What would you do if you suddenly won the lotto?
What if your winnings – nearly $400 million – were divided among you and 19 others who’d been at a party and chipped in to buy the ticket?
That’s the clever premise of NBC’s new drama, “Windfall,” which should be called, “Earl is Lost,” or “My Name is Lost,” because it takes the ideas of two winning shows, NBC’s “My Name is Earl,” and ABC’s “Lost,” and combines them into one hybrid summer series.
Hey, nobody ever accused network suits of not overplaying a good hand – no matter who’s holding the cards, right?
While this could have been just another cheesy ripoff, it stands on its own wobbly legs.
“Windfall” is not the greatest show to hit the summer circuit, but not the worst either.
I will, because I am a classy broad, avoid the obvious “payoff” joke – though God knows I’m dying to sink to that level.
The series, like “Lost,” has a huge ensemble company, but unlike “Lost,” we learn their back stories pretty quickly.
The action centers mainly on two couples who’ve known each other forever – Peter and Nina (Luke Perry, “90210,” and Lana Parrilla, “Boomtown”) and Cameron and Beth (Jason Gedrick, “Boomtown,” and Sarah Wynter, “24”) – and, yes, there are the complications of who once slept with whom when.
The men are best friends, even though Nina and Cameron used to shake the sheets pretty good.
The other most-featured player is Sean (D.J. Cotrona, “Skin”), a mysterious loner who works in Beth’s flower shop.
The premiere begins with a party held at the home of Beth and Cameron, who invite friends and neighbors over. They all decide to chip in for the megalottery drawing, including Sean, who was invited at the last minute, and the pizza-delivery woman, Kimberly (Malinda Williams), a single mom living at poverty’s backdoor.
Everybody has a story: Sean is a fugitive; Kimberly doesn’t sign the list before putting in her dollar; Damien (Jon Foster) is a rebellious teen neighbor; Frankie (Alice Greczyn) is a 16-year-old girl whose parents are in a miserable marriage, and well, you get it.
We follow them all – Damien, for example, wants to get himself emancipated from his parents, with whom he has a contentious relationship, and so marries a Russian mail-order bride/ knockout (Larissa Drekonja).
Frankie’s folks basically leave her to her own devices while each runs off with the newfound dough.
And, speaking of dough, there is one huge mistake – when Beth and Nina go to France (a la “The Sopranos”) they are shocked at the conversion between dollars and francs – and they should be, because francs haven’t been used in France since 2002!
The actors are all good, the premise is a very good one, and the writing isn’t bad. What’s missing here is some heart, so it’s a like-it, don’t-love-it show. But you know how it goes – money (especially francs) just can’t buy you love.
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“Windfall”
[** 1/2] (Two and one-half stars)
Tonight at 10 on NBC/Ch. 4