Slings: The Love You Take IS Equal To The Love You Make

For the Second Week in a row, Slings & Arrows delivered a sucker punch ending surrounding William Hutt's character, Charles Kingman, the actor playing King Lear in the New Burbage Festival's production.

Of course, each season of Slings manages to nicely weave the theme of the major production through the offstage storylines. I guess I'm a traditionalist that way, but I really much prefer TV writing -- especially in drama -- where the various plotlines all comment and expand upon aspects of the same theme.

Of course, you're not going to find a more potent broth to steal from than King Lear, but still, even in the early stages, the way that they're setting up the conflict between age and youth, and echoing the idea of the faithful daughter (Cordelia) versus the interlopers -- well, all of it is tremendously satisfying. Especially if you've read your Shakespeare.

For as much as sometimes I get down on Canadian TV in this blog, this is where I start to get really pissed off. The people who do this show have one of Broadway's biggest hits right now. This show is funny, and heartfelt, and as well-executed as anything I've ever seen come from an American and British source.

So where is the coverage?

Where are the articles? The Ads? The columns? The buzz?

I'm not talking about the half-assed "Slings and Arrows returns" pieces that greet the premiere. Any half-assed piece of shit gets that sop thrown at them -- usually all reprinting the same article by Canadian Press.

I have no truck with people who say you should watch Canadian produced shows just cause they're Canadian, if you're Canadian. That's a load. But Slings is one of the cases where, if you're not watching it, I can honestly say that culturally, humanistically, and from an entertainment point of view -- it's your loss.

So why is no one writing that?

Anyway, back to the ending. Hutt's performance is something -- fearsome, reducing cute little Sarah Polley to tears like that -- and then at the end you find out why and it's perfect, of course, but also...wow. It makes me realize anew the ultimate truth of TV writing -- Directors and Network types will always talk about the opening, and the teaser, as where you absolutely need to grab and hold the audience's attention. That's true, as far as it goes. But the real punch to the gut that brings you back -- where the decision to return is really made, far as I know -- is the ending. The ending, the ending, the ending. That's where your casual viewer converts to a loyal, regular viewer -- no matter how cluttered the viewing landscape.

LOST knows this. DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES used to know it, and hopefully will again. 24 is all over that. And SLINGS, with a tenth of the budget and nowhere near the histrionics of those American shows -- understands that lesson too.

And just because I couldn't figure out how to work it into the body of this post: Chris Leavins has a very deft turn as Geoffrey's therapist. Puts Huff to shame.