There are some shows that are very hard to write a review for because the complex story makes it hard to explain what’s going on or because the show is complex that it’s hard to dissect what you liked and what you don’t like. Hung is not like any of those shows so far. The first episode is a simple story, which is a nice thing, but if it wants to be on a must-watch list, it’s definitely going to have to add some depth to some of its characters.
Ray Drecker is a divorced basketball coach with two kids, whose life takes a turn when his house burns down. While any reasonable person would have insured there house, Ray doesn’t and soon finds himself unable to keep up with the property taxes he has to pay and take care of himself and the kids. As a last resort, Ray uses the only tool that he has, which ends up being his penis.
Thomas Jane as Ray Drecker, Jane Adams as Tanya Skagle
Thomas Jane certainly works as the character Ray, who could come off as an unlikable character, but doesn’t. He could come off as mean, but most of it is just him being honest and for some reason it all comes together to make him a likeable guy. I’m not sure if this show wants us to feel sorry for him or just go along for the ride though, because to be honest, I don’t feel too sorry for him. I think it’s due mostly on the part of the writers. We’re told that Ray is in a bind, but not enough is shown to show that Ray is that down in the dumps. Yes, we know that he couldn’t give his son fifty dollars, but don’t most modern families have the same problem and you don’t see them turning to male prostitution.
I find that this show can be compared to the show Weeds with our two main characters both having to turn to something illegal (not sure if it’s illegal in the state that Ray is in). With Weeds though, we’re given a sense that for the most part this is the best way for Nancy to get ahead. In Hung, I simply don’t feel as strongly that this is Ray’s last resort.
There are characters introduced in this episode, but none of them really have any depth. Ray’s son, Damon seems nice and the writers let us know that he’s into Goth, but there doesn’t seem to be much else to him, the daughter isn’t seen much at all in this episode other then when she’s getting out of her “friend’s” car.
Then we have Ray’s ex-wife Jessica who comes off as quite the bitch. It’s a bit weird that she comes off as the most unlikable character in this episode, maybe it’s because the writer’s give us a flashback of how crazy she was and the way she leaves Ray, just makes her look even worse. We’re not really given much about how Jessica and Ray’s relationship has been since the divorce, but apparently it’s non-existent.
The character we’re supposed to like second most is Tanya who sleeps with Ray and then kicks him out for Ray telling her the truth, basically. We know Tanya is a poet and seems like a nice person, but her morals and personality aren’t set in stone here. One moment she seems somewhat holier than thou and then the next she wants to become Ray’s pimp.
I definitely seem some promise with this first episode, but I’m interested to see if the writers are going to give some depth to not only the story, but the characters as well, because there’s really no character at all that I connect with. I think with time this show will grow on us and it wasn’t a horrible episode, but did seem very short with its 48 minute time frame. I think this was a decent episode to start with, but I look forward to seeing what’s done with the show in the upcoming episodes.
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