I didn’t know if I’d have time to watch Trust Me on TNT this year. I am watching a lot of shows already, so one more hour of time was debatable. I was intrigued, though, because I like the stars. After I started reviewing Lie to Me, though, and being disappointed with it, I decided to make time for Trust Me.
Perhaps it was because I had no expectations for Trust Me, but I really liked the pilot. And the second episode, too. Now, I look forward to it every week — and I even watched the first episodes over again because it makes me feel good. That’s not always my criteria for liking a show — I am a big fan of Battlestar Galactica — but it doesn’t hurt sometimes.
So, here are five reasons to like Trust Me.
5. Good chemistry between the stars, Eric McCormack (Mason) and Tom Cavanagh (Conner). Chemistry between buddies on television is every bit as important as sexual chemistry between male/female duos. McCormack and Cavanagh have an easy rhythm like an amateur tennis match. They are in it to play the game, not to beat each other. Though, my caveat to that is that Cavanagh plays Conner in a really over-the-top way that is just a hair away from annoying. What saves him is the fact that McCormack is strong enough to keep from being overshadowed.
4. Pathos. As much as the show is a comedy, it already has light threads of seriousness looping around the characters. McCormack’s Mason is believably a good guy who wants to do the right thing. However, he obviously feels the pressure of being a leader and a boss, paired with his best friend’s and wife’s expectations of him. He is convincingly conflicted.
3. Monica Potter. Monica Potter, who plays talented copywriter Sarah Krajicek-Hunter, is probably best known for her role in Patch Adams. However, I don’t think her career has been worthy of her talent. I am intrigued by her nerdiness, yet her making out with a potential job candidate in a bar. She also probably has a history with Mason, which may make their working relationship complicated. Especially since Mason has been married long enough to have a teenage daughter….
2. Sarah Clarke, Griffin Dunne, and Jason O’Mara. Strong casting is one of Trust Me’s best assets. Sarah Clarke, formerly the duplicitous Nina on 24, plays wry, subtle wife Erin to Mason. She is strong, but she is also already threatened by Sarah. I’ve been a big fan of the under-appreciated Griffin Dunne since his appearance in After Hours. It’s great to see him as Mason’s weary boss, Tony. Jason O’Mara only played a small role in the pilot as the hateful Stu Hoffman, who dropped dead in his office, creating a promotion for Mason. Jason O’Mara was marvelous as a sexy arsonist on The Closer, and has been rewarded with his star vehicle Life on Mars.
1. Sharp, focused writing. The plots are urgent without being too serious. The episodes move swiftly and lucidly. And yet, there is time for character reflection without creating dead spots. I have no idea how realistic the show is, and, more importantly, I don’t care. I am satisfied to spend an hour with these characters, in their little world, and I’m very happy to have made the time.
Are you watching Trust Me?
Clacked by Jen Creer
on Feb 13, 2009 @ 16:02 EST5EDT
There’s an option missing:
“Yes but I hate it”.
It’s up to par with “Lie to me”. I’ll watch a couple more episodes and most likely it will then be canceled.
I mean not everything can be as bad as “Drive”, can it?
I watched the first 3 episodes of this. As much as I like the 2 leads, I just couldn’t get interested. Monica Potter reminds me exactly of Sarah Paulson, who annoyed me to no end in “Studio 60″. But their tiny little world of advertising bores me to tears, even though I prefer non-procedurals any day. Who gets what office, who will win a Clio, what will their clients think, etc.–who could possibly care?
On the other hand, I’ve grown to like “Lie to Me” a lot. There isn’t a body in every show, and the info about how someone reveals that they’re lying is still interesting. It may run out of steam after a season, but it’s smart and fun, and as long as there isn’t a murder in every show, it’s a procedural I don’t mind watching.
I deleted this from my DVR last night after catching up. I walked away thinking, “why would I want to watch a show about a dysfunctional office environment (with some of the awful elements we’re all subjected to at work) which has no charm, a’la ‘The Office’?”
I’m also having trouble reconciling what I watched with Jen’s comment about “sharp, focused writing”. I find the writing very unfocused. Character and plot development is erratic, and the pilot was an absolute catastrophe of storytelling.
So I’ll respectfully disagree with Jen, and agree with the comments above me, and pass on the rest of this show.
I like the show. I can’t really tell you why I do, I just do. It’s definitely better than some of what the Big 4 offer. “Do Thumbthing,” that was pretty clever.
If you’re going to review this series, you might want to start spelling Eric McCormack’s name correctly.
*POST AUTHOR*
I’ll think about it.