Dan For Mayor didn't catch on. It has been cancelled :(
A pity. It was one of the funniest and cleverest shows on TV this past two seasons.
Also: because it changed a lot between seasons, it was fascinating to me in a whole other way.
The central premise (the hook) from episode one was very strong. The hero, upon learning that his ex-girlfriend is moving on with her life while he is busy standing still tells a small white lie in desperation, and...
...is soon running for mayor of his town.
It's a wonderful idea, and Fred Ewanuick is the perfect performer. He brings incredible charm to the table, and Dan was instantly incredibly likable. I found it very easy to root for Dan. I wanted him to win the election, I wanted him to get the girl, I wanted him to come out on top in every conceivable situation that arose. I liked Dan.
Dan wasn't the sharpest pencil in the box, and thus the idea of him running for mayor was inherently funny before anything even happened. Ewanuick played another "sitcom dumb" character on Corner Gas but the two characters were written and played differently. Think of Cheers: one character was "Sam Malone stupid", and one was "Woody Boyd stupid". So they lend themselves to different types of stories/jokes. And Dan was the perfect central character to carry this idea.
Season One followed the progress of his campaign, and his journey towards getting the girl back. The season was semi-serialised, and ended with Dan becoming Mayor. And getting the girl.
Because of that, Season Two (basically) reinvented the show. Which fascinates me.
Also: I admire it. Mark Farrell and the team brought a very specific story to completion in Season One, and moved on to a new story in Season Two. Which I think is kinda ballsy. Television is mostly about delivering the exact same thing every week. I love NCIS. Every NCIS is the same as every other NCIS. I know what I'm getting before the episode starts. Before the new season starts.
But I had no idea what was going to happen when Dan For Mayor came back. And that was very exciting.
Year Two moved the characters around like chess pieces. Partnerships from Season One were dissolved, and new allegiances were formed. I think all of the characters benefited from this. Except Jeff (the campaign manager). In many ways he was the 'other hero' of the show, as it was often his efforts to accomplish stuff that drove the episodes. That was gone in the second season, and Jeff was now a supporting character who had limited interaction with Dan and never in the a-plot. I missed that. But it's not much of a complaint, as the season was so good.
Without changing anything, the producers changed everything! Characters now had different roles within the stories. Dan still drove the a-plots, but he had different confidants now. His ex-girlfriend from season one was now his girlfriend, so there had to be a new reason for her to be in the show. This, and all the other changes, were accomplished seamlessly. Maybe with a new job, or a new goal in life. Nothing drastic. But enough to get the job done.
With the election out of the way, the show's stories were now self-contained and the world of the show grew. It was a quirky little town. And, had the show continued, I would have loved to have seen elements of season two revisited again. And again.
But, mostly, I just loved the characters. They were all immensely likable (just like on Corner Gas) and they were all so strongly drawn that part of the fun of the show was watching them react to stimuli in a way that only they would do. It would have been a dream show to pitch ideas for. Since, you could throw any idea into the mix and instantly have a fair idea how most of the characters would behave. So, let's say, all the power in town goes out: I instantly have an idea how the characters might respond to that. Or, if a movie was being filmed in town... Or if Dan had to spend a week in hospital... Or whatever...
Mostly, towards the end of the season, I was looking forward to seeing what Mike was going to do, what clique he was going to join, what hobby he was going to unveil, etc. Such a deranged character. Wonderful.
I don't know why Brisco County didn't catch on.
I don't know why My World And Welcome To It didn't catch on.
Or Andy Richter Controls The Universe. Or Sledge Hammer. Or several hundred other great shows.
Fans never tire of watching, however, or of rewatching them. And new fans find them. And I'm sure Dan For Mayor will be one of those shows. They don't catch on in a big way, but they sure live on.
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Dan For Mayor - A brief overview
Dan For Mayor. Episode 10. "Revenge Is Swifty"
Dan For Mayor. Episode 10. "Revenge Is Swifty" Jeff's boss comes to visit.
Another very funny episode. The visit by Jeff's boss, and the problems it causes for Jeff, is a plot unique to this episode but everything else is heavily serialised. Indeed: a first time viewer would be very hard pushed to understand what is going on during the first third of the episode as the show jumps from ongoing plot to ongoing plot.
I have no problem with this, I love it. It's not what I was expecting when the show started and they do it really, really well so I'm more than happy with the state of play.
I'm also happy with the way the show keeps characters like Mike and Brianna a vital part of the story, long after a stage when you would expect that they would be written out.
And... I'm also happy with the fact that I have no idea where all of this is leading. When, exactly, is the election? What happens when we get that far? Will Dan win? What form will Season Two take? All these questions, and I have no idea how the show is going to deal with them. Rare to find a show that has such a big question mark hanging over it (in a good way).
Also rare that such a show, a heavily-serialised one, would be so funny week-after-week. Yet: it is.
Roll on next week!!
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Dan For Mayor, Lost
Tuesday, April 6th, 2010
10.00 Dan For Mayor
02.00 Lost
Dan For Mayor. Episode 6. "A Cruel Mattress"
Another delightful half-hour of comedy. Not just self-contained, either, as they use the kiss from last week as story-fodder this week.
DFM has a great cast. A few weeks back I began to notice Laurie Murdoch, and this week I was really impressed with Benjamin Ayres and really digging the Mike/Claire storyline for the first time. Their (lack of romance) is hilarious.
Lost. Season 6, Episode 10. "Happily Ever After" Desmond
It takes balls (and heart) to say that 'Love Conquers All' is the driving force of your story. But Lost is capable of pulling it off. The Desmond/Penny storyline is already one of the most romantic tales I've ever seen, with the Christmas Eve phone call from the ship being a truly wonderful moment. Going back to that exact same well, and trying to create yet another wonderful, romantic scene is brave. Crazy, but brave.
And they pull it off.
I'm not surprised. My whole experience of this show has been seeing them set the bar very high and surpass it time and time again. Consequently I trust the writers/producers.
Even when they include things that (mildly) bug me. This episode has another of those nobody-will-say-what-is-going-on moments when Jin is trying to ask the technicians what they are doing with all the gadgetry. And nobody will tell him/us. All very dramatic. As long as you accept that the drama exists only because nobody will pause long enough to explain anything.
However, in the big picture, such storytelling quirks/traits are not worth mentioning. The power and beauty of this remarkable episode are all that will/should be remembered.
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Dan For Mayor
Wednesday, March 31st, 2010
11.30 Dan For Mayor
Dan For Mayor. Episode 5. "An Engagement in Hell" Is he gay or not?
A flawless episode. Very funny and driven by two strong stories, both rooted in character. This show is a treat.
The 'is he gay or not?' storyline was so clever it blew me away, even as it made me laugh. Watching this I realised the writers can take the "Dan For Mayor" premise and tell any story they want and I love the show all the more.
The slide show was the highlight of the episode and had me in stitches from start to finish. No matter how many times it happened over and over I was in hysterics whenever the alternating pictures drew silence from the crowd. It was utterly delightful.
And I'm falling in love with the characters and their relationships: Dan and Jeff are perfect buddies/heroes and I'm loving all their scenes together. I laughed many times in this episode and often - such as in the final scene - it was with non funny lines that become worthy of laughter because we've now gotten to the stage where we know the characters and appreciate them.
And what about the ongoing romance(s)? I totally wasn't expecting Dan and Claire to kiss? I totally can't figure out why they ever split. I wonder will the show ever delve into that? Maybe in flashback?
And I'm hooked by Brianna, too. That potential romance is also very sweet.
Can't wait for next week!
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A Briefing With Michael: One Year Ago
Rules Of Engagement, Dan For Mayor, Damages, Hiccups
Tuesday, March 23rd, 2010
05.00 Rules Of Engagement
05.30 Dan For Mayor
06.00 Damages
11.30 Hiccups
Rules Of Engagement. Season 4, Episode 3. "Atlantic City" Jeff vs. Audrey in a war of lies.
Instead of different plots for everyone, the whole episode is devoted to Jeff and Audrey with the other characters grafted (seamlessly) into the mix.
It's an amusing episode. The show's married couple play a clever chess game of lie and counter lie, with each knowing the other is lying and trying to up the stakes and counter the various bluffs. It's interesting that a show can manage to be both adorable and cynical at the same time.
And how about Oliver Hudson? Adam barely appears, but he gets great laughs when he does. Have they always written Adam as being so dumb. I don't remember it as being this bad, before, but it's very funny.
Dan For Mayor. Episode 4. "Inside the War Room" Campaign HQ
There's no real stand-out moment in this one, but it's probably the strongest episode so far. It seems as if the show has found it's feet. Scenes with Dan & Jeff were nicely balanced with scenes of Claire & Alan on the other campaign and it's suddenly made sense (to me) why (most of) these characters were on the show. Dan and Jeff are our heroes (particularly Dan who I simply adore, I want to cheer for him in every scene), Claire is torn between her fondness for Dan, her love for her soon-to-be hubby and her 'loyalty' to the campaign she's working on: the very funny Laurie Murdoch. Meanwhile, we can see that the daughter of Dan's other rival appears to have a slight crush on our hero.
Four week's in the show has built up a nice little world of characters that we like and care about and will want to see again.
Roll on next week!!
Damages. Season 3, Episode 8. "I Look Like Frankenstein" Ted Danson
I love Damages, but there are things about it that I don't understand. Why do they keep bringing the Ted Danson character back? Danson is fantastic, and I really like the character, but he really seems to have no place in such a story-driven series. His arrival in Season 2 had great shock value, but amounted to nothing.
His screen-time in this episode puzzles me. What has it got to do with anything?
However, having said that, I do agree that his character is on a fascinating personal journey and I'm happy to watch it. But, at this stage in the season, I'm more invested in the personal (final) journey of (poor) Tom Shayes.
Aside from all this: The final few minutes were very satisfying with a dizzying succession of flashforwards and flashbacks that filled in a few blanks here and there and make me eager to see what happens next.
Hiccups. Episode 3. "Office Clothes" Stan's new clothes, Millie's new office.
Has Hiccups lost it's way? I mean, what is it about? I thought (from the pilot) that it was about Stan teaching Millie to calm down a bit (even though he was clueless himself) and I liked that premise. But, in this episode, Millie and Stan barely appear together (and when they do it feels forced and pointless) and the show new appears to be about a bunch of random characters (most of whom I don't like or find funny.)
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A Briefing With Michael: One Year Ago
