FX Bakes a CAKE

Article first published as TV Review: CAKE on Seat42F.

It’s hard to describe the new FXX show CAKE. It’s a series of shorts made by different people that the comedy network has edited into a half hour television show. Yes, that describes it, but not well enough to tell you what it is. It’s generally a comedy, but some is live action and some is animated. Some dialogue spoken and some is sung. Some bits are very short, and some are pretty long. It’s a conglomeration of a lot of things rolled into one.

I guess the best way to explain what you’re going to get is for me to ask you to imagine something. Say Saturday Night Live, Portlandia, a popular Snapchat-er, Adult Swim, and a YouTube star all made a single, stand-alone segment each, and then somebody merged all these disparate things together. That’s what CAKE is. Eclectic, with different approaches, but hopefully all will be worth watching.

Because there is not a consistent producer or writing team, there isn’t a consistent feel to the show. The first episode, titled “Cache Flow,” seems to have a similar level of quality from bit to bit, and that level is relatively high, but it will be hard to maintain that over time. Things aren’t connected, but did seem to, for lack of a better word, flow from one segment to the next. The longest story was broken up itself by smaller offerings.

That all may sound like criticism, but it is not intended to be negative. CAKE does something interesting and pretty unique, showcasing shorts by different creators in a single program. FXX has scoured the interwebs and put together a showcase of creative works that would have trouble finding a television home elsewhere. It lets viewers sample programs that aren’t traditional, but are still worthy of one’s time. I especially enjoyed the opener of “Cache Flow,” funny and thought-provoking, relatable but still fresh.

This reminds me of award-winning and nominated shorts. Most people ignore them, but when one gets the chance to sit down and watch a few, they can be quite mesmerizing. It’s about time a network made such things more accessible to a mainstream audience.

The official line seems to be that some stand-out bits may become full-length running programs on the network. That would be a cool thing, using CAKE as an incubator to test writers and producers, rewarding those that catch on more than others. But if that never happens for any of the segments, it’s still a worthwhile attempt, and an interesting piece to add to the lineup.

Much of what is in “Cache Flow” is from people unknown to me, and likely to most viewers. There are new and unheard voices represented. But one part of this pilot did have several recognizable actresses – Collette Wolfe (You’re the Worst), Suzanne Cryer (Silicon Valley), and Natasha Lyonne (Russian Doll) – so was likely made by more experienced professionals.

This mix of untested and established talent could be a problem, except that care has definitely been taken to make sure different bits feel at least a little bit tonally similar. CAKE avoids being jarring as it jumps around, a credit to a show that could easily be more disjointed. Instead, while the parts do feel different, there almost is a whole feeling to the episode.

I really wish I had more than one installment to view to know if CAKE is going to be worth watching. But the first one is, so why not give it a chance? After all, you’re not going to get this from any other network. In my opinion, television could use more such experiments, and I’m certainly curious to see if this one catches on.

CAKE premieres tomorrow at 10:30 PM ET on FXX.

Cougar Town back with "Walls" on a special night and time

PART ONE: HEART

     ABC's CougarTown returned last night after a ten week break. It normally airs Wednesdays at 9:30 p.m., and will be on then this week, but last night's episode aired in a special slot after Dancing With the Stars. In last night's episode, "Walls," Travis (Dan Byrd) is sad his girlfriend, Kirsten (Collette Wolfe), is going to take a job far away, so he begins digging in the yard for a time capsule that contains his grandmother's engagement ring. Travis's mother, Jules (Courteney Cox), tries to fight her nature and not butt in or try to talk Travis out of it, afraid he may hate her if she does.

     Jules has always been the type to butt in, and always will be. But getting married is a huge decision, and if she goes against Travis here, she may lose him. This fantastic advice is given by neighbor Ellie (Christa Miller), Jules's best friend, who loves her dearly. As such, Jules rightly listens to Ellie, and does her best to contain herself. What's more, she discovers that she is able to, with a little encouragement, and refrains from making a scene.

     This represents a big step forward from Jules. She is never shown trying to curb this personality trait, until now. The difference here is the high stakes involved. She loves Travis more than anyone or anything else in the world, and seeing Ellie and her mother's toxic relationship, she is able to force herself to act outside her nature to preserve her bond with Travis. Travis likely realizes that, because he gives her a sincere hug and an "I love you." Usually, Travis just rolls his eyes at Jules's antics, and so this is evidence that he notices and appreciates her effort.

     Grayson (Josh Hopkins) can be a bit cold. While hanging out with Andy (Ian Gomez) this week, Grayson shoots down Andy's notion that girls are all over him because he's married. He's a harmless fantasy, as Andy just likes shooting the girls down, and has no intention of ever cheating on his wife. Yet, Grayson cannot let it go, even confronting a woman, which gets them in trouble. Andy teaches Grayson that being friends means sometimes letting others have their elusions, a valuable lesson for a loner character still trying to make connections and fit into the larger group.

PART TWO: COMEDY

     ABC's CougarTown returned last night after a ten week break. It normally airs Wednesdays at 9:30 p.m., and will be on then this week, but last night's episode aired in a special slot after Dancing With the Stars. In last night's episode, "Walls," Bobby (Brian Van Holt) and Laurie (Busy Philipps) start a penny can business to raise money. Ellie (Christa Miller) is terrorized by a ghost truck. And Grayson (Josh Hopkins) and Andy (Ian Gomez) try to escape the husband of a woman they insulted.

     Every single member of the CougarTown cast is hilarious, and so favorite characters change from week to week. This episode's Comedy MVP is Laurie. First, she talks about making a movie about a puppy that blows up if it crosses town lines. Then, she mouths along to a radio ad that she recorded. Later, she is sad because her name has no B's in it. Finally, her selling the Penny Cans "One for $19.95, two for fifty!" cinches the deal. All around, Philipps plays the sometimes ditzy, but always loveable, Laurie with charm and grace. In a lesser actress's hands, Laurie may seem stupid. But Phillips lets you know that she's in on the jokes, and that's the happy persona she likes to exude to cheer up those around her. She is a true joy.

     Christa Miller gets runner up. It took until almost halfway through the episode before her predicting Jules's dialogue and saying it with her earned Christa's first laugh of the night. Her exclamation of "Draino!" as she scores a difficult Penny Can throw excites. Then she faked a phone call argument to her mom to make a point, and freaked out when her "ghost truck" kept moving by itself. The fact that she never figured out that Jules is the one putting the truck in different places is great fun, and hopefully it is a gag that will carry over to other episodes, as many of CougarTown's best do.

     Speaking of gags that run on, Penny Can is a game where one throws a penny into a paint can. It started as a simple gag, but like the game itself, becomes addictive. Now Penny Can is featured heavily once more as Bobby and Laurie make it a full blown business to help Bobby raise money. What's more, it hasn't gotten stale in the slightest. Fans of the show are making their own Penny Cans, and it's becoming a popular pastime. This may be the series's single greatest contribution to society. And the thing is, it's just such a no-brainer idea! Thank you to the writers who had the brain to put it on screen and make the rest of the country say, "Why didn't I think of that?"


     CougarTown airs Wednesday nights at 9:30 p.m. ET on ABC.

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It's Okay to Watch a Show Called Cougar Town; I'd Even Encourage It

     The above line is from the opening credits card from last week's episode of ABC's Cougar Town, "Little Girl Blues".  Except for episode two, every episode in this second season of the sitcom has had an amusing slogan above the title.  It's the show that isn't afraid to make fun of itself.  I've covered the series's rise over the first season, and it's growth into one of the most consistently funny shows currently on television before, so I won't do that again.  But it's awesome, and if you're not watching it, you should be.

     This week Travis (Dan Byrd) brought home his new college girlfriend, Kirsten (Collette Wolfe, 100 Questions, Hot Tub Time Machine) to meet his family.  Travis's high school girlfriend, Kylie (Spencer Locke), who won't let him go, was shown hilariously in a short clip, telling Travis he'd be back.  Mind you, she may not have been concerned because she's seeing other people, but she also thinks she can keep a hold on Travis.  In an ideal world, Travis will slowly grow closer to Kirsten, who is played by a wonderfully funny actress who I'd like to see stick around, until a full-blown rivalry erupts between Kylie and Kirsten.  See, I also really like Locke.  Ultimately, I'd like Travis to end up with even-older-than-Kirsten, Laurie (Busy Philipps) because they have such great chemistry.  But it will be years before the two of them as a couple will really be socially acceptable.

     The introduction left much to be desired.  Travis's mother, Jules (Courteney Cox), was predictably over protective, to the level of psycho.  She has an unhealthy obsession with her son, and pity the girl who tries to come in between them.  Plus, Kirsten is a grad student, four or five years older than college freshman Travis.  Jules will probably never accept Kirsten, though she was becoming used to Kylie, because Kirsten broke Big Joe, Jules's giant wine glass, whom she dearly loved.  Big Joe was an icon on the series, but was replaced with Big Carl, so the wonderfully bordeline alcoholic Jules will not be running dry anytime soon.

     The main subplot involed Grayson's (Josh Hopkins) house becoming the new hangout for the gang.  Unlike other shows, this one did not jump the shark when Jules and Grayson finally began dating, breaking the romantic tension built over the first season.  In fact, it's rarely a main focus of the show, which is probably why it works so well.  Grayson, while pretty integrated into Jules's gang at this point, still tries (and usually fails) to maintain some level of privacy.  The invasion of his personal space was met with much unhappiness, to the point that he asked the sometimes-evil Ellie (Christa Miller) for help in stopping it.  She reluctantly agreed, though he pretty much solved the problem himself.  Also, weird neighbor Tom (Bob Clendenin) is trying to worm his way into their cliche.  I like the element Tom brings to the show, but am not so sure I'd like him as a main character.

     My favorite storyline, though, this year has been Bobby's (Brian Van Holt).  Bobby is Jules's ex-husband, and he's still in love with her.  He didn't take Grayson and Jules so well, and a layer of sadness has hung over every scene he's been in this season.  Bobby certainly isn't the smartest member of the group, but he may be the biggest hearted, and the most emotional.  It's a testament to Van Holt that he has been able to pull off this subtle layer without detracting from the show, or making Bobby the least bit unlikeable.  Ideally, he will find love before too long.

     Cougar Town also stars the hilarious Ian Gomez.  The show airs Wednesday nights at 9:30 on ABC, including in two days.

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100 Questions sparks a few more

     NBC's newest sitcom is 100 Questions.  Premiering last Thursday with "What Brought You Here?", it's a sitcom with a definite number of episodes already set: 100.  Each episode concerns one of the 100 questions a dating service asks our main character, and she gives lengthy answers in flashback.  Considering it's a summer series, it seems unlikely that it will complete it's goal, though to be fair, Seinfeld was a summer show.  So was the brilliant Better Off Ted, although it only got to run eleven episodes during the normal tv year.  But that's the problem.  If it is soon canceled, as it is likely to be, it won't hit but a few of the aforementioned queries.  If it miraculously gains momentum and is a huge hit, it will be expected to go well over 100.  So someone picked a completely wrong number on this one.

     The show itself is not bad.  It should loose the laugh track immediately, as that was definitely the most annoying part about it.  But it does have a fun cast of characters that seems a cross between Friends and How I Met Your Mother.  Charlotte (Sophie Winkleman) is the Brit at the center of the group, and the one telling the story.  Her friends include a slutty ditz, Jill (Collette Wolfe), heartbroken Leslie (Smith Cho), suave former-rich boy Wayne (David Walton) and geeky straight man Mike (Christopher Moynihan, the creator and writer of the show).  Each fits nicely in their little group of chums, though I suspect they may try a Wayne - Charlotte romance should the series continue.  I found funny qualities already in each character, and the actors can all handle the comedy.  Their dynamics was much more interesting than the plot unfolding, which is not a bad thing for a new series.  Even the match company guy, Andrew (Michael Benjamin Washington) adds his own humorous quips.

     I do wonder at the format.  It has not been made clear after only one episode if the flashbacks will be sequential or not.  I would argue for not, as it frees up the writing staff to be a lot more creative, however I doubt audience would be able to stomach it.  It would be too hard to develop a cohesive linear story of the characters, and that would seem necessary to build a fan base.  The audience has to care about who they're watching, and most people won't do that if they spend all their time confused about how each segment fits among the previous ones.  Unless the placement isn't important, and the jokes kick it up another couple of notches, and then they can do whatever they want.

     As far as summer shows go, this will probably be among the best.  If it aired during the regular season, I would likely rank it in the middle of the pack.  However, as I always say, it's hard to judge what a series will be by it's pilot, and that is all I have seen so far.  Please check out 100 Questions Thursday nights at 8:30 on NBC to find out the answers to the queries I posed.