Trust Me – Should we, really?

I hate to make one of the obvious puns, but unless the end of the show title’s statement is “this show is not very good,” I can’t put much credence in the declaration. And that disappoints me. In fact, much of the garbage that’s been introduced since September has disappointed me, but only Trust Me has left me feeling upset about it.

This offering from TNT had gotten me really excited. I was a big fan of Eric McCormack‘s (Mason) on Will & Grace, and I was always curious to see what he could do as a different character, away from the shrill and annoying Grace. And while I don’t claim to have been a Thomas Cavanagh (Conner) cheerleader (his turn on Scrubs was awful), I loved him in his recent role on Eli Stone and so was psyched to see some more of him. All that excitement, and then they decided to air the second episode.

I rocked the fun through the pilot. Decent writing, potentially interesting character dynamics between the super-serious Mason and the irresponsible Conner. The whole ad world thing turns me off a lot, especially after sitting through the first few episodes of season one of Mad Men (sorry!), but that was okay, because campaigns weren’t going to be central to the theme of the show. And I really felt that the extreme personalities exhibited by each character was only meant to quickly bring us up to speed on who these guys were, as cable series live shorter seasons and so have less time.

Of course there were a few bad swings. The idiot duo out in the bullpen (Geoffrey Arend as Hector and Mike Damus as Tom) are far from comic relief and could use being relieved. And, no offense to either party, but Sarah Krajicek-Hunter (Monica Potter) and Leverage‘s Parker (Beth Riesgraf) are a match made in please-leave-the-show-and-never-return heaven.

But I was definitely into it, and I happily set the second episode to record. Can anyone guess what I saw when I watched it? The same exact thing as the premiere! And the ball keeps on rolling, episode to episode, the same storylines each and every time. The biggest shakeup they’ve given the weekly scripts? They decided to make Mason’s wife and daughter actually exist a few episodes in. And then the writers proceeded to crib their stories for each subsequent week. Please tell me I’m not the only one who sees this!

Mason is too rigid, and has an inability to trust Conner to be responsible. Conner is incapable of being responsible, but saves the day with his out-of-the-box thinking. Sarah complains about needing a partner and hating her hair care campaign. And laments being alone. Tom and Hector do as little work as possible and act annoying. The group’s boss, Tony Mink (Griffin Dunne) is insecure and not involved in the creative process unless he’s sitting in front of his boss, Denise (Donna Murphy). Oh, and of course there’s the constant work/home struggle between Mason and his wife Erin (Sarah Clarke), as well as Haley (Vanessa Marano), the stereotypical daughter with “problems.”

What I really don’t understand is how Mason and Conner have worked together for so long. Each week the writers pit them and their contrasting personalities against one another. Conner feels betrayed, Mason feels like he can’t lean on anyone, and by the end they’re talking about how often they each save the other’s neck. But clearly, they’re incompatible, so why try and convince us that they can and do work well as a team?

I don’t know. All I can tell you is that I went into this thing with very high hopes, both based on the actors themselves, and the network’s successes in the past (although I only watch Leverage, I do recognize that shows I don’t enjoy are still powerhouses, i.e. The Closer and Saving Grace). And yet here I am, debating deleting that season pass currently residing in my TiVo’s memory.

What holds me back is the fear of missing something good. I haven’t put in all the time and effort, unlike Heroes junkies who’ve hated the show since season two began, but can’t quit the habit after the heart and soul they put into season one (my wife keeps saying she’s going to stop watching, yet mysteriously the show keeps on recording!) And, I don’t feel any obligation to McCormack for making me laugh so much in the past; I got over that after seeing the first episode of The Starter Wife with Debra Messing. That’s what keeps me tuned in to a lot of borderline new shows. After being burned before, who wants to quit right before the show gets great?

And in this case, I suppose it’s just that my expectations built up my hope. Well, hope isn’t going to cut it for long … trust me!

Clacked by Aryeh S.
on Mar 13, 2009 @ 14:09 EST5EDT