At least Fox and the producers of the new series "Action" let you know exactly what you're in for right off the top.
In the first minute of Thursday's premiere (8 p.m., Ch. 13), the main character -- big-time Hollywood movie producer Peter Dragon (Jay Mohr), curses up a storm. He uses one form or another of that R-rated word that begins with an "f" six times.Actually, it takes him slightly under a minute to do so.
While parts of the words are bleeped, there's absolutely no mistaking what they are. Which begs the question as to why they bothered to bleep them at all -- the effect is the same.
Welcome to Fox's new fall season.
"Action" is designed as a wicked satire of the movie business. And Dragon, the main character, is an egotistical, obnoxious, amoral jerk.
This is, mind you, a fictional comedy. And producers and writers are always insisting that their shows are entertainment, not documentary.
Yet both Fox executives and the show's creator/executive producer, Chris Thompson, defend their use of semi-bleeped words by citing the need to make it real.
"Every time I've seen shows about Hollywood or shows about rock 'n' roll -- both kind of profane worlds where there's not a whole lot of exemplary behavior -- whenever you see it on TV it looks just incredibly phony and made up because people are talking in ways they don't talk in those worlds," Thompson said. "And it was important to me that the people in this sort of blurred reality kind of series that we're trying to do speak in the way that they speak. Certainly, the way they speak in the meetings that I attend."
So, apparently "Action" is meant as documentary? Thompson insists its just satire.
"I believe that for the satire to be effective that the reality has to just be blurred slightly," Thompson said. "It's an exaggerated reality, but I still want to maintain that. And I don't know anybody who I've ever sat with in my office . . . who says 'frickin' ' or 'kicked in the hiney' or 'That guy is a real doodie-head.' Those things aren't said in my world."
And the frequent use of the "f-word" -- not to mention a variety of other profanities --"just keeps it more real to me."
The reality in "Action" includes a former child star-turned-prostitute, Wendy Ward (Illeana Douglas), whom Dragon hires in the second episode as one of his top assistants. In the pilot, she sits next to Keanu Reeves during the screening of Dragon's latest film, "Slow Torture," and, um, gets fresh with him. Reeves expresses concern about her actions, and Wendy simply says, "I'm a big fan."
That's actually one of the milder sex references, most of which cannot be reprinted in a family newspaper.
There is extensive discussion and multiple "jokes" about, ahem, the male anatomy. There's an entire plot line about the "gay billionaire" studio chief, Bobby G (Lee Arenberg) and his, ahem, size.
When Dragon and Bobby have a showdown over the future of a proposed sequel, Bobby has just stepped out of the shower. His groin is obscured from the camera's view by Mohr's head, but Dragon is staring and shouting exclamations -- and backing down on the subject of the movie.
By the way, that gay billionaire is married to Dragon's ex-wife, Jane (Cindy Ambuehl), and the stepfather of Dragon's young daughter, Georgia (Sara Paxton). Jane tells Dragon that she doesn't mind being Bobby's beard -- that they have (sexual) "stuff" in common.
Language and sexual content aside, "Action" shows all the marks of one of Thompson's series. Like the late, unlamented sitcom "The Naked Truth," it has scenes that are just hilarious. Thursday's pilot episode includes a fabulous bit in which an agent pitches Dragon on the idea of O.J. Simpson to star in an upcoming movie.
"Suppose I could deliver this huge star," the agent says. "I mean, a guy better known than Tom Hanks, and you'd only have to pay him scale."
"Pete, little kids in Calcutta know his face," the agent says.
"Yeah. They know to run away from it," Dragon replies.
"The name is more recognizable than Tom Hanks," the agent says.
"OK. But, you know what? To be fair, Tom Hanks refuses to go that extra mile and hack his wife to death!" Dragon says.
But those moments of brilliance are surrounded by more scenes that are pretty mundane -- even dull.
"Action" is one of those shows that Hollywood loves because it's about Hollywood. And there's nothing Hollywood loves more than itself. But, even in satirizing the entertainment industry, Thompson is glorifying it -- a fact he has somehow missed.
"I think there's a big difference between wanting to entertain people and being an advocate of something," he said. "Now, I'm not an advocate of the coarsening of the culture. I'm not an advocate of any of the behavior that's displayed in this show. I am an observer of it. I am a chronicler of it, and I believe that it can be made to be entertaining."
That, of course, is a matter of opinion. What's not a matter of opinion is that the bad behavior and worse language of the characters in "Action" is made to appear funny and smart -- something to emulate.
Thompson at least admits that, at times, his perceptions are warped by his long association with the entertainment industry. Before it was edited out, he included a bit in the pilot in which Dragon discusses Bob's, ahem, anatomy with young Georgia.
"I may have lost focus a little bit," he said. "I have Hollywood kids. I mean, a Hollywood 8 is 23 in Minnesota years. . . . I have a daughter who's virtually grown up at Jack Nicholson's house. I mean, you get jaded little kids that way."
Mohr, on the other hand, has no such perspective.
"I think we're actually over-cautious," he said. "We're really going out of our way to make sure we don't rock the boat too much and try to appease as many as possible."
Right.
"Action" may be shocking, but at the same time it's not surprising, given the direction of network television in general and Fox in particular.
"I started in this business doing 'Laverne & Shirley,' " Thompson said. "I have watched (the line) progressively move from there. I'm not saying it's better one way or the other, it's just what it is. The line always will move. You know, in the same way that the record at the 100-yard dash always goes down. I mean, it will just continue to do so."
There's no doubt he's right about that.