I thoroughly enjoyed this show but I am glad that it ended where it did as I get the impression that it could have spun off into that trap of trying to outdo itself or push agendas or cheapen itself for shock value.
This show had me laughing and crying and crying with laughter at times. It was subtle in all the right places and outlandish in others: the sub plots provided plenty of comical reprieve throughout. A great show if you have any interest in human psychology and you are longing for a show which isn't afraid to show more realistic, less 'American-dream-ised' characters, albeit there are some heavily stereotyped characters combined with lots of darkly comical drama.
I love it when a show has you rooting for someone one week and then repelled by their inadequacies the next, which this series does very well with all of its characters. Although it was very slow paced at times the characters were really well written and acted, you were really going along with them whilst they fumbled their way through these difficult situations. I really enjoyed the character development throughout as they were all awkward and flawed and multi faceted and were given plenty to work with from life changing to banal every day life. It also provided an exceptionally realistic representation of drug abuse and addiction and tackled the issue of severe paranoid schizophrenia well for the most part. Admittedly some of the story lines were clichéd, (unfortunately some clichés are justifiable as they are the norm) as was the character of Russell to a degree but the actors really made their roles their own and did a brilliant job of something which could have been very hammy.
I believed it to be very well acted for the most part. Oliver Platt is superb in this (best in show) as is Blythe Danner, both of whom play despicable but ultimately lovable characters. Andy Comeau is brilliant in his portrayal as Hoff's mentally disturbed brother Teddy and Faith Prince as Kelly provides some much needed comic relief throughout. There are some deeply touching moments between the various characters as well as some frustrating ones! One thing that was a little different about this show is that I didn't really like a lot of the characters as people, I certainly wouldn't be attracted to people like that in real life as they were all so self absorbed, and spoilt, but they weren't the usual 'love to hate 'em' characters either and in the end I did end up sympathising with and caring about them. It's just an interesting portrayal of people and families, their relationships and every day first world problems with a bit of extra drama thrown in. Definitely worth a watch but it flagged a little in season 2 and glad it's been put too rest before they had a chance to ruin it!
This show had me laughing and crying and crying with laughter at times. It was subtle in all the right places and outlandish in others: the sub plots provided plenty of comical reprieve throughout. A great show if you have any interest in human psychology and you are longing for a show which isn't afraid to show more realistic, less 'American-dream-ised' characters, albeit there are some heavily stereotyped characters combined with lots of darkly comical drama.
I love it when a show has you rooting for someone one week and then repelled by their inadequacies the next, which this series does very well with all of its characters. Although it was very slow paced at times the characters were really well written and acted, you were really going along with them whilst they fumbled their way through these difficult situations. I really enjoyed the character development throughout as they were all awkward and flawed and multi faceted and were given plenty to work with from life changing to banal every day life. It also provided an exceptionally realistic representation of drug abuse and addiction and tackled the issue of severe paranoid schizophrenia well for the most part. Admittedly some of the story lines were clichéd, (unfortunately some clichés are justifiable as they are the norm) as was the character of Russell to a degree but the actors really made their roles their own and did a brilliant job of something which could have been very hammy.
I believed it to be very well acted for the most part. Oliver Platt is superb in this (best in show) as is Blythe Danner, both of whom play despicable but ultimately lovable characters. Andy Comeau is brilliant in his portrayal as Hoff's mentally disturbed brother Teddy and Faith Prince as Kelly provides some much needed comic relief throughout. There are some deeply touching moments between the various characters as well as some frustrating ones! One thing that was a little different about this show is that I didn't really like a lot of the characters as people, I certainly wouldn't be attracted to people like that in real life as they were all so self absorbed, and spoilt, but they weren't the usual 'love to hate 'em' characters either and in the end I did end up sympathising with and caring about them. It's just an interesting portrayal of people and families, their relationships and every day first world problems with a bit of extra drama thrown in. Definitely worth a watch but it flagged a little in season 2 and glad it's been put too rest before they had a chance to ruin it!