'Shameless' - 'Frank the Plank': Oh, Canada
William H. Macy gets more to do, but is that a good thing here?
William H. Macy in "Shameless."
My review of "Shameless" episode two coming up just as soon as I smell Drakkar Noir...
"Frank the Tank" was, from what I understand, another fairly faithful adaptation of the respective episode from the British series, in which Steve dumps Frank in Calais. (Fiona even tells Steve, "What my family is has fuck all to do with you," which is a much more common idiom in England than here.) And while I hadn't seen the Brit ep (all I ever saw of that show was the pilot), I could kind of tell even before I looked it up, as there's a sense of these characters going through the motions. Next week has an original story, and hopefully that'll be the case going forward, but I'm curious how people responded to this one, whether you've seen the old show or not.
Beyond that, my main concern here is Frank, who spent most of the pilot episode unconscious, and who becomes a much more prominent figure in this one. I really liked the early scene where Frank head-butts Ian and acts like it's no big deal. In that moment, it seemed like the show was going to go a little deeper than just letting Frank be a disappointing but ultimately lovable lush - that Paul Abbott and company were going to acknowledge that there are times when life in the Gallagher household is pretty horrible. But by the time Frank woke up in Canada, he was back to being harmless comic relief, and stayed that way even after he returned to the States, moved in with Joan Cusack's character and let her have her way with him.
And as much as I usually love William H. Macy, he's not the part of the show that really interests me. The draw here comes from Emmy Rossum and the kids (particularly the actors who play Lip and Ian) and their own problems, and so an episode where they're almost exclusively reacting to Frank didn't feel as strong as the pilot, or as I found next week's episode.
But we can talk about that next week. As for "Frank the Tank," what did everybody else think?
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Login or create a HitFix account Login SignupJulius
January 17, 2011 at 12:12AM EST Reply to CommentI have not seen the original version. I am finding it difficult to care about the family. They all seem pretty horrible (not acting wise-as I agree they all do quality work-particularly Rossum). They're criminal activity (usually petty) isn't even clever or interesting. And for the life of me I couldn't figure out why (it seems like) the entire town would care that Frank went missing. I'm pretty sure I'm done with the show.
Jim
January 17, 2011 at 12:27AM EST Reply to CommentEmmy Rossum's character is the only likable character.
the perverse professor
January 17, 2011 at 12:36AM EST Reply to CommentIn which episode do we get to see them fine young titties?
james in athens I wouldn't call Macy young exactly.
January 17, 2011 at 10:25PM ESTJulian
January 17, 2011 at 12:53AM EST Reply to CommentGreat stuff having never seen the British show. Definitely makes me look forward to next week.
January 17, 2011 at 1:05AM EST Reply to CommentI was so sure this episode was gonna be different from the original, since it's such an "European" story. I haven't seen it, but apparently it's not. I'm really not a fan of Willian H Macy's Frank ( one of the weakest links of the show, I'd say ), so I'm not looking forward to watching this.
Apart from Frank, I can't see how people can not find the other members of the family likeable
John
January 17, 2011 at 1:29AM EST Reply to CommentAnybody know what song that was they used in the background when they were driving in the motor home to get Frank back from Canada?
Lyrics in tbe chorus were something like:
outside in - inside out
whoaaaoo
............................
And sounded sorta Devo-ish?
To anyone that might know it would be appreciated.
Thanks
January 23, 2011 at 12:45PM ESTHere's a YouTube link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iJ9rtAzEQCI
dan
January 17, 2011 at 4:45AM EST Reply to Commentas a fan of the original im intrigued to see where they go with this, hopefully they do the same as the office and go their own route after a few episodes
i can imagine they'd want to change certain aspects of season 2
american version of skins starting tonight i believe, cant see that one working at all, but i guess we'll see
January 17, 2011 at 11:14AM ESTroro It needs to stop having the characters tell their lines as if their british. The show is just not believable at portraying an "American" family ... at this point.
January 19, 2011 at 2:19PM ESTGranted, it is hard to make Frank an american "Keith Richards" as he's played in the british version
blinky
January 17, 2011 at 4:43PM EST Reply to CommentFrank submitting to anal in exchange for food and beer is hilarious. The little pillow is priceless.
Lepidoptera
January 17, 2011 at 4:47PM EST Reply to CommentAlan, you hit on the biggest problem of the show for me, and that is one of tone. Living with Frank, in that house, would be horrible. But the script, two weeks in a row, shows a stark refusal to acknowledge the darkness, edging right up toward an honest moment of rage or despair, and opting instead for hijinks and humor.
Yes, this show has to be funny to be bearable, but it also has to be more honestly depraved to be truly touching. Joan Cusack's character is a cartoon, and every time we need a truly raw moment, we get another Eight is Enough moment instead.
If Shameless can't take itself seriously as a DRAMA-dy, then how can we be expected to believe the serious moments at all?
January 17, 2011 at 7:08PM EST Reply to CommentOh my God, the pacing for the jokes imported from the original scripts was just awful a lot of the times. The original bits, though, were great.
Alan, you complained about them always making Frank loveable in the end, but the greatest thing about this episode is that they changed the ending so all of the conflicts weren't resolved by the end.
In the original, when Fiona goes to the van, she opens it to find Steve, naked covered only by roses's petals. It was beautiful, but this seems more realistic.
Also, in the end the family is showing Frank move in with Sheila. Last night, nothing was shown, but it is obvious not everyone is okay with Frank.
I'm looking forward to next week, as Sepinwall said it is the one that diverges the most from the original and also the best one.
M
January 17, 2011 at 11:23PM EST Reply to CommentCatching up on it now. I'm only halfway throug the ep, but my attention is really wandering. There's not a single character I care about aside from Rossum, too much of the show seems like shock for shock's sake or completely divorced from the way people really behave (Rossum walks in on her friends having sex and then stands there and has a conversation with them. Really?) And great an actor as Macy is, he is completely miscast in this role. I'll give it one more week since you've said the third ep is the best, but I have a feeling this one's getting dropped from my lineup.
AP
January 17, 2011 at 11:35PM EST Reply to CommentI've never seen the original, but can I assume it's at least watchable? Terrible show.
Kimberly
April 4, 2012 at 4:57AM EST Reply to CommentI literally watched the British episode and corresponding American episode back to back. I guess I just wanted to compare them. Or I guess I enjoyed the British show and just need translation.
The US version was quite boring, as it basically was a copy of the British version. At the same time, I really like the US actors and it was interesting to see how the US version updated it.
And I have to say that now that the US episodes are original, I like the US version that much more. Like I said, it's boring to see exact copies of something else.