United States of Tara

The Best of What’s Out There: The TV You Should Be Watching in Early 2009

BrianTT — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 09:08:20 -0700

CHICAGO – We were considering looking back at the best programming of 2008 when something dawned on us - a lot of it isn’t on the air right now and not yet available on DVD. We at HollywoodChicago.com believe in being productive and helpful, so why tell you something is great when you can’t even see the show?

The final season of “The Shield,” the third season of “Dexter,” the fourth season of “Weeds,” the fourth season of “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia,” the final season of “The Wire,” the second season of “Mad Men,” the entirety of “Pushing Daisies,” and the two best new shows of 2008 - “True Blood” and “In Treatment” - all rank among the best programming of 2008, but none of them are on the air right now and none are on DVD yet. What’s a TV fan to do?

Tina Fey, Jennifer Aniston, Alec Baldwin on “30 Rock”.
Photo credit: Nicole Rivelli

That’s why we’re here - to help. Instead of giving you another list of shows that you can’t even see on DVD yet, we’ve found some equivalent (or at least similar) shows currently on the air that we think you should give a chance. With dozens of new and returning shows hitting the airwaves every week, it can be hard to know what’s right for you. Let us guide the way.

First, there are a FEW of the best series of 2008 still on the air or returning soon. “Lost” comes back January 21st, 2009. Check out our review of the first two episodes for a sneak peek. The quick version? It’s real good.

The best comedy on television, “30 Rock,” is still kicking butt on Thursday nights even if we do slightly agree with the criticism that the show has gotten a bit too gimmicky for its own good recently. Hey Tina, cut out the revolving door of guest stars and get back to the characters we know and love.

“Battlestar Galactica” comes back on January 16th and, as for the best of reality TV, Jeff Probst and “Survivor” return on February 12th and Phil Keoghan and “The Amazing Race” start running again three days later, February 15th.

Finally, “Reaper” returns to The CW on March 17th. Yes, The CW can actually lay claim to one of the best shows of 2008. If you don’t believe me, catch up with the first season, now on DVD, and come back for more coverage in the coming months of one of the most sharply written and clever shows on television.

Bret Harrison and Ray Wise on “Reaper”.
Photo credit: Lionsgate

The rest of the “Best of 2008”? It’s all off the air, but we found relative equivalents for most of them. Of course, there will not be an equivalent for ABC’s great “Pushing Daisies” for a long time. Just watch season one again. It was brilliantly unique and left us way too soon.

One of the main reasons that HBO’s “True Blood” and Showtime’s “Dexter” were two of the best shows of 2008 was that there’s nothing on the air like them. What could we possibly compare to Alan Ball’s gothic vision of vampires or Michael C. Hall’s riveting performance as a serial killer with a moral code?

There are two shows coming up that seem to have that unique quality that separated “True Blood” and “Dexter” from the pack in 2008.

The first season of AMC’s “Breaking Bad” was hit-and-miss but the clarity of Bryan Cranston’s excellent performance on that show reminds us a bit of what Hall does as Dexter Morgan on the excellent Showtime drama. “Bad” returns to AMC in March.

As for “True Blood,” the show that has similar what-the-hell potential has to be Joss Whedon’s “Dollhouse”. The long-delayed and controversial series starts on February 13th on Fox. Rumors of reshoots and behind-the-scenes trouble have made us nervous, but Whedon is the kind of risky TV voice that always brings the potential for greatness, kind of like “True Blood“‘s Alan Ball.

Toni Collette on “United States of Tara”.
Photo credit: Nigel Parry/Showtime

If neither “Breaking Bad” nor “Dollhouse” works for and you’re still looking for something left-of-center like “True Blood” or “Dexter,” put April 9th on your calendar. That’s when “Harper’s Island” premieres. We haven’t seen much, but the preview we did see from last Summer looked like “Gossip Girl” if one of the beautiful people from that show happened to be a serial killer offing his socialite friends on a remote island. Yeah, it looks like twisted fun.

But what should fans of the other great shows from 2008 do with their time in early 2009?

One of the best comedies of the last few years, Showtime’s “Weeds,” will be back this summer, but there’s another half-hour comedy that looks at suburbia from a different angle on the same network - “United States of Tara” - that’s currently on the air.

Featuring a stunning performance by Oscar nominee Toni Collette as a mother with DID (Dissociative Identity Disorder), the Diablo Cody creation fits perfectly in the Showtime milieu of characters who may look normal but live very different lives from you and me. With a dark, black streak of humor, “Weeds” has been consistently entertaining for four seasons now and, based on the promise of the first quartet of episodes, it’s not hard to see “United States of Tara” staying on the air just as long.

Toni Collette Shines on Intriguing ‘United States of Tara’

BrianTT — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 14:39:28 -0700

Television Rating: 3.5/5.0

CHICAGO – Writer Diablo Cody, the Oscar-winning scribe of “Juno,” Executive Producer Steven Spielberg, and the Oscar-nominated actress Toni Collette have joined forces for the impressive and intriguing “United States of Tara,” airing this Sunday, January 18th on Showtime.

“United States of Tara” displays the fingerprints of three primary creative forces - the snappy dialogue of Cody, the unbelievable range of Collette, and Showtime’s creative impetus to bring us people living outside the norm but hiding in plain sight. Nancy Botwin on “Weeds,” Dexter Morgan on “Dexter,” Hannah/Belle on “Secret Diary of a Call Girl,” and Tara Gregson on “United States of Tara” may look like you and me but they live distinctly abnormal lives.

Toni Collette as Tara in United States Of Tara.
Photo credit: Nigel Parry/Showtime

What makes Tara Gregson’s (Toni Collette) life so unique is that she isn’t alone inside her own body. As so many kids have said, “Mom’s just not herself today.” But in Tara’s life, it can be sadly true. Tara has dissociative identity disorder. There are three personalities that often come to the forefront and take over the lives of Tara and her family - “T,” a teenager fond of thongs and drugs, “Buck,” a beer-swilling Vietnam vet prone to violence, and “Alice,” a housewife straight out of a 1950s advertising campaign.

Toni Collette as Tara and John Corbett as Max in United States of Tara.
Photo credit: Nigel Parry/Showtime

Like a lot of people with DID, Tara’s personalities take over in time of great stress or crisis and most of her family have gotten used to the “other people” living in their house. In the premiere episode, when Tara finds morning after pills in her daughter’s bag, mom understandably freaks out a bit and “T” takes over. Later, when force is called for, “Buck” makes an appearance. I’m not sure that people with real DID use their personalities in such a functional or practical way, but it definitely makes for interesting drama.

The family forced to deal with the “United States of Tara” include Max (John Corbett), her loving and supportive husband, Kate (Brie Larson), her rebellious daughter, and Marshall (Keir Gilchrist), her kind-hearted and intellectual son. Tara’s insecure sister Charmaine (Rosemarie Dewitt, recently seen in “Rachel Getting Married”) struggles to understand her sibling’s illness and great comedic actors like Tony Hale and Patton Oswalt guest-star.

At times, “United States of Tara” can feel too self-conscious and too in love with its own concept. The subtext of the show, a modern woman dealing with the stresses of modern life with multiple personalities, can be a little too clever for its own good as is Cody’s controversial ear for dialogue. Marshall, in particular, with his references to Thelonious Monk and George Cukor in just the first episode, feels almost like Cody’s reaction to criticisms that the teenage characters in “Juno” sounded more like twenty or thirtysomethings. “You thought that was adult dialogue coming out of a kid’s mouth?!? Check this out.”

Most importantly, Cody and her team of writers need to find something interesting underneath the personalities of its heroine to emphasize equally. “Weeds” works because it is about a lot more than just a pot-dealing mom in the ‘burbs. “United States of Tara” needs to find characters as interesting as the ones inside Tara Gregson, not just responses to them. The supporting cast is very good, particularly Dewitt and Corbett, but they are as yet underdeveloped and I worry they will always take a back seat to the chaos in the front.

Rosemarie DeWitt as Charmaine, Toni Collette as Tara, and Brie Larson as Kate in United States of Tara (Episode 5).
Photo credit: Jordin Althaus/Showtime

As for that front, it’s something to behold. Collette has always had an underrated range, giving great performances in “Muriel’s Wedding,” “The Sixth Sense,” “About a Boy,” “Japanese Story,” “In Her Shoes,” “Little Miss Sunshine,” and HBO’s “Tsunami: The Aftermath”. She’s simply a fantastic actress and she does work here worthy of Emmy consideration.

On paper, Tara may sound like a gimmicky role, something anyone could knock out of the park, and that may be true, but what’s difficult about the over-the-top character is making her unusual situation feel genuine and Collette does that from scene one. She’s perfect and, easily, the main reason to watch the show. It’s a performance good enough to make every flaw of the show easier to overlook.

At least through its first four episodes, “United States of Tara” works and, while it may not be there quite yet, it is easy to see this show becoming one of the best on television with just a little tinkering. With an actress as talented as Toni Collette in your lead, greatness is always possible.

‘United States of Tara,’ which airs on SHOWTIME, stars Toni Collette, John Corbett, Rosemarie Dewitt, Brie Larson, and Keir Gilchrist. The premiere airs on January 18th, 2009 at 9PM CST.

By BRIAN TALLERICO
Content Director
HollywoodChicago.com
brian@hollywoodchicago.com

2009 Mid-Season TV Preview: ‘Lost,’ ‘Damages,’ ‘Nip/Tuck,’ ‘24,’ More

BrianTT — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 10:08:01 -0700

CHICAGO – Be honest, TV fans. Fall 2008 was lackluster at best. The TV season really starts now.

With the strike delaying production on established series and the development of new ones, many more programs are returning or premiering in Jan. 2009 than the average mid-season. It couldn’t have come at a more important time for the medium, too.

To be blunt, the first 31 days of 2009 could be one of the most important months in the history of television. It comes down to this - If established hits like “24,” “Damages,” “Nip/Tuck,” “Monk,” “American Idol,” “Battlestar Galactica,” “Lost,” and “The Closer” don’t meet expectations and if a new show like “United States of Tara,” “The Beast,” “Lie To Me,” or “Trust Me” can’t take off and become an established hit, television is likely to change forever.

Sound like an exaggeration? Consider this - NBC gave up on an hour of original, scripted programming every single night. They’re so disappointed in their slate of 10 pm dramas, including failures like “My Own Worst Enemy,” that they’re handing over an hour of TV every night to talk show host Jay Leno. It’s one of the most amazing programming decisions of the last few years and proof that original television on the big networks is changing for good. Does anyone think we’re that far off from all reality and talk on the major networks with original programming relegated to pay cable, basic cable, and the internet? I don’t.

And the Leno story is only one of the biggest headlines of a season that has seen far more failures than successes. Shows that took off the post-strike period, including “Pushing Daisies” and “Dirty Sexy Money,” saw ratings decline every week before their cancellations. It feels like people left during the strike and simply never came back.

New hits? There aren’t any outside of CBS, the only network that has anything to be happy about this year with the massive success of “The Mentalist” and the continued growth of “The Big Bang Theory” and “How I Met Your Mother”. More than ever, the buzz in 2008 went from the big networks to the cable box with HBO launching new hits, Showtime developing their own, and even AMC developing a reputation for quality.

We’ll get into what worked and what didn’t in our TV year in review next week at HollywoodChicago.com, but let’s look ahead before we look back. Is it too late for the broadcast networks to save this sinking ship? Are NBC, Fox, and ABC done? Will there be another “Mad Men” in the bunch of shows premiering this month? Can a series actually improve on last year’s ratings for once? Let’s hope so.

Stay tuned to HollywoodChicago.com for reviews and coverage of all the upcoming series and mark your calendar with the highlights of the coming month on the following page, in chronological order.