The Middleman

[starlady]

Like a lot of awesome things, I heard about this TV series (12 episodes long) via coffeeandink's recommendation.

I don't even have a television tag, that is how little I actually watch television. This entry will be tagged comics, which, given that it was based on a comic book series (that was itself based on an unfilmed TV pilot) written by creator Javier Grillo-Marxuach, seems fitting.

Temporary worker and unreasonably attractive art school graduate Wendy Watson (Natalie Morales) lives in a shared illegal sublet with her best friend, fellow conceptual artist Lacey Thornfield III (Brit Morgan). After Wendy loses her latest temp job due to surviving an attack by an alien tentacled monster, she is recruited by the Jolly Fats Weehawkin Temporary Agency, the cover organization for The Middleman (Matt Keeslar) and his android assistant Ida, who fight evil so you don't have to. Wendy, not without justifiable concern, takes a job as The Middle-sidekick, aka The Middlegirl, aka The Middleman-in-training. Eventually she gets kung fu training, a SMRT car, and a hot boyfriend out of the deal, to say nothing of more ripped-from-the-comic-books adventures than you can shake a Comics Code Authority sticker at.

What a great show, seriously. It is laugh-outloud hilarious, and has multiple PoC cast members as well as a PoC lead (Matt Keeslar gets first billing, but it's clearly Morales' show). It's also ridiculously immersed in pop culture references, and very close to breaking the fourth wall in its cheeky awareness of its own comic-book-yness; in some ways it explodes comic books by taking them absolutely seriously. Wendy and the Middleman make an awesome team, and their friends are just awesome (though Brit Morgan looks disconcertingly like Kirsten Dunst and the guy who plays Pip looks scarily like RPatz). The series also knows how to make emotional development out of a running joke, which is pretty great. I can't decide which episodes were my favorite; probably the one that was an explicit hat-tip both to Titanic and to that X-Files episode in which Mulder got stuck on a luxury liner in a time warp in the Bermuda Triangle. Or maybe the series finale, which is an explicit shout-out to the TOS episode "Mirror, Mirror" as well as an ironic take on that genre of movies that includes Children of Men (which, if you watch the table read of the episode in the DVD bonus material, was explicitly cited in the script, natch).

I haven't yet heard//seen the table read of the unfilmed 13th episode at Comic-Con; though I will shortly. I do want to track down the graphic novel of that at some point. Really, the show is perfect as it is; and in some ways it was too good to last (and certainly not on ABC Family).

P.S. Terrifying factoid: Varsity Fan Club are, or were, an actual boy band.

Comments

[were_duck]

It is such an awesome show! I'm glad people are watching (I am a fairly recent convert myself). I am kind of sad at the lack of fanworks for it out there, though. But wow, I love the show--as you say, it's basically perfect as it is, and was somehow too good to last.

[starlady]

I am kind of sad at the lack of fanworks for it out there, though.

*coughs significantly* Eh-heh, I may have ladiesbigbang plans to commit one of them...

But yes, definitely too good to last.

[were_duck]

I will LOVE YOU FOREVER, seriously, if you write Middleman for ladiesbigbang!

[starlady]

Yeah, it's my writing project for July. Among all the others. ;)

[aphelant]

and the guy who plays Pip looks scarily like RPatz

...oh great. I can never unsee this. :P

Ahhhhh I love this show too! *_____* I also want the episode 13 graphic novel, but have yet to seriously look into tracking it down. One day, though. One day.

[starlady]

Pip = RPatz was the first thing I thought when I saw him. I'm sorry? :P

[aphelant]

Pip has always reminded me of Kett Turton, so now he will remind me of a sparkly Kett Turton, maybe! Everyone can use more sparkles, right? :D?

[starlady]

There are never enough sparkles, 4 SRS.

I don't even have a sparkly icon.

[aphelant]

OMG I DO! BWAHAHA.

[starlady]

ROFL

[aphelant]

:D :D :D

[lilacsigil]

I love this show so much. So, so much. It's funny, smart, respectful but cheeky, and works brilliantly with its budget issues. And a fat, older character explicitly shown to be more awesome when she is fat and older!

The thirteenth episode I actually didn't enjoy as much as much as the filmed 12, because it used a trope I really dislike and that comes up a lot in comics. But that's my issue, and I know a lot of other people enjoyed it.

[starlady]

I…think I can guess what that trope is, and, yeah. torachan said the other day that he liked better the fact that the 13th episode is only fanon, not canon, because then he can pick and choose which parts of it to accept, and I agree.

Yeah, sparrow_hawk and I were watching the extras on the 4th disc and in retrospect it became clear that pretty much the show's entire CGI budget went for the tenacle monster in the first episode. Which totally worked with the comic-book feel, I thought. And the postmodern snark.

[umadoshi]

It's such an awesome show. *^^* I adore Natalie Morales, and I'm incredibly sad that the show got canceled. (I do have the 13th ep. graphic novel, and it mentions some of what they would've done with season two if they'd gotten it, and I want to see that season! ;_;)

[starlady]

Oo, really? I will definitely have to track down the graphic novel now.

[royalarchivist]

Added to my Netflix queue. Thanks for the tip. :)

[starlady]

Enjoy! It's pretty awesome.

[ellen_fremedon]

Middleman! Oh, I love that show. It is the only show in all of television that has never once made me angry. (Admittedly, I haven't seen the ep. 13 table read yet, so there is still time.)

[starlady]

That's a good point. There was only hilarity, no anger. (And so much hilarity, omg.)

[zahrawithaz.livejournal.com]

LOVE this show, and can only agree with your assessment!

The read-through of the unfilmed 13th episode is great, though it makes me sad that we'll never get to see it. (Admittedly, it does sound like a budget-blowing episode.) Sigh!