Secret Diary of a Call Girl: Season 2

The Wife and I watched the first disc of Secret Diary of a Call Girl: Season 2 last night. I have to say I was underwhelmed. Gone was the carefree, sexy sass of the first season. Instead, the producers seemed to think Belle needed to be "humanized," which translates into much melodramatic angst and bemoaning the fact she can't have a romantic relationship while maintaining her call girl career. Which is utter B.S. as anyone who ever read Belle De Jour's blog or her subsequent book can attest. It's like the producers decided that they were contractually obligated to veer 180 degrees from the source material or something. They even gave Belle a wacky, novice prostitute sidekick who stirs up all sorts of trouble each episode. It's hard to watch, actually. It's as if the Brits realized they had a quirky, unique show on their hands and panicked, importing a load of Hollywood cliches in an attempt to mainstream the series.

Honestly, Billie Piper's endearing portrayal of Belle (when she's not being guilt-ridden and angsty) is the only thing keeping my attention. Except that even Piper is problematic. Not to be a complainer, but both myself and The Wife noticed immediately that she'd put on a few pounds during the off-season. Which isn't bad unto itself, since she's still attractive. But the producers are going out of their way to hide it in true Hollywood fashion by dressing her in baggy shirts and unflattering outfits at every turn. And they're using body doubles--lots and lots of body doubles, in painfully obvious ways every time even a little bit of skin is called for in the script. It's amateur night, and they're serving fist of ham.

I'll stick with it for now, but this first disc is a decided letdown from the fun of season 1.

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