Starved/...Philadelphia

I missed the first episode of both Starved and Philadelphia, but heard great things. I enjoy un-PC but can tell when shows are just pushing it to push it. Starved actually came across as a very funny dark comedy that actually has heart at its center. Sure, the excessive colonics and S&M fantasies were funny but essentially, these four characters have horribly depressing realities.

She has two daddies, one that is so verbally abusive and domineering he obviously caused her eating disorders and personal identity issues. Eric Schaeffer�s the most one dimensional of them all as he stoops low enough to start dating the colonics administrator and resorts back to his chocolate cake addiction. The black guy works out non-stop at his apartment and eats for two (place settings and all) each night by himself. The fat guy is leaving his wife in the early mornings to an S&M center to experience the football game without interruptions and to be served as a king by the mistress. Each character has a horribly lonely and sad existence outside of their funny food addictive personalities and addiction meetings. It�s a surprisingly deep show.

On the contrary, Philadelphia was surprisingly shallow and cheap in its humor. Sure I laughed when the meaning of episode title was revealed (�Charlie Wants an Abortion�). The payoff was great � Charlie�s a 30 something slacker who finds out he may have fathered a child 11 years prior and baby sits for a day. That makes the title funny folks� But alas, standing next to the intelligence of Starved, Philadelphia just doesn�t hold up. Though I will probably come back for more.