of Laura makes a lot of assumptions about its
audience. Among them:
We will like a lead female character whose
personal life is a mess, because maybe our
personal lives are also a mess and we'll be able
to relate since life is a nonstop test of our patience
and resolve. Also, being a parent is thankless job,
and actually remaining employed while parenting
is the worst personal decision anyone can make.
We will automatically feel sympathy for this lady
cop because her life is a mess and she's Debra
F'ing Messing. She was on Will & Grace, after all,
and that gives her a lifelong pass on our television
screens, even if her character is a bit of a bitch.
A cheating husband who shows no hint of being a
responsible dad will win us over if he flashes a
charming smile and roughhouses with his kids.
He's not a piece of garbage who neglects his
family, he's a charming scoundrel!
Even if TV kids are portrayed as tiny menaces
who puke and pee everywhere, we won't be able to
resist them because they're kids! How can you not
love rugrats who, say "sawwy" instead of "sorry"?
Yes, they will grow up to be serial killers or
cannibals—or, worse yet, that asshole who cuts
you off on the freeway because he grew up
without proper discipline—but right now, let's give
them a bowl of ice cream.
We will find boring police chatter fascinating as
long as it's spiced up with a split-screen!
We will tap our toes to some of the worst music
ever and the bumpity bump will help set a breezy
tone for the show instead of inducing ear suicide.
If it worked for a Spanish telenovela, it will work
for American broadcast television!
These kinds of assumptions are what gets a show
like The Mysteries of Laura in trouble. The
series, which is based on a telenovela because
that's the hot TV trend right now, seems to think
that the louder and flashier it is, the easier it will
be to drown out its flaws. But make no
mistake, The Mysteries of Laura is terrible, an
hour-long bipolar TV series with no discernible
backbone and a mile-high stack of studio notes
that read, "Can we make this, I dunno,
more fun?"
The Mysteries of Laura is built on character-
driven foundation, and Messing's Laura Diamond
is the cement. The problem is that Laura isn't a
person who anyone would want to spend an
hour with each week, let alone be friends with in
real life. Don't be fooled by her snappy comebacks
or derpy reaction faces or the fact the she looks
like a saint compared to her deadbeat husband;
that's all television trickery. Laura is a woman
who will blackmail a school faculty member in
order to get her devil children into that school.
Laura is a woman who will reveal a man's killer
at that man's own funeral (the widow asked for it,
but Laura is also a cop who will crash a funeral,
and no sane police person would ever do that
because it's a selfish and attention-hungry thing
to do). Laura is a woman who can't keep her credit
intact. Laura is a woman who will fake-seduce
valets to break into suspects' cars by claiming she
just had her vagina waxed, is not wearing any
underwear, and is feeling a little drafty. Laura is
not a good person, no matter what means she's
trying to justify to get to the ends.
Yet The Mysteries of Laura wants us to take her
side because why? Because she's Debra Messing?
Because she can crack a case? Because she likes to
drink wine on the job? The show bears a faint
resemblance to USA's incredibly lovable Monk,
which starred Tony Shalhoub as a detective whose
OCD often interfered with his police work. But he
overcame the hindrances of his condition (in
hilarious ways) and succeeded because he was
damn good at his job. We rooted for Monk
because he was a good guy. Meanwhile, the
"condition" that Laura is dealing with is some
form of sociopathy, and she has no regard for
others. It's not cute. It's not charming. It's
appalling and she must be stopped! Continue reading -----}www.tv.com/m/shows/mysteries-of-laura/community/post/mysteries-of-laura-pilot-review-141038756358/
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