TV REVIEW - LAID EPISODE THREE

As always, after the jump lie spoilers galore... Click only if you've watched the third episode of Laid.

This was probably the weakest episode of Laid so far – but that’s still a lot better than most Australian television. This is a show not afraid to take chances – not in the way Rake did, with its insane case of the week format, but to make black-humoured jokes about sex and death and be completely unapologetic for it. Sometimes that works and sometimes it doesn’t, but it is always worth doing.

I’m still loving Alison Bell as Roo and her little romance with Abe Forsythe’s Charlie is a charming part of the show. I still love the way the show roots a high-concept, outlandish premise in a very unglamorous realistic environment. I still have no idea where the show is going and I like that too.

But I thought the show set itself up for a fall with the Marcus Graham/indoor cricket scene. Indoor cricket is just such an obvious death trap that within a show and a premise like this, it seemed inevitable that Graham was going to get clocked with a ball – and that all seemed like an extended preview to what the episode was really about, which is Roo deciding she’s going to try and take the curse on. I also didn’t laugh at any stage during this episode – it didn’t seem as witty or as insightful as the others – and the story spun its wheels a little.

All in all though, still a show I’m enjoying very much. I’m guaranteed to stick with it right to the end.

LAID - EPISODE TWO

If you've seen episode two of Laid, check out a few specific thoughts I have after the jump. Spoilers ahead!

It’s a nice little show, Laid. I’m didn’t laugh as much as last week, but I was still thoroughly entertained the whole way through and curious to see what will happen from this point on.

The plotting in the first two episodes has been fantastic – killing off five of Roo’s ex-boyfriends in various ways while also moving pieces into place for her inevitable choice over whether to risk sleeping with Abe Forsythe’s character and also using the pattern to force her into revealing her dalliance with EJ’s boyfriend.

Speaking of that dalliance, I saw it coming a mile off as soon as the pair ended up on the car hood drinking but it was still a nicely played scene between the both of them. I really love how none of the actors involved have any ego whatsoever – it’s all pasty skin and flabby bodies as far as the eye can see – and that feels real. That adds to the bizarre nature of Roo’s predicament when her surroundings are all so normal.

Graeme Blundell played Roo’s Dad in the opening scenes and while I liked his presence it did feel a little shoehorned in – he didn’t appear in the rest of the episode and his scenes didn’t have any real relevance to the rest of the episode. Shaun Micallef fared better in the now relatively derivative ‘inappropriate gynaecologist’ role – never overplaying a role it would have been so easy to overplay. Plus, he’s Shaun Micallef.

Andrew, Roo’s terminally ill ex was played by Septimus Caton who as well as his famous family connections is the voice of ‘My Kitchen Rules’. Which will now add an unintentional level of gravitas to My Kitchen Rules for me. Certainly puts all those undercooked mushroom dramas in perspective. (Not so crazy

As far as the central mystery goes I really have no clue where the story is taking us. I've always been terrible at guessing these kind of things but so far I'm assuming it is a curse of some sort - some kind of ex-boyfriend serial killer seems too implausible given the terminal illness. Everything else could be explained away (though with much, much effort) but terminal illness is a bridge too far for human interference. (Unless any 'killer' discovered Andrew was terminally ill and took that as a stroke of luck. That would be stretching it beyond breaking point, though.) 

So if it is something supernatural - a curse, a spell, something larger - would that spoil the show and provide an easy way out? Possibly, especially if it was badly executed. It's a very, very high bar the writers have set themselves and I'm still skeptical they're going to clear it.

But I'm still enjoying the ride, still laughing, still love Alison Bell and still curious to see where everything goes. Very good show. 

TV REVIEW - LAID

TV REVIEW – LAID

Now that’s more like it.

After a series of Australian television launches and new programming that never quite hit the mark, along comes a series that is well worth your time in Laid.

Written by Marieke Hardy (former television critic now columnist and blogger), Laid tells the story of Roo McVeigh, who is shocked when she finds out an ex-boyfriend has passed away while overseas. After a death of a second ex-lover, Roo starts to wonder if there’s some sort of a pattern.

I won’t give away any more than that except to say that this is most-definitely an original, high-concept series with enough of a basis in everyday life that it will hopefully find an audience. Thank heavens for scripted Australian television that I can completely get behind.

Laid gets a lot right – but nothing more so than the casting of Alison Bell as Roo. This is a really, really great comic performance – not outlandish or over-the-top – just a finely calibrated master class in the comedy of awkwardness and social ineptitude with more than a dash of wit and timing. She’s brilliant and I’m really pleased this role was written for her.

Even though it’s about sex and death, Laid is most certainly a comedy – and not one of those comedies where you cringe more than you laugh. I laughed out loud seven or eight times during Laid and was more than entertained throughout. It’s not hilarious, but it will elicit plenty of chuckles – and that’s thanks to the whip-smart writing by Marieke Hardy. The dialogue cracks along, makes a couple of good observations and never descends into the cringe-worthy ocker speak that afflicts so many of our other homegrown programming. It’s quirky, sure, but it never feels like it’s striving to be quirky. It just is.

Celia Pacquola plays EJ, Roo’s best friend and is amusing enough without any discernable character traits to work with. I liked Abe Forsythe as the IT guy Roo has a flirtation with and all the supporting cast were excellent, never overplaying their hand.

Like any high-concept show Laid is going to have trouble sticking the landing, (especially if a second series is an option) but that doesn’t matter as much as the ride we get along the way. Through the charms of its lead actress and character, Laid is a ride I’m very much looking forward to being aboard.

Laid airs at 9:30 on ABC1 on Wednesday nights, and I highly recommend you catch up on iView if you haven’t seen it already and check out some quality Australian programming.