Written by: Kassidy at 12:30 am
TV Show Info:
Writer: Various
Director: Various
Cast: Peter Krause, Donald Sutherland, William Baldwin, Natalie Zea, Glenn Fitzgerald, Seth Gabel, Zoe McLellan, Jill Clayburgh, Will Shadley
Rating: Not Rated
Studio: Buena Vista Home Entertainment
Release Info:
Original Air Dates: September 26, 2007 – present
DVD Box Set Release Date: September 16, 2008
Online Availability: Amazon
I will admit it. Before I knew anything about this show, the thing that convinced me to watch it was the title. Dirty Sexy Money is one of those titles that makes you want to find out more. Once I realized that it was about a filthy rich family I was definitely going to continue watching because I knew the scandal would be entertaining to watch.
I was certainly right about it being entertaining. This first season does not suffer from that identity crisis that so many shows suffer from these days. It feels like a seasoned show. That is likely one of the things that makes this show so popular. The writers and creators jump right into the lives of the Darlings like we have known them all of their lives. However, the fact that we haven’t allows us to learn some of their secrets on a weekly basis, which makes the show definitely worth watching.
The acting is handled with all of the class and talent that you would expect from such names as Donald Sutherland, William Baldwin, and Jill Clayburgh. These are just a couple of the names that I knew of right off the bat. The rest of the actors do a fabulous job, too. With all the good shows on ABC and television I am running out of space in my day, but I make sure to watch this on DVR if not on regular television when it airs.
I was not surprised to see the box set come out right before the premiere of the second season. This gives new viewers a chance to catch up. It also allows people like me a chance to watch all of the episodes to get ready for the second season before it starts. It’s a great show that certainly brings some spice to this evening drama.
The Dirty Sexy Money: Season One Plot
The first season of Dirty Sexy Money only had ten episodes. The episodes certainly made use of the short season and set things up for an amazing second season. All of the scandalous details for the various episodes can be seen below, leaving you to make up your own mind about how good the show really is.
“Pilot”: Nick George (Peter Krause) is a lawyer that might find himself a bit over his head when he decides to replace his recently deceased father as the chief counsel for the completely wealthy Darling clan. It only takes one day for Nick to be thrust into the lives of the Darling’s five grown children and some of their unique legal issues.
“The Lions”: Nick works with an airplane mechanic and Norman Exley to determine who killed his father. Juliet (Samaire Armstrong) absolutely refuses to be involved in a photo shoot that includes lions. Instead she sits around feeling sorry for herself in a luxury hotel. Tripp (Donald Sutherland) tries to convince Patrick (William Baldwin) that he should announce that he’s running for Senate. Meanwhile his son continues to court his secret romance, a transgendered woman named Carmelita (Candis Cayne). Brian (Glenn Fitzgerald) shares the news of his illegitimate son with Nick. Jeremy (Seth Gabel) begins secretly meeting with Natalie Kimpton (Tamara Feldman).
“The Italian Banker”: A blackmailer makes themselves known and Nick has a lot of damage control to handle. The blackmail involves a sex tape with one of the Darling family members. Patrick has to break up with Carmelita, though this is very hard for him and causes him to become depressed. Brian’s wife learns there is more than meets the eye with the Swedish Orphan (Brian’s illegitimate son) when she learns that he speaks English. Jeremy finds it hard to keep things quiet with Natalie when she and Juliet show up at the campaign fundraiser for Patrick.
“The Chiavennasca”: Nick meets with a detective in Italy that has a Simon Elder (Blair Underwood) dossier. When Nick goes to Italy he takes his wife, Lisa (Zoe McLellan). Karen (Natalie Zea) and Freddy (Daniel Cosgrove) go, as well, though they were not invited. When Juliet finds Natalie and Jeremy in bed he is forced to fight for the girl he loves.
“The Bridge”: Nick and Simon realize that they have more in common than Nick ever knew when the chance finally comes to meet with him. Juliet and Jeremy decide to throw separate birthday parties with the intention of outdoing one another since they cannot agree on Jeremy’s interest in Natalie. Meanwhile Tripp tells Nick to draw up a release that will hold the twins trust fund of $25 million until they are 30 instead of 25.
“The Game” Simon Elder ends up in a high stakes poker game against Tripp. Simon offers to help Nick with finding the man that was involved with his father’s murder if Tripp offers up something that Simon wants. Jeremy finds a way to buy himself out of trouble when working at the Darling Parking Lot.
“The Wedding”: Wedding day drama is on the frontlines as Karen’s cold feet get out of control when it comes to marrying Freddy. While not certain, Lisa is guessing the reason that Karen has cold feet deals with Nick. Meanwhile when Brian Jr.’s mother comes to get her son after her vacation, she learns that his father is now close to him.
“The Country House”: Nick has plans of spending Thanksgiving with his family, but Tripp thinks the day would be better spent by setting up a meeting with him and Simon Elder. Letitia (Jill Clayburgh) works with Karen to try and see that she gets closer to Nick. Brian tries to stop Andrea (Sheryl Lee), the ex, from taking their son away.
“The Watch”: It’s flashback time, allowing us to learn more about Dutch. Specifically, we learn the type of relationships that Dutch had with Tripp, Letitia, and Nick. Karen cools the fire for Nick and begins looking at Simon Elder. Brian is blindsided by something that he did not expect to happen. Meanwhile, Jeremy tries to hide his monetary value from new girlfriend, Sofia.
“The Nutcracker”: In this final season episode, Carmelita informs Patrick that someone has been watching her. Brian has somewhat of a career crisis. Nick becomes aware of Simon and Karen’s affair. Lisa helps Jeremy in his attempt to impress Sofia.
Storyline/Plot: 
Replayability:
Acting:
Directing:
Audio/Visual:
The visual specs of Dirty Sexy Money include a 1.78:1 aspect ratio and anamorphic widescreen, which isn’t bad for a new show. The colors are bright and the picture is consistent. Compression errors were rarely, if ever seen. In fact, I didn’t notice many visual problems at all. Things looked great, which should be expected for a new show.
The audio fares pretty well in Dolby Digital 5.1 surround sound. This is to be expected for a newer show, such as this. The sound was stable throughout and did not require any toying with the volume controls. The dialogue was center stage for the most part with any music or sound effects providing a more dynamic sound to them. In addition to the English audio, subtitles are available in English, Spanish, and French.
Visual:
Audio:
Bonus Features:
If you like bonus features you will certainly be hooked up with all you could ever want to know about Dirty Sexy Money in this set. There are three commentaries available, one on each of the three discs. The Pilot episode offers commentary from Craig Wright, Greg Berlanti, Matthew Gross, Peter Horton, Peter Krause, and Natalie Zea. “The Bridge” includes commentary with Craig Wright, Peter Krause, Zoe Mclellan, Seth Gabel, Jess Brickman, and Peter Elkoff. “The Watch” offers commentary with Craig Wright, William Baldwin, Glenn Fitzgerald, Will Shadley, Candis Cayne, Yahlin Chang, and Andrew Bernstein.
Eight deleted scenes are included that range in time length from 41 seconds to close to four minutes. Most of these were deleted for the fact that they proved unnecessary or because of time constraints. My favorite was the longest scene, “Another Day at the Office,” though many of the others proved to be interesting to watch, as well. A three minute blooper reel is also included.
There are a number of featurettes including “The Road to excess: Making Dirty, Sexy, Money,” “The Other Woman, Candis Cayne,” “Haute Couture: Dressing the Darlings,” and “Enter the Penthouse: A VIP Set Tour.” The making of is a standard making of, with nothing special to report. It lasts for a little over 20 minutes and is interesting, but not entirely necessary. Both “Haute Couture” and “Enter the Penthouse” focus on the design and fashion elements of the show. These are interesting as you hear from the wardrobe designer and set designer to learn what goes into making the show look as hot as it does. The most interesting featurette is “The other Woman Candis Cayne,” which focuses on Candis Cayne, the first transgendered female on primetime television. Cayne plays Carmelita on the show, who is also transgendered.
Bonus Features:
Bottom Line:
If you’re looking for something new, saucy, sexy, and scandalous to sink your teeth into this might just be the right show for you. Dirty, Sexy, Money is a fun and entertaining fictional look into a filthy rich family that is filled with problems from all ends. ABC hit the mark adding this to their lineup and if you haven’t seen it yet, now is the perfect time to catch up.
Overall Rating:
Technorati Tags: Dirty Sexy Money, Season One, ABC, Buena Vista Home Entertainment, TV on DVD, DVD Box Set Review
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Written by Kassidy - Visit Website
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Kassidy received her degree in Journalism in 2002. She lives in the Midwest with her husband of six years, Jason, and their two little girls, Madison (5) and Emma (2.5), with one (a boy) on the way. The couple is very excited to welcome their first son next January. Passions in life for Kassidy include painting, scrapbooking, writing, being a Mommy, watching romantic comedies, and dancing.
