Showtime Looks to have a Happy New Year: Shameless, Ray Donovan, and Masters of Sex

After a rather good showing this past awards season, Showtime is looking to add a few more statues to their collection. With three trailers released recently, two new shows and one returning, their chances are looking quite good.

For awhile, I thought I was the only person watching Shameless. Then I couldn’t decide if the show was actually good or if my adoration for William H. Macy was influencing my decision. Thankfully I’ve had some third-party input to cement my idea that it really is a good show. The Gallagher’s are sad and depressing and you just want to take them all up in a big hug, but they are also smart and funny and that is what makes me turn in each week. Not surprisingly, this season 3 trailer looks promising.

So pretty much the same as the previous two seasons. As Lip so eloquently put it, they need to “steal or scrap” to get by and it seems as if they are going to do plenty of both in season 3. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it I suppose. Although I do have to disagree wholeheartedly with Veronica (Shanola Hampton)- a man with a mop is extremely sexy and the sooner men learn this, the happier we will all be.

Boardwalk Empire: 3.03 – “Bone for Tuna”

Where were we? Last week was all slow-moving build up. Nucky is hiding in New York with Billie Kent,  just wanting everything to run on its own. Margaret is stomping around the hospital and, unfortunately, not smacking the crap out of lippy servants. Eli’s out of jail, Gyp is hanging out in Tabor Heights waiting around for Methodist bible camp, and sticking it to Nucky in the meantime. Chalky tried to convince Maybelle that his life is not that interesting and she should just marry the boring doctor. Oh and Mickey is amazingly still alive. After that slow as molasses episode, I had high hopes for this week. I was not disappointed.

Apparently if you kill the man you spent decades treating as your son, it turns out that it can f–k with your head. Here we finally see Nucky start to come unhinged over killing Jimmy. He’s dreaming of kids shot in the face, and then seeing the same kid as a choir boy. Of course this is also tied to his own childhood and it involves a lot of bacon. There was a lot of “alone Nucky” in this episode and it was just sad. If ever there was a man who needed to just get his shit together, get back together with his wife, spend time with his kids, and have a large bottle of zoloft nearby, it is Nucky Thompson. Dude.

VanAlden returned this episode and so help me god if the writers try to make me feel anything for him like they did Eli last week, I’m gonna be pissed. I don’t want to feel sorry for him. I don’t want to sympathize with him. I don’t want to see him all lovey dovey with his new wife. Are you hearing me writers? I DO NOT WANT TO LIKE HIM!

 Alas, I sort of did. I really do feel badly for him when he’s getting picked on by his coworkers. But then I just remember him “baptizing” Sebso and my distaste for him returns. Ahhh, all is right with the world. Seriously though, the fountain pen and then the constant picking at him, it makes me want to never want to buy an iron from these jackasses. Sigrid however? I daresay I never saw a scene like that in Door to Door (if you haven’t seen this movie, you should), so I was completely unaware that door to door sales can be such a turn on. Lesson learned.

If I were to take my dislike for VanAlden and add the heated hatred of a thousand forest fires burning at once, that would come close to my feelings for Gillian Darmody. She’s got her claws in everyone. It’s possible I missed it earlier, but did we know that Lucky Luciano was an investor in the whorehouse? That was news to me. Unwelcome news of course, and while we’re discussing those two- I really wish little bubbles would pop up telling us who all knows Jimmy is dead and who really believes he went back to the Army. It would be like a flow chart in the style of Pop Up Video, very helpful. I mean Gillian has to know right? She and Nucky aren’t talking, clearly illustrated by the looks exchanged when Nucky drops Gyp off at the house of ill repute. So is she just pretending he’s still alive so people like Lucky take her more seriously? Is she just trying to convince herself he is still alive because she’s an out of touch creepy hobag? It’s a mystery. [Editor’s Note – She knows he is dead, but must play along because he gives her clout. My though anyhow…]

Another mystery? Gyp Rosetti. Good lord this guy is off his rocker. And at the same time, he’s a good businessman. When he was talking to Gillian he seemed quite normal and sane. He was even capable of laughing at himself when he starts to take offense to Nucky saying something about being in “your neck of the woods”. BUT THEN HE DOES THIS!!!

Oh my god. Seriously. That was all I could say. You would think that watching a show where people’s heads are blown off on the regular, something violent wouldn’t be all that surprising. You’d be wrong. Gyp dropped that lighter and all I could see was this.

If we learned nothing else this episode, do not wish Gyp Rosetti good luck. Or buona fortuna. Or “bone for tuna”- you know that kid’s Irish so the spelling is off. Seriously, Nucky nailed it on the head with his “you’d find offense in a bouquet of roses”. What the hell is wrong with the guy? And why do I enjoy his psychosis so much?

[Little tidbit- the movie Gyp’s driver was talking about (when you could see Gyp come undone over Nucky wishing him bone for tuna) was Nosferatu. I am not a horror/scary/monster movie fan by any means so I had no idea, but thankfully the internet came to my rescue on that one. Stay tuned the GrizzlyBomb because coming up this month we are highlighting our favorite Halloween characters and I’m pretty sure Nosferatu made the list.]

Speaking of people I enjoy- Lucky Luciano and Meyer Lansky made an appearance!

They are still doing their heroine thing and Lucky is not happy with their dealings with Masseria. Of course the adorable Meyer Lansky was the voice of reason telling him that they just needed to bid their time with him. In perfect gangster fashion though, he goes from ‘let’s be calm, cool, and collected’ to shooting at Masseria’s men in the street with none other than heroin delivery boy extraordinaire/Benny ‘Bugsy’ Seigel. Shit is getting real there in New York.

The honor of “second best part of episode” belongs to Richard Harrow and Mickey Doyle. Especially this particular moment:

Mickey takes credit for Manny’s death to make himself look like a bad ass and gets ratted out by a delivery boy during a drop to the whorehouse where Richard is tending bar. Richard gets Mickey at gunpoint and then trots his happy ass over to Nucky telling him to deal with Mickey- it was perfect. Everything about it. Especially when Richard greets Mickey with a gun right as he drops trou. I mean seriously, perfection. However, it does make us ask once again, how the hell is Mickey Doyle still sucking air? HOW? He’s a lucky bastard.

And when Richard tells Nucky that he killed Manny for Angela Darmody?

It was too much. I think I died a little with that one. I’m really glad that he came out and said it was just for Angela though. I mean I always assumed, but it’s nice to hear. The part about Jimmy being a soldier, fighting and losing, was also very well written. Nucky you are safe once again- from Richard at least.

You know who you aren’t safe from? This woman:

Last week I was a little meh with Margaret, but this week is a totally different story. Margaret wins the “best storyline of the episode by far, so much so that no one else even had a chance”. And to think, I was sort of annoyed with the prenatal care hill that she was so intent to die on. I thought it was going to be slow and boring.

I. Was. Wrong.

Before that though, Margaret needs to be recognized for coming up with the best alternative for “f–k you and the horse you rode in on” I have ever witnessed. Nucky tells her that he can’t sleep, after being gone for god only knows how long, and she just gives a slight shrug, saying “some warm milk perhaps”. In other words Nucky, she isn’t listening to your shit anymore. Perhaps if you hadn’t been a complete ass who got pissed over money (okay, it was a lot of money) and then ran off to New York with that Broadway chippy you would still have a wife who gave two shits about you and your obvious mental issues. Instead you have a wife who will stand at the back of a church, remind you of your wedding day, give a slight nod to the aforementioned showgirl with her statement about “the show must go on” and pretty much say your marriage is in shambles but you must still put on appearances so walk your ass down this aisle and be happy about it.

I’m sure if Nucky weren’t so caught up in his hallucinations over the “shot in the face” choir boy, he would have been as equally as impressed by Margaret’s next move as I was. There they were, enjoying the nice reception for Nucky’s St. Gregory Award. Margaret is called over for her previously requested moment with the bishop and she takes the opportunity to introduce him to the doctor who had earlier commented that landscaping was more important than prenatal care.

All of a sudden- BOOM- Margaret thanks the doctor for opening a women’s clinic and isn’t that just the greatest thing bishop? Isn’t he amazing? Isn’t this going to be the best thing ever, your excellency? Margaret Thompson, you are f–king awesome. From shy and timid pregnant housewife to cornering an asshole doctor into doing the one thing he would never do- impressive.

Even though there wasn’t any Chicago (outside of VanAlden) or Chalky, and Nucky was a bit annoying with the constantly calling Billie Kent and then going back up there in a very stalkerish manner, this was by far my favorite episode out of the three so far. Gyp was entertaining and disturbing, Gillian was creepy but still moved the story along, and Richard and Margaret were amazing.

I’m going to have to go ahead and give it a five out of five.

I just hope that don’t make me regret renewing my love for Margaret’s storyline. I will be quite disappointed. I’ll be back next week and we’ll see!

Critics Choice TV Awards: Results Don’t Lend Same Credibility Nominations Did…

A couple weeks ago I got excited and told you about the quality of nominations from the first ever ‘Critics Choice TV Awards’. Representation for Community, Parks and Rec, Always Sunny, and Justified made me think someone had finally gotten it right. Then the winners were announced. Most of the good-will they had built with me has since disappeared. Let’s take a look…

BEST DRAMA SERIES

– Desired Winner: Justified
– Predicted Winner: Boardwalk Empire
– Actual Winner: Mad Men

This is about the least inspired choice possible. Way to distinguish yourselves by picking the show that has won this award 3 years running from the Emmy committee. I feel like they mailed this one in for a bid to be taken seriously, and in that bid I think they lose credibility.

It’s nice to see Justified nominated, but it looks like this one was over before it started. Mad Men is obviously not a terrible pick as all the shows were good, just seems uninspired.

BEST ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES

– Desired Winner: Kyle Chandler, “Friday Night Lights”
– Predicted Winner: William H. Macy, “Shameless”
– Actual Winner: Jon Hamm, “Mad Men”

This is again predictable. I really like Jon Hamm, but so far this looks just the same as every other awards show out there, giving gold to maybe the most over-rated show on television.

BEST ACTRESS IN A DRAMA SERIES

– Desired Winner: Connie Britton, “Friday Night Lights”
– Predicted Winner: Elisabeth Moss, “Mad Men”
– Actual Winner: Julianna Margulies, “The Good Wife”

This is a show that I admit to have not watched, so I can say anything against the pick, but can’t speak for it either. Julianna Margulies is a solid actress and I’ve heard only good things about this show, so I’ll just give them the benifit of doubt and assume this was the right pick, but it’s too bad FNL didn’t get any love from the voters. This is the spot I thought Mad Men would get it’s statue, but obviously they still cleaned up without it…

SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES

– Desired Winner: Walton Goggins, “Justified”
– Predicted Winner: Walton Goggins, “Justified”
– Actual Winner: John Noble, “Fringe”

Normally I wouldn’t have any problem with the greatly under-rated Fringe collecting some accolades, except in this case where it costs Goggins a much deserved victory here. Noble is great, I just thought it was Boyd Crowder’s year is all…

SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A DRAMA SERIES

– Desired Winner: Margo Martindale, “Justified”
– Predicted Winner: Margo Martindale, “Justified”
– Actual Winner: TIE: Margo Martindale, “Justified”/Christina Hendricks, “Mad Men”

Well HOLY SHIT, I almost called one right! Justified almost took the spotlight, but instead had to share it with – You Guessed It – Mad Men. Now I love Hendricks from her days on Firefly, but come on. This is a sham. A tie? BOOO. Martindale should’ve had this one to herself.

BEST COMEDY SERIES

– Desired Winner: “Parks and Recreation”
– Predicted Winner: “Modern Family”
– Actual Winner: “Modern Family”

I really have no issue here. Parks and Rec I thought deserved it, but Modern Family is a great show. And to be honest, with the quality of nominees here, so long as it didn’t go to Glee or The Big Bang Theory I was gonna be ok with it. That being said, Modern Family would’ve been 3rd on my list, behind Community at 2nd. Anyhow, who can complain about a show that stars Sofia Vergara and Julie Bowen, with Al Bundy to boot?

BEST ACTOR IN A COMEDY SERIES

– Desired Winner: Charlie Day, “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia”
– Predicted Winner: Steve Carell, “The Office”
– Actual Winner: Jim Parsons, “The Big Bang Theory”

This is without a doubt the biggest issue I have with this list. The Big Bang Theory is unbelievably stupid and keeps getting rewarded for it’s formulaic CBS assembly line style of comedy. Nothing against Parsons personally, but this just seems to be a show about who non-nerd imagine real nerds act. And his character is annoying. I hate this show. And when you take into account the other 4 nominees, this decision makes even less sense…

BEST ACTRESS IN A COMEDY SERIES

– Desired Winner: Martha Plimpton, “Raising Hope”
– Predicted Winner: Amy Poehler, “Parks and Recreation”
– Actual Winner: Tina Fey, “30 Rock”

Not it’s not unusual to hear me praise Tina Fey, I’m a huge fan of her’s. The problem I have here is that this was easily the weakest season of 30 Rock to date, while Amy Poehler’s Parks and Recreation really took off this season and I just don’t get the choice. Sure, in 2009 – Fey over Poehler is a no-brainier, but this one just seems like a reputation win…

SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A COMEDY SERIES

– Desired Winner: Nick Offerman, “Parks & Rec”
– Predicted Winner: Nick Offerman, “Parks & Rec”
– Actual Winner: NPH, “How I Met Your Mother”

If Jim Parson’s won is my #1 issue, this is my #1B issue. I like NPH, but as we’ve talked about in the past HIMYM isn’t what it once was, and this was without a doubt Nick Offerman’s award. Offerman’s ‘Ron Swanson’ is the best character on television and he was absolutely robbed here. It makes me wonder if the voters even watched Parks and Rec this season. As much as I like Harris, he actually would’ve been last on my list of the 5 nominees…

SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A COMEDY SERIES

– Desired Winner: Julie Bowen, “Modern Family”
– Predicted Winner: Jane Lynch, “Glee”
– Actual Winner: Busy Philipps, “Cougar Town”

I was rooting for Bowen because I think she gets overlooked, but I can’t badmouth Busy Phillips. I don’t watch Cougar Town, but she was a principal character on Freaks and Geeks, and was in Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles so she’s ok in my book…

This could’ve gone anyway really, all the nominees were deserving.

Where I will give them credit is that they awarded the first Critics’ Choice Television Icon Award to Danny Devito, star of Taxi and It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia.

Critics Choice TV Awards: No ‘Two & A Half Men’ Here…

While many awards shows (like anything on MTV) make a habit of rewarding mediocrity,  much like Fan Voting on All-Star ballots. Often times the most deserving candidates are ignored for more popular or recognizable choices. However the new “Critics’ Choice TV Awards” seem to more on target. Today they released a list of nominees for the June 20th Award Show. Here is a list minus the ‘Reality TV’ bullshit, along with who I think should win in RED, and who I think will win in BLUE. If the choice is the same, it’ll be GREEN. Pretty simple.

BEST DRAMA SERIES

“Boardwalk Empire”
“Dexter”
“Friday Night Lights”
“Fringe”
“Game of Thrones”
“The Good Wife”
“Justified”
“The Killing”
“Mad Men”
“The Walking Dead”

I don’t watch Mad Men anymore, and I fricking love Game of Thrones, to be honest, I really like all these  shows. This is an excellent list. And while Justified is my favorite show on TV, critics typically like the period stuff. So I think Boardwalk Empire has the best chance here…

BEST ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES

Steve Buscemi, “Boardwalk Empire”
Kyle Chandler, “Friday Night Lights”
Michael C. Hall, “Dexter”
Jon Hamm, “Mad Men”
William H. Macy, “Shameless”
Timothy Olyphant, “Justified”

 It’s hard for me to not pick Olyphant here, but I skip him only because, in season 2, as good as he was, he was out-shined by Walton Goggins. Kyle Chandler on the other hand carried FNL for years and deserves some recognition. The reason however I’m predicting Macy for the win is his history of love from the critics, and Shameless being such a departure from his normal role. Plus, they over looked Emmy Rossum for ‘Leading Actress’, so this could be their make-up.

BEST ACTRESS IN A DRAMA SERIES

Connie Britton, “Friday Night Lights”
Mireille Enos, “The Killing”
Julianna Margulies, “The Good Wife”
Elisabeth Moss, “Mad Men”
Katey Sagal, “Sons of Anarchy”
Anna Torv, “Fringe”

How Emmy Rossum got skipped over here is beyond me. She would’ve been my pick to win it, but as she’s not an option I had to look elsewhere. I went to the FNL well again as the final season really focused on Coach and his wife. The show would lack credibility however if Mad Men went winless, so they’ll give it to Moss.

SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES

Alan Cumming, “The Good Wife”
Walton Goggins, “Justified”
Shawn Hatosy, “Southland”
John Noble, “Fringe”
Michael Pitt, “Boardwalk Empire”
John Slattery, “Mad Men”

This one should be over before it begins. Walton Goggins has to be the winner here or this Awards Show will be a joke. Goggins took what was a great character in season  1 and somehow stepped it up a notch. Put a bow on it, Boyd Crowder is winning this one…

 

SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A DRAMA SERIES

Michelle Forbes, “The Killing”
Christina Hendricks, “Mad Men”
Margo Martindale, “Justified”
Kelly Macdonald, “Boardwalk Empire”
Archie Panjabi, “The Good Wife”
Chloë Sevigny, “Big Love”

This one is another slam dunk for me. Like with Walton Goggins, I had my winner here picked before I even saw the nominees. ‘Mags Bennett’ is one of the best villains to come on TV in years.

If you need proof: CLICK HERE

BEST COMEDY SERIES

“Archer”
“The Big Bang Theory”
“Community”
“Glee”
“Louie”
“The Middle”
“Modern Family”
“The Office”
“Parks and Recreation”
“30 Rock”

It would appear Modern Family is their darling, receiving 6 nods, and while I love that show, I would say it’s really only 3rd best on this list behind Parks and Recreation and Community.

BEST ACTOR IN A COMEDY SERIES

Alec Baldwin, “30 Rock”
Steve Carell, “The Office”
Louis C.K., “Louie”
Charlie Day, “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia”
Joel McHale, “Community”
Jim Parsons, “The Big Bang Theory”

Seems like it’d be a perfect ‘Swan Song’ for Steve Carell here, but The Office isn’t the show it once was. And I for one would love to see It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia get some much deserved love.

BEST ACTRESS IN A COMEDY SERIES

Courteney Cox, “Cougar Town”
Edie Falco, “Nurse Jackie”
Tina Fey, “30 Rock”
Patricia Heaton, “The Middle”
Martha Plimpton, “Raising Hope”
Amy Poehler, “Parks and Recreation”

Amy Poehler seems like a shew-in for this award. 30 Rock has taken a bit of a slide this last season, and Cox and Falco just feel like long shots. My pick here would be Martha Plimpton and her career resurgence with Raising Hope. Show is greatly under-rated, admittedly I might be a bit partial since she was a Goonie, but there it is. Live with it.

SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A COMEDY SERIES

Ty Burrell, “Modern Family”
NPH, “How I Met Your Mother”
Nick Offerman, “Parks & Rec”
Ed O’Neill, “Modern Family”
Danny Pudi, “Community”
Eric Stonestreet, “Modern Family”

This might be the greatest collection of nominees ever. There isn’t a single character on this list I don’t love. But as much as it pains to again pick against Community, there really is only one choice here. Ron F–king Swanson – The best character on Television.

SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A COMEDY SERIES

Julie Bowen, “Modern Family”
Jane Krakowski, “30 Rock”
Jane Lynch, “Glee”
Busy Philipps, “Cougar Town”
Eden Sher, “The Middle”
Sofía Vergara, “Modern Family”

I hate Glee, but the critics don’t. For my money though I’d have to give it to Happy Gilmore’s girlfriend Julie Bowen.  I bet you were expecting me to pick Sofia Vergara here just so I could justify putting up her picture. Well guess what, Julie Bowen is beautiful too! Jane Lynch not so much…

There is also the fact that it’s my website and no one can stop me from ALSO posting a picture of Vergara…

So we’ll check back in and see who wins once it’s announced, I’m sure my predictions will be way off!

Ron Swanson Approves!

What are you’re picks for each category? Please comment below…

Grizzly Review: The Lincoln Lawyer

I know a lot of people are feeling burnt out on law dramas and cops shows as the networks flood the airwaves with mediocre programming, but for fans of the genre, let me recommend The Lincoln Lawyer. It felt like a throw back to the better court-room dramas of the early 90’s mixed with the solid writing of some of cable’s best current ongoing series.

I know I’m a week behind on this one, I was talked into Sucker Punch last weekend, so I just got to see this last night. The Lincoln Lawyer is based on a 2005 book of the same name. Written by Michael Connelly, this was the first of 4 books starring the character of Mickey Haller, who is played by Matthew McConaughey in the movie. Here is the trailer:

As I’m sure you just noticed in the trailer, this isn’t just about a court case, but a lot more than that. It’s an ethical dilemma that puts our protagonist in the proverbial ‘Rock and a Hard Place’. The movie’s pacing is consistent and the story progresses nicely, feeling neither rushed, nor as if it’s dragging. Much of the movie you are lead to believe one outcome will result from the events on-screen, but I was pleasantly surprised to find I was wrong about said outcome. It’s increasingly rare anymore that I can be surprised by a movie, so just when I thought I had it figured out, they threw in a well-timed twist.

The movie’s antagonist is played by Ryan Phillippe, who looks the part of the spoiled rich kid and successfully pulls off a convincing psychopath. He is a good foil to McConaughey’s lawyer, and they have an impressive on-screen chemistry.

William H. Macy plays Mickey’s friend Frank, an investigator who looks into clients stories for the defense. People who know Macy, but don’t watch Shameless may be off put by his disheveled look in here, but he is, as usual, at the top of his game in here.

We also see Marisa Tomei as Mickey’s ex-wife. A rare divorced couple that actually gets along, which is made even rarer by their professions. Mickey is defense attorney, but Tomei’s character works at the D.A.’s office. They are held close by the daughter they share.

After that the cast of the movie is full of under-rated character actors, some of which don’t even make their way into the trailer. Chief among them is one of TV’s best actors, star of AMC’s Breaking Bad, Bryan Cranston. He appears in a smaller role, but still makes an impact. In addition to Cranston, we also see someone from the other side of the Television quality spectrum with Bones star Michaela Conlin. The 2 TV stars play Police Detectives investigating a case that involves Mickey. The cast rounds out with performances from Michael Pena, John Leguizamo, and Josh Lucas.

Then there is the comic relief: Eric Etebari.

In the midst of the trial, when Phillippe is being accused of Attempted Rape and Murder, this dude takes the stand and proceeds to tell us about what a Ladies’ Man he is…with hookers.

Everything he says is AWESOME.

This guy reminded me of “Man in Wig” from Drive Angry. He was so ridiculous we couldn’t stop laughing, but somehow it didn’t ruin the flow of the movie.

This movie pays off in almost every aspect. It’s been quite some time since I’d seen a legal thriller I liked this much. I highly recommend this movie. I give it a very strong 3.5 Bears.

 

Shameless: Season Wrap-Up (Spoiler Free)

Last night was the season 1 finale of Showtime’s newest hit – Shameless. Now this show is based of a British program by the same name, which has been running since January 2004 and just wrapped its 8th season. I’ve never watched the original, but I love this American version. To preface my next statement, let me qualify something – I own over a 1000 DVDs, so what I’m about to say should bear weight.

A couple of years ago a friend was over and we trying to decide what movie to watch. I was told: “I want to watch something without any guns in it, and where no one is killed.”.

I thought that should be a pretty easy thing to work around, but was amazed how many of my DVDs were eliminated right away. It took me a bit of scouring the DVD racks to find something that both met the aforementioned criteria, and wasn’t a Christmas movie. Finally however, we settled on Heavy Weights, but I tell this story to make a point. My taste in films and television shows obviously lean a certain way. With that in mind, I can tell you the Shameless is without a doubt, currently my favorite show on TV that does not revolve around regular gunplay. That’s not to say Shameless is violence-free or anything, but unlike my favorite show overall right now, Justified, our principal character doesn’t shoot someone every week.

Now, I’ll be honest, a big reason I like this show so much is our lead character Fiona Gallagher, who is charged with taking care of her numerous younger siblings since their mother walked out. She is now the pseudo-patriarch of the family, and with a little help from her friends, takes care of her 4 brothers, as well as her sister.

Fiona is played by the gorgeous Emmy Rossum, who aside from being smoking hot, is also an ultra talented actress. I think she proved that in 2004 when she was the lead in The Phantom of the Opera.

And while her body has helped draw attention to the sultry side of the show, it’s her acting that makes it all believable.

The next oldest of the kids, also my next favorite character is ‘Lip’. At 17 he is really the person in the family Fiona most leans on. Lip is ever the smart-ass, an attitude which comes from knowing that he is in fact, almost always the smartest person in the room. While not a main focus early on, Lip’s story arcs are some of the most interesting towards the later end of the season.

As you may have noticed in the picture above there appears to be a father. That would be Frank Gallagher (William H. Macy), who is, in name, the father of the Gallagher clan. However, in name is about as far as it goes. As the season progresses it amazing to imagine how such a man could’ve even fathered 6 children, let alone stayed out of prison long enough to be their legal guardians.

Frank is the town drunk, the town being the south-side of Chicago, and everyone in the neighborhood knows him. Drunk pretty much 24/7 he offers no real help at all to Fiona in raising his own kids.

Those are the 3 characters who really make the show work for me. They are not however, the only characters. This show has an incredibly rich cast of characters. The other kids; Ian, who is almost always at Lip’s side is the ROTC kid who is secretly gay. Debbie is the entrepreneur of the group, always making sure that Fiona can put food on the table. Carl is the simple Gallagher, he likes to blow things up. And finally baby Liam, at 2 years old he was a parting gift from their mother just before she took off. There’s the neighbors Kev and Veronica, Kev also tends bar at Frank’s regular drinking hole. We also get a great comedic performance from Joan Cusack, who is Frank’s agoraphobic girlfriend.

And then there’s Steve. Steve is Fiona’s boyfriend, and represents the ‘chaos factor’ for her. While to use, her life appears to already be rather chaotic, she have been able to cope and adjust to it. Steve brings in a whole new set of circumstances which, while foreign to her, seem logical to us. Steve is the audience’s bridge into the world of the Gallaghers.

As the first season ended, I realized how attached I’ve become to the characters. Through 12 episodes I’ve really made a connection with this fictional family of degenerates, and that’s not something I can say about most shows. Also I love the opening song…

Without wanting to give away any major plot points, I will avoid telling you specific events, but I can tell you that this show is definitely worth your time. So if you’re time is valuable, and that puts restraints on the amount you watch, push this show to the top of you list.

If you’d like to check it out, you can see the first 20 minutes of the Pilot and judge for yourself at MOVIE WEB.