The Riches - FX Monday Night (1 Viewer)

Anyone else see this last night (billed as a Pilot).

It stars Eddie Izzard and Minnie Driver as a couple of "Travellers" (basically thieves and con artists) who are driving around in an RV with their 3 kids conducting their "business". They are involved in some violent conflicts with other travellers which leaves them trying to escape from their lives.

There is a car accident in which a wealthy couple are killed and they discover that they were on their way to move into their new house in an upscale suburb. So, the Riches decide to assume the identities of the dead couple.

If you are not familiar with Eddie Izzard, he is a British stand-up comedian, and if you have seen his show on BBC America you will see what a good actor he is! I'm sure everyone knows who Minnie Driver is - but she doesn't look so great in this show. Her character has just gotten out of jail and is addicted to cough medicine!

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/6445551.stm

Watched last night and I'm hooked.
The cast is terrific and the scope of the show seems quite ambitious.

It was funny to hear Minnie Driver talk like Jaime Presley. I'll give it a few more episodes, but it was a little too slow, or overly dramatic.

You can see the first episode online:

http://tv.msn.com/tv/tvbuzz

The first episode repeats on Tuesday (12am) and Sunday (11pm).

New episode next Monday (10pm & 11 pm).

I'll give it one more episode. The entire family is just too dang depressing and unlikeable for me. I didn't find anything about the show remotely funny...but it gets one more week from me. Hopefully Episode 2 is better.

I caught it and liked it quite a bit. It has a very "Big Love" feel to it for me: family struggling to break away from a "unique" family/community and dealing with "normal" people. I'll definitely be tuning in next week.

I thought it was pretty good. Didn't much care for the main characters or the society they came from.
I'll give it a few more episodes.

Loved the song playing at the beginning of the episode. Anyone know what it is?

Wow, if there is ever any question why it's so difficult for TV shows to make it, the first few posts regarding a new show in a forum like this should take away any doubt. "I'll give it one more episode..." etc. My DVR schedule is certainly as packed as the next but you have to give things a chance to gel before passing judgement. (IMHO)

I can't think of the last thing I purposly chose to watch on FX, but I love Eddie Izzard & Minnie Driver and we've been looking forward to this show. Too bad it isn't in HD. The pilot had some issues (Eddie's accent slipping in regularly) but I have every confidence that the quality is going to skyrocket. Yikes!!! Minie Driver with corn rows. They certainly uglied her up successfully. Or maybe that's just what she looks like first thing in the morning, but there were some wonderful moments between her and Eddie. I wonder if the transvestite son is a nod to Eddie. (Executive Transvestite, that is.)

Good parallel Jeremy regarding Big Love.

It's a lot darker than we were expecting, but we can't wait to see where it all goes.

What can I say, I'm picky? I swear I have some form of ADD. It was a chore to get through the pilot because the idea and the characters didn't grab me. I don't have any good feelings for Eddie Izzard based on prior work, so I won't watch just for him. This family actually depressed me and that's why I'm not sure I want to spend more time with them.

Are these characters (Izzard's and Drivers's) of Irish descent and just faking their Louisiana accent?

You are aware that accents aren't genetic?

I was confused by this opening blurb on MSN showing the showing the premiere episode:


I didn't remember anything about Wayne and Dahlia being referred to as Irish in the episode, or I missed it when they were confronted by the white trash contingent in the middle of the episode.

"Travelers" by and large tend to be of Irish descent. Wasn't the family Izzard fought with at the gas station named O'Malley?

I had no idea the show was about travelers before the episode aired, but that would have been enough to rope me in right off the bat. I'll be tuning in next week for sure.

Glad to see I'm not the only one who noticed Izzard's accent slipping through. I also found Driver really, REALLY hard to look at...

Second show only has me more involved with this story.
Dancing on the edge of the abyss is just more fun.

Er, The Shield? Rescue Me? Only two of the best shows of the past 10 years, much better than 90% of the originals on HBO and Showtime, to say nothing of the broadcast networks.

I hadn't even heard about The Riches until I saw this thread, but I've been a huge Eddie Izzard fan since I first saw him in his "Dressed to Kill" concert film, so I'll definitely give it a try.

Regards,

Joe

I think this show is getting better and better with each new episode.

Wouldn't you just love to have the balls to commit and make people believe the way that he does?

Loved how they scammed the headmaster into getting the kids into the Rosemead Academy. I'm surprised this show isn't getting more activity in this thread.

"Get the hell out of my office!"

"No, you get the hell out of your office!"

I think I see where this series is going. Just when you think that what the "Riches" are doing is really bad - you find out that what everyone else does in their daily lives is much worse!

Rich suburban woman takes prescription medication and buys pot from a kid down the street.

Property developer is a scumbag (not much of a surprise).

School kids breaking into school to change grades.

Ex-wife and kids abandoned and left broke by wealthy husband.

Bent lawyers!

Makes the fake "Riches" seem quite moral, by comparison!

How long is each episode of this show? Each time I record it on my PVR, I lose the last 7-15 minutes. The time in the program guide (on Mondays) is always wrong, and I have had to record the episode a second time.

I am also really annoyed by the letterboxing of the episodes. Why can't more stations broadcast a widescreen picture in HD? I know FX is probably a low budget station. But I am equally annoyed that I can't stretch the picture out to fill my entire widescreen display.