12 Miles of Bad Road
 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (July 2009) |
| 12 Miles of Bad Road | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Comedy |
| Created by | Linda Bloodworth-Thomason |
| Starring | |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| Original release | |
| Network | HBO |
12 Miles of Bad Road is a television show originally created for HBO[1] centered on a Texas matriarch who must reconcile her booming real estate business and immense wealth with the day-to-day struggles of her dysfunctional family life.
Cast
| Actor | Role |
|---|---|
| Lily Tomlin | Amelia Shakespeare |
| Mary Kay Place | C.Z. Shakespeare |
| Leslie Jordan | Kenny Kingman |
| Gary Cole | Jerry Shakespeare |
| Katherine LaNasa | Juliet Shakespeare |
| Eliza Coupe | Gaylor Shakespeare |
| David Andrews | Saxby Hall |
| Kim Dickens | Jonelle Shakespeare |
| Cameron Richardson | McKenna Hall |
| Ivana Miličević | Montserrat |
| Sean Bridgers | Lyle Hartsong |
| Leigh Allyn Baker | Marilyn Hartsong |
| Tara Karsian | Deputy Deborah Falcon |
| Ron White | Spain Dollarhyde |
Production
12 Miles of Bad Road was created by writer Linda Bloodworth-Thomason, creator of the television hits Designing Women, Hearts Afire, and Evening Shade. It was produced by Bloodworth-Thomason and Harry Thomason's Mozark Productions, as well as HBO. The pilot was shot in 2007.[3] Set in Dallas, but shot in Los Angeles, the characters live in the wealthy north Dallas neighborhood of Preston Hollow.[citation needed]
Ten episodes of the series were ordered by HBO, but because of the 2007–2008 Writers Guild of America strike, only six episodes were shot.[citation needed] On March 17, 2008, HBO announced that it was not planning to air the show and the creators were shopping the episodes around to other networks.[4]
The title is a lyric from the song "Crush with Eyeliner" from the 1995 R.E.M. album Monster, which was itself a reference to the hit song "Forty Miles of Bad Road" by Duane Eddy.
Critical reception
Newsweek called it "a scabrously funny satire of real-estate magnates in Dubya's Texas".[5]
The Los Angeles Times reported that after HBO passed on the show, "despite its price and pedigree" of prestigious actors and producers, the critics got a look:[6]
Sent out to critics by its creators, who hoped to prove that HBO was making a grave mistake, 12 Miles is a nightmare tug of war between the bold, the brilliant and the really, truly terrible. The tale of a Texas real estate dynasty, it cries out not for a review but a psychiatric diagnosis -- schizophrenia? Bipolar disorder? Never have so many Emmy-deserving performances been trapped in such a muddled mess of a more than occasionally offensive storyline.
From the June 2008 issue of Texas Monthly:[7]
Critics be damned, 12 Miles of Bad Road is a blast, a hair-spray-spritzed, bourbon-soaked mash-up of Dallas, Desperate Housewives, and MTV's Cribs...12 Miles is post-camp, a knowingly sincere (or sincerely knowing) attempt to resuscitate a genre that was long ago drowned out by our über-ironic culture...it qualifies as the most underrated show of the decade that almost no one has had the chance to see.
On the producers' decision to send the un-aired episodes to critics, the Toronto Star wrote:[8]
A risky proposition, depending on prevailing opinion, with one thin-skinned critic having already weighed in, objecting to the show's somewhat cynical characters and tone. I beg to differ. The show is beyond hilarious, cleverly written and flawlessly cast.
Episodes
- - "Pilot"
- - "The Dirty White Girl"
- - "Tremors"
- - "Collateral Verbiage"
- - "Texas Stadium"
- - "Moon-shadow"
References
- ^ Gordon, Devin; Johnnie L. Roberts (2007-05-21). "A Whacking Leaves HBO in Crisis". Newsweek. Retrieved 2008-04-19.
- ^ Andreeva, Nellie (2007-01-22). "HBO Ready for 'Road' Show, 'Treatment'". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2008-04-19.
- ^ a b 12 Miles of Bad Road at IMDb
- ^ Andreeva, Nellie (2008-03-18). "HBO won't run '12 Miles'". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2008-04-19.
- ^ Gordon, Devin (2007-05-21). "A Whacking Leaves HBO in Crisis". Newsweek. Archived from the original on October 9, 2008. Retrieved 2008-06-02.
- ^ McNamara, Mary (2008-04-19). "HBO, after the revolution". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on 2008-05-19. Retrieved 2008-06-01.
- ^ Kelly, Christopher (2008-06-01). "Frozen Asset". Texas Monthly. Archived from the original on August 29, 2008. Retrieved 2008-06-01.
- ^ Salem, Rob (2008-03-31). "The Road Not Taken". Toronto Star. Retrieved 2008-03-31.
