Posts with tag margo martindale
Posted Apr 30th 2008 8:22AM by Brett Love
Filed under: The Riches, Episode Reviews, Reality-Free
(S02E07) I debated whether or not I should follow that post title up with a "kind of" or an "unfortunately." Because really, it is unfortunate that season two was cut short by the strike. If we were gearing up to watch the next six episodes of season two, this would have been a pivotal episode.
With Dahlia's breakdown, Didi rebelling against her father, and the growing tension between Wayne and Quinn, things are building nicely. As a season finale though, I'm left feeling disappointed. Still, "The Lying King" did offer up some good bits to the story. More on that, after the jump.
Continue reading The Riches: The Lying King (season finale)
Posted Apr 8th 2008 11:03PM by Joel Keller
Filed under: OpEd, The Riches, Episode Reviews, Reality-Free
(S02E04) Use any cliché you want: this is the episode where the chickens come home to roost, the shit hits the fan, the bill comes due, the Malloys have to pay the piper, etc. etc. What we do know at the end of this episode is that Wayne is starting to get in over his head, and even he knows that his conning skills are only going to get him so far. He's been able to dig himself and his family out of the messes they've created to this point, but this one is a doozy. Not only is he going up against a guy that's probably an even bigger con artist than he is, but also this guy doesn't have any semblance of a conscience. Talk about a deadly combination.
Continue reading The Riches: Slums of Bayou Hills
Posted Apr 1st 2008 11:06PM by Joel Keller
Filed under: The Riches, Episode Reviews
(S02E03) Well, the Malloys are back in Eden Falls, living life as the Riches. And all hell's about to break loose.
That's the situation we have in this episode. Wayne's trying to keep the big deal Hugh brokered alive while Hugh searches for his mojo. Dale is stalking around Panco looking for a job so he can be in on the deal. Only we know that the lummox has some information and a hell of a lot of muscle behind him. And Dahlia is having yet another crisis involving her sense of place in the world. Oh, and then we have the kids: Cael wants out, DiDi wants to fit in, and Sam wonders why there's blood stains on the stairs.
Looks like we're entering the darkest part of the tunnel in this show, aren't we?
Continue reading The Riches: Field of Dreams
Posted Mar 25th 2008 11:03PM by Joel Keller
Filed under: OpEd, The Riches, Episode Reviews
(S02E02) For the second week in a row, Wayne spends most of the episode separated from the rest of his family, cleaning up the messes he got in at the end of the first season. In fact, we're pretty much where we left off in last week's
season premiere, with Wayne trying to figure out what to do with Hugh and Dale while also trying to figure out how to dispose of poor Pete. Meanwhile, Dahlia, Nina, and the kids try to steal a van but are caught by a stressed out man with a big gun and an itchy trigger finger.
What this sets up is, in a lot of ways, a "scam of the week" episode, something we saw a lot of last season. But I get the feeling this might be the last one we see for a while, mainly because the "big scam," which is Hugh's massive development deal, is going to swallow up not only the Malloys, but everyone around them.
Continue reading The Riches: Friday Night Lights
Posted Mar 18th 2008 11:03PM by Joel Keller
Filed under: OpEd, The Riches, Episode Reviews
(S02E01) As much as I liked the first season of
The Riches, I thought the show had a couple of basic flaws. First, it seemed like too many episodes were about the con of the week rather than the "big con," which was the Malloys trying to pass for the Riches. But the most fundamental flaw of the entire first season was that, well... we just didn't find enough of a reason to like the Malloys. As despicable as the characters around them in Eden Falls were, we still felt that they were the victims of this family of Irish Travelers stealing the American Dream.
I think Dimitry Lipkin realized this, as the abbreviated second season of
The Riches brings us a number of seedy characters that are so heinous that it makes the Malloys look like heroes. The season premiere just sets the table for what's to come.
Continue reading The Riches: The Last Temptation of Wayne (season premiere)
Posted Jun 5th 2007 7:08AM by Brett Love
Filed under: The Riches, Episode Reviews
(
S01E13) Well, there you have it. The big finale for the first season of
The Riches. The thing that strikes me about the season is how much it was not what I was expecting. What we ended up seeing was very different than what the promotion FX tossed out all those months ago led one to expect. And I think that was a good thing.
This was a much darker show than those voiced over commercials with Wayne and Dahlia walking down the staircase hinted at. The Malloy family has some serious issues. But at the end of the day, they are a family, and that drives everything they do.
Continue reading The Riches: Waiting for Dogot (season finale)
Posted May 22nd 2007 12:45AM by Joel Keller
Filed under: OpEd, The Riches, Episode Reviews
(S01E11) Remember when
Third Rock From the Sun had been on for a few seasons, and the Solomons had assimilated so fully into earth society that the show became no longer interesting to watch? I sometimes wonder if that's what's going to happen to
The Riches; The Malloys become so ingrained in the fabric of Eden Falls that they become too "normal" for viewers to care about.
You can see evidence of that happening in this episode. DiDi is really becoming more buffer-like every day; she's studying, she has a boyfriend, and she wants to break away from the Traveler lifestyle she's known her whole life. Dahlia alternately wants to do whatever is necessary to stay in Eden Falls and whatever she can to separate herself from it. And Wayne has to play the game, even though he hates himself for it. But what might prevent this show from sliding into the abyss of boredom is that all of it is built on a lie, and how long the Malloys can maintain that lie is the engine that keeps this show going.
Continue reading The Riches: Anything Hugh Can Do I Can Do Better
Posted Mar 20th 2007 7:30AM by Brett Love
Filed under: Other Drama Shows, Cable, FX, The Riches
(S01E02) This week the Malloy family continues their transition into their new lives. The episode felt like a part two to the premiere as it ended with a bit of resolution for everyone, finally acknowledging that they are really going to do this. Now that they have committed, we can move forward with the story and let the drama and hijinks begin.
We'll get to all of that in the coming weeks though. For now, there are setup fish to fry. For me, the best part of this episode was how they showed each of the characters dealing with all of these changes. Of those, I thought Dahlia's story was the most interesting. The burying of the money and the towing of the RV both served to show hard it is for Dahlia to let go of her old life.
Continue reading The Riches: Believe The Lies
Giveaway Monday: That '70s Show The Complete Series Stash box set
Giveaway Monday: Back to You season one DVD
Six shows that I am watching pretty regularly this season
