Dirty Sexy Money – The Birthday Present

ABC

(Season 2, Episode 1 – Season Premiere)

I’m not usually the person who cares about shows dealing with the filthy, filthy rich. Maybe it was the presence of Peter Krause, or the always reliable Donald Sutherland, or maybe it was just that this show seemed to revel in just how disgustingly rich the Darlings were, but I found myself drawn-in last year. While the series only eked out ten episodes due to the writers strike, they managed to pack in so much drama and mystery about this sprawling cast in that time that it felt like a full season.

Truly, this is a high-class prime-time soap opera. It has all the classic elements of its daytime brethren including nefarious villains, lots of sex and opulence and secret siblings, lovers and children. When last we left the Darlings, Lisa was fired from her job, Brian’s been suspended from the church and forced into sex addiction counseling. Meanwhile, Carmelita is missing, Patrick is distraught and Tripp had his daughter Karen sleeping with Simon Elder for some unknown nefarious purpose. Now, Juliet’s off the show and Nick tries to have a low-key birthday party but the Darlings don’t do low-key.

It puts you in a good mood right off the bat when the music of Queen establishes the new season. “Under Pressure” was the song of choice, which pretty much sums up Nick George’s world since taking over as the Darling family lawyer. Then the episode turned into a repeat of the pilot episode of Arrested Development, ironically another show about a ridiculously wealthy family. It started with a party on open waters and then right after the climactic moment of the party, the police arrived. Then we jumped back to see how we got there.

Six months have passed in DSM-time. Interestingly, the dangling plotlines from last year are still right there bubbling on the surface. Six months later, Carmelita is still missing, Karen is still bumping uglies with Simon and Jeremy is still trying to hook up with Lisa after “that kiss.” You know, the one from six months ago.

I’m not sure how I feel about the collapse of Patrick’s marriage and his wife into total drunkenness. It makes sense, but it almost seemed a disservice to the strength of her character last season. After finding out the full extent of her involvement in Carmelita’s absence, her complete and total fall, meant in more ways than one, makes more sense. But still, I’d have rather she stick around to be a thorn in his campaign.

I love how manipulative Tripp can be. His passive aggressive puppeteering is masterful to watch. It was equally awesome to see that Simon Elder is every bit as savvy as his elder counterpart. Of course it was foolish to think that Karen Darling could outmaneuver him in any setting but I guess even he didn’t anticipate developing real feelings for her. The manipulations and subterfuge that run throughout this show are just astonishing to try and keep up with.

We’re actually getting a more clear picture to the depths that Tripp will go to maintain the image he’s built for his family than we ever got last year. He always rode this vague channel where we could give him the benefit of the doubt and think that maybe underneath it all he was a decent guy. Tonight’s episode threw most of that out the window. He’ll do whatever it takes to get his own way and he has the power, money and influence to make it happen.

Pocket Change

• Sex sells. Hell, it’s in the title of the show. So is that why Lisa George’s boobs were on display right away at the beginning of this episode? And throughout? Not to mention Karen sitting around in a bra with Simon before getting completely naked in Nick’s office.
• Karen has been spying on Simon for over six months and keeping it from Nick but then as soon as he drops the “love” bomb she spills the beans as to what she’s up to.
• If you close your eyes and listen to William Baldwin he sounds just like big brother Alec.
• Nick was uncharacteristically cold when arriving on the scene in Patrick’s bathroom. Has he lost his soul completely? He liked this woman and Patrick. Show a little compassion, man!
• Look at the quality of the display on Nick’s Blackberry. Really makes you want to buy one, huh?
• Karen suddenly developed two more dimensions to her character this season. She must have found some depth in the arms of Simon Elder these past six months.
• Lucy Liu is part of the cast now. She sure as hell didn’t do anything this episode except to tell Jeremy to go for it regarding his feelings for Lisa and then go for it herself. Is she only going to show up in bars?

You knew it was too good to last. Nick’s marriage and home life were the only things that were stable and good in the entire extended Darling clan. But the taint of their world finally caught up to Nick’s. Or maybe it was just that Lisa’s cans were so powerful and distracting that Jeremy couldn’t help himself.

The episode came back full circle to the beginning, even repeating many of the key scenes, creating a very satisfying viewing experience to reintroduce America to the Darlings and their insanity. This is a show that deserves to find a large and healthy audience, and after a long absence I think they’ve put together a perfect package to win them over. Oh, and I liked the old switcheroo when the police arrived to arrest a Darling for murder. Oh the look on Patrick’s face!

Clacked by Jason Hughes
on Oct 01, 2008 @ 21:55 EST5EDT