K Street

Network: HBO; Genre: Docudrama, Reality; Content Rating: TV-MA (profanity and suggested sexual content); Available: DVD; Perspective: Contemporary (star range: 1 - 4);

Seasons Reviewed: Complete Series (1 season)

They say politics is Hollywood for ugly people. In an age where the line between news and entertainment has been crossed and 24-hour cable channels find their dramatic narratives, heroes and villains in Washington politicians, Steven Soderbergh and George Clooney's Section Eight production company flips around the mirror and blurs the line even more. "K Street" is not entirely successful, but at only 10 episodes, it is too unique a show to have such a short run.

A happy side effect to the reality show fad is that it has given people that do have imaginations an opportunity to play with the expectations of our reality and our TV reality. "Street" is brilliantly original - difficult to figure out and even harder to describe. A seamless mix of reality and fiction, film and television, done in a way stranger and more brazen than other improv comedy/reality show hybrids to date.

Set in the summer of 2003 amidst the Democrat presidential primary and the birth of a CIA leak scandal, "K Street" follows political pundits Mary Matalin and James Carville inside their image consulting firm Bergstrom Lowell, fictitiously taking us behind the scenes of actual political events. Looks and sounds like a documentary so far, but mixed in with their reality are characters and story lines of pure fiction. Matalin's aid is the professionally effective, but personally pathetic Maggie Morris (Mary McCormack, given a cleverly unfold character arc about her personal life). Carville's aid is Tommy Flannigan (John Slattery, "Ed") who has his own problems at home. All of which are suspicious of their newest employee Francisco Dupre (Roger Guenveur Smith), a character who seems to defy every possible human label. Elliot Gould makes a few appearances as Bergstrom, a reclusive oddball who wastes Dupre's, and our's, time.

Shot on the streets of the nation's capital, "Street" shows us slivers of the D.C. lifestyle. We see parts of conversations between Morris and Flannigan and politicians playing themselves such as Rick Santorum and Tom Daschile. In the first episode, "Week 1", Carville and Paul Begala coach Howard Dean for the primary debate. Say what you will about his politics and approach, but Carville is a hilarious character and the banter between Washington's most unlikely married couple is entertaining. At one point Carville stops the coaching because the bus boy passing through might be bugged. Another funny moment is Carville's tirade over the telephone to Matt Drudge's answering machine. This guy deserved his own show.

In the cookie-cutter medium of TV, it is rare and refreshing to watch a show that you aren't quite sure how they put together, and I was somewhat flummoxed and excited wondering how "K Street" was pulled off. No doubt Clooney has a stock pile of massive resources in Washington that allow him to get these big-name cameos. On the other hand, when has a politician not jumped at the opportunity to be on TV? "Street" is probably not as grand a magic trick as it first appears.

But the mechanics behind what pulls "K Street" off are more interesting than the happenings in the show itself. Maggie is slapped with a restraining order, Tommy sees prostitutes and the company is under FBI investigation for their involvement with a group suspected to aid terrorists – that's pretty much it. The dialog is improvised, with the same pauses, repeated sentences and awkward verbal mis-steps that reflect the way people really talk, the drama in the lives of the fictional characters is pretty uninspired. The show puts a lot of focus on the personal lives of Morris and Flannigan to the detriment of the political discussions it does well.

Every single episode of "K Street" is directed by acclaimed film director Steven Soderbergh and co-executive produced by Clooney. It looks like a Soderbergh movie. It sounds like a Soderbergh movie. It is dry, banal, static, self-indulgent and shot with a shaky camera. Soderbergh's style is not what you'd call a crowd-pleaser. The show is equal parts engrossing and maddening as Soderbergh spends time beyond the point of annoyance on characters sitting in silence or something like the image of feet running across a pavement. Soderbergh's movies have the luxury of being buoyed into public consciousness by a nation of critical praise, but on the pure democracy of TV, where there is rarely a real-time critical campaign for any show, even a big-name talent like him has been left out to dry.

"The West Wing" is considered by most to be the gold standard in fair, insightful, political-minded entertainment, but as a different take behind the Washington sound-bytes, "K Street" will be worth a look for die-hard "Wing" fans although very little of substance is said. As frustrating as it can be, Matalin and Carville make it worth watching. It's good, but not great.

This is Soderbergh's first effort at parlaying his cinema success on TV, but without a strong theme behind the material (as all his films, particularly "Traffic", have) this is all just masturbation. It is hard to suppress the "what the hell" from your throat as the pretentious silent credits cut in signifying the end.

* * ½ / 4

This show is fusion... Curb Your Enthusiasm meets The West Wing. I think this was well done , but 10 episodes clearly enough. Basically ,this is a fictionalized account of DC , playing as the political version of Curb. What Larry David is to Curb, James Carville is to this show. Very intelligent though not quite as funny as Curb, the show is a fine depiction of how The inner circle of DC uses the media to get their message to the masses. I do feel the show could have used more humor but it is more of a fictionalized documentary , with roots of truth . I liked this show and ,surprisingly, I thought James Carville is a fine actor. Hmmmm , maybe that is telling in itself when it comes to our beloved public servants, but I shall digress. The material here is real and I like that the issues are more of light nature. One can easily enjoy this without taking on the somberness of the state of the world. The show is nonpartisan , so no side of the political aisle needs to be offended. Give this a watch and you will probably agree that it is a nice show and that 10 eps are just enough.

Sorry- I like Soderbergh and Clooney, and this idea was a good one. But, unfortunately, politics in the US is no longer a laughing matter.

This is a good idea which may have worked in the days of James Stewart ("Mr. Smith Goes to Washington"). That was 56 years ago. Recently, there was a televised champagne party wherein Dick Cheney was roasted by his fellow admirers and sycophants. I doubt this will be televised mass market, as most Americans will not find it mildly amusing.

Lobbyists and corporate lackeys are not mysterious or interesting;nor are they a source of amusement.

They are now the status quo, and anyone who isn't aware of this merely needs to tune in to Bill O'Reilly for the latest pablum bought and paid for by the PR spin machine.

This is sad, and the fact that even a creative innovator like Soderbergh cannot find a better creative slant to educate Americans is discouraging.

I have worked as a TV producer in Los Angeles for almost 18 years and this is by far one of the best series ever created. To start, Matlin and Carville are beyond fantastic in K Street. I realize it is probably very close to who they really are but they are still acting out fictional story lines and it is better than any of the real actors in the series - not that they are not good - they are, just not as mesmerizing. Next to TRAFFIC I have rarely seen a true environment depicted so authentically. In addition, Clooney and Soderberg need to be given credit for using no no score whatsoever to increase the documentary-style approach. While the Francisco Dupre character is over-the-top and out-of-place at times, it is Matlin and Carville's reaction to him that blow you away - they are thinking what we are thinking. All in all one of HBO's finest moments.