United States of Tara
Channel: ABC1
Day and time*: Wednesday, 9:30pm(*as at August 2009)
The many faces of Toni and Tara
Do my eyes deceive me? Am I dreaming? It seems the world has gone completely barking mad, with the venerable old ABC (Aunty to those of a certain vintage) opting to screen a hip, American comedy from one of Hollywood’s hottest rising talents. Might be time for a nice lie-down and a few repeats of The Bill!
Yes, time truly do change in TV land (even if it is a bit like turning the Queen Mary around at times). The old staid ABC is now the funky (well, funkier) ABC1 and has its shiny new stablemate, ABC2, for company. This may signal a new direction for the TV institution, if its decision to broadcast United States of Tara is any indication.
You
see, United States of Tara isn’t just any old American
sitcom. It’s the brainchild of Hollywood screenwriter-du-jour Diablo
Cody (she who won an Oscar for her scriptwriting on the film Juno).
Now, if you’ve seen Juno, you’ll know Ms Cody doesn’t
go in for the kind of tea-and-sympathy scenarios previously associated
with ABC fare. She’s edgy – dangerous even – and doesn’t
pull any punches when it comes to her material. Thus, you’ll find
this show littered with the f-word; something previously nigh on unthinkable
for the ABC.
The other big attraction of this show is that the Tara of the title is our very own Toni Collette – a role for which she’s just picked up an Emmy nomination. Tara is an apparently normal wife and mother living with her husband Max (John Corbett) and teenage kids Kate (Brie Larson) and Marshall (Kier Gilchrist) in southern California. She works as an interior designer for wealthy clients and seems to be doing pretty well for herself. But not everything is as it seems. Tara suffers from dissociative identity disorder – or multiple personalities to you and me. So when Tara is stressed, as she is when she tries to “micro-manage” Kate’s love life, one of her alter egos (or “alters” as they’re referred to in the show) emerges. There are three “alters” that appear – T., a 15 year-old with an attitude; Alice, a Stepford Wives type who loves to bake; and Buck, a redneck male who loves bowling and brawling.
As you can imagine, living with someone who has four distinct personalities presents plenty of challenges for the family. It’s an interesting twist on the dysfunctional family dynamic – the family itself isn’t dysfunctional, but is thrown into dysfunction by the appearances of these off-the-wall “alters”. Max and his kids deal with it by treating the “alters” as essentially transient visitors to their house. Max even has an understanding with Tara that he won’t have sex with any of the “alters”.
Clip from United States of Tara - NOTE language warning
Into this mix are thrown Tara’s sceptical sister Charmaine (Rosemarie DeWitt), who sometimes thinks Tara is simply faking her “disorder” for attention, and her (Tara’s, that is) therapist Dr Ocean (Valerie Mahaffey).
Going by some of the early episodes, this is a show with a lot of potential. Indeed, its US parent, Showtime, announced a second season after only 4 episodes of series 1 had aired, such was the audience response to it. I’m sure the ABC will be hoping for a similar reaction here too.
Whatever you may think of dissociative identity disorder (and there is a lot of controversy, even in medical circles about it), United States of Tara makes for great viewing. It’s smart, sassy and touching when it needs to be. If you saw and liked Juno, then you’ll surely love this show.
On the other hand, there will be some for whom this is all a bit much. I can see how the scenario could be considered a contrivance, and the abundant “coarse language and adult themes” will be off-putting for a certain audience segment. I guess that’s why it’s on at 9.30 p.m.
For me, United States of Tara is like a fresh breeze through the musty corridors of the ABC. I thoroughly recommend you give this a go, especially if you’ve missed some of its kindred shows like Weeds or Californication. This is about as cutting-edge as TV gets these days, and we should be grateful to the ABC for taking a risk on it.
Phil James
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