I'm not as shocked as other reviewers because I had heard this show was good for a long time before renting it on Netflix.
Tori Spelling sends up Tori Spelling in a hilarious comedy that also stars Zach Quinto in the days when he was Zachary, as her gay friend, Sasan, James Carpinello as her roommate Pete, Loni Anderson as Mrs. Spelling, Brennan Hesser as Janey, and Cleo King as Tori's old nanny.
Spelling dishes herself."I make my own money," she says defensively. Then in a smaller voice, "Acting on my father's TV show." When asked why she doesn't want to be alone, why she's so weird about getting gifts, why this, why that, there is a flashback to little Tori (Ariel Winter) and her ditsy mother which tells the story, then back to Tori in the present, saying off-handedly, "I don't know."
No subject is off-limits. Trying to get out of a stuck limousine, Quinto says, "There are only two inches to get out. Tori, run for help." "You're better looking in person. Have you had more stuff done?"
The best is when she decides to send a video to Steven Soderbergh to be considered as a serious actress and try out for a role as a woman going after a Brazilian gang to save her sister from sex slavery. While in the sex shop buying props, Sasan tells her Shannon Doherty is there, and Tori hits the ground like the place is being bombed.
Ultimately she makes the tape and some of Soderbergh's people give it to him as a birthday gift and laugh out loud. You see Tori in a leather bra and panties with a whip in her hand, acting tough.
Loni Anderson is fabulous as is the rest of the cast, but it's really nice to see her in a good role.
This very funny show was canceled when Spelling's life became more complicated - her father passed away, she became pregnant, and moved on to other projects. It's a shame.
