Chris Thompson's caustic Hollywood satire ripped into the industry's foibles and insecurities without any of the coddling and facile hand-holding of, say, Showtime's "Episodes." This was an angry, bitter show that refused to cut any of its characters an iota of slack. Is it any wonder that viewers refused to warm to "Action!" in its brief 1999 run?

 

Jay Mohr will never get a better part than the constantly bleeped Peter Dragon, nor is Illeana Douglas likely to get to improve on hooker-turned-development executive Wendy. The superior supporting cast included Buddy Hackett, Jack Plotnick, Jarrad Paul, the fantastic Lee Arenberg and a slew of celebrity cameos. 

 

If you watch the "Action!" DVD, and you really should, resist the temptation to watch with the uncensored audio track. The bleeps are part of the comedic atmosphere of the series and it's actually much less funny when you can hear Mohr swearing.