The Big C on Showtime - This show is gonna be cancelled, right?

I just got to the halfway point of this season's 4th episode and turned it off. I think I'm done. It's gone from being pretty silly to outright stupid, and I totally love Laura Linney. Anybody else here watch it? Who the hell is writing this dumb shit? I might be able to stick with it if they matured the writing a little and killed off the stupid brother and fat chick characters but I don't think that's gonna happen.

• Couldn't agree more. The ancillary characters have nothing to do with anything, and the Linney character never really does anything that deals with her cancer except make ridiculous life choices. Pretending to be a flight attendant? Trying to adopt a baby? Please.

• I gave up after watching the first episode of the new season. I agree completely about the brother and Precious--uninteresting and painfully unfunny. Laura Linney deserves better.

• The brother living in the trash the first season grossed me out. I stopped watching then.

• Why did Linney agree to this? She had a pretty good film and theatre career going.

• Linney must have seen red flags, and yet if you listen to her interviews about the show, she acts like it was such gold. Some of the Sex & the City writers have written episodes for this show, and I think that is the problem. The tone is everywhere. I think it would have been better suited as a Drama instead of a forced comedy.

  Lucielle Bremer.

• "stupid" is the perfect word for this. They need tonletbit die. It's embarrassing everyone involved.

• It's as though someone suddenly had the idea of making a show about a dying woman go for fifteen seasons. The writing was always shit, but now the whole concept and tone has gone completely overboard, grasping at anything and everything. A husband back from the dead having seen "the white light"; the charlatan feel-good seminar circuit; our lead character taking up a separate persona at her local drinking hole (where everyone knows her fake name); a live-in 600-lb. Gabourey Sidibe whose huge fucking head is wider than my waist and whose presence gets stranger by the moment; a revolving door of characters introduced and killed off or abruptly ejected; and now adopting a baby as some sort of preventative against death by cancer? What's next, a cute, tousle-haired "cousin" who mysteriously comes to live with the family when the adopted baby becomes a pimply pre-adolescent in Season 12? Did they get one of those crazy bitches from the Cancer Treatment Centers of America to write this shit? The only hope now is to kill this whole enterprise and for everyone involved to lie low for a while and change their names.

• I gave up after the second season. There was really only one thing in the second season that was worth watching, and that was when her son found the garage full of presents for him for all the birthdays and christmases after she's gone. I lost it on that scene. It was played perfectly. But dear god, the whole show is so ridiculously contrived. And I ended up just really not caring any more about any of the rest of it. I think I might have watched the first show of the third season before giving up, I'm not sure. I don't even remember.

• I watch it for John Benjamin Hickey, whom I find really hot in spite of the way they grunge him up for the show. At least one of the writers must read DataLounge. Did anyone catch that line of Victor Garber's in the last episode?

• [quote]I gave up after watching the first episode of the new season. EXACTLY my situation. I love Laura Linney and really tried but simply couldn't watch beyond the first episode. Sorry Laura.

• This could be bad for Linney's career.

• Wasn't U.S. of Tara also on Showtime? I think the two shows must have the exact same writers.

• I feel bad for Linney too. Could you imagine being on a series that you initially signed up for, thinking it would be Emmys and glowing reviews, only to find it limping along and universally panned. And YET, it continues... And who told Susan Sarandon that this was a great vehicle for her talents?

  Beatrice Arthur

• R13, I'm wondering if she's locked in to the contract for as long as they produce the series. I would think she has an out at some point, but she may have locked-in for five years so yeah, that would suck to be on a failing, panned program and HAVE to shoot it for 2-3 years after you've given up on it.

• ..I'll also add that I didn't have much of an opinion of Gabby Sidibe's character other than she isn't a very good actress, but the character has become loathsome and obnoxious. And I find her new afro-empowerment shtick, which I know we're all supposed to applaud her, but it's racist and tiresome, especially when she referred to another major character as "whitey". *cue laughter* FAIL

• Cathy's initial diagnosis gave her a year to live and each season of the show is set in a different season of the year (fall, winter, etc.) My guess is it'll come back for one more season after this and that'll be it. They already decreased the episode order from 12 to 10 for this season, so it won't be a very big commitment to see the show through to its conclusion.

• I'm guessing that Linney's paycheck has been one motivation for her. She doesn't work all that much in movies and hasn't been on Broadway for quite a while.

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• Actually R16, most, if not all of last season was filmed in the winter. I think maybe they had a Thanksgiving episode but still. And this season has been all wintry as well. I think the series began in late summer because I remember she wanted a pool and she wanted it soon, before the cold set in. If they closed out the series with four weather seasons, I suppose that would be the most artistic, classiest thing about the series so far. And if I knew there were a set number of seasons, I'd stick it out. The way it's going though, I'm just not interested in sticking around. She's fresh faced and perky and doing something "wacky" in every scene. She's NEVER sick or sitting around or anything. And that fucking gross ass guy who plays her brother. KILL that guy off already. We've had to suffer some of the most disgusting moments I've ever seen on television with this guy and I still haven't gotten over him showing his puss filled ingrown toenail. It's just STUPID all around and Linney is so undeserving of it all.

• I just think its tragic that Linney is a 3 time oscar nominee, 3 time tony nominee and 3 time Emmy WINNER, and this is the best hollywood had to offer her in the form of a tv series. Or is Linney to blame? Does she really think the show is great?

• R19, What was she nominated for Oscars for? I don't know much about her movie career.

• I tuned out after I saw Cynthia Nixon's tits and Hickey's aging ass (yet again) in an episode. The show is one of the crudest on television.

• But R21, you missed all of Hickey's scenes on infected toes and dirty asses and his making love to the hair on Cynthia Nixons titt and.... Yeah, it's disgusting. I know they're trying to make him out to be some crude naturalist free-spirit, but it's just nasty, something even frat boys wouldn't find funny. The guy looks like he'd have disgusting body odor and he chews every scene he's in like a fucking human VitaMix.

• It is a truly terrible show. Loved Victor Garber last ep though. And yes, r9, I caught that DL ref. That girl from Precious is an aggressively bad actor and the storyline just compounds her limited talent. The secret bar identity could be interesting but I feel it will just peter out unresolved. I really like Laura Linney but this is such a missed opportunity.

• For that matter, John Benjamin Hickey deserves better, too. Something about this show forces good actors to overact, perhaps to compensate for the terrible writing. But he and Victor must have enjoyed working together. They used to date back in the day.

• R24, that Hickey guy is an awful actor. Why must every line and scene be played by a scream or yell? He's hands down the worst male actor on television.

• The writing is wildly uneven, the situations contrived, and the acting mostly bad ... yet I like it in spite of itself. I suspected Victor Garber and JBH had a history, R24.

• Nice glimpse of Gabriel Basso nude in last night's episode.

• I'll still TRY to watch, but I do agree, what was once promising is now dull. Gabby's character could have been decent had they followed the Russian needs a passport line...but now she's just fucking annoying and entitled. The brother? The frozen toilet? Frozen pipes ... jumping the shark way too soon esp with a stranger giving cc #s over the phone and the guy's voice doesn't even sound like VG. Her writing FUCK and BITCH on her walls? Unnecessary and not funny. Her getting drunk, flipping off her teacher, embarrassing the hot son (where he could NEVER recover)...all like Fonzie putting on his pleather jacket and water skiing over the shark.

• Again, I find John Benjamin Hickey hot, but it stretches credibility more than a little for crazy, disheveled Sean to be the fucktoy of an upscale bi swinger couple.

• I'm watching the 4th episode of the current season. Just heard the, "Corn? When did I eat corn?" line.

• I watched the show for a few seconds and stopped watching. Laura Linney is so wondrtful no way in hell would see be married to Oliver Pratt. That actor can only be tolerated in very small doses...

• [quote]At least one of the writers must read DataLounge. Did anyone catch that line of Victor Garber's in the last episode? The corn thing isn't a DataLounge exclusive, it's a bit of ancient theater lore. To that end, I wondered if it may have even been an ad-lib by Garber.

• Was that really Gabriel Basso's ass in the last episode? The edit was very strange. He face was turned away when you see the ass, and then it goes into the close face shot for his line.

• So now Linney's character is driving cars through tents and brandishing pistols at people who piss her off? She must HATE these scripts.

• John Benjamin Hickey is, like Brian F. O'Byrne, a really good stage actor yet extremely uninteresting on film.

• Having Susan Sarandon get hit by a bus was some of the worst writing I've seen in a long time.

• Erm, people, Laura Linney has been a producer on this show since the very beginning. It has always been rubbish and you could tell in the first season, regardless of what their intentions were, they were trivialising cancer.

• There's a show called "The Big Cunt" on TV now? Amazing..... Why wasn't I asked to be on it?

  B. Brolin, Malibu

• [quote]Was that really Gabriel Basso's ass in the last episode? The edit was very strange. He face was turned away when you see the ass, and then it goes into the close face shot for his line. Double.

• [quote]Having Susan Sarandon get hit by a bus was some of the worst writing I've seen in a long time. The joyologist gets hit by a bus? Now I wanna see the show.

• This season has jumped the shark. I wish the husband would've stayed dead. He's the most annoying character...

• So now, with no money or means of support, she's going to live with an impoverished Latino fisherman and his wife? Terrific writing!

• As I said in another thread, a friend of mine on the crew said a fourth season is very much up in the air and they're not very optimistic now, especially since Showtime has announced a fifth season of NURSE JACKIE as well as two new series.

• I always thought the premise sucked-a dramedy about a woman with skin cancer who goes all nutty and seizes life by the balls. A much better vehicle for Linney would have been a US version of a terrific British series called AT HOME WITH THE BRAITHWAITES, about a woman who wins a huge lottery fortune and decides to keep it a secret, at least for the first season. Over the course of four seasons the family would lose the money because the 12 year old daughter had bought the ticket but then they'd get the money back due to a technical error at the trial.

• Why not just a subtle, honest view of what it's like to live with cancer? Oh, right. It's Showtime.

• I could be wrong, but I THINK the 4th season is already shot and in the can.

• No, R46, it hasn't. The third season wrapped two months ago with the shoot in Puerto Rico. My crew friend said the fourth (and final) season was supposed to start shooting in September.

• I've really been rooting for this show to get better, but last night confirmed they've thrown in the towel. Can I just say how lame the "Ababu" storyline for poor Gabby Sidibe has been? What is this, 1973?

• Someone on the show must have agreed with you, r48, since now the Ababu heritage is in her heart.

• Has the show been renewed?

• No announcement yet, R50.

• I found this season just so offensive, the brother is just gross, the son having anal sex was gross and the show is just off the wall and jarring. It feels so cobbled together and the finale?? WTH was that?? Spoiler alert here if anyone cares... she goes off on the boat with the non english speaking guy named Angel? She said her son was the best thing in her life, and she just left her entire family thinking she is dead. I basically hate everyone on this show. They all are annoying now. I too am a huge Laura Linney fan, but this show is awful. They could of done so much with it.

  Zee%20Chen

• At least one of the writers responsible for this dreck is Cusi Cram, who originated the role of Cassie Callison (Dorian's daughter) on OLTL.

• I think they are going to go for a Shirley Valentine type scenario, where she tries to escape from her life by running away to a remote island. Maybe next season will be the last, if at all. The whole cancer thing makes it finite, anyway. Whether she dies or is cured, either way, premise gone.

• Still no announcement. It ain't looking good.

• I just caught up from the fake pregancy reveal to the finale. That is some of the absolutely worst writing I've ever witnessed and, although I enjoy JB Hickey as an actor, there is really not a single likable character on the show. It's amazing that they've managed to make everyone detestable. There's no way to fix it, just cancel it.

• It's sad this show became so horrible in the third season. It's completely absurd. I wish Paul had died. He is so annoying. I don't understand why Adam is such a jerk. LMAO @ the slutty Christian runs through traffic and takes it in the ass cuz she's saving herself. So ridiculous.

• I hung in there for the first 2 seasons but the third season was the topper. I stopped after the first 2 episodes. I love Laura Linney but hate her character and every other character on this show. It had a good premise but it became a mess.

• The Big C will end with four one-hour episodes. No air date yet.

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• The Big C will return as a four part, 1-hour long each mini-series on Monday, April 29. Some of the details in the article at link. I'm going to tough it out and watch till the end, but they should have realized they made this show and its cast a laughing stock over a year ago and ended it. It's beyond absurd. The final episodes will include fashion designer Isaac Mizrahi as himself, (apparently he's playing a mentor to the obnoxious 'Precious' chick whose character is into fashion design. Nevermind that she's still in high school.. she still lands a famous designer as a "mentor") and Kathy Najimy as some sort of therapist. Show's producers refuses to say if Cathy, the lead character, is dead now or will die in the end. At this point, I'd be surprised if I'm not the only DLer still talking about the car wreck of a show.

  http%3A//unrealitytv.com/the-big-c-hereafter-will-wrap-up-laura-linneys-cancer-story/