Enlightened

If you're into subtle, sometimes dark humour with a twist of quirk, you'll get a kick out of this one.

I watched Season 1 & 2 back to back so its fair to say I was addicted. The episodes are short, yet packed with enough substance that you'll be left wanting more.

Dern's character is likable just not to anyone she knows. After suffering a breakdown, she returns to her life with higher hopes of - everything. Don't we all wish for a better world? What I like about Dern's character is that she has good intentions. She's just completely misunderstood by everyone around her and is dismissed as a neurotic maniac with no sense of self awareness.

She desperately wants to find a purpose in life but eventually makes 'good' with what she's got and.. its interesting enough.

The character development is well written and does a good job to explore the complexity of human relationships. There's unexpected humour and awkwardness and ultimately I felt myself rooting for Dern to 'stick it to the big guys!

Its kind of like 30 Rock had a baby with Weeds that was raised by Broad City. Highly recommended.

I started Enlightened around a week ago, mostly because the Golden Globes put it on the spot. As far as first seasons go, this was an excellent one. It balances comedy and drama extremely well. Some episodes are more dramatic, some more comedic, but it always remains top notch.

Laura Dern in the character of Amy is completely fantastic. She owns this character, which is perhaps one of TV's most fascinating and confusing. Amy has our sympathy, we still want her to succeed, and she always pretty much wants to look at things in a positive way. The problem is though, she isn't the person she wishes. She makes you feel her problems, yet also cringe and shake your head at the way she approaches aspects in her life. She's a good person who wants to do good things, but she can also be extremely selfish and lacks any sort of self-awareness. Even in her most sticky situations, you want to root for her but you see her like many of her co-workers do... in a negative light. Dern sells it all. Diane Ladd is also pretty fantastic as her distant, yet also sympathetic and sometimes infuriating mother. But even she gets her own episode, which is perhaps the show's most touching and dramatic episode.

Overall, this is an excellent mix of drama with both dark and light comedy. I feel it's sort of underrated and has gotten lost among other big-name shows.

I'm hoping I'm not the only one out here who loves HBO's Enlightened. While still a bit uneven script to script, Laura Dern and Mike White's show is quirky, funny, irritating, raw, and human - bringing to mind Michael Tolkin's 1994 film, The New Age, minus the corrosive cynicism.

Dern portrays 'seeker' Amy Jellicoe straight up, with all her foibles: unvarnished, selfish, pretentious and trying hard to change. I'm pretty sure most of us get Amy's brand of supercilious self-righteousness, the kind we get when we want so much to change others, while avoiding the change that begins with ourselves. Co-creator Mike White is heartbreakingly sympathetic, hilarious and a great foil for Dern.

Unfortunately Enlightened brings to mind a few other wonderful shows where our imaginary friends disappeared within a season or so: My So Called Life, Beggars and Choosers, Canada's Intelligence, among them. Sometimes the grit is just a little too real, the subject a little too off-beat for mass consumption, with broadcasters not giving a show enough time to find its feet, and audiences robbed of the chance to bond with character.

With apologies to Jimi Hendrix, a toast to Enlightened, 'Let your freak flag fly.'

Enlightened is very well written and Laura Dern is excellent in her role as the protagonist.

A character that is hard to like, and actually annoying, and yet you still feel empathy for her and she fumbles through life, trying to do good.

It's a great mix of social commentary, satire and a dark humor brought to life with a mix of interesting, awkward, sad and oblivious characters.

I do find it leaves me feeling a little uneasy and pensive, and yet I still want to watch more because it is so well done.

If you are all about feel good, pure entertainment - then this is not a show for you.

The show is about one very flawed woman's struggle to become a better and healthier person. She's clearly lost, but dedicated and passionate in a way which makes you admire her and be annoyed by her at the same time. The show does a neat trick of manipulating the viewer into alternatively mocking her because of her naivete and flakiness, and cheering for her out of empathy, both back and forth within single episodes. You come to expect her to crash and burn in a tragic and comedic fashion. Yet in the end, she claims small victories of enlightenment that put all of us in touch with our humanity and teach us a little bit about growth. The show is not preachy, yet makes its points poignantly and powerfully.

I'm excited with anticipation as to where the show may go and hope it is renewed despite the poor ratings so far. Definitely my favorite new show of the season.