David Kronke was appointed Mayor of Television after a bloodless coup in 2000. Since then, he has improved infrastructure, championed greater educational opportunities and fought for reforms that have utterly erased corruption and incompetence from the television industry. Since Mr. Kronke has ascended to power, Television is a far better place. “That’s like financial racism”
Tonight’s installment of “Dirty Sexy Money” reveals a blockbuster dirty though not all that sexy Darling family secret; discovers Tripp (Donald Sutherland) experiencing a rare lapse of ethical uprightness, even if it’s dubiously motivated; finds Karen (Natalie Zea) climbing back into the saddle, none the worse for wear after the recent dissolution of her fourth marriage; flashes back to the last time Nick (Peter Krause) saw his late father (Peter Strauss); unveils some rare, cutthroat spin on Letitia’s (Jill Clayburgh) behalf; directs Darling family nemesis Simon (Blair Underwood) to peel yet another Darling from Tripp’s tight-knit clan; throws Brian (Glenn Fitzgerald) in the pokey for last week’s bribery attempt and offers an update on Patrick’s (William Baldwin) condition after his wife had the moxie to gun him down.
But my favorite subplot involves Jeremy (Seth Gabel), who has been trying to impress a girl (Sofia Vergara) without letting her know he’s obscenely wealthy – he wants her to love him for being him, dammit, even if the “him” he’s showing her is a complete and utter lie.
Gabel is hilarious in tonight’s episode – he’s more Paris Hilton in her clueless mode than his twin sister Juliet (Samaire Armstrong), who’s pretty clearly patterned after her. When he takes his burgeoning girlfriend to a dump of an apartment (he paid set decorators handsomely to grunge it up) he’s passing off as his home, she lifts her nose and declares, “This place is not good.” Delightedly, he responds, “Yeah, right?” When she expresses doubt that their relationship is not going to work out,” he protests at his oblivious best in his wimpy bleat, “That’s like financial racism!”
The circuitous machinations of Jeremy’s schemes ultimately scores a result that’s a little predictable, but Gabel’s portrait of buffoonishly self-absorbed big-heartedness is an ingeniously witty concoction. How many times do we have to say this: This show deserves a bigger audience.
- “Dirty Sexy Money:” 10 p.m. Wednesday, ABC Channel 7.