What I’m Watching: Secret Diary of a Call Girl

Secret Diary of a Call Girl: Season 4, Episode 6 (C-)

This show has become a caricature of itself. I know that I've been railing on this show every week for this whole season, but somehow each episode of this miserable year manages to outdo itself in terms of putting in too much effort to seem stylized, risque, and appealing. As if the usage of music from "The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly" and "Kill Bill" to score the face-off between Charlotte and Belle wasn't enough, the insertion of titles proclaiming "the good, the bad, the bartender" really sent it over the top, and wasn't funny to boot! Theoretically, Charlotte as a character and a nemesis for the (formerly) friendly Belle is a good idea, but she doesn't have the subtlety of someone like Stephanie, who was a whole lot of fun in her early and infrequent appearances over the course of the show's first three seasons. Their warring attempts to please their client were such a waste of time, and it's so blatant and on the surface that there isn't much hope for any deeper meaning, an area in which this show used to excel. I'm also displeased with how Poppy has devolved into an uninteresting character, hopping into bed with Ben to get Belle to leave and then not even trying to make up a story about how they slept together to sell it and keep her away. Ah, well, two more episodes to go, and after that I think I'll have to go back and rewatch the first three seasons to remind myself that this show used to be top-notch.