When I saw the title of this prospective TV show DIRT, I thought no way does it make it past one season, or even that far, but it was actually rock solid in Season 1. DIRT was about tabloid editor Lucy Spiller who runs DrrtNow magazine. Lucy was played by Courtney Cox of FRIENDS fame and Cox was a revelation as Lucy: ambitious, vicious, unsympathetic, cold, ruthless, lustful, and sexy! Cox's performance is something to behold. You'll forget all about Monica on FRIENDS! I actually think of all the actors on that show, Cox has proved to have the most range being removed from it.
Lucy runs her magazine with an iron fist and she will do anything to get a juicy story first. She uses her ace photographer/college buddy and schizoid Don Konkey (brilliantly played by British actor Ian Hart). Don's S1 subplots had him seeing dead characters and this side of him revealed a lot.
The main ongoing tabloid story played out all of S1 was of the rocky relationship between Hollywood superstar/drug addict Julia Mallory (well played by Laura Allen) and her less famous struggling actor boyfriend Holt McLaren (played by upcoming star Josh Stewart). Holt gave Lucy the scoop on Julia's best friend (the actress who committed suicide) in the pilot about her being pregnant, which led to the girl killing herself and blaming Julia for spilling the story. Holt did this in exchange for Lucy helping revive his acting career. All this is played out with mini-arc story lines that go about 2 to 3 episodes with fictional Hollywood actors/actresses, former child stars, athletes, etc. A major subplot in S1 was the growing attraction and connection between Lucy and Holt, who had amazing chemistry.
Everyone was to some degree guilty and out to make a buck and backstab if there is something in if for them. And Lucy centered this infectiously sleazy, self-absorbed universe. There are some strong supporting characters including Lucy's brother Leo (Will McCormack), Lucy's publisher Brent (Jeffrey Nordling), and her assistant Willa (Alexandra Breckenridge), a Lucy-in-training if you will. Mariette Hartley was great as Lucy's mother in several eps. S1 had some memorable eps: the most memorable being one where Lucy and her staff are taken hostage by a long-forgotten about child star who wants back that fame and notoriety.
But in Season 2 (which lasted only for 7 episodes), the show took a nosedive! Julia was killed off in the S1 finale trying to kill Lucy, who survived to become a kinder, gentler Lucy in S2, losing all the passion and excitement that made her special in S1. Don was all of a sudden no longer a schizoid as his meds were keeping him sane; coherent Don was a bore! Finally, Lucy and Holt ended up together (the only satisfying conclusion for me!). If the show had stuck to it's guns, it could have been one of the decades great surprises!
Lucy runs her magazine with an iron fist and she will do anything to get a juicy story first. She uses her ace photographer/college buddy and schizoid Don Konkey (brilliantly played by British actor Ian Hart). Don's S1 subplots had him seeing dead characters and this side of him revealed a lot.
The main ongoing tabloid story played out all of S1 was of the rocky relationship between Hollywood superstar/drug addict Julia Mallory (well played by Laura Allen) and her less famous struggling actor boyfriend Holt McLaren (played by upcoming star Josh Stewart). Holt gave Lucy the scoop on Julia's best friend (the actress who committed suicide) in the pilot about her being pregnant, which led to the girl killing herself and blaming Julia for spilling the story. Holt did this in exchange for Lucy helping revive his acting career. All this is played out with mini-arc story lines that go about 2 to 3 episodes with fictional Hollywood actors/actresses, former child stars, athletes, etc. A major subplot in S1 was the growing attraction and connection between Lucy and Holt, who had amazing chemistry.
Everyone was to some degree guilty and out to make a buck and backstab if there is something in if for them. And Lucy centered this infectiously sleazy, self-absorbed universe. There are some strong supporting characters including Lucy's brother Leo (Will McCormack), Lucy's publisher Brent (Jeffrey Nordling), and her assistant Willa (Alexandra Breckenridge), a Lucy-in-training if you will. Mariette Hartley was great as Lucy's mother in several eps. S1 had some memorable eps: the most memorable being one where Lucy and her staff are taken hostage by a long-forgotten about child star who wants back that fame and notoriety.
But in Season 2 (which lasted only for 7 episodes), the show took a nosedive! Julia was killed off in the S1 finale trying to kill Lucy, who survived to become a kinder, gentler Lucy in S2, losing all the passion and excitement that made her special in S1. Don was all of a sudden no longer a schizoid as his meds were keeping him sane; coherent Don was a bore! Finally, Lucy and Holt ended up together (the only satisfying conclusion for me!). If the show had stuck to it's guns, it could have been one of the decades great surprises!