WRITER: Matthew Carnahan DIRECTOR: Chris Long
CAST: Courtney Cox (Lucy Spiller), Shannyn Sossamon (Kira Klay), Ian Hart (Don Konkey), Laura Allen (Julia Mallory), Josh Stewart (Holt McLaren), Johann Urb (Johnny Gage), Alex Breckenridge (Willa McPherson), Shauna Stoddart (Terry), Glen Badyna (Elliott), Rick Fox (Prince Tyreese), Bryce Mouer (Logan), Valerie Farr (Gabriella), Timothy Bottoms (Gibson Horne), Cynthia Addai-Robinson (Michelle), Anil Raman (Anil), Traber Burns (Reginald), Channon Roe (Jeff Stagliano) & Demetrius Grosse (Assistant)
Lucy sends Don to photograph Kira Klay's corpse, Tyreese isn't happy about being blackmailed, Holt tries to help Julia and Willa gets a scoop on Hollywood couple "Blogan"...The second episode of Courtney Cox's new series manages to be more cohesive and entertaining than its fitful premiere, making Cox's character (bitchy magazine editor Lucy Spiller) easier to empathize with -- by putting her job in jeopardy. Mind you, that plot-device never quite works, as Lucy is clearly an extremely competent editor, so a threat to replace her just seems utterly ridiculous!
In a similar oversight by writer Matthew Carnahan, it's never been explained why Lucy is running two magazines (Now and Drrt) anyway! For someone in charge of two high-profile publications, I'd say she's doing a remarkable job. The dual magazine set-up only seems to have been included to provide this episode's late decision to combine the two (into Now-Drrt, natch). Lazy writing, if you ask me...
Regardless, Blogan held my interest better than last week. Cox remains watchable and intriguing (unable to climax, but giving an orgasmic "Yes!" at some mag-related news). Ian Hart's twitchy lowlife photographer is also enjoyable, although the episode's use of special-effects to depict his schitzophrenia wasn't as mannered and plausible as last week. In fact, it often seems thrown into the scripts just to provide some visual chutzpah.
It also wasn't obvious in the Pilot that characters would be returning weekly, with Holt McLaren (Josh Stewart) and Prince Tyreese (Rick Fox) both back. It makes sense to continue some character's storylines throughout the series, as the act of introducing fresh celebrity meat to skewer each week would get old very quickly.
Along the way we're also shown the ghoulish lengths journalists will go to for a story (photographing the dead body of a celeb, played by Shannyn Sossamon), and also how rich magazines can easily persuade nanny's to help get them shots of newborn celebrity babies. It's darkly humorous stuff, but plausible given the real-world contains similar stories of tabloid deviousness.
A few characters remain underwritten and difficult to judge, particularly Timothy Bottoms as Gibson Horne, a smarmy exec. Tyreese is particularly in need of some depth, because he's just a frustrated sportsman who's had his privacy invaded at the moment. What's his background? If the celebs of Dirt can't be real people, we need to understand the fictionally famous we're presented with... otherwise they're just disgruntled rich guys. For all I know, Tyreese is a bit of a dirtbag who deserves to have his sex-life splashed all over the papers.
It's early days, of course, so I can cut Dirt some slack. It's a faintly ridiculous slice of exaggerated nonsense, but it's decent brainless entertainment at the moment. If the writing steps up a gear and the characters become fully-developed individuals, the chances are Dirt could begin to shine. The potential is there.
