The Big C ep 1

At first sight we’re in Breaking Bad territory: teacher Cathy Jamison (Laura Linney) has been diagnosed with terminal cancer, but isn’t telling anyone – not overgrown baby husband Paul (Oliver Platt), nor dropout brother Sean (John Benjamin Hickey), or obnoxious teenage son Adam (Gabriel Basso). Instead she’s acting out a little: we’re given to understand that she’s always been a little bit buttoned-up, a little bit repressed, but now she’s kicking Paul out, getting a pool or hot-tub or something built in her garden, bribing one of her pupils (Gabourey Sidibe) to lose weight, flirting with her handsome oncologist, and trying to befriend Mrs McClusky-a-like grumpy neighbour Marlene. Like Nurse Jackie it’s a Showtime show, and it’s also a lean 30 minutes long, so scenes rarely outstay their welcome, and the dialogue is pointed, witty, and economical – there’s a lot going on here, not all of it said.

Sometimes shows just work for you; sometimes they don’t. I really, really, really liked this. Much of the credit, of course, has to go to the astonishing Laura Linney, as quick-witted an actor as you could find – emotions flit across her face, her smile appears and goes again, sometimes reaching her eyes, sometimes not. The supporting cast is good, and has to work with less-than-plausible characterisations if you want to be critical, but it’s Linney’s show. I suspect we’ll go a lot darker in the weeks to come, but for now this is highly recommended, even if you don’t think black comedies about terminal illness are your sort of thing.

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