Dirty Sexy Pay TV Programming

IT'S FUNNY, WHEN I wrote briefly about Dexter a little while ago I thought I would return to the subject before the premiere. But here we are, coming up on Sunday at 10pm (HBO in the USA/TMN or Movie Central in Canada) and I find that I can't really think of more to say about it. Well, not that I can't think of more to say, but just that it strains my brain to try and think of what to say about what I'd like to talk about, and explain why I liked the premiere so much, without getting horribly spoiler-y. So instead I will just say tune in on Sunday if you want to see a textbook lesson in how to set up a season of TV and deepen and introduce new themes.

This is a big weekend for people with Pay. Besides Dexter on Sunday, the premiere of Season 2 of Californication is Monday at 9pm. Now I was hot and cold on this show last year, but I've got to tell you, does it make me a bad person to say that I'm totally going to be there simply because I know that Duchovny's Hank Moody portrayal was going down while he was spiralling down into his sex addiction? I hate the tabloidization of our culture, I really do. I watched Letterman last night dutifully and guffawed over the 2nd straight night of McCain funny, but I flipped right off when Paris Hilton came out. Yet here I am, watching a show that I didn't even really like that much last year just because I know that just like the character he plays, David Duchovny can't control where he puts his junk. Clearly I'm going to hell.

Then after Californication next Monday night, there's a premiere that's probably the biggest don't-miss of the three.

I've always been fascinated by Little Britain. Not just because of the phenom it was in the UK, but because of that peculiarly English way of doing the same sketch over and over. Behind all the grotesque makeup, the strange thing about every sketch in Little Britain -- and behind the catchphrases -- every bit, every punchline is exactly the same.

I don't mean the sketches are all the same, I mean the shows are all the same. Every week the same characters appear and do the tiniest riff on the jokes and the sketches they're always in (hence the reliance on the catchphrases.)

Now when Saturday Night Live does this, I approach it with nothing but pure contempt. So why is it so frequently funny on Little Britain?

Now let's turn to the subject of Little Britain USA. (9:30, Monday) Not quite as unwieldy a title as The E True Hollywood Story Canada -- it nevertheless raises a serious question about whether this most British of comedy series could ever transplant.

The answer is resoundingly yes. Shockingly so. There are many of the same characters, and a few new ones. The trope of exploring the heritage of Britain and America is thin gruel, sure, but it's still fun to see Vicky Pollard at a youth boot camp. Some of the America-only sketches are dead on the money and totally off the charts (the sheriff demonstrating his gun collection is a particular favorite, as is the Mum saying goodbye to her porn-influenced daughter as she goes to grade school (trust me, it's hilarious)) but I'm guessing that the sketch everyone is going to be talking about is the one where Rosie O'Donnell attends a Fat Fighters meeting as herself. Marjorie's obvious horror with O'Donnell's sapphic orientation is ... so offensive ... and really, really funny. O'Donnell's more than a good sport -- it's almost...majestic.

All in all, Little Britain USA is every bit the equal of its forebear. And yup, the punchlines to the jokes are still just as funny. I know that maybe this is what Ricky Gervais was lampooning in Extras, and I do feel the occasional pang of "why are you laughing when you've seen this a thousand times before?" but I guess that's why laughter is such a mystery. Good fun.

Of course, there's ... ahem ... another show I hope you'll watch Monday night. But that's a subject for another post.