Big Shots

Network: NBC; Genre: Guilty Pleasure, Drama, Comedy; Content Rating: TV-14 (for strong suggested sexual content, language); Perspective: Contemporary (star range: 1- 4);

Seasons Reviewed: series (1 season)

It's been said that "Big Shots" is network TV's attempt at a male version of "Sex and the City. I'm always wary of such comparisons, but watching what creator John Harmon Feldman ("Tru Calling") has put together here does inspire the comparison.

It goes almost without saying that the show never delves into the true reason "Sex" was such a masterpiece - that it was a rich, intelligent insightful satire of modern relationships regardless of the gender of the participants. I don't expect any show to do that in the near future. "Big Shot" feels like a reaction to "Sex" from someone who never actually watched the show, only the simplified media hype around it. Feldman grabs Michael Patrick King's cliff-notes and runs out the back door.

Feldman sidesteps any realistic male perspective on relationships to drop us into a guilty pleasure fantasy world of high-powered CEOs. It's a fun guilty pleasure fantasy world - one centered around four friends who are constantly mired in scandal, offered improbably casual sex and held down by their wives and exes. Let's call a spade a spade. Feldman gets around traditional male clichés and any social commentary by fully embracing modern emasculation. "Men. We're the new women" says Duncan Collingsworth (Dylan McDermot, "The Practice") and while he isn't quite saying it while getting a metrosexual pedicure, the seed is planted or a satirical nugget that the show has no interest in exploring. These guys don't mind being a little feminized, a little needy - as long as they can still play with their toys.

Speaking of the guys, the cast is quite good. Notably, Christopher Titus who makes a welcome return to TV 5 years after his own sitcom got a premature heave-ho. It's not a huge stretch for the comedian to play "the funny one" in the group, but he takes his usual ticks and tailors it (or restrains it) to suit this show and this character beautifully. In a performance that gives the show it's most character, he plays the rarest of TV oddities: the happily married guy. There is also Michael Vartan's ("Alias") character who is cheated on by his wife only to fall for a long-time colleague (smoking hot Nia Long). Then there is Joshua Milana ("Sports Night") an odd-man-out who cheats on his wife with Jessica Collins only to have the two meet and become best friends. McDermot has got the most melodramatic story lines of all. An ex wife marrying his corporate competition (Paul Blackthorne, in his one thousandth villain appearance since "24"), a belligerent daughter working for him, a boy who shows up claiming to be his estranged son and a rendezvous with a prostitute who turns out to be a pre-op transvestite.

"Big Shots" is another worst-case scenario guilty pleasure show. Along the lines of "Nip/Tuck" or "Desperate Housewives". The stories, in an attempt to find original, ground approach a larger-than-life cartoon. Damn if it isn't entertaining though. Maybe that's just the guy in me. The one that would love a pad like Titus' character gets when he constructs a man sanctuary out of leather recliners, big screen TVs, video games and a basketball hoop or the ridiculous offers from beautiful women that McDermot's character seems to be burdened with all the time. Or simply a quiet day on the golf course with your 3 closest friends. It sends the mind spinning about how good it could be if it were on cable, where the tee box conversations could be extended to include in depth observations and the sex scenes could be fully realized. "Big Shots" proves that the wish fulfillment series isn't just for teenagers anymore.

If the show weren't so mired in melodrama (will the tranny's diary with Duncan's indiscretion in it get in the wrong hands?) and made no bones about the shallow male fantasy it wanted to be "Shots" could have really taken off and flown. "Big Shots" isn't for all tastes. It's pretty air-headed, simply written and pedestrian in execution. But it was a fun playground to play in for an hour a week. Empty but well done.

* * * / 4

For: HowTVshouldbe and others who felt the same way. Just so you should know, as far as I'm concerned ABC NEVER really believed in this show from the start, so it doesn't surprise me that things turned out the way they did. Oh yes, they did show a 'few' promos in the beginning, but right after it got on the air the promos 'abruptly' stopped three weeks in. I don't care what anyone else says, ABC did not make even one attempt to save it (and that means bringing in better writers, or moving the show to a new day and time slot, like they did with the rest or their shows.),so what exactly was so 'different' about this one show? I'm beginning to wonder just what kind of a message they're sending to Mr. Vartan's fans, as this is the second time we've had to start a campaign (although, they didn't even wait for it to go through this time) to keep one of his shows going. 'Big Shots' was a very good show in my estimation, and proof of that was the fact that Vartan and actress Nia Long have had mini-videos posted on YouTube (under the 'Big Shots', James and Katie name) because the fans really enjoyed seeing them together. If by chance they're not coming back, why in the name of all that's Holy won't ABC try a "spin-off" with the shows two most popular characters? We just don't get it.

As far as pilots go, this one rocked! The 4 main characters are funny, self-absorbed jerks who are going to be given a run for their money from the women in this show.

The cast is terrific -- great variety, fine actors. Dylan Mc Dermott is gorgeous, Michael Vartan is sooooooo sweet, Christopher Titus is funny, and Josh Malina is a delightful neurotic. And the WOMEN!!! Terrific -- lovely Paige Turco, smart and sexy Nia Long, sly and sassy Peyton List, sweet and sympathy-provoking Amy Sloan, and sultry and manipulating Jessica Collins.

Pilots are always a little sketchy. The writers don't know who the actors are -- they're just writing for anyone at that point. Watch this show. Give it a chance, and, as the writers get to know the actors, I'll bet anything the script will take on a life of its own.

I had very high hopes for this show and after a few episodes, I have to say I was disappointed.

I love the cast. Dylan McDermott is always great, just like Michael Vartan and Christopher Titus. And Nia Long is always really good. So, the show had good potential.

But for some reason there are four principal characters and only three story lines amongst them. Christopher Titus's character isn't in much of the show accept when the four guys get together. And that's a shame since I looked forward to seeing him on TV again because he's a talented comedian.

The other big part I react to is that Karl's whole storyline is a comedic one, while the other two main story lines are much more serious. Another thing that makes me almost dread seeing a scene with Karl's storyline is his wife. I'm sorry, this actress might be good in other roles but here she gives an unbelievably bad performance.

For some reason I still watch the show but most often I seriously can't wait till it's over.

I can't for the life of me understand how the show currently has 8.1 user rating here on IMDb.