So real it's funny...

I'm just going to take a few minutes to talk about what may be my favorite show on television right now. No, it's not Desperate Housewives or Lost, even though both are on my favorites list on my Tivo, but it is instead the surprising new HBO drama-comedy Unscripted.

For anyone unfamiliar with the show, it follows the lives (and hence careers) of 3 real actors (playing themselves, names, roles and all), and if you didn't know any better you'd think that they were filming a documentary about them. As events unfold, however, it becomes a little more obvious that the plots would be way too concidental and funny were this actually the case. Although there is the occasional comedic set-up, according to the HBO website (http://www.hbo.com/unscripted/about/) there are absolutely no scripted or rehearsed lines in the show, the actors are at times being filmed doing actual auditions and the such, and the other scenes are more like improvisational skits in which the actors are given a basic idea and allowed to choose their dialogue as they see fit, often borrowing from real life experiences. I personally find the proclaimed level of spontenaity a little hard to believe, but no matter how they pull it off, it is absolutely revolutionary.

Two of the three actors are actually fairly recognizable, with the third looking a little like someone you've seen in a cameo role but you can't quite pick them out. You may have seen Bryan Greenberg as one of six students searching for "The Perfect Score" on their SATs, an MTV movie that also features Scarlett Johanson and Darius Miles of the Portland Trailblazers. He has also appeared on some episodes of such well known shows as The Sopranos, One Tree Hill, Law and Order, and Boston Public, among others. He'll likely be even easier to pick out when his new movie (which is a part of the show) featuring Uma Thurman and Meryl Streep comes out sometime in the next year. Krista Allen on the other hand is likely known to the entire population of young men who ever watched late night Cinemax (she played Emanuelle in the erotic late night series). Since that blunder of a career move she's been featured as a pure sex object in many recognizable roles, including "busty woman in elevator" in the Jim Carrey movie "Liar, Liar," and one of the amazingly hot lesbians in the "Anger Management" class led by Jack Nicholson. As she ages she attempts to distance herself from her sensual side of her career, but cannot seem to earn the respect of others in the industry (let me just say, I hope this show gives her some work, as she seems to be absolutely brilliant in it, often outshining Bryan although he is easily the most successful of the three actors). The third is Jennifer Hall, who literally has only a few cameo roles to her credit. The three actors (and several other real life supporting actors) are all enrolled in the same acting class, and are best friends away from their careers, leading to the complex relationships between them all.

If you have HBO or have access to it and have never watched the show, I strongly recommend that you do. If you have some hidden aspiration to sneak off to Hollywood and be an actor, then watch this show, as its whole purpose is to show an accurate portrayal of the real industry from bottom feeding comercial spots to movie roles with A list actors. Most importantly, watch it because it is amazingly entertaining, and features the best of the drama and reality genres as can be possible.