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The Tube and I

 On Bridget Everett, "Somebody Somewhere":


First, the thing I can't tolerate. It's the title. "Somebody Somewhere" is bland--and it's also a rip-off of *another" bland title, from the novel "Someone," by Alice McDermott. Ugh. If I'm judging on titles, and the choice is between this and "Scream," this and "The White Lotus," you know the outcome.


That aside, what is happening here? A woman in her forties, Sam, moves home to Manhattan, Kansas; she is grieving the loss of a sister. It's difficult to live within a family, and to live within a small town. Sam's mother struggles with drinking; she drives her car over her husband's leg, leaves large shell-bits in the egg salad, and falls asleep midday without having first made it out of bed. Sam's old classmate has exploited Sam's trauma for a self-published memoir. And Sam works punishing hours at an unappealing job, something having to do with standardized testing. (Given that Sam uses her off-hours to attempt a rescue of her father's farm, she calls her actual work "work after work.")

I like this series much more than "The Dropout"--the other thing I'm watching--and the main reason is that Sam is wonderfully appealing. (By contrast, Elizabeth Holmes is simply a greedy narcissist. Elizabeth Meriwether's efforts to deepen Holmes's character sometimes seem puzzling. As one critic wrote, "Sure, Holmes lied to people who were dying of cancer--but think how difficult it is to be a female CEO!")

Sam is kind and lonely. She jokes that she has busy Saturdays: "I sit in my underwear and drink wine!" Sam feels despondent over the loss of her sister--and, in one heartbreaking scene, she contacts the sister's close friend. "I'm trying to do what makes me happy," says the friend. "So I bought this boat. Sam? Buy the boat." These words are weirdly profound--and we can tell that Sam is struggling. Can she allow herself to "buy the boat" (whatever this means for her)? We don't know. Like any one of us, Sam struggles with controlling behavior. She enrages her mother when she brings up the drinking problem; we can empathize with Sam, but we can also see how the concern could be experienced as intrusiveness. (Sam herself struggles with unsolicited judgment when a "friend" says: "You're getting your life together! Maybe you'll consider some trips to the gym?")

It's not news to spotlight the star's singing. Sam occasionally gets to perform in a little community talent show--and the songs are bizarre and joyful, and inspiring.

I'll continue with this show. I'd just ask Bridget Everett to reconsider the title.
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