There are some people whom it is universally acceptable to ridicule: Carrot Top, Danny Bonaduce, Tom Cruise (if he's not one of them, he should be)... the list goes on and on. Somewhere smack dab in the middle of that list is Donna Martin herself, otherwise known as Tori Spelling.
Her dad is Aaron Spelling, the mega-wealthy producer of 211 (!) various shows and films, including "Dynasty," "Melrose Place" and, of course, "Beverly Hills, 90210" in which Tori starred. This obvious nepotism is just one of the many reasons people feel free to mercilessly mock Spelling.
But in her new sitcom-ish show on VH1, the one laughing the loudest at Tori Spelling is none other than Tori Spelling.
Spelling plays herself on the new show, "So NoTORIous." (Get it? Her name, "Tori" is in the middle of the word notorious? You see, it's something of a play on words.) This show is basically 30 minutes of Tori getting into trouble in Los Angeles and openly making fun of her plastic surgeries, her spoiled childhood, her inattentive mother, her post-"90210" career (exclusively consisting of Lifetime movies) and, of course, the aforementioned nepotism which started her career.
In "So NoTORIous," Tori lives in an apartment independent of her father's wealth, but she makes frequent visits back to her childhood mansion to see her mother and her nanny. Loni Anderson plays Tori's mother and, in episode one, inexplicably takes to selling many beloved articles from Tori's childhood on eBay. Nanny Margaret (Cleo King) is just a big ball of wise-talking sass. And, really, what show is complete without a big ball of wise-talking sass?
Tori has two best friends on the show: Sasan (Zachary Quinto), the requisite gay male friend, and Janey (Brennan Hesser), the requisite loudmouth girlfriend, each of whom is undaunted by Tori's fame and wealth and unflinchingly tells her the cold, hard truth about all of her numerous flaws. In last week's episode, Sasan explained that esteemed director Steven Soderbergh wasn't returning Tori's calls because "he thinks you're a talentless product of nepotism and bad television."
That line is a pretty good reflection of the tone of the show. "So NoTORIous" is not laugh-out-loud funny, but it is surprisingly clever. The self-deprecating way in which Spelling mocks her career and lifestyle is refreshing in a celebrity culture that seems to take itself so incredibly
seriously.
That said, not every joke on "So NoTORIous" is funny or even clever, and some just fall flat. Though the lack of a laugh track is appreciated, these moments are awkward for viewers to endure. Thankfully, there aren't many of them.
Numerous times throughout the show, someone will ask Tori a question which will launch a flashback in her mind. These little vignettes are used to explain why Tori acts in the ways that she does and are usually reminiscent of bygone eras dating from her spoiled childhood or her "90210" days (which were apparently fraught with fear of Shannen Doherty). After each memory, Spelling returns to the questioner and apprehensively responds, "I don't know." Perhaps she's trying to develop a catchphrase; it's hard to say.
To be sure, Spelling's made some questionable career decisions in the past. This venture, however, seems to be working out. For now, her self-mockery is refreshing and moderately funny, but the question remains: Is Tori Spelling a ridiculous enough person to sustain a whole series? Doubtful, but stay tuned to find out.
