The Minor Accomplishments of Jackie Woodman

I believe that this is one of the best shows on television. IFC has created a real winner. Original and funnier than Entourage, I think that this show is great. I understand why she was not nominated for an Emmy award because it is only the first season, and because that old fart Julia Louis-Dreyfus. When the Golden Globes premiere, I hope this show she and this show are nominated. This show also has a really great ensemble cast, so they might not do so bad at the Screen Actors Guild awards. So . . . this is a good show, I hope it never gets canceled, and I hope that Laura Kightlinger wins something. Minor Accomplishments, Huge series!

From the great mind of Laura K. and D. Punch, comes a show about losers who win at living life. Jackie tries so hard in a town of idiots to push her screenplays of intelligencia. While Tara, her best friend, is succeeding without really trying and sleeping on the next opportunity.

Dark-sarcastic, and very smart, but at the same time it's sprinkled with stupidity, and happiness. Like life it has it's ups and downs. But has you laughing all the way through. It has you thinking on the obscure references and bitch slaps you with present pop culture.

While IFC (which runs the series exclusively) has only shown Season One, and only three episodes of Season 2; what has come out, is well worth watching again and again.

Jackie (Laura Kightlinger) is a journalist for a very minor Hollywood blab magazine. Naturally, the job does not pay very well, so she has a roommate, Tara (Nicholle Tom) to help make ends meet. In addition, Jackie has no car and Tara carts her around, to work and play. Tara, herself, has a very unimportant job with a film studio so its these two young ladies "against the world". They don't always get along, for sometimes Tara does resent her role as a chauffeur and they pick fights over minor things. Basically, Jackie is on the lookout for a nice romance, too, but usually ends up being pursued by losers. On the job, things can also get sticky, for Jackie's ideas are rejected. For example, a chance encounter with Sally Kellerman provided material for a retrospective look at the original "Hot Lips". However, her editor rejected the idea. Their readers, she said, only want the latest information on the current stars. In a couple of episodes, Tara joined an almost cult-type group and Jackie had to rescue her. Another time, the two went to a Hollywood party but there was such a prevalence of drugs, Jackie decided to walk home while Tara partied. Will these ladies ever get a break, big or little, in LaLa land? I never heard of this series and have no idea what network presented it but I found a disc of the first season in the markdown bin. Parents of minors, don't let your teenage girls have a look, for there is horrid language and a lot of narcotics. But, overall, Jackie has a strong wit and a sharp commentary for the world around her. As Jacks, Kightlinger is quite good, and very lovely. I knew I had seen her before and finally figured out that she had a strong cameo at the beginning of the film Must Love Dogs. Tom, who starred as Maggie in "The Nanny" series and had other roles as a child actor, is now a gorgeous, blonde adult. Folks expecting sweet Maggie may be shocked at Tom's Tara, who wears skimpy outfits and spout bad words easily. And, while Jackie is intelligent, Tara has less gray matter upstairs, that's certain. The rest of the cast, unknown actors, do a very good job, too. The scenery in California is nice and the costumes very nifty. But, by far, it is the script that is compelling here, for the series really does have an authentic feel and plenty of humor in its behind-the-scenes look at cutthroat Hollywood life. If you enjoy biting wit, you would do well to look this series up, especially if you have cinematic aspirations. It tells it like it is in the banana-peel-world of Tinseltown.

She has a problem with her plumbing and then has a conversation with her mother about nothing. That's 2 minutes of content. It's like gritty realism about stuff that isn't gritty or in any way remotely interesting. It's like the possibility that some things that aren't generally depicted in fiction are left alone because there is nothing interesting about them just wasn't considered. Cues are taken from all the cable dramadies, and when you combine that with a distinct lack of a creative imagination or any unique personal experiences in life to draw inspiration from, this is what you get. I guess the idea is that you're supposed to still be so fascinated with the mechanics behind the media entertainment industry, in spite of how saturated TV has been with that topic in the last few years, that it can be taken to an even more tediously personal-detail-filled level and remain interesting. Laura's voice sets her demeanor at a permanent state of exasperation which becomes grating fast. This lack of emotional range is the nail in the coffin.

This is a very smart comedy made by - and for - Hollywood insiders. It has a bit of Entourage mixed with The Player about it. It's funny, but I don't know if it translates to a very wide audience. The main character, Jackie, is a screenwriter whose life is basically a huge disappointment to her, both in her career and her love life. The scripts, many written by Laura Kightlinger who also plays Jackie, have that edgy bitterness which is very true to the "biz", that some people may find funny (I do) and others just depressing. Jackie may also come across as an awful narcissist, but then Hollywood only works because of all the narcissists operating in concert to try and make movies and occasionally succeeding. Certain aspects of the show are just dead on. Jackie is in a constant struggle to define herself both professionally and spiritually (though she would never cop to that in a million years). Kightlinger is terrific. She has a Geena Davis thing going on which she spins her own way. I recommend this to all angry, desperate, bitter, lonely people. For us it's great. If you feel suicidal once or twice a week, try it and see if you like it.