Pasadena

Back in the early days, a lot of really bad programs were coming out of Fox. Among the bad programs, some gems that went onto become hits emerged, especially X-Files and Simpsons. If those shows were premiering today, they would suffer the same fate as Harsh Realm, Lone Gunmen, and Pasadena, all of which never got a full season. Having seen all of the footage that never made it to air (ie: everything past episode #6), I can honestly say that the show would have had an audience if Fox only allowed it.

Pasadena was a dark and edgy drama about a publishing family that has some deep ties to criminal activity. There was a lot of really dark humour and the storylines were very intriguing. Unpredictable at best, it kept you guessing until the end.

I had the fortune of meeting one of the actors from the show who played a supporting role. She was telling me that given current world events, the audience wanted to see something a little more light hearted, which was one of the reasons why Fox axed the show. She then went on to tell me that at the same time, a direct-to-video film about terrorists highjacking planes that she starred in was literally flying off shelves at the local Blockbuster. Go figure.

Not usually a fan of soaps, I read about the cast in some preview blurb. Knowing that a surprising number of worthwhile actors- both established and developing- had been cast in Pasadena, then having heard that Mike White was involved, I decided to give it a go... which turned out to be a huge mistake, in the long run. I tuned in, got hooked on the the excellent actors (nighttime soaps rarely get Pasadena's caliber of actors)...got into the characters, the stories, the production values... then it just ended. It's great that we get to see all 13 episodes again on Soap Net- though not that many people get that channel & so won't get the same chance. Still haven't gotten used to being left hanging virtually every time I really like a superior show (like Arrested Development, etc.) but I suspect I'm gonna have to soon... I really am tired of networks yanking viewers this way, and it gets worse every year.

This drama actually became quite intriguing minute after minute. I basically only tuned in to catch a few cast members that I enjoy thinking I was only going to be interested in the scenes that they were in but I ended up watching the whole episode and enjoying it. A teenage girl finds out that her family, one of the wealthiest in the world, has many skeletons in their closets after she finds a disturbed man committing suicide in the dining room of her home. Her family shrugs it off as a mere inconvenience but she knows better and discovers more than she could imagine with the help of the new boy in school, who's got some secrets of his own. With the teenager's narration and the "perfect" family that isn't so perfect the series plays out like "My So-Called Life" meets "American Beauty". Much more interesting than any of the dramas of the fall 2001 season this show is slick, smart and very well done. No surprise considering that Mike White, who wrote and starred in the film "Chuck and Buck", created this disturbing piece of drama. Diane Keaton did an excellent job directing the first episode. If the rest of the series can remain as provoking and addicting as the first episode than I think there's definite possibilities and promise in store.

I have just finished watching Pasadena and I definitely want more. The haunting narrative and creepy atmosphere keep you on the edge of your seat. The story begins with a teenager recalling the events that will lead up to her rich family's demise. As the story slowly unfolds and you see the main character, Lily, coming to terms with the fact her family is not what it appears, one is left wondering what could possibly be in store for Lily next. I am curious how the writers will give us enough information to sustain our interest, but keep enough mystery to have us wondering what is to come. If the first episode gives us any indication as to what's to come then the series will continue to be solid and intense. I for one will be setting up my VCR to catch the next episode and I would recommend you do the same.

This actually feels MUCH older than its 20 years: the 'Falcon Crest'-like acting, music and camerawork almost seem an extra twenty or thirty years older, and if someone had told me going in it was a Twin Peaks-like parody of 80s soap operas, I probably would have believed it for awhile, but there's nothing of any interest going on there underneath the stagey melodrama; no commentary upon the genre or an examination of the deeper motives of the cardboard characters. When you think 'The Sopranos' was on TV at the same time as this was being made, it's hard to excuse the underachieving.

As a simple, trashy soap opera, it's certainly not the worst, given the competition, but coming from the writer of Enlightenment and The White Lotus, it's a great disappointment.