Rude Awakening

Perhaps one of the most "difficult" television series to ever make it into production, Showtime's "Rude Awakening" is worth the effort it takes to warm up to a cast of flawed, occasionally unlikable, and all-too-human characters.

The material is a look at addiction, sex, and dysfunctional families, filtered through a sitcom sensibility. Sherilyn Fenn's Billie Frank is habitually self-destructive, with a gift for making the wrong choice at every given opportunity, and most of the addiction, sex, and dysfunction revolves around her.

What makes Billie a watchable, sympathetic creation is her ability to spot her own culpability in her failures, and her sputtering, stuttering romance with Jonathan Penner's Dave. Penner gets a lot of mileage out of the show's thinnest major character, the owner of a coffee shop and the person who helped guide Billie into a 12-step program, but his function is mostly just to stand around and trade hyper-sexual barbs with Fenn.

Lynn Redgrave, on the other hand, is in full diva mode with Trudy, Bille's mother. And it is indeed a sight to behold; intensely, bitingly funny, cruel, and relentlessly self-involved, Trudy is a work of art. Unlike her daughter, Redgrave's character has no saving grace, but somehow remains the most compelling thing on the screen at any given moment.

Without question, RA's run has been uneven. When it wanders away from its central themes, the show can easily begin to look like the most painful sort of cable comedy, with little more than explicit language but like its main character, when "Rude Awakening" finds its feet and takes a clear-eyed look at where it is and where it hopes to go, it can make for a funny, intense half-hour of entertainment.

Rude Awakening is the best program on Showtime. Unfortunately, the powers that be didn't realize that and canceled the show after last season. Still, it's a witty, honest and not-watered down look at life. Sherilyn Fenn is not only stunningly gorgeous, but she also carries the show and her role with star quality.

Before this show aired in Finland, the channel aired these commercials, like, "Billie Frank drinks.. and has casual sex!" The voice of the presenter suggested that this was portrayed as something admirable. I thought I wouldn't watch such crap. But I happened to see one episode and was instantly hooked. The show just seemed real to me - the characters were rude, imperfect and at times completely selfish; there was no laugh track and the dialogue was more natural than on other shows; the humour was somehow very original, it stemmed from the characters' personalities in a natural way. Sexuality was dealt with in a daring way. Sherilyn Fenn was great as the imperfect Billie, Dave and Jackie were also brilliant characters, and of course Trudy who was really the second star of the show.

The topic and the way it was handled seemed realistic to me. I don't have much knowledge about the AA or alcoholism, but it just rang true to me how Billie's lifelong addiction and relapse was portrayed as an ongoing problem she needs to work against her whole life. On so many shows, you have this token alcoholic character (soap operas in particular) who goes on a drinking binge in one episode and recovers in the next. This show dared to show a more accurate portrayal: the long-term effects, the desperation for a fix and the ugliness of it all wasn't glossed over. It's a daring topic especially for a comedy, but they pulled it off. I felt like I could see life through the eyes of an alcoholic - and be entertained at the same time. Kudos.

When the show stopped being about the AA and decided to "move on" into Dave's bar, it got blah for me. Some of the edge was lost when it was no longer about addiction. It turned into a relationship comedy instead, and that is the end of many fine shows. Haley was cute, but essentially just a babbling, bumbling character who didn't add much to the mix. Tim Curry as Trudy's new boyfriend was good, but not good enough to keep the show funny. And what was all that crap about Marcus and his marriage crisis? Hey, let's add a new character who looks good without a shirt. Oh look, his wife's a bitch! Don't you wish we made an episode all about him? The last season was full of "emotional" moments that just seemed sappy to me. The whole marriage plot was the worst. The irony is that when the show dealt with genuine difficult things and touching themes, it was never sappy. When it started to deal with "touching" imaginary situations and love triangles, it lost its edge and became a sappy regular comedy. The only interesting theme in the last season was that Trudy was facing the truth about her addiction - but would she be funny anymore if she quit drinking? I doubt it. Characters like her don't need a "serious" side; they're tragic in themselves, that's why they're funny.

But the last season can't wipe away what this show did in the first ones. One of the most daring and genuine comedies I've ever seen. Highly recommended.

I haven't seen this show for ages now and must admit I stumbled upon it by accident when I was watching wrestling on TV and was too lazy to get up and turn it off,so I kept watching.Before it began,the consumer advice stated it contained coarse language,nudity and adult themes.That's what convinced me to watch it no matter what.But it wasn't the nudity that made it good,it was the wickedly funny and almost surreal way the show is set out.But my favorite thing about it was the first thing you noticeas soon as it starts-no audience.I thought this allowed the viewer to laugh when THEY found something funny,instead of being told when to laugh by the constantly annoying laugh lines.The themes of the show were also very daring,with things like homosexuality,sex toys women talking very openly about their bodies and so on.A great comedy show,one of the best ever made.

I was a huge fan of this show, saw every episode, and then all of a sudden it went off the air! What the #$@#@ happened?!!! Talk about a rude awakening!! I had to get drunk just to deal with the shock of this!! I think I need a meeting now, just writing about it! And when Tim Curry came aboard, fuggedaboudit it! He and Lynn Redgrave were PRICELESS together, I mean absolutely PRICEless, dahling! Truly the best 'sitcom' I have ever seen. Bring it back, bring it back now!