The L.A. Complex, episode 2: signin’ your life away
Aptly titled “The Contract,” this week’s L.A. Complex deals with the complications than ensue every time you sign your name to paper. The paper in question this week: a non-disclosure agreement hiding a scandalous offer, a rental agreement with unusual payment terms and a promise of good behaviour. Find out who used their signing approval for good and for evil, after the jump.
Last week’s season premiere set up several potentially disastrous arcs for the residents of our favourite thespian roach motel, as the exits of Tariq and Alicia made way for a precocious brother-sister duo from Winnipeg. Beth convinces landlord Eddie to let her pay their rent in-kind as a DIY electrician, but is forced to rely on the residents of the Deluxe after discovering the high price of fame for her would-be child actor brother Simon (those all-important head shots don’t come cheap). Meanwhile, Connor and Raquel cement their relationship, only to be tested when Connor is approached by the aging starlet Jennifer Bell to engage in a six-month sham relationship to bring both to the A-list—with an NDA attached, of course. (Raquel, who has spent the day wearing a blonde wig to casting calls in an attempt to change her frigid image, completely supports him—although we suspect this can’t end well.)
Abby has the day from hell on the set of her new show Saving Grace, and is forced into a precarious scenario when she uncovers the relationship between TV siblings/real life lovers Brandon and Laura. The righteous terror of Alan Thicke, the show’s bible-thumping producer and star, is reason enough to hide (he makes Abby sign an agreement that she’ll act as morally off-set and she does on-set). Meanwhile, the working relationship between ex-sex partners Georgina and comedian Nick devolves into an all-out war when they find out that there is only one job available in the writing room for The Paul F. Tompkins Show. Finally, Kaldrick King gets an early release from the psychiatric ward, where he finally comes out about his homosexuality—to a senile inmate muttering in silence (progress!). It’s hard enough to admit your secrets to yourself; but in Hollywood, it’s only a matter of time before one of the lies you tell to cover them up comes crashing down. At least, we hope so!
The L.A. Complex is a veritable Frankensoap, mining the backlogs of other prime-time dramas for inspiration. Here, our weekly look at what they stole and from whom:
• The revelation that the squeaky-clean TV siblings of Saving Grace are actually doing it on the regular reflects the real life love affairs of Brenda and Brandon Walsh of Beverly Hills, 90210, which itself is an echo of whatever went down between Marcia and Greg Brady.
• We like the gender reversal on what might be a story cribbed from Tom Cruise’s supposed audition of several Hollywood starlets for the eventual role of his wife.
. Meanwhile, Connor and Raquel cement their relationship, only to be tested when Connor is approached by the aging starlet Jennifer Bell to engage in a six-month sham relationship to bring both to the A-list—with an NDA attached, of course. (Raquel, who has spent the day wearing a blonde wig to casting calls in an attempt to change her frigid image, completely supports him—although we suspect this can’t end well.)
Abby has the day from hell on the set of her new show Saving Grace, and is forced into a precarious scenario when she uncovers the relationship between TV siblings/real life lovers Brandon and Laura. The righteous terror of Alan Thicke, the show’s bible-thumping producer and star, is reason enough to hide (he makes Abby sign an agreement that she’ll act as morally off-set and she does on-set). Meanwhile, the working relationship between ex-sex partners Georgina and comedian Nick devolves into an all-out war when they find out that there is only one job available in the writing room for The Paul F. Tompkins Show. Finally, Kaldrick King gets an early release from the psychiatric ward, where he finally comes out about his homosexuality—to a senile inmate muttering in silence (progress!). It’s hard enough to admit your secrets to yourself; but in Hollywood, it’s only a matter of time before one of the lies you tell to cover them up comes crashing down. At least, we hope so!
The L.A. Complex is a veritable Frankensoap, mining the backlogs of other prime-time dramas for inspiration. Here, our weekly look at what they stole and from whom:
• The revelation that the squeaky-clean TV siblings of Saving Grace are actually doing it on the regular reflects the real life love affairs of Brenda and Brandon Walsh of Beverly Hills, 90210, which itself is an echo of whatever went down between Marcia and Greg Brady.
• We like the gender reversal on what might be a story cribbed from Tom Cruise’s supposed audition of several Hollywood starlets for the eventual role of his wife.
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