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Bridget Everett

 "Deadwood" was about inventing democracy; "Somebody Somewhere" is about inventing a family.


Sam, our hero, has returned to Manhattan, Kansas, to try to live. She can't tolerate her day job, so she quits, and she moves in with her gay best friend, Joel. Evenings involve homemade martinis in a cramped living room; it's called "the honeymoon suite." Joel and Sam entertain each other with "Pound It or Pass," in which they evaluate the sexual desirability of strangers. These two don't share a bed, but they sleep with their doors open, and they call out to each other before shutting off various lights.

"I think if I married," says Joel, "I wouldn't wear white. Because you gotta keep 'em guessing. I'd have the song 'Gloria,' by Laura Branigan, as my accompaniment, and you would be the lead singer."

"No, no," says Sam. "You don't do Judy. You don't do Barbra. And you don't do Branigan."

(This scene ends with heaving bosoms and many, many high notes.)

There is so much in daily life that requires creativity and improvisation; witness the scene where Sam tries to sneak fresh underwear into her mother's ElderCare cell. ("I was afraid I was going to miss you!") ....Many TV shows rely on absurdly dramatic ideas to hold your attention -- but "Somebody Somewhere" is confident enough to locate suspense in tiny, mundane moments.

Can't wait for the rest of Season Two.

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