It's just an escape...

TV need not elevate me to a higher sense of purpose, but I minimally need to be entertained. It is why I continue to give shows like Private Practice a chance. Here is a group of actors that embody the parts being worth more than the whole. If for no other reason, I would like to have good things to say about Private Practice because Tim Daly deserves a great show that succeeds. After the witty "Eyes" and poignant "The Nine" Daly has earned a hit. Sadly this isn't it. He isn't the only one suffering in the inadequacy that is this show. Audra McDonald, Taye Diggs, Kate Walsh and Amy Brenneman lead a cast of wonderful actors who are attempting to navigate sluggish plot lines and erratic character development. It's a lethal combination when looking for an escape of entertainment.

Another guy who deserves a hit from ABC - Peter Krause, whose brilliant turn in Sports Night still makes me laugh at just the idea of some of the content. A show ahead of its time for certain. Yet after a successful run on "Six Feet Under" Krause has returned to ABC in Dirty Sexy Money a show that has quite decided what it wants to be when it grows up. Here's another interesting cast that is part mystery, part nighttime soap. It dances, not always successfully, between the two and that push/pull can easily distract from the core of the show. I think it is at its best when it doesn't take itself too seriously. The mystery works because it allows for twists and turns in the plot that are made plausible by the elite wealth of the characters. I will use this comparison from the 80s. What made nighttime soap Knots Landing beloved was that it had an emotional core established in its main characters regardless of the chaos of the plot surrounding them. Dynasty on the other hand was simply absurd. It was flash and glitz and cotton candy. The silliness of the plot devices simply came to be expected. I suspect Dirty Sexy Money is trying to land with the former rather than the latter. As of today, they haven't been successful.

Having said that, Peter Krause and Blair Underwood are always worth an hour of my time. I have no shame in my love of the eye candy.