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| Left to right: Chris O'Dowd and Tom Bennett |
Every Thursday, join us as we join Chris O'Dowd in the Christopher Guest show Family Tree as he discovers just how bizarre his family can get. With the king of mockumentaries finally entering the TV world, we all must wonder how he'll manage to adapt to a universe that has been getting rich off his influence for over a decade. Still, is Guest's introduction to the TV universe one worthy of excitement? Follow us every week as we look at the HBO show and recount the highs and lows, including favorite family members, Monkey's best moments, and if Guest is really the best.
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| Left to right: O'Dowd and Michael McKean |
Plot: After thinking that his father is a Chinese man based on a picture, Tom (Chris O'Dowd) discovers that he was in a stage production in Hove. One thing leads to another and soon he is with Pete (Tom Bennett) discovering that grandfather Chadwick was actually a stage performer who entertained audiences as the back end of a costumed horse.
Family Member of the Week: Harry Chadwick
The show continues to escalate the absurdity by continuing to heighten the myth around a grandfather. In the past two episodes, he went from a war general to a Chinese man to a stage performer. There's a lot of other personal details and while he doesn't actually show up in person in this episode, the aura around him is beyond absurd that it gives the show an extra sense of hilarity. It also helps to establish this dysfunctional family series without relying on mental illness or typical misfortune. For all purposes, Harry is great because he is enigmatic.
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| Nina Conti |
Monkey Moment: This is very much a Tom and Pete episode. In fact, it almost seems forced to see Bea (Nina Conti) and Monkey show up for no particular reason. They get a whole scene that at most is exposition and setting up for a future story in which Bea, by influence of Harry, decides to join the theater. Not particularly memorable or entertaining, but this is the singular moment that they were onscreen, so that's the only way that this qualified. However, it does make me excited to see what Bea and Monkey in theater would amount to.
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| Fred Barratt |
Best Non-Relative: Angie (Fred Barratt)
With the running theme that Tom is wanting to get out and date, it is interesting to see the quirky pairings that result from it. This week's match is particularly fascinating on the sheer uncomfortable basis that she is obsessed with bones. She could have a whole conversation about the subject without really caring what Tom thinks. In fact, as the scene progresses, she pays attention to her protruding clavicle and proceeds to dump salt on it to prove how defined they are. It is uncomfortable and awkward, but nonetheless a great passionate, eccentric character in the series that plays to Christopher Guest's strengths. If this is the type of women that he gets paired with now, there's only hope that they get more absurd from here.
Best in Fake Show: The Best-Of Tape
This has no official title and is theoretically not a TV show. However, seeing as the other one, "Move Along Please," was not particularly interesting, this will make do. In a great parody of old vaudeville that manages to transcend parody and goes into authenticity, Tom watches as a bunch of performers do crazy, juvenile stunts. There's plenty of great scenes from a short man dancing on stilts to women failing to throw a napkin. It just proves how dedicated that Guest is to making this show feel like a real world scenario. Also, extra points given for this small gem hiding in the background:
Overall Rating: 4.5 out of 5
I hesitated giving the first episode a glowing score on the fact that it could have been a fluke that it was so well shot. However, with "Treading the Boards," Family Tree has officially made its welcome into the HBO family with an episode that is packed with as much hilarity as there is story and turns a costume race into great discussion of how many legs a giraffe actually has. It is also a testament to the writing that it manages to create so many subtle twists and sight gags are inserting into small corners that this may become one of the best shot comedies on TV this year. And besides, the whole idea that Harry Chadwick was eventually emasculated from war general to a costumed horse is amazing. I just hope the rest of this family can live up to this hype.
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