Bewildered

HBO’s Enlightened as a tragicomedy.

 

I started watching Enlightened after it got this hearty endorsement from Chuck Klosterman.  In four paragraphs, Mr. Klosterman said Enlightened was:

  ·      Better than The Office.

  ·      The best show on TV.

  ·      Sure to be cancelled.

I trust Klosterman, (after all, he is The Ethicist) and am absolutely obsessed with the American version of The Office.  So I watched the first episode of Enlightened, and I was very surprised by what I saw.  Enlightened was not better than The Office, and it was certainly not the best show on TV, (2011 gave us season two of Boardwalk Empire).  On the third point, I agreed with Mr. Klosterman, I did not see a bright future for Enlightened. 

Enlightened was renewed for a second season, and I surprised myself by tuning in.  I think a large part of my loyalty had to do with the show being one of two comedies that Home Box Office Network brought back last year.  I understood the renewal of Girls, the first season was fantastic, and the buzz surrounding the series was unreal. 

But HBO is notoriously tough on comedies.  Bored to Death was an incredible show that was given the ax when its creator, Jonathan Ames, misjudged his viewing audience’s familiarity with the structure of hard-boiled detective fiction.  How to Make it in America was another great one; a boilerplate situation comedy with likeable characters, and carefully structured plotlines that always left me hungry for more. 

Executive producer Mark Wahlberg was reportedly very surprised when HBO passed on a 3^rd season of HTMIA, (as was I, Cam Calderon had just gotten his own apartment) but with the renewal of Enlightened, the no-go on Mr. Wahlberg’s project makes sense.  How to make it in America is literally the antithesis of Enlightened, if the latter show pushes the envelope, the former strains to keep correspondence in the mail slot.  There is nothing like Enlightened on T.V.  On the other hand, add a laugh track to How To Make it In America, and you have an episode of Martin. 

We are in the midst of a golden age of television.  Certainly timelines vary, but I would argue that this golden age began when season one of The Office got weird in 2005. The bone-dry mocumentry was a huge hit on prime time TV, and I believe the show gave television executives a little incentive to experiment.   

Even with the increased incentives, and even on subscription cable channels, bold The Office like gambles have been few and far between.  Off the top of my head, (but try as I may, I don’t watch everything. Please add to this list if I’m missing something.) the only real television experiments that I can think of are the gritty portrait of a mainstream Polygamist in Big Love, the rabid dog off his chain insanity of Breaking Bad, and the go fuck yourself domestic terrorist plot twists of Homeland.  

Enlightened is something else entirely.  Though they deal with difficult subject matter, Breaking Bad, Big Love, and Homeland are a lot of fun to watch.  Enlightened is not fun to watch.  Not even a little.

Does this mean that Enlightened is a bad show?  That depends on how you view television.  If television is pure entertainment, then Enlightened failed, and the show is a throwaway.  If television is art, then Enlightened isn’t good or bad, it’s “difficult,” or “challenging.” 

If television is art, Enlightened is genus. 

Every episode of Enlightened is well written, the acting is skillful, the editing and cinematography continually impress me, and the show is heart wrenchingly, devastatingly sad.  Like Updike’s Rabbit Redux, or this years French masterpiece Rust and Bone, Enlightened is finely crafted, hard to get through, and historically important to an artistic medium.

That doesn’t mean that Enlightened gets off scot-free.  If everything that’s right about Enlightened advances television as an artistic medium, then the show’s glaring flaw will undoubtedly result in a failed campaign for a third season.  Amy Jellicoe is THE WORST protagonist in the history of modern story telling.  In an earlier blog, I branded Jimmy McNulty with this label, because his actions we’re incomprehensible.  Now, I’m willing to concede that McNulty was insane, and only cared about getting drunk.  I’m ready to focus all of my hate on Ms. Jellicoe. 

Perhaps this is part of the shows genius, (I hated Marissa on The O.C. too) but Amy is exactly the wrong combination of ignorant, idealistic, conniving, and self-righteous.  Though by no means a picnic, the three most enjoyable episodes of Enlightened were (from best to worst) the show that focused on Levi, the show that focused on Tyler, and the show that focused on Helen (Amy’s mother). 

The biggest complement I can give the show is the biggest indictment of Amy as a protagonist, I would have loved to see an episode that focused on Dougie.  

 
I felt no satisfaction when (SPOILER ALLERT) Robert Szidon dressed down Amy in the series finale (don’t kid yourself, that was the last episode).  I truly hope the title of this show, Enlightened, is an ironic one, but I am completely certain there will be no third season to tell us if any good came of Ms. Jellico’s jihad. 

So, is Enlightened the best show on television?  Absolutely not. (Breaking Bad in a landslide, I’d also draft Mad Men, and Boardwalk Empire before the series, but I would put Enlightened ahead of Homeland after the (SPOILER ALLERT) pacemaker plotline in season 2, and, baring a HUGE turnaround in the last four episodes of this season, Girls.)

Is Enlightened the most important show on television? Yes.  Undoubtedly, the answer is yes.