Not yet a fan . . .

Over the weekend, I watched the first four episodes of Season 1 of the dramedy Shameless. I can't say I'm very impressed so far, which means I must be missing out on something. The reviewers over at IMDB love the show, as do those at Amazon.com. Nearly everyone gives the series the highest possible rating, and there have been 5 seasons shown in Britain so far. I really don't get it. The series is about a family of 6 kids living in a housing project with their alcoholic, unemployed father. The mother left "some time ago" (and I don't blame her). Oldest sibling Fiona is responsible for keeping things together, and everyone in the family has some odd quirk. Still, I am not charmed by any of the characters, and didn't find the series remotely funny. Maybe it improves over time.

The most outlandish thing (and maybe this is supposed to be the hilarious bit) is that the drunken, incontinent, disheveled father, Frank, is apparently irresistible to women. He moves in with an attractive lady down the street, and neither she nor her teen aged daughter can keep their hands off him. Yeah, I'm screaming with laughter over that one. (?) Then again, the woman in question has agoraphobia and hasn't left her flat in several years, so maybe she just doesn't recognize a loser when she sees one. Still not buying it, though, because one of her first comments to Frank (her new-found love) is about how bad his feet stink. Are you rolling in the aisles yet? Me neither.

The series features a young looking (not that he looks old now, but definitely younger) James McAvoy and his real-life wife Anne-Marie Duff (as the long-suffering Fiona). I will get the rest of Season 1 from Netflix, but if this doesn't pick up, I'm going to pass on the rest of the seasons.

Intermediate Verdict for Shameless: One Gherkin for being an unfunny comedy.