TVSquad

Even though eating disorders aren't the first thing that come to mind when you think of sitcom ideas, it's true what they say: laughter is the best medicine. Sometimes it helps to take a step back from a serious matter and have a laugh about it. Starved did just that and it did it well. For those of you that missed it's short seven episode season last summer, Starved was part of F/X's test run with comedy. In the hopes of duplicating the success it's had with hour-long dramas, F/X paired Starved and It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia together creating one of the most unique sitcom hours on TV.

Created, written, starring, and directed by Eric Schaeffer (you may recognize him from another short-lived favorite First Years), Starved looked at a close-knit group of four friends who were all dealing with an eating disorder. They attend these extremely hardcore weekly meetings to help them deal with their problems. The meetings are these pseudo-AA type gatherings where the moderator verbally assaulted everyone in the room. It was difficult to watch, especially the first time you saw it, because it seemed hard to believe how insulting it was.

But the more you saw, the more it became clear that these characters really bonded and you felt for them as they tried to find themselves and beat their respective illnesses. It didn't hurt that you were laughing your head off the entire time. With episode names like "Scrotal Origami," and guest appearances by Darrell Hammond, you can see what I mean. Unfortunately, the ratings weren't there and F/X canned the series (but they at least kept It's Always Sunny...). With the way F/X has been pumping out hit shows, there's no doubt in my mind they'll find a suitable replacement to round out the hour but I do hope the show gets a DVD release because the seven episodes were really quite good.