showtime's the big c

[chris]

it used to be if you want to see quality programming you had to to tune into hbo. hbo has a long history of both dramas and comedies. but in the last couple of years, showtime has shown it not only can make a great drama (dexter) but it may even be better than hbo at making comedies (united states of tara, nurse jackie and weeds). debuting just a few weeks ago, showtime's new vehicle is "the big c".

laura linney stars as a substitute teacher who finds out she has a terminal case of melanoma. her husband (the always fab oliver platt) is a childish doofus whom she kicks out of the house rather than confide in with her malady. her son is an immature punk. her brother is homeless (by choice) while lecturing passers-by on how they are wronging the earth. sounds like a laugh riot, right? well it is.

finally a mature comedy for mature reviewers. it isn't clown funny...but situational funny. she decides to live her life by her own rules, and she starts now.

if you haven't tried it, do yourself a favor. i guarantee it will leave you waiting with remote control in hand for next weeks episode.

and...mr. rink, the "c" stands for cancer. not...anything else a grief striken, soon to die, gonna live my way, sort of woman might be referred to behind her back. cancer. now, thats funny.

[Mike]

Platt was in another Showtime program I liked, where he was a lawyer friend of a psychiatrist, Huff. I thought it was a great show. Californication is a riot.