Doing it like Rabbits Isn’t Enough, But it’s Fun

Hung-HBOEpisode Commentary: “Do it, Monkey”

After two limp episodes to start its first season, “Hung” has quickly gotten itself in a position to grow as a series. The question remains however if that position will be the right one and create the type of satisfaction viewers are looking for.

The first few minutes are steamy ones and ones many thought the show would have from the beginning.

Nothing like a trashy sex scene to get a show going in the right direction.

Starting the series with nothing, Thomas Jane’s character, Ray Drecker, now has something to smile about. While his co-venture with Tanya is still struggling, he gets a second wind, thanks to an eccentric new customer who has plenty of money and time to burn. Nonetheless, the struggles he has trying to satisfy her emotionally before he can get physical with her [again] are different from anything on TV.

They are also the funniest moments of the series thus far.

The beginning of what seems to be a nice side plot, Drecker may have bitten off more than he can chew, but he’s got a roof to fix and children to win back.

Interesting plot premise to say the least.

However, the question remains if Ray is up to the challenge.

In other developments, Drecker’s ex-wife’s [Ann Heche] life is falling apart. If her shoddy marriage wasn’t enough, her relationship with her children is a disaster as well. Normally, seeing Heche complain when she has everything is a chore for the viewer, but seeing her miserable is a blast. Seeing her husband beg for sex and end up empty handed is even better.

Drecker’s children don’t seem too satisfied either, making the viewer wonder that they too may be ready to jump ship and go live with their father again. Will they? Can they solve their own problems as well?

Every great series has even greater side stories with convincing supporting characters. While “Hung” hasn’t lived up to expectations in this department yet, they’ve gotten a long way so far by faking their way through the first handful of episodes. For “Hung” to continue to garner ratings and viewers, the children of the show and Heche have to be given a bigger role and have dilemmas that matter in the world of the main character.

As of right now, they are just small pokes in his world, rather than a full-fledged kick to the groin.

Luckily, Tanya’s world is turned upside down when Floyd [Steve Hytner] makes up for his insecurities and lashes out at her. Not a good move for him, but it does serve a purpose, as Tanya is left feeling insecure herself. Who will she call for support? Will anyone answer her? Will she be OK? At the very least, while this scene isn’t as fleshed out as it needs to be, it provides the series with someone else to care about besides Ray and makes “Hung” the more intriguing.

Simply put, more moments like this, combined with Ray’s antics are needed before this show can consider itself a real hit.

With a plethora of questions remaining to be answered and Jane’s charisma and wit at an all-time high [for the show, anyway], “Hung” continues to gain respectability.

As of right now, the show has yet to induce a full-blown viewer orgasm, despite several close calls. Nevertheless, that moment appears to be rapidly approaching as the blood vessels of the show’s “marbles” continue to get larger every week.

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About Patrick Hickey Jr. 14230 Articles
Patrick Hickey Jr. is a full-time Assistant Professor of Communication & Performing Arts and Director of the Journalism program at Kingsborough Community College and is the chairman of the City University of New York Journalism Council. He is the Founder and Editor-In-Chief of ReviewFix.com. He's also a former News Editor at NBC Local Integrated Media and National Video Games Writer at Examiner.com where his work was mentioned in National Ad campaigns by Disney, Nintendo and EA Sports. Hickey was also the Editor-In-Chief of two College Newspapers before he received his BA in Journalism from Brooklyn College. Hickey's work has been published in The New York Daily News, The New York Times, Complex, The Hockey Writers, Yahoo!, Broadway World, Examiner, NYSportScene Magazine, ProHockeyNews.com, GothamBaseball.com, The Syracuse Post-Standard, Scout.com and the official sites of the Brooklyn Aces and New York Islanders. His first book, The Minds Behind the Games: Interviews With Cult And Classic Video Game Developers was released in April 2018 and is chock full of interviews with legendary developers. His second book in the series, The Minds Behind Adventures Games, was released in December 2019. His third book, The Minds Behind Sports Games, was released in September 2020. His fourth book, The Minds Behind Shooter Games, was released in March 2021. The Minds Behind Sega Genesis Games and The Minds Behind PlayStation Games were released in 2022 and The Minds Behind PlayStation 2 was published in January 2023. Hickey is also a contracted comic book writer, currently penning his original series, "Condrey," as well as "The Job," "Brooklyn Bleeds" "Dem Gulls" and "KROOM" for Legacy Comix, where he serves as founder, owner and Editor-in-Chief. Hickey Jr. is also a voice actor, having starred in the 2018 indie hit and 2019 Switch, PS4 and Xbox One release, The Padre (also serving as English language Story Editor), from Shotgun With Glitters. The sequel, The Padre: One Shell Straight to Hell was released in February 2021- Hickey also served as a Story Editor and Lead Voiceover performer. He has also done narration and trailers for several other titles including The Kaiju Offensive, Relentless Rex and Roniu’s Tale. Hickey is also the lead voiceover performer on Mega Cat Studios’ upcoming title WrestleQuest, responsible for nearly 90 characters in the game, as well as Skybound's Renfield: Bring Your Own Blood, where he voices both Dracula and Renfield, as well as several other characters. He also stars in Ziggurat Interactive’s World Championship Boxing Manager 2, where he performs the VO of nearly every male character in the game. He also worked on the Atari VCS’s BPM Boy.

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