'EPISODES' 1.7 - "Episode Seven"

After nearly two months, that's the finale? While Episodes showed signs of life in "Episode Four" and "Five", the show completes its run with an entirely predictable and largely unfunny installment. Everything you'd expect to happen following the events of last week, happened. And without the laughs or drama to cloud that disappointment, the show came to a non-resolution that teased a second season I can't imagine many people craving.

We opened on Beverly (Tamsin Greig) and Matt LeBlanc sharing the horribly clichéd post-coital cigarette, before being told husband Sean (Stephen Mangan) never slept with Morning (Mircea Monroe) so she can't even blame this indiscretion on petty revenge. Filming on the Pucks pilot wrapped with false delight ("what a wonderful couple of weeks it's been"); the studio suits squirmed as unreasonable Merc (John Pankow) ranted about the poor quality of pilots this year; and Sean deduced that LeBlanc slept with his wife thanks to a cinnamon cologne called "Joey", leading to a very unfunny and protracted fight at LeBlanc's beach house.

A great deal of this finale just didn't work for me. The underlying problem was how unsurprising everything was, and how a resolution didn't materialize because it chose to end on a cliffhanger -- with the Lincoln's told Pucks is a surprise hit with test audiences and being taken to series. Season 2 would assumedly involve the Lincoln's facing the daily pressures of having to run a sitcom expected to churn out 20-odd episodes every year, leading a writers' room of unavoidably quirky characters, with the simmering resentment between them and their show's lead actor. While there's a small part of me that would like to see Episodes sink its teeth into some of that stuff, if that's the direction they decide to take, I'm not particularly interested in seeing where the main characters go from here.

Episodes felt like it should have been a one-off miniseries, and given the weak ratings for Showtime I'm not expecting it to be renewed. Its quality doesn't really justify a revisit; the comedy wasn't very funny, the drama wasn't very dramatic. The actors gave it their best shot, but the writing squandered the potential of having LeBlanc subvert his "public persona", probably because he doesn't actually have one to subvert. It was also very choppy in how it chose to flesh out LeBlanc's character. What happened to his ex-wife and kids, introduced in "Episode Four" and swiftly forgotten about?

Overall, Episodes is a show that picked fairly lazy targets, ridiculed them without ever going for the jugular, and proceeded to stir the pot in the same way every week. Merc's a hypocritical schmoozer, we get it! It always presented the Lincoln's as being in the right over how best to remake Lyman's Boys, failing to show enough of a flipside (beyond that scene where LeBlanc made Sean realize writing a straight man's unrequited love for a lesbian is a limiting creative choice.) The only time the show came to life, for me, was when it focused less on the showbiz trappings and more on personal stuff like Beverly's jealously of Sean's interest in a sexy work colleague and friendship with a celebrity she's grown to despise.

Episodes was an interesting Anglo-American experiment that's divided critical opinion (I've read reviews that claim it's the funniest and sharpest thing on TV in years, which boggles my mind), but for me it was mostly a failure. If a comedy-drama doesn't make you care for the characters or laugh very often, what more really needs to be said?

Asides

• I found Daisy Haggard's Head of Comedy very funny in "Episode One", but her return here made me realize how Episodes has evolved in my estimation. Initially, laughs were so lacking that I latched onto Haggard as someone delivering the goods (a comedy boss with the fixed expression of someone permanently smelling farts), but the show became more grounded after "Episode Two", so her shtick looked very misplaced here.
• Was "Joey" a real cologne released when Friends was at its '90s peak?

written by David Krane & Jeffrey Klarik / directed by James Griffith / 21 February 2011 / BBC2/HD

'EPISODES' 1.6 - "Episode Six"

The penultimate episode aired last night in the UK, with the show building to a big upset in the final scene. The comedy felt stripped back in favour of simmering drama this week, and I was disappointed one of the funnier subplots came to an abrupt end. It didn't help that a big scene in the middle was a reprise of Episodes' opening (a flashforward to events here), such was the desire to confirm that Matt LeBlanc would be appearing in this series.

This week, Beverly (Tamsin Greig) and Sean's (Stephen Mangan) relationship hit crisis point, in the wake of Beverly snooping on Sean masturbating to actress Morning Randolph's (Mircea Monroe) sex tape, and later spotting them both embracing (an innocent hug, as Morning had just made it clear she's not attracted to Sean). Beverly's meltdown resulted in her storming out of their luxury home, only to get involved in a car accident with LeBlanc (the root of her ire), who offered Beverly some comfort and a friendly ear at his surprisingly tasteful beach house. Elsewhere, Sean had an al fresco dinner with studio exec Merc (John Pankow), which was typically uncomfortable.

It's the Beverly/LeBlanc moments that stole the show this week, with LeBlanc remaining a hard guy to pin down. Is he a likeable guy with a dark underbelly? Is he a manipulative bad boy, using his Joey persona to lower most people's defences? LeBlanc hasn't behaved as scandalously as I'd have preferred (a symptom of this being written by American associates of his?), but "Episode Six" was still notable for giving us a positive look at the laissez-faire LeBlanc. He came across as rather humble and stupid for once, particularly when it became clear he genuinely thought Pucks! is a good TV pilot that hasn't sullied the good name of Lyman's Boys -- much to Beverly's disbelief, and mounting anger when she realized LeBlanc's the reason all the bad changes were accommodated.

Of course, then came the episode's big shock, with LeBlanc and Beverly sharing a steamy sofa clinch and kiss. A case of opposites attract? Is Beverly just trying to teach her husband a lesson, or feel as prized and sexy as Morning Randolph? Or is LeBlanc being an incorrigible shit-stirrer, knowing the chaos this will cause? A mix of all the above? Whatever the motivation, I was actually rather surprised, despite the fact hindsight screams at the inevitability of this moment. Beverly and LeBlanc hated each other on sight, because they were hiding a deep-seated yearning for each other? It'll be interesting to see what happens next week with the core triptych of characters, not to mention the fate of Pucks itself. I think it can go one of two ways still: (a) the pilot's a travesty but the Lincoln's return home even deeper in love and content with their more humble lives in England, or (b) LeBlanc uses his celebrity for good, demands the Lincoln's be allowed to restore the pilot to something resembling Lyman's Boys, and Pucks becomes a huge US hit.

What do you think will happen?

Overall, I enjoyed "Episode Six" for the sense that events are building to something conclusive, and for the surprises between Beverly and LeBlanc. That all helped take the edge off the fact the half-hour wasn't especially funny, and it was a shame the Sean/Morning infatuation didn't lead anywhere very interesting. Oh, and there was atrocious use of greenscreen for exterior scenes of the L.A café, which made the work on ABC's V remake look outstanding.

written by David Krane & Jeffrey Klarik / directed by James Griffith / 14 February 2011 / BBC2/HD

'EPISODES' 1.5 - "Episode Five"

What's this? A really good episode of Episodes? Can such a thing even exist? Surprisingly, it can. "Episode Five" was this comedy's strongest installment yet, mostly because it found convincing and amusing use for its three leads that embraced the showbiz world it's spent so long setting up. This week, Sean's (Stephen Mangan) infatuation with actress Morning Randolph (Mircea Monroe) grew into a real problem, as she appeared to be giving him the come-on by stripping to her bra in his presence. Is Morning unaware of the signals she's giving out to her boss, or is she making a play for him as bitter wife Beverly (Tamsin Greig) believes?

The story nicely diverged shortly after, with Beverly becoming upset that the costume designer for the Pucks pilot can't tailor a classy outfit for Morning's librarian character without any porn overtones. Beverly was comforted by studio assistant Carol (Kathleen Rose Perkins), leading to both women hanging around together on the sound-stage, getting high in a children's bedroom set and developing an unexpected bond. Meanwhile, Sean accompanied Matt LeBlanc to a Rape Prevention Task Force benefit dinner, only to find Morning had decided to join them for the evening, which became a problem when LeBlanc started to push Sean into having a fling behind his wife's back.

Both were good uses of the Lincoln's; particularly in humanizing Beverly a touch, because she's essentially been a pessimistic complainer from the start, but it was also fun to see Mangan out on the town with LeBlanc again. Mangan can play a husband perfectly well, but it's just funnier watching Sean squirm in the presence of a beauty his wife disapproves of, flattered by her attention and encouraged to take things further by his new celebrity pal. I especially loved Mangan's behaviour when Morning took her top off; his eyes unable to resist a darted look at her exposed cleavage. LeBlanc had a more supportive role this week, but it seemed to work much better for him, playing the chilled devil on Sean's shoulder.

The reveal that Beverly stole Sean away from his first wife shortly after they met was unexpected, and gave added complexity to a similar situation possibly arising between Sean and Morning. Plus it was amusing to see Sean bump into his former personal assistant Andrew (Oliver Kieran Jones) at the rape benefit, soon realizing his erstwhile P.A's having a much better experience of Hollywood, with his screenplay getting made with Matt Damon and Keira Knightley as the leads.

Overall, "Episode Five" was surprisingly good fun with a decent pace and a good combination of unfolding relationship drama and proper laughs -- such as Merv (John Pankow) leaving the side of his blind wife at the dinner, unbeknownst to her, so she referred to him in conversation with Sean and LeBlanc, who didn't know how to respond to her unfortunate mistake. The ending was also very strong; with Sean deciding to rise above the peer pressure of LeBlanc, refuse to accompany Morning home (where one thing may lead to another), and was later forced to admit everything to Beverly. The final shot, of Sean getting up the middle of the night to masturbate to a sex tape on the internet he discovered Morning's infamous for around L.A, unknowingly caught in the act by his wife, was a really good way to end the episode. Excruciating, funny, but played with a tinge of seriousness that wisely stopped short of being a punchline with Beverly storming in to catch Sean red-handed (or should that be sweaty-palmed?) Instead, Beverly could only watch, open-mouthed.

What did you think? I haven't enjoyed Episodes very much since it began, but this episode seemed to hit most of its marks. Hopefully the remaining two installments will be of similar quality, or better.

written by David Krane & Jeffrey Klarik / directed by James Griffith / 7 February 2011 / BBC2/HD

'EPISODES' 1.4 - "Episode Four"

I was led to believe Episodes radically improves from "Episode Four" onwards, but this was the week asphyxiation with a cushion felt preferable to watching the interplay between Matt LeBlanc, Stephen Mangan and Tamsin Greig. I don't actually blame the actors (particularly the latter pair, who could hardly refuse leading roles in a US comedy from a co-creator of Friends), but LeBlanc's proving to be every bit as mind-numbing as his post-Joey career would have you suspect. I'm sure he's a nice guy in real life, and I can see the appeal of playing yourself to someone with his narrow range, but Episodes is terribly dull and a waste of his and everyone else's time.

This week, after some pointless preamble about Beverly (Greig) being incensed by the fact LeBlanc's co-star in Pucks looks 25 but is secretly older than she is (mid-40s), the "story" began. LeBlanc lost custody of his two children, got drunk at a bar, called Sean (Mangan) to pick him up, was visibly annoyed when Beverly joined her husband on the hour-long drive, tricked them both into chauffeuring him to his ex-wife's house, then showed them his cute boys while they slept. It was an episode intended to give us a breakthrough between LeBlanc and Beverly, who hate each other, by showing Beverly the softer, parental side to LeBlanc. It even ended with a moment where LeBlanc called Beverly by her real name, rather than "Betsy", and was allowed to crash as their house like a naughty teenager who's phoned his parents after a wild party got out of hand.

Only, in the very next scene, the previous night's developments were swiftly undone: a sober LeBlanc was back to calling Beverly "Betsy", it was revealed he snuck a bimbo into his room while they were asleep (seriously, that's so out of order), and the atmosphere returned to prickly. So what was the point of this episode, exactly? To show a softer side to LeBlanc? All very well, but has he really come across as anything but a little egotistical and rude? It's hardly been an outrageously funny and brave performance that's made you marvel at how far LeBlanc's prepared to poke fun at people's preconceptions of him. The episode softened an already soft target of gentle ridicule.

I didn't really buy into the situation with LeBlanc's broken family life, either -- and a quick browse of the actor's Wikipedia page seems to prove the truth of things has been altered for the purposes of this show. LeBlanc actually has two step-kids and a daughter with ex-wife Melissa McKnight. Plus, he's dating his Joey co-star Andrea Anders, who was so hilarious in Better Off Ted it's a shame she isn't playing herself in this series. That's the kind of meta-comedy universe I wish Episodes was playing with. Heck, a few barbed remarks from LeBlanc about his Friends co-stars wouldn't go amiss!

The satire's toothless, the characters spin in circles, the comedy doesn't catch fire -- it's an intolerable, oppressively unfunny mess.

Aside

• Is anyone else irritated that Sean and Beverly only grumble about their comedy being ruined for American consumption, but don't actively fight against the stupid changes? In this episode, which barely featured any of the usual TV production scenes, they now seem resigned to the fact Pucks is a travesty. It's hard to care about the Lincoln's situation if they appear to have accepted it themselves, and are getting paid a fortune to create this pilot.

WRITERS: David Krane & Jeffrey Klarik
DIRECTOR: James Griffith
TRANSMISSION: 31 January 2011, BBC2/HD, 10/10.30PM

'EPISODES' 1.3 - "Episode Three"

This was the least funny episode so far, but it did a much better job with the characters. Sean (Stephen Mangan) developed a man-crush on Matt LeBlanc, thanks to his sports car, a spontaneous trip to Las Vegas by private jet, and learning of his abnormally large penis; whereas Beverly (Tamsin Greig) started to detest LeBlanc because he's blanking her during rehearsals of their Americanized sitcom Pucks.

Episodes is developing a rather intriguing "love triangle" between the trio, and I'm growing more attached to the Lincoln's as they try to navigate the disingenuous world of Hollywood. In this episode we also learned that hotshot producer Merc (John Pankow) already doesn't have faith in the Pucks project being a hit, so is eyeing up new ventures for LeBlanc to headline, even if he's still glad-handing the Lincoln's and feeding their ego's with praise.

There's still nothing radical about Episodes' satire of the Hollywood TV system (slimy execs harvest ideas, eulogize the talent, dilute distinctiveness, produce something widely accessible, and have already moved onto the next project when the current one dies with audiences), and I'm a little disappointed by Matt LeBlanc's comic twist on his own persona. Oh, LeBlanc; so you have a massive penis, how hilariously self-deprecating of you!

Still, in treating Episodes less like a sitcom and more like a comedy-drama that has the good grace to end after 30 minutes, it's become a reasonably entertaining but underwhelming series. There are elements of the show I'm enjoying, and I'm surprisingly interested to see what the outcome of the show is. Will Pucks be a terrible sitcom that does astonishingly well with the American audience, turning the Lincoln's into millionaire sell-outs? Or will it flop so badly the Lincoln's are booted back to the UK and LeBlanc loses whatever semblance of credibility he has left post-Friends? Or will we see the Lincoln's rise up against tyrannical Merc, with LeBlanc's support, and produce a show they're all happy to put their names to -- no matter what the reaction to it is?

WRITERS: David Crane & Jeffrey Klarik
DIRECTOR: James Griffiths
TRANSMISSION: 24 January 2011, BBC2/HD, 10/10.30PM