The long con

THERE'S SPOILERS IN THIS HERE BLOG. YOU'RE WARNED.

I thought I had it in me to sit here and pontificate about the greatness of The Riches to you for a while. And I could, but it would probably sound just like it does every other time I blog about a show I really enjoy. In brief: FX, yay... strong characters, yay... brilliant writing, double yay. It's not the greatest, but for the past three months I've looked forward to watching every week.

When The Riches premiered, it as simply another cool FX show. I don't think I'm the only one who'd never heard of Travelers -- American gypsies of Irish decent -- and was pretty intrigued by the idea of a show about such a group. Con artists are entertaining characters to begin with.

Anyway, to keep you from falling asleep thanks to a long post, for this look back on season one there's only a one point that needs to be made to best highlight the show (which, for the record, didn't need to leave a cliffhanger to bring people back next season).

Here goes: The show is nothing like anything else on television. It's constantly changing, going from what seemed to be about a family of con artists to a story about a family that just wants to be accepted. This is a good thing, and a bad thing for the show. It's kept things fresh, without a doubt, but things moved fast through the season as the family has assimilated into their new lives. That leaves a number of milestones in their journey in the rear-view.

If things stay as they are, the show will need a short run to be considered strong. They're running deep into the well of bad stuff that could happen to the Malloys in their current situation. But then, I should probably have faith in the creative minds behind the show working a little more magic and redefining everything one or twelve more times.

As far as the finale goes, I was a bit disappointed. The real Doug Rich's friend Pete is more annoying than anything (he may even deserve the brutal beating it seems is coming from Dale if it makes him stop the whining). I get the feeling he'll eventually learn the whole truth and latch on... even more annoyingly. Dale on the other hand may end up with more power than most viewers might want him to.

(Side note: Eddie Izzard and Minnie Driver are absolutely amazing in this show. Their play off each other alone is worth applause, but they've each crafted a pair of characters -- and together crafted a relationship -- that is beyond what anything on television is doing right now. And I used to hate Minnie Driver.)

(Side note two: I'm extremely happy that the show never made the kids superficial. They're as much in this situation as Wayne and Dahlia, and they've shown up and stepped up accordingly.)

Dirt, Riches get re-upped

Lots of news to report, I'll start with a great one, from Zap2it:

FX has decided that once was not enough for its new series Dirt and The Riches. The cable network has picked up both shows for a second season after they delivered ratings in line with some of FX's veteran shows. Both are scheduled to return sometime next year.

Additionally, FX has decided to move the new season of "Rescue Me" from Tuesday to Wednesday nights starting in June and set a July premiere date for its legal drama Damages, starring Glenn Close.

Most exciting TV news I've heard all week! Two amazing shows from a network that I'd expect nothing less from as far as original content. The full article (here) also mentions some premiere dates (Damages with Glenn Close, It's Always Sunny) and they've been added to the sidebar (to your right). Not mentioned there are 30 Days and Nip/Tuck, which both will be back later in the year.

Slow start for "Riches"

FX's new series is unremarkable on first glance. It's not as easy to take to as other recent FX offerings have been. That being said, it operates on an interesting premise -- what star Eddie Izzard deems "the theft of the American dream."

The show is centered on a family of grifters, members of a community of gypsies (so-called Irish Travelers) who're parked in Alabama. Mom, Dahlia, (Minnie Driver) fresh out of jail with Dad, Wayne, (Izzard) running the family's three kids around the South working their grifts. The community doesn't sit well with Wayne, so a few thousand dollars from the boss' safe and a few thousand miles later the family finds itself in Louisiana.

Coincidentally enough, they fall upon a dead couple with a brand new mansion. It's a big leap to make for viewers who have trouble with much easier suspensions of disbelief, and the subsequent identity assumption seems done before.

If the show steps out of the cookie-cutter assimilation plots -- it has one advantage in that its assimilating Americans into America and many basics are already established in the family's lives -- it will have a chance to succeed. But we'll see as, predictably, the kids try to make friends, Mom (while kicking heroin) joins a book club or something, Dad has to learn to be a lawyer, and they all have to learn to stop being thieves.

At a time in the artistic growth of American entertainment media where stories you see are rehashes of rehashes, what sets things off is their ability to be unique. That's what this show needs. It has the talented cast and the dedicated network promoting it. It just needs to stand out.