"Windfall" (2006) TV series 2006-????

Creators:

Laurie McCarthy
Gwendolyn M. Parker

Seasons:

1

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

Plot:

Twenty friends share in a multimillion-dollar lottery jackpot, only to experience the problems of instant wealth.

Cast

D.J. Cotrona	...	Sean Mathers / ... (13 episodes, 2006)
Jon Foster	...	Damien Cutler (13 episodes, 2006)
Jason Gedrick	...	Cameron Walsh (13 episodes, 2006)
Alice Greczyn	...	Frankie Towsend / ... (13 episodes, 2006)
Lana Parrilla	...	Nina Schaefer / ... (13 episodes, 2006)
Luke Perry	...	Peter Schaefer (13 episodes, 2006)
Sarah Wynter	...	Beth Walsh (13 episodes, 2006)
Emma Prescott	...	Violet Schaefer / ... (13 episodes, 2006)
Larissa Drekonja	...	Galina Kokorev (12 episodes, 2006)
Jaclyn DeSantis	...	Maggie / ... (11 episodes, 2006)
Nikki Deloach	...	Sunny van Hattem / ... (11 episodes, 2006)
Peyton List	...	Tally Reida (11 episodes, 2006)
Channon Roe	...	Jeremy (9 episodes, 2006)
Jonathan LaPaglia	...	Dave Park / ... (8 episodes, 2006)
Sarah Rose Glassman	...	Daisy Schaefer (6 episodes, 2006)
Tembi Locke	...	Addie Townsend (6 episodes, 2006)

Language:

English

Colour:

Colour

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Filming Locations:

Santa Clarita, California, USA

Company:

National Broadcasting Company (NBC)

Trivia:

Cancelled after 13 episodes aired.

Soundtrack:

Suddenly I See

Cast lacks chemistry

Here's a really interesting story idea, one with a lot of potential for comedy, drama, etc., etc. that is being anesthetized before our very eyes by miscasting and one-dimensional writing. I've watched from the beginning and have a hard time remembering most of the characters names. Because there are *so many* characters, I'm going to give it a few more weeks, but I don't have high hopes because there is so little spark on screen. Every group of friends has at least one person who is funny and witty, for pete's sake, and it's usually more than that. This group is so stern and serious, they might bore themselves to death for a final episode.

The exceptions are Luke Perry, Sarah Wynter, Sean (the ex-con, right?), Damian the teenage boy (the actor is good, his love triangle is sappy and not credible), Galina the Russian wife, Sean's missing lawyer/lover Zoe (maybe she'll be found?), and the woman who threatened to sue for her share. These characters are interesting and the actors all have presence, so much, in fact, that the trance-like performances by the rest of the cast come into sharper contrast.

Is Jason Gedrich on downers or is it that his character is sleep-walking through life? I can't tell. And his hair looks over-dyed. His supposed romance with Nina must be a figment of both their imaginations because when they are in one of their tete-a-tetes, I see no chemistry. These two are very miscast as lead role love partners. It's boring to watch them and it's pretty hard to believe how they find their alone time together...oh, the easy convenience of it all. Alice Greczyn is another who looks like she's hypnotically reading memorized lines...tsk, tsk. The overdone waif-innocent longing or giggly looks are tiresome as an emoting technique when you have to see it weekly.

The scripting is also becoming too incestuous. There's far too much overlapping and interloping taking place. We are not going to get to know these characters fully if all we know are their sexual attractions to each other or their one night stands with each other which are an inevitability it seems. This is too trite for words. For the most part, these are supposedly intelligent characters but they're going to suffocate in the vacuum the writers are creating, particularly if the swapping happens too quickly. It may be efficient for the writers to do this, but it amounts to merely a game of spin the bottle with the same players week after week.

So unless some cast changes are made (not likely) and the script gets some new directions, I see a short run for Windfall. Too bad because the concept is original but it needs some pizazz.