https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Action_(TV_series) wrote:Action is an American dark comedy series about a Hollywood producer named Peter Dragon, who is trying to recover from his last box-office failure. It aired on Fox from September 16 to December 2, 1999. The series was critically praised for its irreverent and sometimes hostile look at Hollywood culture. Thirteen episodes were produced. The show was created by Chris Thompson and the show runner was Don Reo. Future Saturday Night Live cast member Will Forte was the story editor for twelve episodes, and wrote three.
I discovered this is for some strange reason also on Roku:
https://therokuchannel.roku.com/details/4c84603643495e659952be617283e393/action-s1-e1-pilot
Well, okay, I know the actual reason. These streaming services buy giant packages of random ass shit from the production companies so they can have higher numbers of what's on the service. And I'm increasingly having fun finding the odd shit lurking in those.
If it wasn't for the hilarious edgy 90's music, the bleeping and some of the unsubtle gags you'd think Action was at the very least an HBO show from the era rather than something they tried to air on Fox. Arli$$ was during that era. And Larry Sanders. It's obviously not as good as the latter and I've only watched a couple so I won't judge yet against the former but it's alright, I'll probably leave all 13 episodes on while I work on stuff.
Some of the contemporary reviews quoted on Wikipedia are funny:
Quote:Ken Tucker of Entertainment Weekly gave the series a grade of B, saying, "Action shreds Hollywood corporate culture more viciously than current big-screen spoofs like Bowfinger and The Muse. The difference is, Action's acid heartlessness renders it a more artful but ultimately less likable piece of work."[8]
David Zurawik of The Baltimore Sun found the series insulting and the pilot episode in particular to be culturally insensitive.[9] He wondered whether audiences are supposed to identify with or despise Peter Dragon.[9]
This is year after Seinfeld ended so I suppose we can forgive Ken and David for still believing that sitcom protagonists had to be demographic friendly and likeable. (Though they were right in terms of if the show succeeds or not but I read these as comments on the artistic quality.)
In the second episode, the hooker character makes a joke about having Windows 98 to explain her thorough invoice. Just incredible timeless joke.
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