A handful of reactions to the much-anticipated first episode.

Heck of a Hack

Will the real Monterey please stand up?

Whatever heck of a place was on display in HBO’s Big Little Lies, it was not Monterey. At least not the one I’ve come to know and love.

I wish that producer David E. Kelley had just come here to film and then named it some other fictional place, like El Camino del Rey Mar Vista, or Cabot Cove.

I was left with nothing but questions watching episode 1. Who are these people? Where are they driving? (All over the Peninsula, apparently, in all different directions.) Why does the morning look like afternoon? And on and on.

These people don’t exist in Monterey, only in a stereotypical TV world that comes off more like Los Angeles or Orange County than the Central Coast. And let’s throw in a Silicon Valley stereotypical reference, and have one of the ultra-rich, glamorous moms (Laura Dern’s character) joining the board of PayPal. Engage eye-roll sequence.

It’s just lazy writing, with a lot of telling what’s going on rather than revealing it. In the first episode we are told a lot by the characters in just one implausible conversation or monologue after another, heavy on the “poor me” rich white woman theme – and let’s beat the Mommy Wars horse to death here, while we’re at it.

The reason Mad Men – which filmed part of its last season in Big Sur – was such a brilliant show was because producer Matthew Weiner showed us the complexities of Don Draper/Dick Whitman through his actions (and in superior flashback sequences). Kelley and crew tell us more than they show us, which makes for flat characters.

What we’re left with is a Fake Monterey, with fake people and fake situations. [PM]

First-Grade Education

This is an impressive cast, with depth beyond the much-ballyhooed lead ladies, including Laura Dern, Alexander Skarsgard and Santa Cruz’s own Adam Scott. And, as promised, geography stars: Monterey State Beach (Del Monte), Fisherman’s Wharf, Highway 1 and Scenic Road in Pacific Grove all take star turns in episode 1.

But the real revelation are the younger stars.

There’s some irony there, because this production is partly about co-producer and co-headliner Nicole Kidman building upon a desire to give female actors roles that express depth and nuance with her own production company. “It’s allowed me to shape my career in terms of being able to find things that I may not get offered, that I wouldn’t get the opportunity for,” she told The New York Times.

But then here comes Darby Camp as Chloe Mackenzie, roaring in with the best lines and delivery from the get-go.

On the introductory ride to school, her mom Madeline (Reese Witherspoon) asks her to turn down the music, and Chloe says, “OK woman,” and uses her iPhone to honor the request. We quickly come to understand we have a 6-year-old with sass, perspective and power – and precocious taste in music. (She picks “The Wind” by P.J. Harvey.)

When Madeline nearly rear-ends a distracted driver, it’s Chloe who yells out, “Mother f**ker,” right as her mom opens her mouth in anger, adding “You were going to do it, [mom].”

When she’s joined by classmate-to-be Ziggy in the back seat, she keeps firing. “My mom’s an active talker,” she explains. “What music do you listen to? Don’t tell me. Bowie?”(See what she did there?)

Chloe both antagonizes and empowers her mom, the most textured of the parent protagonists so far. During a dinner table spat she says, “Mom had a day.” When her mother takes offense, she says, “I’m on your side, woman!”

Later, an emotional scene between her parents is punctuated by her jacking up the music inside the house. (It helps that the soundtrack has been quite strong.) Another reminder that among this ever-tangling web of parent-driven school politics, deceit and rivalry, Chloe won’t be a passive observer. Which is good. [MCA]

That Was Depressing

Until I watched episode 1 of HBO’s Big Little Lies, Monterey County’s coastline seemed like a perfectly lovely place to live. But now, despite living here and knowing countless friendly people, I’ve been primed to see misery all around me.

The show, which starts with a murder scene at an outdoor costume ball school fundraiser, in what is presumably a flash forward to the aftermath of the show’s climax, gets darker and more miserable from there.

Beautiful rich people living in lavish coastal mansions, and all they seem capable of so far is making their respective lives unnecessarily mean and spiteful. This show is striving soccer moms on steroids, a dog-eat-dog world of who’s got the cutest first-grader. Woe is them.

For viewers who don’t yet have kids but want them, it’s perhaps best to tune out, as this show shines a dark light on parenthood and childhood.

If you’re wondering where the show is supposed to get entertaining to watch, I’m right there with you, and given the permacloud hanging over all of episode 1, I hardly expect the sun to shine through at any point. I keep wondering what the payoff might be, because trying to figure out which of the miserable characters killed another miserable character is not how I want to spend another nine hours.

The highlight – and I’d say not just for locals – was the scenery of the local coastline.

It’s just a shame, in the show, that it is inhabited with such joyless characters. [DS]

Let’s Try It Again

INT. A GRIM POLICE INTERROGATION ROOM, NOT UNLIKE THE ONE IN HBO SERIES BIG LITTLE LIES

DAVID E. KELLEY, mop-haired writer and/or creator of shows such as L.A. Law, Boston Public and Big Little Lies, is seated at a table. An INTERROGATOR paces before him with a file folder in hand.

Interrogator: (Grimly.) So, you feel good about the debut? Do ya?

David E. Kelley: (Laughs nervously.) I should be asking you that.

Interrogator: I’ll ask the questions!

Kelley: (Swallows hard.) Well, I think it’s an entertaining look at our darker selves, our relationships, our secrets –

Interrogator: Our? Do I look like a rich, busybody, lacrosse mom to you?

Kelley: I think that’s a little harsh.

(The interrogator tosses the file onto the desk. Kelley opens it and reads.)

Kelley: @RussellFalcon says “Big Little Lies is a stellar addition to my favorite new genre, Petty White People Cinema.” I can show you lots of glowing Twitter comments, too.

Interrogator: Planted by the studio, I’m sure.

Kelley: These are strong female characters caught in a web of –

Interrogator: You sound like your script. Too much exposition.

Kelley: Was there anything you liked about Big Little Lies?

Interrogator: (Beat.) I thought Reese Witherspoon was good. Really good. I liked her relationship with her oldest daughter. I thought the young, broke mother character was underplayed well. The reference to Avenue Q made me smile. And I like that it’s partly shot here.

Kelley: OK. Give it a chance. It’s only the first episode.

Interrogator: That’s the only reason I haven’t thrown you in with the rest of the trash. You did good work on Picket Fences. (Interrogator leans in.) But we’ll be watching. And if you don’t clean up your act, Big Little Lies will find itself in the same fate as your show The Crazy Ones. Canceled.

(KELLEY puts his head into his hands.)

FADE TO BLACK [WR]

School Suspension

If you’ve grown up in Monterey, like me, first you have to suspend disbelief. That was the biggest challenge for me as a local – and as an education reporter. (Note the absurd Scarlet Letter-style scene at the first day of school that triggers the drama.)

But after fighting that for a couple scenes, there were some actual human struggles.

Every relationship, from parent-to-child to wife-to-husband, and even to the female characters with themselves, seemed broken.

The children, especially, weren’t dumbed down to predictable characters, and had good moments of showing up their mothers.

Take, for instance, Kathryn Newton (Abigail Mackenzie). She isn’t a typical formulaic teen rebel. She genuinely loves her mom (played by Reese Witherspoon), and seems to think of herself not as a special snowflake. Look no further to the scene where she argues with her mother over the statistics of indebted liberal arts graduates (I feel ya, girl!). Couple that with Madeline being fearful of her real life mom career coming to an end, and you get some relatable drama.

But, as those storylines seem sidelined by the main murder-mystery narrative, watching until the end seems like a lot of work, for a few good bits and pieces. I could see myself watching until episode 3, but it’s not really the HBO-drama I tune into. [MA]

Bonus Clips

A peek at other social media reactions to episode one.

Berni McClelland

big little lies premiered tonight and the whole time I was like that’s by lovers!!! that’s the wharf!!

Melissa Delaine

Seeing @RWitherspoon and @shailenewoodley at Fisherman’s Wharf on Big Little Lies… like can I meet you, you’re in my town (smiley face with heart eyes)

Charlie MCBrearty

HBO does it again. Big Little Lies while an unsettling reflection of white privilege, is SO f;ing good.

Todd Waldman

The real winner of Big Little Lies? These fucking houses!!!

Ashley Bourdreau

Ayee represent MB! This is where I live yalll (purple heart)

Linda Lay

So is Big Little Lies supposed to be about moms from a school that is fictionalized combo of Carmel River School and Santa Catalina?

Courtney Nichols

Having been born and raised in Monterey, I am beyond thrilled to see HBO’s take on my town. Which undoubtedly will not involve the Fremont [Street] sex [shop] nor that random turn off where I smoked cloves and drank cheap beer after class.

(Un)real Talk

Lines from various moments heighten the bizarre effect.

“You’re going to love it. This is Monterey! We pound people with nice.” “To death.”

– Madeline Martha Mackenzie (Reese Witherspoon) and Celeste Wright (Nicole Kidman) welcoming Jane Chapman (Shailene Woodley) to her new city

“Who knows what lies out there beneath the surface.”

– Madeline meditating on the Pacific Ocean

“Everybody wants to prove who is the richest. We’re talking about viciously competitive people.”

– Unidentified public safety officer

“I’m trying to decide whether I’m happy or sad.”

– Celeste, leaning against a kitchen counter and wearing a super-posh belted dress

“Exactly how psychotic do you think I am?”

– Madeline to her husband (Adam Scott) as she drinks a glass of chilled white wine in her expensive kitchen

“So bad… we are so bad.”

– Perry Wright (Alexander Skarsgard) agreeing with wife Celeste as the two share an intimate moment

“I thought it was nice for the nannies to get to know each other, a support system.”

– Renata Klein (Laura Dern) speaking in a condescending tone to Jane during school pickup

“Things never blow over. They blow up. Boom.”

– An unidentified character

“It’s like I’m on the outside looking in.”

– Jane’s voice paired with a close-up shot of her makeup-heavy and tear-filled eye

“Jane just didn’t fit here. Kind of like a dirty old Prius parked outside of Barney’s.”

– A character being interviewed, presumably – spoiler alert! – after an unidentified mom’s untimely death