Wednesday, March 04, 2009

'Trust Me's' Promise

'Trust Me' on TNTBy LillyKat
PTR Senior Staff Writer


I know I've been bagging on Trust Me these last few weeks.

Believe-you-me, no one wants to like this show more than I do.

But the Mason Conner Chronicles that have been on display of late have gotte a little ... repetitive? boring? annoying?

However, last night's episode reminds me once again of the show's promise.

Now, I don't know if that is because the focus was on Mason and his ever delicate balancing act of how to deal with a life-devouring job whilst still making time to have said life (something a lot of people can relate to).

Or if it was because the other members of the creative team had more to do than say a couple of lines of dialogue, which gave us a sense of ensemble chemistry (and took the focus off the can-be-annoying Connerness).

Or if it was because Sarah Krajicek-Hunter met her match with her new partner (which took the focus off of her can-be-annoyingness).

Or the fact that Sarah Clarke's Erin wasn't just waiting around at home, cleaning up and getting ready for Mason's next "Hi, Honey! I'm home! Guess what ...?" unwelcome surprise.

Or maybe it was because Tony Mink got the better of his entire team after putting them through a marathon weekend session to try and come up with a campaign to get the 2016 Olympics in Chicago (which essentially pulled a gotcha on us viewers, too).

Whatever it was, I happened to enjoy last night's episode given most of us can related to the dilemma facing Mason. Did he handle it the best way? No. What other choice did he have? Not sure - since it seemed to boil down to you WILL do what your boss says OR you don't have a job.

That said, I still don't understand why Mason puts up with Conner, or why he would even think Conner could be put in charge to manage the team in Mason's I-need-a-staycation-save-my-marriage absence.

Sure, Conner wanting to help out his buddy's home life is a cool thing.

But we all know Conner is one big goof most of the time - and that includes Mason. And yet, we viewers still only have a very loose understanding of the so-called "depth" of their relationship.

Yes, they are best friends. Yes, they've worked together for a decade. Yes, they do bounce ideas off each other. But by in large, we've mostly been shown how much Conner is a screw up/can't be left to his own devices/acts like a teenager/gets Mason in trouble more than he bails him out of it.

I'm kinda waiting for the defining moment to show us why in the world Conner is THAT close with Mason. It still seems as if he would've dumped Conner eons ago.

Then again, just like there are some women who can't resist the "bad boy" boyfriend, perhaps Mason can't resist the complete-opposite-BFF that is Conner.

Or there is some creative genius of Conner's we have yet to see.

In any event, the show redeemed itself a bit for me this week.

Trust Me airs Tuesdays at 10 p.m. on TNT. You can learn more about the series by visiting the Trust Me Official Web site.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

I just watched this episode this morning. I am not sure I would have watched it at all except for this line in your review, “However, last night's episode reminds me once again of the show's promise.” I didn’t read further at the time to avoid being spoiled.

As you can tell from the first sentence, I am on the verge of bailing on the series.

I general agree with your review, but I didn’t like the episode as much as you. The problems you pointed out annoyed me more than they did you. And the fact that Sarah had an annoying partner didn’t help since it added just one more annoying character to a show already filled with them. Conner is the most annoying, but Sarah, Mason and the two other regulars are also annoying.

Normally I don’t find Tony particularly annoying, but this week I did. He is pissed at Mason and Conner and has good reason to be. I am surprised he didn’t fire them. And if he had screwed only with them I would have been fine. But the other members of the team didn’t deserve to have their weekend ruined, just to punish the two lead clowns.

I have no idea why Erin was so forgiving at the end.

I can appreciate Mason’s dilemma and Erin’s unhappiness, but Mason’s workaholicsm isn’t new. Sooner or later Erin has to either find a way to deal with it (for instance by getting a career or serious hobby of her own that gives her fulfillment) or get a divorce. If she is as miserable as portrayed, watching her stay in the current situation is not fun and makes you lose any sympathy you have for her.

Mason also has to decide what his priorities are.

On “The West Wing”, Leo’s wife divorced him for letting his job consume his life and Leo felt it was a trade off he had to make. But Leo was White House Chief-of-Staff. Mason run ad campaigns. The former job may be worth a marriage, but advertising?!?!

Like you, I want to know why Mason puts up with Conner like he does. If we grant Conner is a genius copywriter then I can see why he is still employed, but why is he running Mason’s life and career?