First of all, I'd just like to say that this is one of those shows in which you need to give it time to grow on you. So if you pick up the DVD of the complete series or catch re-runs of it on Comedy Central, you might not fall in love with the show immediately. Then again, I felt the same way about "Reno 911" when I first watched it, and I now think it's one of the funniest shows on TV. "Action" is not nearly as funny as "Reno 911," but it did eventually grow on me. I saw a few episodes when it aired on Fox, and I recall slightly enjoying the show (it's been so long since I watched it), so when I found out an "uncensored" DVD was being released of the complete series I decided to pick it up. Well...after I watched the first couple episodes, I thought of maybe selling the DVD on Amazon. I like Jay Mohr, but I felt his character was too dark and mean-spirited, even for me. Trust me, I have a pretty dark sense of humor, so it's not like I'm expecting "The Brady Bunch." One criticism I do have to make about the show is that some of the humor is a little too heavy-handed. I understand that Hollywood makes some pretty violent, senseless action movies, but I'm quite sure there aren't producers who purposely set out to make them that way. The whole show revolves around the making of a film called "Beverly Hills Gun Club." I'm no Hollywood insider, but I'm pretty sure some of the show's depictions of Hollywood executives was a little too broad. However, after a while the show's sly, biting humor started to appeal to me. It doesn't hurt that the show contains a fine cast. I've never seen the guy who plays Adam Rafkin before, but he was great at playing a nerdy, uptight, naive screenwriter. It took a little while for me to accept Illeana Douglas as a hooker. OK, so in real life, there are probably hookers who look 10 times uglier than her, but I guess the fact that several of the male characters were sexually attracted to her required some suspension of disbelief on my part. I know beauty's in the eye of the beholder, but she's a 90-pound woman with huge eyes for Pete's sake! I'm sure Hollywood types can get much better-looking women than her to jump into bed with them. She is a pretty good actress, but I felt she was miscast. The late Buddy Hackett provided some funny comic moments, though he was a little underused. There were some fine guest appearances, my favorite one being R. Lee Ermey as an eccentric director. How can anyone hate R. Lee? And being that this is a show about Hollywood, it has its fair share of gorgeous ladies (Illeana being an exception, of course). I was a little ticked off that the DVD was supposed to be uncensored, yet the episode that showed the topless women auditioning for body doubles was censored. I felt a little pathetic at first, until I heard the filmmakers on the commentary, who were also ticked off about the episode's absence of TNA for the DVD version. Anyway, I won't regard "Action" as one of the best shows of all time, but it was unique and original. You can't deny that. As a matter of fact, when I watched the last episode on the DVD, I found myself saying, "That's it? Where's the rest of the episodes?" It would be nice if the show could go on. Maybe not for 8 seasons, but for just a little while longer.
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