Action (TV series)

Did You Know?

• The remaining five episodes not aired on Fox were eventually broadcast on FX and Comedy Central.
• The series reran on IFC from 2012 to 2013.
• Sony Pictures Home Entertainment released the complete series on DVD on February 21, 2006.

Characters

Peter Dragon, the head of Dragonfire Films, started out writing gay porn scripts before climbing Hollywood’s ladder to produce lowbrow action flicks. He’s bossy, arrogant, and willing to do anything to make his next movie a hit. His uncle, Lonnie Dragon, played by Buddy Hackett, serves as the company’s chief of security, and the two share an unspoken understanding. Wendy Ward, played by Illeana Douglas, was a child star on The Elephant Princess who later struggled with cocaine addiction as a teen and now works as a high-end escort with a kind heart. Peter promotes her to Vice President of Production and maintains an open romantic relationship with her; Douglas later described this as the best role she ever got. Stuart Glazer, played by Jack Plotnick, holds the title of President of Production but is constantly bullied by Peter and assigned humiliating errands like babysitting, dry-cleaning suits, and ordering gift baskets. Adam Rafkin, played by Jarrad Paul, is a struggling Jewish screenwriter whose script Beverly Hills Gun Club was accidentally bought because his name was mistaken for the more famous Adam Rifkin. Asher, played by John Vargas, is the Eurotrash maître d’ at a power-lunch restaurant who enjoys making Peter beg for a good table. Bobby Gianopolis, played by Lee Arenberg, runs an unnamed studio and uses threats—like pulling funding or flashing his oversized penis—to get his way. He’s gay but married Peter’s ex-wife to hide it.

Reception

Caryn James of The New York Times called the show truly subversive and daring in its scabrous attitude. Tom Shales of The Washington Post described it as the most daring and outrageous new comedy of the season. The Seattle Times called it a dead-on satire of lost souls in the entertainment biz with enough boldness for cable viewing. Ken Tucker of Entertainment Weekly gave it a B, saying it shreds Hollywood corporate culture more viciously than current big-screen spoofs but is less likable. David Zurawik of The Baltimore Sun found the series insulting and the pilot culturally insensitive, questioning whether audiences are meant to identify with or despise Peter Dragon.