eyed freshman reporter just waiting to be ruined by the industry Willa (Alexandra Breckenridge) to sneak into the lives of Hollywood's rich and famous to get the story. One of those celebrities is Holt McLaren (Josh Stewart) who like many of the celebrities makes a deal with Lucy to be her source if certain information is kept under wraps.

The latest and best series produced by the Arquettes (it's a hell of a lot better than "Daisy Does America") and created by Matthew Carnahan ("Fastlane"), "Dirt" is TV's first attempt at taking a bite out of the paparazzi - and I can't think of a target more full of potential and deserving of satire. Despite this, "Dirt" falters under the kind of shallow sleaze, manipulation and sensationalism that it should be satirizing.

For the show's many faults, the last thing going wrong here are the performances. The show gives us the opportunity to see a leaner, meaner Courteney Cox and frankly I'd rather watch Lucy Spiller over Monica Geller any day. This is what Cox does best and it is a blast watching her slink through this role like a Siamese cat. But it gets better. Ian Hart's performance, as a the schizophrenic Don who will do anything (even sacrifice his own fingers) to get the shot for Lucy, is one of those performances that makes the entire show worth watching. Just to see him. It's a one-of-a-kind character, the sympathetic paparazzo, whose schizophrenia opens up the show to some surreal visual moments involving talking cats, talking corpses and a showdown between two Dons. This is Emmy worthy stuff and the relationship between Don and Lucy is kind of sweet.

Maybe Carnahan and the Arquettes are to angry at the paparazzi and it's clouding the teleplays. "Dirt" is an nasty, unpleasant show that many times, despite such fine performances form the leads, is a hard hour to get through. It's ugly/sleazy like "Nip/Tuck" seasons 4 and 5, not fun/sleazy like "Nip/Tuck" seasons 1 and 2. If you know what I mean.

What really grinds my gears about the show is the "ripped from the headlines" vibe it pushes on us in which it takes actual celebrities and scandals and simply re-creating the events. The would-be satire is as transparent and amateurishly thrown together as anything I've ever seen. "Dirt" characters stand in for Paris Hilton and Britney Spears. Remember when Britney locked her kids in the car? Remember when David Hasselhof got drunk and ate steak off the floor? And remember about 5 years ago when Madonna and Britney Spears lip-locked at the VMAs? Yeah, real timely "Dirt". So in addition to being years after "South Park" has covered the respective celebrity ground, "Dirt" add no next-level insight. In the hands of someone else, someone like Ryan Murphy, "Dirt" could have made one wild & crazy dark comedy. "Nip/Tuck" at it's worst is still a challenge.

The show can't quite achieve the ambitious feat it is trying to pull off. And there in lies my love/hate for it. It goes for the celebrity culture jugular, but does so in such a shallow way that it can't quite articulate it's point and falls flat time and again. It tries to take us into the world of the paparazzi, showing us just how sleazy they are but is unable to keep from rising up from that sleaze itself to get to that necessary pedestal where it can look down upon it condescendingly. Which is what we need.

The characters do what they are supposed to do, no they are not likable and they aren't supposed to be - but you've still got to give me some reason to stick with them. This anti-hero stuff is right up FXs ally which makes it all the more disappointing (and a little perplexing) to watch "Dirt" break the network's roll of high quality output.

* * / 4

The very first scene in the pilot of Dirt shows Courtney Cox as Lucy Spiller, a Friend-less tabloid editor who basically spits on everyone. Now, that is the role I like to see Courtney Cox in. I hate to see her in the role of cutesy charming girl-next-door. She's stupid and annoying in those kind of roles.

Lucy runs "Dirt" and "Now" Magazines, and she'll do anything to get her story, including blackmail, betrayal, maybe even someday, she'll resort to murder. That would be fun to see.

What I like about Dirt is the way it's shot, it's just beautiful. I also like how Cox's character makes every pathetic little excuse for a human being cry. Her performance is to die for. And, even though I've only seen the pilot, I see no signs of slowing. It looks like it will keep getting better and better. The people on IMDb who have given this a "1" need to go out and watch some truly horrible programing. Because this is far from it. It's terrific and you should definitely watch it.

Along with Heroes one of the best series to come out of America in a long while. Courteney Cox has proved herself an extremely good actress, leaving Monica from Friends way behind. She plays a total bitch with only one redeeming feature, her loyalty to Don, played by Ian Hart. The chemistry between them works so well ,I was hooked from the first episode. The first series has just ended in UK and I could not miss any of it. The performances were uniformly great and the story lines pulled no punches given the strictures of TV. I for one cannot wait fro the second series. I am not sure how it has gone down with the great British public as I can hardly find anyone else that has watched it!! It has been shown on little-watched channel 5 so it must have been difficult to garner a big audience. It certainly deserves to be seen by a wider viewing public. BTW check out Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip if you get the chance. Matthew Perry shows he too can shake off Friends (also a terrific series)