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Eastbound and Down...and out!

I settled down with the hubby on Sunday night to watch a little television. We set the DVR to record PBS' Masterpiece and headed over to HBO for "Boardwalk Empire", their new series set in Atlantic City during Prohibition. This series, starring Steve Buscemi, is very good. It's well-written, well-acted, and it is about an interesting period in history. Moreover, it has characters that can engage one's empathy, people that one can care about.

After that, "Bored to Death" came on, another well-written and well-acted show. This one, though, is a comedy, not a drama, and it is flat-out funny. It certainly kept me entertained.

Next up was "Eastbound and Down." I watched a couple of episodes in this series last year and quickly decided that it wasn't for me, but hubby was going to watch it so I thought, "What the heck? I'll give it another try." Well, I won't make that mistake again!

If you haven't seen the show, consider yourself lucky. It is about a former Major League baseball player, Kenny Powers, who is now down and out and living in Mexico and decides to try for a comeback with the local team there. Kenny is one of the more loathsome, unattractive, and downright offensive characters I have ever seen on television, and I watched every episode of "The Sopranos", but, believe me, none of those mobsters could hold a candle to Kenny when it comes to pure hatefulness with no redeeming social value.

One of the producers of this "comedy" is Will Ferrell. I don't know why he isn't starring in it because the protagonist is every obnoxious character Ferrell has ever played rolled into one and then squared. The show gives sophomoric humor a bad name. I suppose it might appeal to some elements of the male population - some very young elements, I would suspect. I can't imagine that anyone with very much experience in life would be able to sit still for it.

Of course, those young males are probably just the demographic that the stuff that passes for humor in this show is aimed at. That's not my demographic, but then, frankly, I wouldn't want to be a part of any demographic that would enjoy this show.

Have I mentioned that I think the show is crap? Surely HBO can do better than this!
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  1. SarahOctober 6, 2010 at 9:57 PM

    Sounds to me like your problem with Kenny Powers is that he doesn't take the cannoli. Well, he probably wouldn't leave the gun either.

    Will Ferrell's work can be hit or miss; I've seen a few episodes of this show from last season, and the premise for last season was better.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Dorothy BordersOctober 7, 2010 at 8:53 AM

    This one is definitely a miss with me, Sarah, in case I didn't make that clear!

    ReplyDelete

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