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WARNING: Graphic Content!!! Do NOT push play if you don't want to see the explicit video!!!

Worst TV Show of the Week

Easy Money on CW

Ever since the success of The Sopranos, television dramas have been obsessed with crime and the American family.  Once relegated to the realm of premium cable, these shows have slowly migrated to the broadcast airwaves.  From Showtime’s Weeds (a series about a widowed mother turned drug dealer), to AMC’s Breaking Bad (about a high school chemistry teacher who starts cooking methamphetamines to pay for his cancer treatment), to the CW’s Easy Money (which centers on a dysfunctional upper-middle class family of quasi-legal loan sharks), crime has apparently become a family pastime.  Easy Money (Sunday, 7:00 p.m. ET – only 6:00 p.m. Central/Mountain time) stands out, however, because its twisted portrayal of family life is scheduled well BEFORE the Family Hour.  For airing racy sexual dialogue just as families sit down for Sunday dinner, the August 9^th broadcast of Easy Money has been named Worst TV Show of the Week.

The episode began with a recap of previous episodes.  Morgan, the son of matriarchal loan shark Bobette Buffkin, has just started dating the brainy, attractive graduate student Julia.  A quick shot of them having sex is shown.  The story picks up at an archeological dig where Julia gives Morgan a tantalizing challenge.  “Find me a human femur,” Julia says, “and I will perform any sex act you desire.”  Morgan doesn’t find one, but Julia does discover a gun in the glove compartment of Morgan’s car. He assures her that the gun is for protection.  Though she’s apprehensive about Morgan’s line of work, she’s also confident that Morgan is not a violent man.  Besides, the Buffkin pay-day loan business is technically a legal venture … or is it 

Morgan attempts to shield Julia from the nefarious side of his line of work, which includes strong-arming an RV dealer who owes the Buffkins a significant amount of money and extending a loan to two prostitutes - the St. John Sisters, Amber and Sherry.  The sisters drop by the Buffkin office to explain their plight and find a very sympathetic audience.

“How 'bout the hotel work?” Morgan asks.  “The bellboys down at they Hyatt still give out your number, don't they?”

The Sisters explain that the hotel hired new personnel with higher moral standards.

“And to top it all off,” Roy Buffkin adds, “the girls just got evicted.  I mean how are they gonna earn a living if they don't got a bed?”

Bobette offers to make a few calls and she gives them $200 spending money.  “Keep you in lipstick and Victoria's Secret.  Your line of work you gotta look your best ... Whatever happens, stay away from the truck stops.  Don't want you working there; it's not safe.” 

In an attempt to find the sisters work, Bobette and Morgan drop by a friendly neighborhood brothel.  Hookers in lingerie lounge about the living room sipping soda while the madam of the house explains to Bobette, “Recession is good for your business, not mine.  This is a luxury expenditure.  People need to have discretionary income.  Plus, you have housewives turning tricks now to buy their Jimmy Choos [shoes].” 

Julia ends up attending the Buffkin Sunday dinner, which, according to Morgan, is a big deal for the family (ironically enough).  During the meal, the Buffkins talk shop, mentioning the plight of the poor St. John sisters.  Julia is under the erroneous impression that “the sisters” are Catholic nuns.  The next day, Bobette drops by Julia’s lab to give her some leftover pie.  She mentions to Julia that Morgan will be out of town tonight.  Apparently Morgan came up with a plan to settle the RV dealer’s debt by having him give the St. John sisters an RV, which they can use to set up shop at a hunter’s campsite.  When Julia wonders what Catholic nuns would need an RV for, Bobette explains, “Oh, no honey.  They're not nuns, hun.  They're pros - prostitutes, darling.  Whores.  Morgan came up with the perfect solution.  The sisters get a nice place to ply their trade.  The hunters are provided for and everybody's happy.”  Julia drives to the campsite and discovers a long line of hunters in camouflage standing next to the RV.  One of the sisters steps out and escorts the next customer inside while the men hoot and holler.  Morgan stands guard, essentially acting as their pimp.  He sees Julia in the distance and gives her a sheepish grin.

The CW has struggled for months to fill a gaping void in their Sunday night line-up.  Currently, the lead-off spot is a rotating wasteland of repeats and the last dregs of cancelled shows.  While the network burns off failed pilots, it shows no regard for the nature of the timeslot.  According to them, it is perfectly reasonable to air a show rated TV14-DL at a time normally devoted to family programming.  The network seems to say, “Join the Buffkins for Sunday dinner -- and delightful conversations about hookers!”  If the network really wants to shore up its Sunday night line-up, it should consider airing something families would actually watch together. 

For sexually explicit dialogue, Easy Money has been named Worst TV Show of the Week.