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.

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)

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.

Wow, an excellent cast and an original, gritty hardcore plot...kept me on the edge of my seat the entire time. Up there with Dexter and Breaking Bad. Very upset that it was canceled. Courtney Cox was great and her side-kick photographer is brilliant. The special effects and the way they present the story is unique and very well done. Great, great acting! Good job Courtney! Why on earth would something like this be taken off the air. One of the best shows I have seen in a long time. I was not going to watch it as the cover was pretty lame, but what lay inside the watch it now on Netflix was a treasure. They should bring something like this back or something similar to it. It uncovers the world we live in today and the lengths we will go to to expose people and their private lives.

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.