Despite Californication‘s blur of themes in its fifth season finale, it’s wound me up for a somber season six. I was entertained, amused, moved, and for the most part, quite pleased with this run’s story arc. An arc just strong enough to overshadow any of my meandering misgivings.
One more episode till both Californication and House of Lies are in the rear view. The former is ending its fifth season, while the latter is a mere babe in its first. And if it were a competition, I’d say it were Hank and not Marty who’s captivated my interest, tugging at my heartstrings like a marionette.
Not good or bad. A work in progress. I guess.
That’s more or less ripped from a line in episode 8 of Californication (“Raw“; directed by Bart Freundlich), in reference to Hank’s younger counterpart, Tyler (Scott Michael Foster; Becca’s boyfriend). And in a round about way, that’s pretty much how I’m feeling about the series at the moment.
Now that we are past the midpoint of the alpha-male programming I’ve written about in the past, I figured it might be a good point to revisit some of my thoughts about Showtime’s Californication, and in a smaller way, House of Lies.
I didn’t initially think I’d want to do this, since television show reviews seem to be a quick hit grab in many a site, and they offer content that seems to be just a rehash of something I probably have already seen myself.
Notwithstanding, after watching the third episodes of both Californication and House of Lies, I couldn’t help thinking about the article I initially wrote after watching the respective season premieres.
Last week, I saw the season premiere of Californication, along with the very popular premiere of Showtime’s new House of Lies, starring Don Cheadle. I’ve been a “Hank Moody” fan for the past four seasons, so I was already looking forward toward the new season, but I caught on to House of Lies out of mere curiosity, not knowing too much about it beforehand.
I suppose I’ll leave a full-on review on either of these two series till their respective finales, but as I watched the second episodes of each of these shows, it got me to thinking.
