wild about wilde

i have a hands-down new favorite tv show this season.  if you haven't heard of it, "running wilde" is, in my humble opinion, brilliant.

the show follows steve wilde, (played by will arnett) a multi-billionaire oil heir.  he is essentially the epitome of a rich snob.  he is vain.  selfish.  has no idea how the real world operates.  has every material possession possible.

when his childhood crush, emmy kadubic (played by keri russell) comes back into his life, his one goal is to sleep with her.  emmy, however, hails from a lower-class background.  as she grew older, she also grew to hate everything steve had become: spoiled, unconcerned about the earth, and egoistic.  because of these beliefs, emmy works as an environmental activist...and runs many efforts to stop steve's oil company from drilling in remote parts of the third world.

as the series has progressed, there has been a unique interplay between steve trying to "do what is morally right" to get in emmy's pants and emmy "getting reacquainted" with the luxuries of life in the united states.

the show goes far beyond your run-of-the-mill love story.  the show is written so well that it is entirely about trying to court your childhood crush, yet simultaneously has nothing to do with love at all.  every episode has been filled with clever political undertones and comedic life lessons.

when you combine the ridiculously brilliant comedic timing of will arnett with the "radical environmental terrorist" portrayed by david cross, the homosexual insinuations from steve's personal aid, mr. lunt, (played by robert michael morris) the hispanic butler (migo) with a gambling problem, (played by mel rodriguez) and the air-head best friend and fellow billionaire fa'ad (played by the incredibly talented peter serafinowicz...rumored to be taking over steve carell's role in the office) the show is simply a hit.  when you add on top of this the perfectly delivered punch lines from stefania lavie owen (the child actress who portrays "puddle," emmy's love child) you have a show that has it all.

every single time i watch the show i get that feeling...the one where you know you're watching something that could really take off.  it's kind of like that feeling you get when you're back home for thanksgiving break and wake up to your mother baking the dinner in the oven.  and how right before the big meal, all you can smell are the delicious, fluffy, gooey, flaky buns baking.  you know you're about to enjoy something incredible, and you know you want seconds (and thirds...and fourths...really, wouldn't the world be awesome if we had thanksgiving dinner every single day?).

running wilde is the rare breed of show that leaves me wanting more.  why eat three buns when you can have four?  so today, as one-half of the founding fathers of TBTOO, i would like to give my seal of approval and recommendation to you that you watch running wilde.  you won't regret it.  if you love that feeling you get from smelling buns baking in the oven...then i'm sure you'll also love running wild.

until next time, keep it toasty.