(S01E01) Right after Weeds, we got our first look at Showtime's new original comedy series Secret Diary of a Call Girl. The half-hour show stars Billie Piper as Belle du Jour, a high-class London call girl. Tonight we got to meet Belle, who is Hannah the legal secretary by day, her agent Stephanie, her best friend Ben and a few of her clients.We also got to hear Belle's rules: keep her two lives completely separate and stay in control. (There were others but those were the important ones.)
Then we got to see Belle break said rules.
Tonight's episode introduced us to Belle and some of the key themes of the show. For example, Belle told us straight away that she is prostitute (or whore, streetwalker, lady of the night...whatever you want to call her) and that it was her choice to enter this profession. You can see the character Call Girl is trying to develop: strong, witty, confident and modern. I like how she makes a note that she's not addicted to drugs, she's not broke, and she's never been abused by a relative (all the motivations society has come to attach to those in Belle's profession).
But that's not why Belle's character is compelling. She tells us proudly what she does and why she does yet goes on to explain that she keeps her real self, Hannah, completely separate from the character she's created for work, Belle. I think it's this set of opposing forces that makes Hannah / Belle multi-dimensional. We'll get to see her try to balance her personal and professional lives throughout the season.
Let's talk about this rule of keeping the two personas separate for a moment. Belle shows us her separate wardrobes, separate rooms in her apartment, and separate cell phones. "Hannah. Belle. And never the twain shall meet," she says assuredly. However, later in the episode, Belle breaks this rule when she gets too comfortable with a client Daniel and reveals her name. By the way, I hope we see Daniel again. His self-consciousness and sweetness was a nice foil to Belle.
While the show touts itself as a comedy, there really wasn't anything too funny throughout the episode. I think it's witty and intriguing for sure, but funny? I will admit, however, that I laughed out loud when they cut to Belle on the toilet saying "I'm very high class." But that was the one moment I even cracked a smile. This is not to say that I didn't find the show interesting. Indeed, I liked Call Girl immensely. I just didn't find it all that funny. What did you think?
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
6-17-2008 @ 12:34AM
Doug Nelson said...
Totally unfunny, though I also liked the toilet bit. But people will keep tuning in to see how much of Billie Piper they'll show while avoiding showing anything.
Nice to see they're up on their sex toy memes, though (possibly NSFW link)http://www.nakedcity.com/2008/06/the_color_purple_why_are_so_many_sex_toys_purp.php
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6-17-2008 @ 12:37AM
Jim said...
I tried watching this show when it was on British TV, but I just couldn't get in to it.
A large part of that is because I think Billie Piper is *ugly*. Not ugly in the "huge wart with hair growing out of it on the side of her face" sense, more like "why the hell do people find this girl attractive?" sense.
I just couldn't bear to watch her for 30 minutes at a time. Was Kelly Brook or Gemma Atkinson too busy for this role? Hell, even Keeley Hawes would have been an improvement over Billie Piper!
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6-17-2008 @ 12:50AM
Orangecrush said...
Let me tell you why I love this show.... I get it.
To be mildly overly honest, I compartmentalize my life. A lot. Boyfriends don't meet family until I'm comfortable with their sustainability. I have a six month dating period before they meet the family as my boyfriend. Granted, my family is intimidating.
As an independent smart female that enjoys sex, I get the need to separate the lives of who you really are and the life society expects you to live. Any guy who gets that is a catch. I think the majority of men in the world would run away in fear if they ever met Billie Piper. Because she's undeniably hot. And most guys don't have the balls to deal with that.
And Daniel... He's the kind of guy that's a trap. On all accounts, he is the ideal guy. But in the long term, DRAMA. So many issues to deal with.
Massages are a smart boy's trap. Seriously. Guys, learn how to give a great massage. If it doesn't win you a girl (which it will always earn you points), it'l at the very leastl keep her longer than she thinks is smart.
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6-17-2008 @ 1:34AM
Malren said...
"A large part of that is because I think Billie Piper is *ugly*."
And I think you are clinically insane.
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6-17-2008 @ 2:41AM
Jim said...
Feel free to think that if you want. I also think Sienna Miller is nothing to write home about, either.
Part of it is because, in almost every picture of Billie Piper I've even seen, her mouth is open. We call that "Corey Haim Disease" in my neck of the woods. It's unattractive, and it makes her look dumb.
Then there's her mouth, which at times looks like a collagen experiment gone horribly wrong (even if it is her natural mouth).
And then there's her nose, which is big enough to sublet to a Puerto Rican family in the Bronx.
Sure, she has a decent body... but her face is so... blech! And if it's just a nice body you have, there are a million other actresses that don't have a "squashed Sarah Jessica Parker" face to look at. Emma Pierson, for example, is also British, a decent acrtess, and is 100x better looking than ol' Horse Face Piper!
6-17-2008 @ 2:35AM
Tim said...
I think its the bad makeup they gave her that makes Billie look unattractive. It doesn't do her any justice- all you have to do is look at her days on Doctor Who to realize that the worst make up job on DW is much more flattering.
I sure hope we don't see Daniel again, its pretty easy to figure out that he's got the hots for Hannah's sister.
With that said, 20 minutes an episode isn't that long of any time to invest in the show for 8 episodes. However, you have to figure at least half of that was spent on putting her in sex positions, most of which didn't do much to advance the plot- (although watching her ride horsey made me crack up for some reason).
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6-17-2008 @ 10:14AM
Mark Watson said...
The end might or might not be near for the SAG to negotiate over a multi-year deal with their members
to ratify a contract.
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6-17-2008 @ 7:57AM
Lou said...
#10
two words for you.
Episode 5
no doubt will be left as to whether Billie uses a double or not.
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6-17-2008 @ 7:59AM
Lou said...
oops that was supposed to be #1 (Doug)
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6-17-2008 @ 8:30AM
Ed said...
*goes off to torrent episode 5!
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6-17-2008 @ 10:16AM
MacGuffin said...
I watched it. It has potential and is interesting that we get to see--as voyeurs--this world that she lives in. In that regard, it is a groundbreaking show.
But it occurs to me that this was a show that Showtime purchased from Britain and not really an original series that they developed for the US.
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6-17-2008 @ 11:34AM
Ashley Boyd said...
Yeah that keeps annoying me (being as anal as I am :P) that it keeps getting referred to as a "Showtime original series". Yes. Its an original series. And yes its on Showtime. But it isn't an original series by Showtime. Its just...misleading.
But great show. And Piper does indeed expose herself, which suprised me as well.
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6-17-2008 @ 11:49AM
Dan said...
I just didn't like it. I wasn't compelled by Belle, didn't really enjoy much of it at all...the 22 minutes felt like 2 hours. Especially after watching a very satisfying Weeds episode and remembering Californication from last season, this show was not up to the standard I've come to expect from Showtime. Honestly, it felt like soft-core porn, and watching it with 4 of my buddies was really uncomfortable too.
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6-17-2008 @ 12:47PM
Oreo said...
I don't like the way they did the narration.
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6-17-2008 @ 12:54PM
eric f. said...
It was good, but seemed like it was cut short. how about 27 minutes? that can't be so hard!
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6-17-2008 @ 12:59PM
eujin said...
The premise of the show is interesting, but I don't get Showtime and will probably give this a pass. Count me in as another one who thinks Billie Piper is just not hot enough to want to pay money to for sex. In my book, she's a Butta Face.
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6-17-2008 @ 1:30PM
Oreo said...
When she smiles sometimes her teeth make her look like a horse.
I think the problem isn't that she's not cute / hot, it's that she can't act.
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6-17-2008 @ 4:32PM
William Whitaker said...
For some reason I kinda have the feeling that Daniel is going to be the guy with the accent that is tricking the girls with fake money.
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6-21-2008 @ 8:13AM
automagV said...
Thank god for hair. Billie Piper was on Top Gear a while back. Helmet on, buckled in, she drove the course. God was she ugly. That face... However, in the right light, with her hair strategically mussed, one could easily fooled into thinking otherwise. Though, personality does go a long way. Here's hoping the rest of the series allows her to show that side off a bit more.
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