Peps' TV Series Wrap-up: Bent Season 1

image from Wikipedia
I haven't thought of using the word repartee in a long time.  I'm sure there must have been a few TV series in recent years that featured great repartee, but none of them made me think of the word "repartee" the way Bent did.  And definitely not as quickly.  You can even say instantly.

Bent sneaked up on me.  It wasn't on my radar of spring TV series to watch out for.  It wasn't even on the unofficial list of titles to check out that I kept on a notepad beside my computer. 

On all accounts, I could have ended up not knowing about Bent for the rest of my life, because NBC obviously didn't promote it properly.  It didn't bode well that they decided to show the six (so few!) episodes of the series in three weeks, with two episodes featured back to back every week.  The only reason why I ended up watching it is because of articles by TV critics from a lot of different sites who raved about the series.  These are, of course, articles about the first two episodes after their air date.  Which meant, even the critics didn't have the show in their radar until it aired.

What the hell, NBC?

I swear, it's enough to get me started with my rant regarding Chuck and Community.

Anyway, I digress. 

Enough NBC bashing and more Bent loving.

image from buzzsugar
Bent introduces us to Alex and Pete.  Alex is divorced, a single mom and a lawyer, as well as a really uptight person.  Pete is a womanizing former gambling addict, who Alex hires as the contractor for her kitchen renovation.  By hiring Pete, she also ends up with his cooky crew and even more cooky dad.

That's it.  There's no up there in the heavens concept, with twisty plot lines and mystery.  Nope.  It's just how two people, and those around them, interact with each other.  They clash.  They mesh.  And it makes for great TV.

What the show has is... repartee.  The dialogue is boundlessly witty.  The exchange between any of the characters, but most especially between Alex and Pete, is gloriously fast paced.  It's not trying to be highly intelligent or trying to be pop culture savvy with every line, but it's not dumbed down at all.  It's just people interacting at its best.  It's how you want all your conversations to be.

image from areyouscreening
Of course, the great writing can only be properly portrayed by a great cast.  Amanda Peet is incredibly effective as the uptight Alex, while David Walton is just the epitome of the languid Pete.  David Walton gets the bulk of the cheesy lines, but, much like his character, pulls it off with his ability to make the audience feel that they were never meant to be taken seriously.  Much like how Pete never takes himself or his life too seriously, because, heaven forbid, it would get in the way of his mojo with women.  Pete's crew is composed of Clem (J.B. Smoove), Vlad (Pasha Lychnikoff) and Gary (Jesse Plemons), who are all having too much fun as a group.  Never mind that it gets in the way of productivity.  Jeffrey Tambor plays Pete's dad James, a still struggling actor who considers himself a true artist and whose flair for the dramatic you will enjoy watching, especially if you liked Jeffrey Tambor in Arrested DevelopmentJoey King as Alex's daughter Charlie is just adorable, and Margo Harshman as Alex's more liberal sister Screwsie is just... well, Screwsie at her best.

While it's true that Bent may never be considered the greatest thing to ever happen to TV, it's just a shame that it didn't get the proper chance to reach its intended audience.  Without marketing and promotion, you can't expect viewers to magically tune in.  And burning off six episodes in a three week period just made everyone feel that the network gave up on the show before it could gain any steam, an already difficult feat because of the small number of episodes. 

And I will declare that any excuse that they won't renew it because of poor ratings as bullcrap.  You, NBC, never told people about it.  They never knew.

So, please, give Bent a try.  And if you like it, tell someone else.  Maybe that someone will end up being someone with actual influence over NBC and would actually convince them to give Bent a second season.  And convince them to give it a marketing campaign it deserves this time.

Oh and, yes, I'm apparently back to NBC bashing.

Remember, it's just bent.  Not broken.

Happy viewing!!

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