Part Dallas, part Dynasty, and part Donald Trump, this high-flying series about the filthy rich (accent on “filthy”) was 2007-08's favorite guilty pleasure among primetime-TV viewers. Small wonder: it's hard to think of another program that more entertainingly contrasts opulent lifestyles with moral bankruptcy. The protagonist here is idealistic, incorruptible attorney Nick George (smartly played by Peter Krause), who upon his father's suspicious death assumes responsibility for the elder George's most important clients: real-estate tycoon Tripp Darling (Donald Sutherland) and his large, scheming, secretive family. This is not an easy job, because the Darlings are involved in any number of sordid, squalid affairs, and Nick's duties include cleaning up messes that involve human trafficking, secret sex tapes, illegitimate children, and assorted infidelities. The first season's 10 episodes are uniformly fascinating, especially those toward the end. A principal subplot, dealing with the sexual tension between happily married Nick and Tripp's oft-married daughter Karen (seductive Natalie Zea), takes a turn when the young woman secretly hooks up with Simon Elder (Blair Underwood), her father's implacable nemesis. This surreptitious relationship plays out as the Darling real-estate empire shows signs of weakness, and Nick wonders if Simon's interest in Karen is genuine or if it's a way of administering the coup de grace to his old enemy. Dirty Sexy Money boasts a large supporting cast and innumerable plot threads involving other Darling family members, including unfaithful wife Letitia (the underrated Jill Clayburgh) and assorted siblings played with various degrees of effectiveness by William Baldwin, Glenn Fitzgerald, Seth Gabel, and Samaire Armstrong. DVD extras include audio commentaries, deleted scenes, a “making-of” featurette, a set tour, a fashion featurette, an actress profile, and bloopers. Recommended. (E. Hulse)
Dirty Sexy Money: The Complete First Season
Buena Vista, 3 discs, 427 min., TV-14, DVD: $39.99 February 2, 2009
Dirty Sexy Money: The Complete First Season
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