It's the end of the world as we
know it
Wow!
Who would have thought that a late-night show about a struggling
writer could become the year’s most explosive television
topic? While church leaders and media outlets scramble to express
their outrage over David Duchovny’s latest foray into TV
land, the sane are quietly enjoying one of the more interesting
offerings to come out of the US for a while.
I digress here for a little history lesson (insofar
as the evolution of TV can really be called history). Californication*
is a product of Sho; an arm of the US Showtime pay-TV channel.
Now for ages, Showtime has been trumped by rival HBO in what can
be called the Manhattan demographic – rich, educated people
who like smart plots and a bit of spice in their viewing. HBO
had successes with the likes of Sex and the City, Six Feet Under
and more recently Entourage and Big Love; while Showtime's successes
(Weeds, The L Word) have been more modest. So now Showtime is
aiming to win back that “high-value” demographic by
upping the ante.
Basically, Californication follows the rather pathetic
life of writer Hank Moody (a relative of Rick Moody, perhaps?).
Hank has written a highly successful book bitingly called God
Hates Us All; which Hollywood has somehow managed to morph into
an even more successful movie called A Crazy Little Thing Called
Love. All this has coincided with a traumatic (for him) break-up
from long-time girlfriend Karen (Natasha McElhone), who’s
also the mother of his daughter Becca (Madeleine Martin). The
result is a downward spiral for Hank, who loses himself in a haze
of booze and meaningless sexual encounters.
In the first episode, we met Hank at what seems
to be rock bottom. He has money and a degree of fame, but he’s
lost the things that are more important to him and is having a
hard time coping. The series therefore is basically about whether
Hank will find redemption; and if so, how.
OK, so enough of those trivial things like plot
– let’s talk about why Californication is being so
hotly debated at the moment: boobs. Yep, there are plenty of them
here, along with a fair smattering of “colourful”
language and the old rumpy-pumpy; but I must say I’m a little
surprised at the reaction. The Herald-Sun’s resident bulldog
Andrew Bolt went so far as to post a blog calling Ten executives
“pornographers” for daring to even screen such filth.
But are we kidding ourselves here. Sex and the City
was just as “bad” in terms of sexual themes (and activity),
language and nudity, and we heard barely a whimper about that
show. SBS screened the first season of Big Love, featuring polygamy,
sex, violence and more shots of Bill Paxton’s bare buttocks
than I care to recall. Where were our moral guardians to save
us from the evils of that show?
Come
to think of it, why can’t these upstanding sentinels of
televisual purity save us from being afflicted by yet another
lifestyle show fronted by a former Miss Something-or-Other who
knows precious little about anything, but looks hot in a bikini?
For those who don’t regard visual depictions
of mammary glands as heralding the imminent end of civilisation,
Californication has plenty to offer. It’s sharply written
by Tom Kappinos and Gina Fattore and the characters – flawed
as they are – make for involving viewing. Hank is of course
the driving force behind the show, a seething morass of ennui,
hubris and depression, tempered by an easy charm, a soft spot
for his daughter and a deep yearning for some meaning in his life.
There’s something really compelling about him as a character,
and of course you have to buy into that in order to get the most
from the show.
David Duchovny successfully corrals Hank’s
rumpled mess of emotions and fragility into a cohesive performance.
This is a much more interesting character for him than his most
notable part to date, as Mulder on The X-Files. Natasha McElhone
is a good foil for him, making her Karen the rock against which
Hank’s tempestuous moods can break; while Madeleine Martin
plays the 13-year-old Becca with considerable style. Look out
too for Sex and the City alum Evan Handler as Hank’s agent.
If you’re hurting from the absence of Weeds
and Big Love from TV screens at the moment, then Californication
is the show for you. If however you’re offended by all that
“adult” stuff, then stick to Australia’s Funniest
Home Video. Don’t say you haven’t been warned.
* If the name seems familiar, thank the Red Hot
Chili Peppers. Californication was the name of their 1999 album
and the single from it.
Phil James
