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- SHOWTIME
- Aug 16, 2010
- SHOWTIME
- Aug 16, 2010
Summary Award-winning actress Laura Linney stars and produces dark comedy from Showtime about a suburban wife and mother diagnosed with cancer.
Created By: Darlene Hunt
- SHOWTIME
- Aug 16, 2010
- SHOWTIME
- Aug 16, 2010
Summary Award-winning actress Laura Linney stars and produces dark comedy from Showtime about a suburban wife and mother diagnosed with cancer.
Created By: Darlene Hunt
Where to Watch
Season Episodes
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Top Cast
Metascore
Generally Favorable
Based on 27 Critic Reviews
67
59% Positive
16 Reviews
16 Reviews
37% Mixed
10 Reviews
10 Reviews
4% Negative
1 Review
1 Review
Metascore
Generally Favorable
Based on 27 Critic Reviews
67
59% Positive
16 Reviews
16 Reviews
37% Mixed
10 Reviews
10 Reviews
4% Negative
1 Review
1 Review
The show is cluttered with cutesy sidekicks, including Gabourey Sidibe as a student and John Benjamin Hickey as Cathy's homeless brother. But Linney's a big deal. [30 Aug 2010, p.37]
Some elements are so Showtime-comedy-like (the eccentric teen child, e.g.) as to seem a little repetitive. But the show depends above all on Laura Linney's performance, and so far it's entrancing.
User Score
Generally Favorable
Based on 69 User Ratings
6.8
75% Positive
52 Ratings
52 Ratings
7% Mixed
5 Ratings
5 Ratings
17% Negative
12 Ratings
12 Ratings
User Score
Generally Favorable
Based on 69 User Ratings
6.8
75% Positive
52 Ratings
52 Ratings
7% Mixed
5 Ratings
5 Ratings
17% Negative
12 Ratings
12 Ratings
Witty, thoughtful, sad, charming, heartwrenching, dramatic, enticing. This show has everything. Even the couple of subpar episodes are elevated by Linney's performance. YES, this show makes me laugh - A LOT. To people who say it's not funny are obviously letting the dramatic moments overshadow everything else - it's a dark comedy, in the same vein as Weeds. Weeds is another show I love but it has been less funny in the past seasons - doesn't mean its still not a dark comedy.
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SEASON 1
The show is less profound and novel than it seems to think it is. But the performances are strong enough that I want to stick around for Cathy Jamison's final journey, even if the path feels particularly well-trod.
The Big C does not arrive with as sturdy a foundation as "Nurse Jackie," an unusually well-developed show from the get-go, but Ms. Linney completely inhabits a role that's recognizable as a woman who is strong and unusually selfless--at least until her diagnosis.
In general, there's a pat, familiar quirkiness to The Big C that keeps you at a remove from it, and too many easy appeals to your emotions....
Still, with Linney at the heart of The Big C, there's reason to think that the series will improve.
Underneath all the excess and that premium-cable drive to be more-clever-and-shocking-than-thou, there is a core of truth in the story of a mother desperate to reconnect with--and actually raise--her son before she dies. Give us that show, and we might be willing to accept the wacky-but-wise neighbor and the tough fat girl with the soft heart. You brought a great actor to TV, Big C. Use her or lose her.
In The Big C, cancer is simply an excuse to sell the vicarious thrill of on-screen narcissism.
Excellent acting from all actors except for Cynthia Nixon, who is just re-enacting the exact character she played in Sex in the City, (in fact I believe her lines are even borrowed from SIC). Admittedly there are some amazing lines delivered in very genuine way. But the acting and above average lines are where the show has decided to restrict itself to. The
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SEASON 1
Not a good show by any stretch of the imagination. People need to get over Laura Linney. She's not making this show better. It's a failure on a gargantuan scale.
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SEASON 1
A weak show. It has no potential. The first season was very poorly written and didn't really establish a function-able storyline which was evident by the erratic changes every week. Laura Linney, "the greatest actress of this decade," is failing that false title dearly and has plummeted to the B-list by taking part in this show.
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SEASON 1
I don't think anyone is laughing!! Just more crap from show time.. Give me a real comedy any day!!
Great actors poor script! Why have a character you would grow to hate. This has completely missed the mark. It's always about sex violence or drugs with show time. I have to switch to HBO.
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SEASON 1
