The Big Door Prize

The story starts to sag during the middle portion of the season when various puzzle pieces are moved into place. However, by the end of the 10-episode run, it has found its footing again, and “The Big Door Prize” leaves you wanting to know more. Whether the Morpho is magic or not, this series spreads its wings to reach its potential.

There’s some genuine big laughs and a few story questions that should keep us intrigued.

The Ted Lasso formula of saccharine sentiment offset by salty humour is a highly effective one-two, and the performances here across the board are superb.

It charms you into watching and thinking instead of pressing a foot on your neck and pushing your face into the mire. I for one am grateful.

The result is an engaging show with big heart. It takes a beat to get into the unique tone of the series, and to accept the magical realism that stops by now and again. But by the end you do care about what happens to these people. In fact, you’ll probably be left wanting more.

Character-centered, episodic stories can be hit or miss, but the series stitches together such a remarkably woven tapestry of personalities that the show’s narrative arc never dips—even when viewers think they’re about to fire up an episode titled after a character they don’t particularly have much interest in. ... O’Dowd and Dennis’ perfect chemistry, and the godsend of half-hour episodes, don’t hurt on that front, either.

Although billed as a high-concept, sci-fi comedy, the series adaptation of M.O. Walsh’s novel of the same name feels more like an existentialist dramedy with more heart than humor, pondering deep, philosophical questions in punchy, half-hour installments that will leave viewers wanting more by the end of the 10-episode first season.

As with any ensemble, some arcs are stronger than others, but Read balances episodes so even if the new focus isn’t perfectly polished, the core cast is there to keep things humming.

The result is a narrative more ambling than compelling, compounded by the fact that the season, though it will settle some characters’ business and make various philosophical points, ends at a kind of dramatic midpoint. Nevertheless, “The Big Door Prize” is easy to like and even embrace.

Although Dusty is not as interesting a character as Ted IMO, it touches on darkness but brings the viewer back towards the light with decent one-liners.

There are no weak spots in the ensemble accumulated by casting director Gayle Keller. If the promise of a second season was just spending time with these characters in flux, I would at least be curious. But The Big Door Prize is already a delicate show, and the direction it feels like it’s going is one that jeopardizes its fragility rather than buttressing it.

There is so much more this show tries to grasp in its minimal running time, and as a whole The Big Door Prize delivers some admirable drama. ... But irrespective of those whys and wherefores – The Big Door Prize ultimately falls short of greatness.

For all the possibly interesting ways the characters grapple with what it is that they are even doing anymore, the surrounding show proves to be even more aimless. There is still room for The Big Door Prize to find a way forward, though this inauspicious introduction falls short of its full promise.