Dirt: Season One

You might think that the current obsession with the famous is recent. Far from it as long as a group of people stood out from the rest there was interest. Even back in the golden era of Hollywood there were gossip columns and tauntingly candid photographs taken of the stars. Back then there was a more of a detente between the gossip mongers and the celebrities. Only the lowest echelon of the tabloid press would print truly damaging stories or pictures. Now not only are the worse forms of human behavior splashed on the pages of these supermarket tabloids but an embarrassing photo or story can be see around the world in hours thanks to the internet. This fascination with celebrities has now split over to television. It is difficult to find a major channel that does not have some celebrity gossip oriented program. There are even cable networks like ‘E!’ which not only specializes in this they have ‘original reality programming’ that helps to manufacture the stories. With this intense need for the general public to know the most personal and intimate details of the lives of celebrities it was only a matter of time before a television series used this as a premise. F/X has come up with their answer to ‘celebrity news’ with their aptly named original series ‘Dirt’.

Like most of the original series programming on the F/X channel its standards and practices department is a bit more liberal than commercial networks. While not as sexually explicit with nudity and not as broad in the number of less than socially acceptable language words used it still pushed things a lot more than regular television. Also like its fellow F/X/ series the writing and production is incredible here. This is an adult series and is purposed with shocking the audience. With so much interest on the celebrities in the tabloids this is a peak behind the scenes at the ones that provide the salacious content to the masses. This is the side of this phenomenon that most of its fans don’t normally consider. This is a strange, symbiotic relationship between the celebrities, the tabloids and the public. The celebrities need to have their names known. As recent events have proven time and time again even what is considered negative publicity is often beneficial to the careers of those involved. The tabloids need the celebrities to act in some shocking way to sell their papers. At the foundation of all this is the public who spend their money to buy the papers and the films, music and clothing lines of the celebrities. The series is not for everyone but for those that dabble in reading these magazines this is a great guilty pleasure. It may not be the find of show you openly discuss at work but when you get together with other like minded people it will result in hours of conversation for each over the top episode. I know a few people who are well versed in gossip although they claim they only read the tabloids at the hair stylistic or on line in the supermarket. I am sure they will be ordering this first season DVD set online.

The first shot of the series is of the protagonist, Lucy Spiller (Courteney Cox). She is at a very high powered party where every publicist who sets eyes on her wants a moment of her time to push their client’s latest project. As the editor of DirtNow magazine she is one of the most powerful women in Hollywood. As Lucy looks around at the celebrities in attendance she imagines possible headlines. She sees a male star looking at the butt of another man and immediate has the picture in her mind framed with the headline ‘I’m Gay!’ Two other stars are just chatting but in Lucy’s mind it is a hookup cover to sell the magazine. As she goes to retrieve her drink a man warns her that she should not leave her drink unattended. There are many people in the room who would relish watching her die from poisoning. This is the type of woman Lucy presents to the public, hard edge and completely devoid of remorse. She is a workaholic but she does have her limits. She will not publish mere gossip. That can lead to lengthy and costly legal battles. She requires at least a vestige of some proof before she will approve a story for her magazine. One of her oldest friends is Don Konkey (Ian Hart) a former journalist turned paparazzo. He suffers from a barely managed case of schizophrenia made worse by his reluctance to take his medications. She is also reasonably close to her younger brother Leo (Will McCormack) who is open about being a bisexual. Their father committed suicide some years back and it devastated Lucy but Leo appears to be able to better cope with the tragedy.

One scene shows Leo getting ready to stake out a celebrity. He hacks away at tree branches and brush to create a hiding place. It had the feel of a sniper preparing for a kill shot. His illness is visually depicted by words coming out of his mouth, turning into a worm and crawling away. This series is diminished by little unnecessary special effects like this but they do give a chuckle now and again. His entrenchment pays off as he gets pictures of a ‘happily’ married sports figure having sex with a young woman not his wife. One of the main story lines concerns Holt McLaren (Josh Stewart), a former big star whose career has been on the decline and an ‘American Sweetheart’ actress, Julia Mallory (Laura Allen). The two are dating and get into a car accident together. She suffers a back injury, has to take pain medication and becomes addicted to them. She was predisposed to addictive and self destructive behavior before this but it was kept away from her adoring public. Much of the series’ first season shows the downfall of her career and life that is catalyzed by the stories and pictures in Dirt. There is also a thread concerning an actress Kira Klay (Shannyn Sossamon) who is pregnant and overdoses on drugs right after a cover story in Dirt.

Even though this is a guilty pleasure type show it is amazingly tightly written. The complicated threads are all given amble time to play out properly. Instead of just focusing on the scandalous behavior of the made up celebrities this is a series that delves into the psychology of the characters. Many may dismiss this series as just as much fluff as what it depicts but this is a true drama with compelling stories. I have to admit I didn’t watch it on television but I was pulled in from the first episode. Some of the graphics are too cute but they seem to work in general. One was a split screen of two of the Dirt staff texting each other about Lucy. You see the text in a box under them. Thankfully they are not used too often.

The cast here is excellent. Courteney Cox gets to really sink her teeth into this role and showcase her talent as a dramatic actress. She plays Lucy with subtext showing the audience the difference between her hard professional persona and the trouble woman that can’t sleep at night. Ian Hart is outstanding in his role. He truly captures the angst and disorientation of a man with schizophrenia. He evokes such empathy with the audience that you will be fascinated by his performance. Another fine actress here is Laura Allen. Most will remember her from her role on the 4400. In this series she allows her character to slowly disintegrate before our eyes. There is a sense of great dramatic control in this woman.

Although this series is on the F/X network here in the states the world wide media distribution rights are with Buena Vista. It may seem a little strange for a show like this to come from the same people that release so many children’s faire but they do it up right. The anamorphic 1.78:1 video is frequently dark but typically the color palette is well done. The Dolby 5.1 audio is full and offers a realistic sound stage. There are several extras presented here. The first is ‘Celebrity Couple get Dirty’. Here Cox and her real life husband and co-producer, David Arquette take you through the work necessary to get this series on the air. Next there is ‘Through A Lens, Darkly’ which focuses on the character Don. ‘Tabloid Ward: Totally True Stories From The Celebrity Trenches’ features real actors, reporter and photographers discussing the public’s love of tabloid journalism. Rounding things off are deleted scenes and outtakes. This is an entertaining series that is sure to capture your attention.

Posted 12/07/07