As recently as three years ago, I
basically had no use for the CW. When it was once the WB, it had been one of
those treasures that seemed to be a bridge to the new Golden Age of Television.
It had been a proving ground for some of the most brilliant new minds in
entertainment. Talents such as Joss Whedon, J.J. Abrams, Kevin Williamson and
Greg Berlanti all cut their teeth. Some of the most incredible actresses
working in film or television - just to give a sample, Sarah Michelle Gellar,
Keri Russell, Lauren Graham, Michelle Williams and Blake Lively - all
flourished under this experimental medium. But once it combined with its lower
playing cousin, UPN, a lot of the more
creative juices seemed to go out of the network. And I basically ignored it,
and so did a lot of other people, to the point where local networks took over
it again.
Then something remarkable happened.
The network decided, more or less, to stop playing to the teenager-college age
audience that had been its fanbase for nearly fifteen years, and decided to try
more adult programming. Suddenly, the CW became one of the more ingenious
creative forces on all of broadcast television, and even a few cable networks.
Granted, a good portion of that is because
of Berlanti's adaptation of the DC comic book universe, which in the new
fall season will take up forty percent of their lineup, but the fact is, most
of these series have the ingenuity and wit that some of the other would be
series have basically failed at. And their level of success has allowed for the
same kind of experimentation the WB managed when it was in its prime. Among the
more imaginative series they've created is the brilliant 'Jane the Virgin', a
series which is both a satire and a homage to the telenovelas that used to beat
the CW's series regularly, and an even more ingenious series just developed
last season, ' Crazy Ex-Girlfriend." In fairness, I chose to ignore when
it debuted, partly because it was up against another Berlanti series
'Supergirl' (which is transferring to the CW this fall) and partly because I
just couldn't handle having so many series of one network. Then star-creator
Rachel Bloom began winning every Best Actress in a Comedy in site. I decided to
take a look.
Rebecca Bunch (Bloom) is
Harvard-Yale grad who has just been named partner to a New
York law firm. It's clear she has some psychological
issues before everything gets started, but after learning this, she runs into a
boy that she had a relationship with in summer camp, Josh, when she was a
teenager (Vincent Rodriguez III). When she learns that he's moving to California ,
impulsively she decides to relocate to West Covina ,
California
From the start, it is clear that
Rebecca has a suitcase full of neuroses (she dumps a pharmacy of pills in her
garbage disposal in the Pilot), and that she is trying to find happiness.
Unfortunately, when it comes to this, Rebecca is her own worst enemy. She goes
into a bar, and ends up meeting Josh's friend Greg (Santino Fontana) who is
attracted to her, but learns very quickly that she is only interested in him
because of Josh. When she finally encounters Josh and learns he has a
girlfriend, she immediately tries to become best friends with her, avoiding
telling her about her past relationship, which keeps getting weirder, until she
ends up making out with her in a bar. Then she tries to throw a party to get
around Josh's girlfriend, and then realizes she has no friends.
This series, in setup, reminds one
of the WB classic, Felicity. What
makes it so remarkable is that it doesn't take itself seriously for a moment.
And by the way, it's a musical. Bloom has apparent written most of the songs
herself, including the theme song, which outright mocks the entire Pilot. And
every single song is so inspired, not just because of the tunefulness, but
because it parodies every bit of her. There was a song in the Pilot where she
made fun of everything women have to do to groom themselves, something that
utterly shamed a rapper who saw it. In the next episode, Josh's girlfriend was
parodied with a Bollywood number, as well as
a song dealing with how women can get obsessed with each other. And in
the party song, Rebecca sang a tune where the lyrics included "Friends!
Friends! Friends! I objectively have friends!" and then demonstrated she
didn't. All of these musical numbers are
works of genius, and none of them seem contrived at all. Not a single joke in
this series is wasted, and Bloom makes use
of the final minutes to have moments that are even more satirical gold.
(In one, her twelve year old self is interested in her present self, not for
her academic achievements, but for when her breasts will come in).
'Crazy Ex-Girlfriend' is one of the
most original series I've seen on network TV in awhile. Which is why I wasn't
the least surprised that, despite all the awards, Bloom was ignored by the
Emmys for Best Actress. The CW, like its founder the WB, remains invisible to
Emmy voters. And 'Crazy Ex-Girlfriends' numbers aren't good even by the
standards of its network; it barely manages a million viewers an episode, and
has already been cast off to Friday nights this fall. Still, Bloom was
nominated for a couple of technical Emmys, and I really hope she wins one. This
is a series that deserves to survive, because it demonstrates the artistic
capability you can find on TV when it tries. I can't wait to see more.
My score: 4.75 stars.
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