Dirt: Season 2

People have always had a definite fascination with gossip. There is even an admonition concerning such frivolous talk in the Bible condemning it as harmful to the harmony of a community. The forties was the golden age of Hollywood; it was also the practical beginnings of tabloid journalism focusing on the behind the scenes lives of the stars. People flocked to purchase papers containing embarrassing photographs and salacious stories of their favorite public figures. Some may think that this phenomenon is much more recent but the fact of the matter is the only real change in tabloid gossip is the means of distribution. With the internet providing blogs, video clips and thousands of sites devoted into the pervasion of rumors, innuendo and perhaps some facts we are now inundated with more gossip than was imaginable in any prior time. This obsession has also spawned the current fad in so call reality series on cable. It was only a matter of time until a cable network would attempt to blur the lines between reality and fiction even further with a weekly series about the gossip industry. It was only a matter of time before a television network would try to create weekly series set in the tabloid industry and for a brief time the F/X cable network attempted just that with ‘Dirt’. Although the series fell victim to circumstances beyond the control of the producers cutting its run down to only two shorten seasons it did earn a lamentable entry to the ever growing list of cancelled before its time. The end of the series came before it had a proper opportunity to find it groove and gather an audience. Fox has mismanaged series before, just look at the treatment ‘Firefly’ received but in this instance the infamous 2007 Writers Guild of America Strike resulted in the loss of momentum that the series could not recover from. The second season wrapped in April 2008 after only seven episodes and it took another two years for Fox to release the second season DVD, an eternity by current releases schedule standards. One other thing that is odd is the DVD released is handled by the Buena Vista division of Disney instead of directly through Fox Home entertainment.

The series did have a lot going for it including its executive producer and star Courteney Cox-Arquette. The former star of one of the popular sitcoms in history, ‘Friends’ frequently put the actress on the receiving end of this sort of media attention. It had to be fun for Cox to get an opportunity to turn the tables on the very industry that hounded her and her family. Creating the series was Matthew Carnahan. His most notable previous experience was with the attempt to reboot the classic TV series ‘The Fugitive’. The concept here was strong and had a lot of untapped potential. The premise may also have contributed to its ultimate demise. There is so much real gossip about actual celebrities that a series about fake celebs just could get a foot hold and compete. The premise of the series was simple following the staff of a popular tabloid named ‘Dirt’ that was merged with a more respectable magazine to create ‘Dirt/Now’. At the helm is the editor Lucy Spiller, deliciously played by Ms Cox-Arquette. Lucy is a tough; take no prisoner type willing to take a lot of risks to ensure each issue sells out. Considering the type of articles her magazine deals with it is no surprise that the first season ended in a cliff hanger with Lucy lying on the ground after being shot. The second season picks up at this point with Lucy surviving the attack. Unfortunately, a young star Julia Mallory (Laura Allen) successful in her suicide attempt after being the one to attack Lucy. Without her driving managerial influence the magazine begins to fall apart. This leaves it ripe of sale to a pill and sex addicted foreign investor which intensifies the feud between Lucy and the publisher Brent Barrow (Jeffrey Nordling).

One of more colorful characters portrayed by the series is Lucy’s best friend, photographer Don Konkey (Ian Hart). He is a genius not only with his camera but in his extremely imaginative methods to get just the right exclusive shot. Life would be pretty good for Don except for one little detail; he is a frequently unmediated schizophrenia. When not beset with hallucinations he is the best paparazzo in the business. In this season there is a story arc quite literally ripped from the headlines. Don begins a relationship with a popular young singer, Sharlee Cates (Ashley Johnson. in short order Sharlee becomes increasingly less mentally stable. Her psychological condition slips rapidly downhill until she gives herself a really bad hair day. If this sounds a bit familiar then you might be among the billion or so people who were exposed to the debacle over Brittany Spears and her involvement with one of the paparazzi. This is a specific example of what went wrong with the series; people are already overwhelmed with real time news about actual celebrities thanks to sources like TMZ, it becomes akin to seeing a cover band in small club when the actual band is playing nearby. The series was fun while it lasted by almost certainly doomed from the start of the season.

Posted 04/30/2010