Bitchy Review: GCB

As I'm sure you know by now, GCB debuted on ABC to moderately positive reviews. A commenter on a review post I read said "ABC needs to stop making Kristin Chenoweth 'happen'," referring to her frequent appearances on ABC programs and her former role on "Pushing Daisies," where she played the role of Olive Snook. I have to disagree with this person--Chenoweth did an amazing job of introducing us to Carlene Cockburn. <---Perhaps I am immature, but that last name, especially for such a 'pristine' person, just leaves me in stitches. Personally, I've always been a fan of Chenoweth's, probably at least in part because she's my height lol, and I've always held certain affection for fellow pint-size punchpackers such as myself. :P Other than that, I just think she's great. lol

Anywho, the debut was delightfully bitchy (to me, anyway). And as expected, both the Christian and womens' communities went up in arms immediately. "Oh, they're depicting all Christian communities badly!" "This isn't believable!" Maybe not in your neck of the woods (goodness I'm country lol) it isn't believable, but in mine it is, very much so. And I loved it.

Amanda's subtle 'welcome home' message 

The beginning of the show was really something and for you soap heads, I'm sure you recognized Amanda's husband Bill--it was no other than ex-Lucky himself, Greg Vaughan! In a Ponzi-scheme recreation, Bill takes all of the family's money and plans to ditch town with his mistress to flee the law, but thanks to an ill-timed fellatic (its a word now, alright?) 'relaxation tactic,' the car ends up going over a hill and crashing, killing them both. Because her life as she knows it is over, Amanda and her children have no choice to relocate, bringing her back to her roots and riot of a mother in Dallas, TX. It comes out that Amanda was quite the mean queen in school, but as I mentioned in the preview post, a complete reversal of riches has hit in which the girls Amanda used to terrorize are now the "in" crowd and let Amanda know in no uncertain terms, partially thanks to the oh-so-subtle marquee outside of the church that it is time she 'reaps what she sows.' Amanda grew up and changed her ways, but her former victims are having none of it and refuse to turn the other cheek. Quite predictably, the target Amanda harassed the most, Chenoweth's Carlene, is at the forefront of the clique, holds by far the most venom where Amanda is concerned and couldn't be less interested in making amends. She wastes no time ripping Amanda a new one--through a prayer, no less--all through a perfectly veneered smile and chirpy tone. The jealousy is still evident from all of them as the men, most of them husbands to the clique, flock yet again to Amanda, just as they did in school--however in a very Desperate Housewives manner, now there are secrets that Amanda begins to uncover about all of them and their marriages.

Through multiple machinations, she and her minions effectively blackball Amanda from most of the reputable employers in the town until finally she gets the greenlight at a local dive bar. Thanks to some retrospect, Amanda realizes the smutty work environment she is now involved in is owned by no other than Mrs. Carlene herself, and in an equally snarky prayer at the end of the episode, she gives a very effective clapback to Carlene and exposes this little tidbit, leaving the latter slackjawed and ready for war. The photo above (which I borrowed, just as all others in this post from sheknows.com, thank you!) is Carlene's expression for about the remaining 5 minutes in the episode. I can't wait for next week.

On a more critical note, one inconsistency I noticed was the coming and going of Leslie Bibb (Amanda)'s Texas accent during the debut. When she was shown in California, there was little to no hint of an accent. Within two minutes of being back home, however, the country was screaming to come out. Now you could use the reason that when you're hiding or have outgrown an accent it isn't noticeable until you're around others with the accent. For example, many foreign actors who have now set up shop in the States over time drop most of their accent, and others lose it entirely. Yet when they return home, bit by bit the accent returns, until they leave, and over time the accent diminishes again. Okay, I'll take that--I normally have a bit of a country lilt but when around others with accents similar to mine or watching something like GCB where the accents are front and center, my own comes out swinging. It's terrible. lol Did anyone else notice what I was talking about with Leslie Bibb, though?

Accent fluctuations aside, I think the casting for this show was great. Annie Potts does a damn good job of playing Gigi as the cougar-ish, snarky yet wise in her way mother/grandmother (although she does not appreciate the 'gma' term lol) to advise Amanda that times have changed, and she is no longer queen of the town. She plays well off of Leslie Bibb, and I hope that the pristine appearance Amanda has in comparison to her down-home mother is a part of the plot to display the differences between the two, Gigi remaining in Texas and Amanda becoming accustomed to the Cali way of doing things. And can I just say, I love Annie Potts. Always have, always will.

Carlene, before & after the doctor's work

Like I said before, casting Kristin Chenoweth in the Queen Bee role on this show was genius. She's a sweetheart in real life, but I think she's got bitchface too. lol I swear on my life that is a genuine compliment, because I love a good bitchface. And she really knows how to call it out. As the puppetmaster of her 3-ring circus of vengeful ladies, Carlene has to be obviously, the most ironically prude and judgmental, all the while not practicing what she preaches. I can't wait to see what she does next week to get Amanda back for blasting her in God's house. lol My only worry is the same as any character on a new show that I love instantly--that the show, or Carlene, doesn't get written into a corner. I want to see genuine evolution of these characters as the show continues, or I don't think it'll have much of a future for it because we've already watched 8 years of the ladies of Wisteria Lane battling each other in gradually increasing outlandish plots--replacement show or not, can we stomach any more? Can they think of something we didn't already watch Bree, Edie, Susan, Gabrielle or Lynette do years before?

Cricket, then and now

The supporting players bring their own level of bitchiness to this show--Miriam Shor (Cricket Caruth) surprisingly is not bad at throwing shade at others; indie heads=remember her from The Cake Eaters? I mistakenly thought she hadn't worked much since then but her Wiki shows she's actually worked steadily since then. I should watch more television. Oh, the irony. LOL Cricket is quite the ice queen in a cowboy hat, and I love it, and Shor in this role. Cricket has yet to forgive Amanda for stealing Bill from her back in school, and for spreading various hateful rumors about Cricket around school, the most notable rumor that the latter had herpes. She wastes no time in turning Amanda away, just as Carlene instructed her to.

Sharon, in high school & currently

Jennifer Aspen (Sharon Peacham) does a wonderful job of playing the former town beauty queen-turned-reluctant lackey to Carlene's plots; makes you wonder where your former beauty/prom queen ends up before the high school reunion, doesn't it? I'm not familiar with much of Peacham's work, but like I said, she does wonderfully displaying the insecurity that plagues her as a former beauty queen and current doormat, simultaneously wanting her figure back and not (entirely) wanting to destroy Amanda's life, unlike two of her cliquemates.


Rounding out the cast of backup singers to Carlene's Diana Ross, Marisol Nichols (Heather Cruz) plays the predictable soft-hearted of the bunch, her character Heather being the first to accept Amanda's apologies and open the door to establishing a friendship with her. Heather, or 'Selena Girl' as she was nicknamed, has grown into a very successful real-estate agent, no doubt without help from Carlene who blackmails her with this info for being nice to Amanda, and doesn't see anything wrong with allowing Amanda to make amends. I see a friendship developing between these two.

As long as the show doesn't begin to follow a predictable format as far as plotlines go, I think it has a great future ahead of it. It debuted strong and for DH fans, this has enough spice to keep you entertained and interested because while the ladies of Wisteria Lane all bonded initially over the death of their friend, they all had their own secrets individually, and so do the women of GCB. One of the ladies' husbands still has the hots for Amanda, one of them is gay and in something I know will become a future plotline, the other knows Amanda's deceased husband, but has yet to say anymore. Exploring backstories like these and what each of them were up to in the years Amanda was away should provide some very interesting upcoming episodes. The writers did good with the way they introduced us to this lifestyle and these characters. I'll be watching!

Bitchy Review: In short, if you've got a sense of humor, aren't closed-minded and you're able to poke fun at some of these over the top religious communities (snarkiness doesn't discriminate; this could be broadened to each religion-they've all got 'em-, each close-knit community, hell even genders, then this show might be something you can deal with. If you're very religion-sensitive or have a hard time watching shows that poke fun at this sort of content, I wouldn't suggest this show. It's funny, its bitchy and has a great cast to give this show the dialogue and personality it deserves. I don't feel this show is 'anti-Christian', as Newt Gingrich said earlier this week. I think it is a lid off the top of fakery, dishonesty, grudge-holding and jealousy in Christian communities, where this sort of behavior is supposed to be frowned upon. It exposes the true contradiction between the flesh and the Spirit--those of you who are religious know what I meant by that--that is present in these types of communities, and how these people hide behind their religion to conjure and wish, then plot and later expose the downfall of others. I am a testament to the entire last sentence, so I can watch this show without becoming offended or feeling as though all Christians have been pigeon-holed into this image--its very clear that not all Christian communities behave this way. And thank the Lord for that. lol Anyway, if thinly veiled bitchiness is right up your alley, then so is this show.

Bitchy Rating: 4 (out of 5) deliciously bitchy!!

Look at the header pic for airtimes; GCB airs every Sunday on ABC.

All pictures in this blog entry are from sheknows.com; I have no ownership nor rights to any of the photos included.