Writer's Block As a Way of Life

.

.

For some unfathomable reason, writers are usually portrayed as angst-ridden, tortured souls, riddled by guilt and bearing the weight of the world’s sorrows on their shoulders. Of course, such depictions of writers are invariably written by writers, so it’s not that surprising. After all, self-loathing sells, assuming it’s packaged correctly.

.

Californication (premiered Monday on Showtime, 10:30 PM EST) manages to take that iconic cliché and update it into a fully realized, contemporary character. Hank Moody (David Duchovny) is the author of a critically acclaimed first novel. ”God Hates Us All” has been optioned as a movie, a romantic comedy re-titled “A Crazy Little Thing Called Love.” That in itself would be enough to chaff any writer, what with the requisite move from NYC to LA, and the attendant realizations that writers rank rather low on the tinsel town food chain. In Moody’s case, it results in severe writer’s block, alleviated by sports sex and heavy drinking. That alone would make for a situation with which writers at any level could relate, but Californication complicates matters by making Moody a sympathetic character.

.

For reasons unexplained, Moody’s ex-girlfriend and love of his life, Karen (Natascha McElhone) and his precocious twelve-year-old daughter Becca (Madeleine Martin) also live in LA, making visitation much more convenient for all involved. But it’s the relationship between these three characters that cements the series in reality. At its heart, Californication is really a show about the extreme routes our quests for purpose take us. As distanced from each other as Hank and Karen would like to think they are, neither can escape the fact that Becca bonds them together.

.

It’s hardly maudlin, though. That underlying dynamic serves as a springboard for many of the episode’s gags, most of which revolve around Hank’s covert sexual escapades. And there are several of those here, recounted playfully, if somewhat explicitly. You can’t call it gratuitous, though — the dalliances are integral to Hank’s character. He’s a man slowly disintegrating from within, clinging to reality by moments, wherever he finds them. The pilot hints that some of those moments may come back to haunt him, particularly in the case of one dalliance who he thought was a college student.

.

With Californication, Showtime further positions itself as the prime source of original programming on premium cable. Airing after Weeds, it’s another series that illustrates the network’s commitment to provocative drama and comedy. Like Weeds and Dexter, Californication expands the boundaries of episodic television. It’s not a series designed for the lowest common denominator. But for those yearning for a comedic series that can speak to universal themes, Californication is a beacon of hope for the future.

.

Oh, yeah — it’s pretty freakin’ funny, too.