What I’m Watching: Loaded (Season Finale)

Loaded: Season 1, Episode 8 “The End of Cat Factory?” (B+)

After all the guys went their separate ways at the end of the last episode, it was good to see them come back together, united by Leon, to patch up the game so that it was playable and their legacies would remain intact. I love that Leon tried to order a salmon bento box to his community service gig, much to the anger of his fellow minor criminals. Josh was definitely in bad shape, “weeing” in a mason jar and trimming his very thin beard obsessively, and Leon was smart to convince Watto to come back to help him and vice versa since Watto was also spiraling out on his own. They did great, but Josh wasn’t convinced by the thrill of them working together all night to jump back into familiar habits, which all sadly changed when Abi made it clear that she had to go to San Francisco without him. Leon enlisting Watto to buy the company back with his mysteriously available $6 million was an exciting proposition, but Ewan was a step ahead of him, taking a nearly $50 million payout to sell the company to arms dealers and microwaving the technology they so valued on the way out. Bringing all the employees with them for their new venture is an exciting way to end this season, and I just can’t understand why I can’t find any information about whether this show is coming back for a second season. I really hope it does – this has been a blast!

Season grade: A-
Season MVP: Samuel Anderson as Leon

What I’m Watching: Loaded

Loaded: Season 1, Episode 7 “The Expo” (A-)

What an action-packed and terrific episode this was. I love the relationship that’s building between Naomi and Watto, and that she asked a question he had already pondered about wanting to throw all the money in the air. Leaking the game online early was a strange move and not one that went over well with any of the other guys. Leon kept secret the fact that Casey was working on a sequel that she had already commanded him to announce, and having all the promo material ready to go was an easy indicator that more effort had gone into this passion project than just coming up with it on that very day. Ewan’s severe heel gave him a bit of confidence when he went up on stage, and it seems that his side game idea may actually have gotten him noticed, earning him both a promotion and a ride on the jet that Leon was supposed to take. Watto and Naomi interrupting the launch by showing up with cannons full of money was pretty epic, though things did devolve into chaos immediately following their arrival. Casey breaking a computer was one sign of anger, but the guys getting mad at each other felt infinitely more personal. Ewan standing up for himself and Watto expressing sincere disappointment that no one tried to get him to stay made for a melancholy parting of ways, and it looks like Abi is going with Josh even if she’s furious about the news that Leon clued her into just to be sure everyone was properly sabotaged. This could easily have been the season finale, and I’m sure that it’s not since I really want at least more episode if not many more seasons of this show.

What I’m Watching: Loaded

Loaded: Season 1, Episode 6 “The Red List” (B+)

There’s a clear lack of equality when it comes to the workload that our four friends do, and it’s pretty obvious that Ewan is the lowest-ranking. I don’t think that calling him the Moby of coding was necessarily a compliment, but Ewan is also in exactly the right place. Callum coming to his workplace and telling him how he should feel was a great impetus for Ewan to work up some courage to tell him that he needed to leave. Watto was lonely for the entirety of the episode, trying to get a random guy on the street to come fishing with him and then adopting a dog that died immediately. Josh was probably looking for something to be wrong with whatever investor decided to back Abi’s idea, and watching her get groped and then shake it off as a necessary evil of the industry only made matters much worse. Let’s hope that he respects what she said to him about doing this on her own and on the merit of her ideas and calls off Naomi’s guy. Leon making it onto the list was an extraneous boost to his already inflated ego, and getting to tell Casey that she didn’t make it at all after he hit her in the face with a golf club should have been a fantastic opportunity. Yet his casual conversation with a guy who made shorts – films not cargo – revealed that a place on the list is meaningless, as gloriously announced by Casey in her formative takedown of everyone at the party. Her backup operation seems quite robust, and I wonder how that’s going to affect our team as the season closes out with its final two episodes.

What I’m Watching: Loaded

Loaded: Season 1, Episode 5 “The Boat” (B+)

Spending 3.9 million pounds on a boat – excuse me, yacht – isn’t going to solve the problems that this team is having. But putting them in a new environment was helpful in drawing out some other issues and having them all talk about them. Ewan doing a terrible job flirting led to the ground crew member being more aggressive, only Ewan hilariously had to pretend to be their butler so that he would think of him on the same level. Getting exposed by an extremely high Watto was unfortunate, but it was sweet that, thanks in part to Leon putting in a good word, they took a little swim together and maybe this relationship could go somewhere. Leon didn’t get much good news, particularly when he discovered where the red stain on the couch came from. Putting acid in the water so that they could be a bit more amped-up was a terrible idea, though it did seem that Watto took some comfort in the conversation he had with the Chinese fisherman he thought was his mom. Josh was initially furious to hear that Leon had an ex-Mossad agent following Abi, but then he was all too eager to use the drone once he got suspicious. Fortunately, he didn’t blow that, and it seems like they’ll be fine going forward. Naomi got herself busted pretty quickly when she tried to e-mail Casey from Leon’s computer, and good for her for letting loose and standing up to Casey, which immediately got her a raise while she continues doing the same thing.

What I’m Watching: Loaded

Loaded: Season 1, Episode 4 “Watto’s Mum” (B+)

This show keeps dropping parent after parent, and it’s not getting tiresome because they’re all different. Josh’s parents weren’t all that interested in him coming into a large sum of money since they just wanted their normal Disney vacation back, and as soon as she showed up, Watto’s mom appeared to be all too casual about his major windfall, even faking tears to drum up sympathy from her son. Ewan was all over that, even accidentally kidnapping someone because he was trying to look out for his friend, who in the end couldn’t get the perfect relationship he wanted with his mom, leading to another somewhat dramatic ending that this show has proven itself to be pretty good at lately. Leon’s black tile pool is his latest ridiculous purchase, but he was doing pretty well for himself, getting promoted to the John Lennon of the group. Hiring a professional clapper to join him at the dinner with the emperor seemed like the smart move, but it turned out that the rather unpolished Abi, who is quickly becoming my second favorite character (after Leon), was the most valuable player, licking the emperor’s spoon in the most literal way and getting him to endorse their newest game. I love that Casey told Josh to eat shellfish so that he’d have an allergic reaction, though I much preferred Leon’s initial idea to order dessert on fire to get the emperor’s attention, a thought kyboshed by Casey because it would show that he couldn’t even eat dinner in the right order.

Take Three: Loaded

Loaded: Season 1, Episode 3 "Josh's Mum and Dad" (B+)

This show continues to be great, and this episode even included a dramatic shift that melded surprisingly well with all the comedy. It's interesting that Josh tried to send his parents on a fancy vacation rather than their typical getaway to Disney World, and he seemed pretty devastated that they were ready to separate upon their return. Leon tried his best to help, but a joyride in a helicopter and the casual procurement of some cocaine probably weren't his best ideas. His business plan was also pretty ridiculous - and lengthy, apparently. I liked what Josh realized towards the end of the episode about how everyone's roles fit with the new game they were building. Leon being the pump-ups makes total sense and serves incredibly vital function. Ewan is singularly terrible at confrontation, and firing people via video conference from the bathroom was hardly a noble thing to do. At least he only gave out one more insane bonus before it was too late, and now it’s just going to be awkward when he has to interact with the un-fired people he uncanned. I don't know what to say about Watto's odd collecting problem, but it did make for a therapeutic smashing session for all four founders at the end of the episode. Casey is a force to be reckoned with who has very little discernible affect when she speaks, and I think she's continue to continue to make things difficult, which at least should prove entertaining to watch for us viewers.

Round Two: Loaded

Loaded: Season 1, Episode 2 “Leon’s Teacher” (B+)

I liked the pilot episode of this show a lot more than I expected, and I seriously considered not tuning into the second hour since I’m still more than a week behind on all my shows, and I feel like I’m never going to catch up, especially if I keep adding new shows to my watchlist. The addition of Mary McCormack was definitely superb, but I think that the show is already pretty fantastic without her. I enjoyed her defense of how people like her and her positive perception of Bono, and that she called Ewan the wrong name just to test him to see how long it would take for him to correct her. I love that Naomi encouraged Ewan to sound confident and that it prompted him to accidentally get Casey to stick around. Josh is flailing even more, writing a $60,000 check to Abi’s new boyfriend just to seem like he’s a good guy. It was all going fine – his “Game of Crohn’s” party and all – until he got called out on trying to get with Abi. Leon was able to solve that by writing a bigger check, a better success than he was having trying to impress his old professor. I do love Leon’s style, asking people to compare whether they have degrees or helicopters when he was invited to his alma mater, and then tracking down his cancer-stricken teacher and trying to find some way to make him take back his disapproval. That note he got from him after he sent him to the euthanasia clinic was sweet, and it’s nice to see that even the most ridiculous, selfish of people are capable of doing good things. I’m definitely sticking around for more of this show.

Pilot Review: Loaded

Loaded (AMC)
Premiered July 17

AMC is a network that, about a decade ago, established itself as more than just a movie channel, and one capable of producing terrific television. In those ten years, some of its hottest shows have come and gone, and now it’s time for a new generation. While its original programming is inarguably strong, it’s also worth noting that the scripted dramas the network has bothered to acquire have also been great. The first was “Humans,” from Channel 4 in the UK, and I’ve written at length about how good that show is. Now, another show from Channel 4 is joining the lineup, and it’s also worthy of praise. Friends making a lot of money is hardly a new concept, though at least it’s from something they did or made and not just winning the lottery. This isn’t “Silicon Valley,” where fortunes change by the minute and every episode is a rollercoaster of incomparable success and devastating failure. Instead, it’s about a few guys who made something and netted a whole lot of cash as a result, and now they’re trying to keep it all together. Aside from a generally entertaining vibe, I particularly liked the scene in which Leon was bold – or stupid – enough to actually use the lighter to show that he wasn’t bluffing, ending one major hiccup but leading instead to the impending arrival of Mary McCormack’s foul-mouthed, no-nonsense American head honcho, which seems as appealing as any a reason to stick around. I haven’t decided yet if I will, but I could definitely enjoy more of this show.

How will it work as a series? I think this format is a sure thing, since it’s full of comedy and very flawed characters who are guaranteed to make many missteps as they attempt to navigate this new world of success and financial fortune. Hopefully they won’t all be as severe as handing out thousands of pounds in bonuses to every employee just to make your name known to one person.
How long will it last? Reviews are decent, though not entirely favorable, and it looks like the ratings on Channel 4 were actually pretty poor. It didn’t make much of a splash in the ratings compared to other AMC shows in the past, so I think that this is probably all we’ll get unless some find it enjoyable enough to commission a second season either in the UK or here in the US.

Pilot grade: B+