Shows you should be watching part three (of more than three)

First, an apology to all my loyal readers.  As a result of my four-day baseball road trip, the page has been light on content this week. But I'm back with both a mild sunburn and a working knowledge of Chicago's baseball stadiums, ready to bring you some fresh info.

Actually, the show I'd like to talk about now isn't new or old. It is, I think, largely unwatched, which warrants a larger focus here.  The show, "Party Down," just finished its first season on the Starz cable channel, and was recently renewed for a second.  Its creators are Paul Rudd, Rob Thomas (not the "Matchbox 20" singer, but the "Veronica Mars" creator, who is much, much cooler) and John Enbom and Dan Etheridge, who were integral parts of "Mars."

 Starz is formerly best known for that awful "Crash" TV series, which wasn't even a good idea as a movie.  "Party Down" is the channel's attempt to capture some of the comedic edge that has benefitted Showtime and Cinemax so well.

"Party" is also, as more than one reviewer has mentioned, a great recession comedy. The protagonists live in LA, but they aren't movie stars or even porn stars.  They work as a catering team, reduced to food service after menial successes in entertainment. Constance Carmell, a washed-up actress, still references her time filming "Hooper," (Jane Lynch) and Henry Pollard (Adam Scott), a morose former beer spokesman, became famous (and obsolete) for saying one line.  (A running joke on the show is that at every event they cater, some idiot seems to remember Pollard, and makes him say the line) Of course, we also have the requisite failed screenwriter (Martin Starr) and the aspiring comic (Lizzy Caplan). Though a thread of bitterness definitely runs through this show, I find an occasional jewel of optimism. Casey, the comic, sacrifices a burgeoning relationship with Henry just to do stand-up on a cruise ship for six months, while screenwriter Roman slips copies of his unmade script to anyone who will take it.  

But the funniest moments of this show, sadly, are the ones when these characters are humiliated and embarassed.  Much of the comedy in "Party" stems from a basic disconnect between the crew's dejected personalities and the bright, chipper masks they put on to appease customers.  In one scene, Henry, terrified by a group of mobsters who are catering an acquittal party for their friend, repeats his hated catchphrase over and over and over again.  But the show also mines a fair amount of laughs from illicit backstage antics.  Scenes of getting high, pretty much old hat on premium sitcom circles thanks to "Weeds" and "Entourage," are given new life here by a hilarious Lynch, who, in one episode, plays a stoner so confused and amused she can't help laughing, even when head caterer Ron Donald shows her a picture of his footless friend.

I almost forgot about Ron, played by Ken Marino.  Besides Lynch, he's the best part of the show. Ron is that nerdy guy in your physics group who whined at everyone to do their share, was ignored, and finally ended up doing the whole thing himself.  His naivete--he thinks the key to his happiness is opening a "Soup or Crackers" franchise--makes him resemble Michael Scott. Imagine if Michael Scott tried to be Charles Minor (from Season Five) and failed.  That's Ron. And, at times, he's as funny as both put together.

I thank "Party Down" for making the most liberal use of premium cable's non-censorship since "Entourage." I counted an abundance of breasts, many, many references and instances of drug use, and enough "fucks" to fill the first half hour of "Scarface." Maybe the best part of premium cable's hands-off approach is that, even when drugs are shown, no preaching is necessary to counteract it.  On numerous occasions, caterers get high or drunk during the event and suffer no consequences because of it.  Just like real life. I worked at a restaurant once, and I'm pretty sure half the male servers were high at any given moment. Thank you, premium cable, for letting the viewer decide whether to disapprove of drinking and drug use.

I will complain that the show is low-key almost to a fault. There's an air of lethargy and depression surrounding the characters that's occasionally hard to shake off. It's the old "Married with Children" problem: how long can you watch a show about people who hate their lives before you start feeling the same way? And though the dialogue is entertaining enough, it lacks the witty snap of a "Curb" or even "Entourage."  At absolute worst, it may seem fair to condemn the characters on this show as simply being boring--they obsess over their own foibles and pitfalls, and seem to inspire no compassion in each other.  Yes, they're narcissists. But they're from LA, so it's expected.  Even if they don't drive Maseratis.

Grade: A minus   

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