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« Dirty Sexy Money
Episode Recap: "Pilot"
Oh, for the love of money! Dirty Sexy Money, that is. Welcome to the world of the Darlings and their nonprofit-minded lawyer, Nick George. With a stellar cast including Peter Krause, Donald Sutherland, Jill Clayburgh and William Baldwin, ABC just might have a killer hit on their hands.
We quickly learn of Nick’s propensity to be a "do-gooder" and the Darling family’s propensity to get in a lot of trouble. This juxtaposition between Nick’s righteousness and the Darlings' sense of privilege plays intriguingly, oft times to great humor. Nick begins questioning whether "the love of money is the root of all evil" and ends wondering if maybe money isn’t the real problem — maybe it’s people wanting too much of anything.
The brief recap: For $10 million plus an undisclosed amount for salary, Nick George accepts the job his father used to hold as family lawyer to the richest family in New York, the Darlings. The family has very few boundaries when it comes to other people, while Nick is the epitome of well-mannered. He quits after his first day on the job as each character reveals something very sordid about themselves and Nick ends up brawling in the Darlings' marble foyer with the Reverend, who hates him already.
Nick’s father has died in a mysterious plane crash and when Karen Darling, his former lover, calls him and reveals that her brother, the Reverend, has paid off an airplane mechanic, it looks as though there’s more to the plane crash than meets the eye. Nick intends to find out what happened. He also finds out about the 40-year-old secret affair that his father and Tish were having for his whole life.
Here’s the trouble with:
• Karen: She is still in love with Nick and prone to marry men who love her for her money rather than herself.
• Reverend Brian: He is a bitter man who hates Nick and has two families: one with his wife and one with his lover, with whom he has a son.
• Jeremy & Juliet: They have too much time on their hands, too much money in their pockets and no sense of direction, but perhaps Nick’s sense of propriety can get under their skins.
• Tripp: He’s likable on the surface, but having a wife who has been in love with another man for 40 years, and as the head of a completely crazy family, there’s something brewing way down deep that's ready to explode at any minute.
Peter Horton directed and Craig Wright wrote the pilot. And they’ve done an excellent job. The show has a wonderful feel to it; Tripp Darling’s children may all be shipwrecks but he is the grand patriarch who wills them together. Sutherland plays this role with such a remarkably likeable persona, I almost cheer for him, and his riches. And they’ve used music to humorous effect, from Led Zeppelin escorting Tripp's car through the crowd to Dutch’s funeral to the ringtones Nick’s assistant applies to each family member, each more apropos than the next.
Some definitive highlights for me:
• Tripp wanting Johnny Cochran or Bill Clinton to become the family lawyer
• Peter Bogdanovich as the producer of Juliet’s play
• Dan Rather as a guest at the Darlings' party
• Patrick Darling’s secret lover, Carmelita, a transgendered "hooker"
• Tripp’s nonchalant yet guarded look at Dutch’s briefcase, which was recovered from the crash site
• Elle Fanning as Krause’s daughter, last seen with him in The Lost Room
• Jill Clayburgh. Period.
The best line? Easy. Tripp: "I’m gonna put my nuts on the table."
This is by far one of the best pilots coming out this season and I encourage you to keep watching as the plot thickens, relationships become entangled and lives are endangered — all the makings of an excellent nighttime soap.
While you’re waiting for next week’s show, check out these clips in our Online Video Guide.
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Sep 26, 2007 11:25 PM
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I said it with Friday Night Lights, I said it with Grey's Anatomy, and I'll say it here...Best New Show This Season!
Here's hoping Pushing Daisy's is just as good to make it an excellent night of Television (hoping of course private practice ends up better).
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Sep 26, 2007 11:39 PM
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This show was A LOT funnier than I expected. I'd seen mixed reviews so I didn't know what to think, but it had an ideal mix of drama, mystery, and comedy. Peter Krause was great, and Donald Sutherland was fabulous, as always, as the patriarch. Also loved the bit about Bill Clinton, as well as Nick not being able to get into his father's funeral.
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Sep 26, 2007 11:48 PM
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What a great family!!
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Sep 27, 2007 2:06 AM
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I'm liking this show. I have a sneaky suspicion that Nick's dad faked his death. If not either one of the Darling children killed his father like the crazy minister Brian...but that's to obvious(I'm now thinking Karen) or Tripp killed Nick's dad. Plus one of the Darling's Kids is Nick's 1/2 sibling...Im also thinking Brian. He always hated Nick.
This show is going to be a hoot to watch. My favorite part was Tripp wanting Johnny Cochran or Bill Clinton to become the family lawyer.
My Wednesday nights are jam packed, same goes with Mondays, and Thursday nights. Good grief.
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Sep 27, 2007 4:59 AM
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Loved Loved the show. I didn't realize until almost the end that I was watching the show with a smile on my face. It didn't make me barrel laugh through out but it was consistently amusing.
I look forward to more episodes.
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Sep 27, 2007 6:10 AM
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I'll definitely be tuning in next week. I simply must find out what's in that briefcase!
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Sep 27, 2007 7:06 AM
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What can I say but that it lived up to its name. This was in my top 3 favorite new shows of the season. I like the way roxymarie described it; it was not laugh-out-loud funny, but I too had a smile almost the entire time.
I thought the 40-year affair was pretty obvious from the time she broke the vase. They did write the Tripp character as somewhat likable so I am hoping it is not him that sabotaged the plane, though I could see them going that route. I will definitely be tuning in.
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Sep 27, 2007 7:26 AM
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...Despite the mixed reviews, I'm so glad I watched the show; I loved it! The cast is amazing...I did laugh out loud, twice, whie watching: first, when a reporter tells Juliet that maybe she is not such a good actress, and she tells him "well, you're poor!", and second, when Brian tells Nick "I hate you!", both as a child and as an adult...also loved the fight between those two...and wasn't it heartbreaking when Brian's lover leaves their boy with him, telling him "congratulations, you've become royalty"(or something like it)...I'm so looking forward to next week's episode...
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Sep 27, 2007 8:54 AM
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I loved this. I really did. Even down to the answer songs he got on his phone. Its a farce and a soapopera all rolled into one. Should be fun. Although next week, I will watch LIFE too. Cause I like that alot. as well.
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Sep 27, 2007 8:58 AM
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Line of the night goes to Brian, the priest to KiKi, Nick's daughter:
"Sorry Grandpa's dead."
Oh, and Jeremy telling the maid to get the dog off the couch when he's right there.
Also, Natalie Zea was a revelation. Karen's gonna be awesome to watch.
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Sep 27, 2007 9:27 AM
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This was the one series premier I committed myself to watching. I must say, unlike everyone else, I was disappointed. I did enjoy every scene with Peter Krause and Donald Sutherland. They were quite brilliant. And Jill Clayburgh did a great job but for the most part the Darlings looked like a really sad, unfunny version of the Bluth family from Arrested Development. I enjoyed the Zeppelin intro, Dan Rather cameo, the trannie lover, and some random parts but for me the whole package was not there. I plan to give it another try next week but unless it improves I will not have this on my MUST see list.
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Sep 27, 2007 9:29 AM
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Love the show! Such a wonderful guilty pleasure (between this show and "Gossip Girl" and the promise of "Pushing Daisies", Wednesday is looking to be my guilty pleasure night for television). And I have to say that I burst out laughing when Karen said to her husband-to-be about Nick (who was also there), "Nick deflowered me". How hilarious! This family is so wonderfully dysfunctional that they almost make the Walkers (from "Brothers & Sisters", another Berlanti show) look sane by comparison.
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Sep 27, 2007 10:32 AM
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I'm not loving this show as much as everyone else. The only thing I found at all amusing were the ring tones. I am not sure I want to spend an hour every week with "poor me" rich people. The Carrington kids were spoiled but these rich kids are sickening.
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Sep 27, 2007 10:53 AM
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I'm with lizzy -- Rev. Brian is Nick's half brother and he hates Nick because Nick lived a normal life while he grew up in looneyville.
Anyway, I found the first episode to be terrific. I'm watching this one!
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Sep 27, 2007 10:54 AM
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