All right, no more excuses. I've been out of town a bit but mostly just lazy, and I have plenty of new music and TV to write about...
A couple months ago I'd never really even heard of Party Down, nor was I aware that the Starz network had any original programming. As you can probably guess, I've now made my way through the first season of Party Down and, had I gotten to it in time, it would have made my Best of 09 TV Shows list.
The premise of Party Down is pretty simple: each episode is a different event/location that needs to be worked by the band of eccentric characters that make up the Party Down catering company. The show centers around a thirty-something named Henry (Adam Scott) who has recently given up on his acting career and has resigned himself to making nearly minimum wage at his old job, run by his "friend" Ken.
The tone of PD is similar to its premium-cable comedy brethren, Curb Your Enthusiasm, though the smaller scope, very play-like in it's nature, limits the customary Seinfeldian coincidences and tie-ins. But the darkness is there, as is the more adult comedy that network and basic cable shows can't touch. It's a sitcom, yes, but it isn't too sitcomy.
As all the episodes exist within the context of the a particularly party/event, the characters carry most of the show's comedic weight. While Henry is sort of the de facto straight-man, he's clever and self-loathing enough to generate his fair share of laughs. While Adam Scott is usually better known to play jerks* he's perfectly likable in this show and his chemistry with Lizzy Caplan's character, as they explore a romance in their recently turned-upside-lives (him because of abandoning acting, her fresh off a divorce), is excellent and provides a strong emotional core that can carry the show dramatically and create a serialization that ties the episodes together. Their romance is, in fact, one of the stronger elements of the show (and this from someone [me] who doesn't usually require a love story) and doesn't feel forced or manufactured in the way, for example, Community** has used Jeff and Britta or crappy shows on CBS and such have surely wasted their time doing.
* Apparently, I haven't seen him in much else myself.
** Though this show has really grown on me. More on it soon.
The supporting cast of PD is also great, with recognizable comedic actors like Freaks and Geeks alum Martin Starr as an aspiring sci-fi screenwriter and Jane Lynch as a washed up actress -- though she'll be replaced by Will and Grace's Megan Mullally for the upcoming second season due to Lynch's success on Glee. Starr is intentionally unlikeable at times, pretentious and arrogant, but he provides a hilarious counterpoint to actor/model/musician/handsome guy Kyle, who, though not a Rhodes scholar, actually turns out to be a genuinely endearing character.
For me personally, the show is extra engaging because I can easily relate to struggling LA folk biding their time while waiting to break into show business. Obviously that wouldn't be enough on its own, but this element makes me feel like my life is a little more interesting, since I myself might as well be scraping by at a catering company.
All in all, a very funny, well-written show and one that I'm glad I discovered. I hope it can keep it up when it starts its second season this Friday.
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