I understand she apparently rubbed some longtime and committed Doctor Who fans the wrong way during her tenure as companion Rose Tyler, but neither actress Billie Piper nor the fictional character she played ever bothered me in the slightest.Not even once.
On the contrary, Piper was so adorable, so committed and so spirited in her Dr. Who performances I felt it was absolutely natural for the alien time lord to fall head-over-heels for her.
I mean...I certainly fell for her.
Well, Piper now headlines a very different dramatic TV series, the scandalously-titled, highly-ribald, immensely-witty Secret Diary of a Call Girl. I just screened the first season (consisting of eight half-hour episodes) in its entirety on DVD and was impressed; even captivated.
Playing workaday “high class” London call girl Hannah (aka Belle De Jour), the actress is even more adorable and charismatic than I remember her. Piper's performance is full of wit, heart...and real bravery.
In one series episode -- one certain to become the stuff of legend in fandom -- Piper’s Belle du Jour beds down a drippy character played by actor named Matt Smith, who – as most of you now know – will be playing the Doctor in the new season of Doctor Who.
So if you ever wanted to see an historic bedroom scene between the Doctor and Rose, this is your opportunity. No, it isn’t Eccleston. Or Tennant.
But still…use your imagination.
If history-making sci-fi couplings aren’t your cup of tea, there are plenty of other excellent reasons to watch Secret Diary of a Call Girl. Prime among these is likely curiosity. If you have ever wondered what the day-to-day, job-to-job existence of a call girl might be like, well...you find out. Accordingly, each episode revolves around some particular sexual assignment. Perhaps an orgy, a threesome, or some old-school S&M domination. There’s even one installment about Belle fulfilling the (paid-for) role of “perfect girlfriend” for what’s termed an “all-nighter.”
As for Belle herself, she doesn’t possess many hang-ups. She’ll “go gay for pay;” she doesn’t object to the big "A" (anal sex), and she readily admits she enjoys her job because she likes: a.) sex and b.) money. Still, none of this means Belle is eager to tell her family -- or best friend, Ben -- about what, precisely, she does for a living. She claims, actually, to be a “night-time” legal secretary – whatever the hell that is.
What I find most compelling about Secret Diary of a Call Girl is the open-eyed approach it takes to Belle's job. Everybody does what they do, and there is precious little judgment or tsk-tsking. Belle is intelligent enough to do any job she wants to do, and this, apparently is how she desires to spend her time and make her dough. In one episode, Belle stops working as prostitute for a time to observe “normal people.” Her observations send her running back to prostitution in short order.
Even though Belle likes her job, she still has bad days. Like we all do. In one episode, a really scary john shows up at her apartment and is – if not threatening – then highly creepy. In another episode, Belle has trouble dealing with the fact that a client she sort-of liked opted to see a different girl on his next date, and so on.
Again, the approach is a workaday one. What renders the show humorous is the blistering observations Belle makes about herself, her world, her vocation, her johns and the never ending vicissitudes of human sexuality. Often, Belle breaks the fourth wall and directs her remark at the camera, a beguiling invitation to intimacy.
As you watch the first four episodes of Secret Diary of a Call Girl, you may find yourself shocked (I know I was…) to see just how..um... graphic this show is in terms of nudity and simulation of sex acts. By about the fourth show, however, the shock slips away and you find yourself involved and engaged in Belle’s life, her travails, and her unusual perspective.
I realize some people might complain about a TV series that glamorizes prostitution, but that’s not the game here. As I noted above, prostitution is treated as a vocation, and all the characters are more-or-less handled as “real.” I guess if gangsters (The Sopranos), ad men (Mad Men), lawyers (Damages), politicians (Brotherhood), vampires (True Blood) and serial killers can have TV shows about them, prostitutes deserve the same treatment.
Fortunately, the sharply-written Secret Diary of a Call Girl is indeed in the same class as those other efforts. You shouldn’t miss it.
Watch it with someone you love. Or at least someone you want to have sex with.
No comments:
Post a Comment