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Talk Back: Showtime's The Big C

Now that Showtime's new Laura Linney led dark comedy The Big C has premiered, I'm wondering just what you thought of it.

You can read my thoughts on the first three episodes here, but I'm curious to know your take on The Big C.

What did you think of the pilot episode? Does Linney's Cathy anchor the humor and pathos of the subject matter? What did you think of Oliver Platt as Cathy's supremely immature husband Paul? Or their outrageously ill-behaved teenage son?

Were you turned off at all by Cathy's homeless brother and did it seem one step too far to go this early in the show? Was there enough of a throughline for the episode or did it seem too detached and episodic at times?

And, most importantly, will you tune in again next week?

Talk back here.

Next week on The Big C ("Summertime"), the reality of how little time she has left leaves Cathy with an inclination to explore and appreciate her body for the first time; Cathy's husband Paul asks her to see a couples therapist; Adam attempts to escape to his soccer camp.

Comments

Naomi said…
Didn't like it as much as I'd hoped. Laura Linney is great (no surprise) but I didn't feel particularly engaged by any of the characters. The homeless brother made me feel like the show was trying too hard. I'll tune into the next episode, though, to see if the characters grow on me.
rockauteur said…
Thought the show was unwatchable.

Laura Linney was solid but a totally unlikeable character. The age of the anti-hero is over, but there was nothing relatable to her at all. She came off as a shrew.

Totally fits in with Showtime's unlikeable Monday night block. Hate Toni Collete in United States of Tara, another totally unlikeable character. Nancy Botwin on Weeds has transformed from a character who you wanted to root for to a character you want to root against. She treats her family like crap for no reason. At least Bryan Cranston's character on Breaking Bad might do horrible things but he deeply cares for his family.

Anyway, my point is - I wanted to like this show but instead hated it. Never gonna watch again.
JanieJones said…
I agree with Naomi. Linney was fantastic (I'm a huge fan of all of her work).
I think they wanted to do an immediate set-up of the character's personalities so we can witness an evolution (or it's my hope). Cancer changes people.
I definitely had some issues with the pilot but I will continue to tune in to see how the season goes.

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