Dirty Sexy Money

This has become my favorite show on television. It has its own special charm to it. I love the characters in the Darling family. The acting is superb for nearly all of them. Donald Sutherland is incredible as always in the role of Tripp, the tactful businessman. Then you have Glenn Fitzgerald as Brian, the flawed priest; William Baldwin as Patrick, the spineless politician; Samaire Armstrong as Juliet, the spoiled daughter; Seth Gabel as Jeremy, the reluctant playboy; Natalie Zea as Karen, the impetuous harlot; and Jill Clayburgh as Letitia, the spaced-out mother.

The character of Brian is the one I find the most entertaining. He perfectly pulls off being a complete jerk, which makes his contrasting moments of humanity that much more impressive. His relationship with his son brought some of the funniest and most heartfelt moments of the season, which is really saying something considering the strength of the rest of the show. The character of Jeremy is intriguing as well, as he's somewhat of a security blanket for Juliet. Fitzgerald and Gabel show off their acting talents in these roles, but it's Sutherland that steals the show.

The well-acted characters don't stop there, though. Peter Krause nails the role of Nick, the lawyer/babysitter for the family. Will Shadley is adorable as Brian Jr. Blair Underwood adds mystery as the rival billionaire. Daniel Cosgrove gave a memorable performance as Karen's boytoy Freddy. Shawn Michael Patrick adds even more talent as the obedient limo driver. Zoe McLellan is stuck in that middle as Nick's wife Lisa, along with fascinated-by-rich-life daughter Kiki, portrayed by Chloe Moretz.

There are precious few flaws with this show. Leticia, Patrick, Juliet, and Karen can grow tiresome, partly because their characters are sometimes intended to annoy the viewers with their actions. However, the truth is that Clayburgh, Baldwin, Armstrong, and Zea simply don't possess the acting talent of the rest of the cast. I can hate and love Brian at the same time, and I can't say that for the rest of these characters who are supposed to elicit similar feelings.

The only reason I gave it a 9 instead of a 10 is because the latest episodes haven't been quite as good as the early ones. Still, I think that speaks more to the excellence of the show's beginning more than anything else. There's plenty of potential to develop all the characters much further, as you could make a lesser series based on any one of the characters. I don't know what the future holds for this show, but I can only hope that we haven't seen the last of it. If they give this enough of a chance, I think it will be truly great.

I worry, though, because nearly everyone I try to talk to about it hasn't heard of it, and we're going on a few weeks now without a new episode. It seems pretty high-budget as well. I think a little more promotion or patience could save the show. I fear the worst, but I'll breathe a sigh of relief if I see another new episode in the new year.

Please, ABC, keep this show going. If it disappears, it will be sorely missed.

Started out well, but drifted away into a complete chaos at the end. For example, the characters. Take Nick George. At first he is so opposed to the wealth etc. of the Darlings, then he lets himself be seduced by it. It would be interesting to watch him sink in more and more into this shallow and cruel world.. then emerge out of it with a changed personality and a learned lesson (or not, and that would be a message to the viewers). Instead what happens is that we are first supposed to believe he is following the wrong path, succumbing to all this money, etc., then turns out that actually it's OK, he's a nice guy helping this family and that's it. There is no more drama or character development, it just stops. His marriage with Lisa falls apart, he does exactly what his daddy, who he hated, did to him, but that's all OK! In addition to this completely illogical and incoherent "turn" we find out that in fact he was always in love with Karen and is now glad he separated from Lisa. Why? Why fall in love with this shallow, rich woman who has absolutely nothing in her? Seems like the original Nick shown in the first series would never fall for that kind of person, but no, apparently he always was secretly in love with her. It's hard to believe for us as viewers not only because it's so out of the blue but also because Krauss just can't act this, perhaps because he doesn't understand why his character would do this (all in all I have to say that Krauss was really not the right person to portray supposed complexity of the character Nick). All in all the show starts as one thing, kind of a comment on the life of the rich, supposedly satire, etc. and it's good in that way. But then it loses the focus. The other flaws include complete and unexplained disappearance of Juliet who at first was shown as a very close part of her twin brother Jeremy, who then seems to forget all about her in 3 episodes. Jeremy's character is actually played well and is more or less consistent. So is Lisa's.

Some major things just happen "in passing", like Karen's miscarriage, as if the there was not enough air time to properly play the scene out. Some scenes are just forgotten, like the arrest of Patrick (accusation of murdering his wife) is just forgotten in the next episode. Not to mention the completely crumbled and unsatisfactory ending (not really an ending at all but not a invitation to watch further episodes either, just something in between.) Also there is this theme of Tripp always pressurizing his children and each one of them being secretly unhappy in their own way - Jeremy takes up a job, Juliet takes pills etc) that is also just dropped at some point and the kids seem to be actually fine. Basically the whole thing is very inconsistent. It's well done and not thought through thoroughly.

I starting watching this show with the expectation that it would be driven only by it's star power and would leave little to the mind, however, that said - Dirty, Sexy, Money far exceeded my expectations. It is an intriguing drama with plots than only become more interesting at the season progresses. The Darling's are not a 1-Dimensional family - we get a balanced view of each family member's bizarre, twisted and occasionally desirable life styles with a plot that only becomes darker as the weaves of truth and deception spin their way onto our TV sets. Out of the many new shows that were aired this year, DSM is certainly one I would place up in the top 3. My final word? - this is definitely a show you want on your TiVo.

I really like this show. I think that it follows in the footsteps of desperate housewives and others before it as far as it being character-driven, engaging the audience in a great story, with a good blend of comedy and drama. Some of the previous comments have implied that we've seen this plot (or something similar to it before) and I couldn't disagree more -- I don't think that the story seems done. In my opinion, the story line is definitely creative and unique... much like housewives, greys, and heroes (my three favorites) I'm totally curious and entertained (and the point of TV is to entertain, after all!) Bottom line: I can't wait to see whats to come -- it's a breath of fresh air that TV has so desperately needed.

Just wanted fans of Dirty, Sexy Money to know that while so many of us have been waiting for the new shows to air, ABC suits have been unhappy with writers and have laid off the cast and crew. Some new episodes were filmed but if and when we will see them who knows. It is not like they have so many great shows on. I am so disappointed I was really looking forward to a new season. There were so many hints that many juicy secrets were yet to come. If the cast and crew get offers for new jobs it will be impossible for them to get them all back together. I guess they want to kill the show. Fans need to rally behind the show and get ABC to bring everyone back. The show must go on!!!