The Brink

Tim Robbins, Jack Black and Jerry Weintraub brought this superb satirical series, created by Roberto and Kim Benabib, to the screen via HBO. It ran one season, was renewed, then suddenly cancelled because "they could not do it justice," which may mean that it was expensive. (Well, yes, there are a lot of planes.)

A "Dr Strangelove" for the new millennium, this pacey, dark political farce fairly rips across the screen. It's superbly written, beautifully cast, and artfully performed by everyone from its stars to its bit players (though I feel that Aasif Mandvi, Pablo Schreiber and Eric Ladin deserve special mention.)

I cannot recall ever laughing so hard at anything, or seeing Cabinet in-fighting illustrated so credibly and outrageously.

Now that we Americans have a President who could never have got the part via Central Casting, I fear that The Brink's apocalyptic take on politics and antics at the highest levels may be closer to the truth than we would ever want it to be.

When the End of Days is upon us, it'll be a shame that we won't be able to go out watching at least three seasons of The Brink. Boo to whoever made this decision, because this show is a classic and deserved better.

Clever, very, very funny, insightful, instructive and addictively entertaining. So, why did HBO not renew for a second season? Hmm. I wonder.

I am having the best time watching "The Brink." It's a funny, clever, fast moving half hour of t.v. If you're not paying attention, you'll miss so many great lines. Tim Robbins is hysterical as Secretary of State. Reminds me of Charlie Wilson; womanizer, drinker, but smart as heck. Jack Black is not my favorite comedian but he is winning me over in this series. John Larrouquette plays the fanatical religious ambassador to perfection. Pablo Schreiber is a lovable screw up. I don't think of Esai Morales as a comedic actor but he plays comedy really well. I could go on and on about each character so I'll conclude with this. Each and everyone of their performances knocks it out of the park. I applaud the writers of this great show. If this series is not picked up for a second season, I'll be terribly disappointed.

This show is not for the fainthearted or those who get offended easily.

I would consider it more a satire than a comedy as it deals with a very sensitive and frightening topic in a "goofy" manner. The characters are not "trying" to be funny, they are just exaggerated stereotypes which, mixed with the situations they are thrown in, can cause a few chuckles and a couple head shakes. The producers are definitely bold without being vulgar or condescending, so far... That said, it is very graphical and uncensored.

The way the show is filmed really puts you in the action with the characters and add to the experience.

The actors are all very good in their roles. Tim Robin plays an excellent perv Secretary of State and Jack Black's performance is toned down but still very enjoyable. I also like the way the Pakistani family is portrayed.

All in, I really got hooked when I first saw the preview and the show did not disappoint. Through their personality flaws, the characters still manage to get things done and I just can't wait to see the next episode.

With some of the lame shows out there, I find this one very refreshing and I hope they will stick to their plan and finish it right instead of selling out until it's not worth watching anymore.

You should at least give it a try.

Enjoy. E.

So weird i loved the first two episodes,, the minute i'v read the reviews i was so scared even to watch the pilot , but the series is way far from those bad reviews, The Series is organized, the plot is smooth and easily understandable and the dialog is fast in a tense intriguing way ... the screenplay seems to be strong and tightly written considering the shortage of experience of Kim Benabib and only with 14 episodes of Weeds written by Roberto Benabib the script turned out unexpectedly connected and catchy.

The script or let me be more general .. the story basically revolves around three characters; the naive careless low level state department employee Alex Talbot with his dream to be a CIA operative , Walter Larson who seems rational and thoughtful on the table but also a drinker sex-addict and mouth full of "bad" comments and finally Zeke Tilson the drug-addict fighter pilot who always needs the combination of money and drugs to keep himself sane on the Jets-Reg ... see all of those three have a mission to stop world war 3 from happening... in a funny but thrilling development of events the series looked really strong.

As for the cast, well the threesome of Jack Black, Tim Robbins and Pablo Schreiber works amazingly here in a dumb, sarcastic but dreamy funny way.

So Overall, the series really caught my attention in the those first two episode ,, it is a comedy based on fictional so i think people who say its full of Zionist propaganda should just chill out a bit and i do think it has a bit of "Veep" in it but i believe it is a good thing for the show, i mean who doesn't love Veep but now with a different story and different characters.