The Riches: The Lying King

With Dahlia's breakdown, Didi rebelling against her father, and the growing tension between Wayne and Quinn, things are building nicely. As a season finale though, I'm left feeling disappointed. Still, "The Lying King" did offer up some good bits to the story.

To start, let me go to the end, with Quinn's closing words for the season, "I have your son." I suspected that was the motivation for his interest in Cael. But they did do a good job selling the possibility that Quinn could have other ideas. For just a moment, as he defended Wayne to Cael, I could almost believe that he was a changed man and did want to take the family in a different direction. Alas, as I saw, not so much.

Clearly, Wayne wants no part of a partnership with Quinn. I'm missing some pretty big bits to that back story, and it's something that I would really like to see in season three. Of course, even if Quinn was sincere in his desire to deal with Wayne, that ship had already sailed with what happened at the Bayou Hills construction site. Sabotage and just showing up to take over are not the friendliest of methods for saying let's be partners.

For me, the best part of the Bayou Hills construction story was the entrance of Wayne's mafia muscle. It was good to get Minkov back into the story. It's a great example of just what the Riches project has become for the Malloys. It did all start on a fluke. It was a perfect storm of coincidences that brought them into this situation to begin with. And with everything that has happened, all the close calls, they should have cut and run by now, cashing out for whatever they could from Doug's estate.

And they almost did, but then they had Bayou Hills and the promise of the big payday. It's just as much the definitive deadline as it is the $13 million. When they first took this gamble, it was all wide open. But now, if Wayne can just get to the end of the Bayou Hills project he can disappear with a big score. So now the game becomes juggling all of the balls until the very last minute. It's a tricky bit of business. He doesn't have to actually solve all of these problems. He just has to delay any negative resolutions until just after he's out.

That's what I see shaping up with Minkov. Given the choice, Wayne would surely side with Hugh and turn the tables on Minkov. And really, unless he absolutely has to in order to keep the game going, he's not going to throw Hugh under the bus. At some level, Wayne is growing to like Hugh. When Hugh stops to share a genuine moment where he thanks Doug for everything he does for him, it is just that much more pressure on Wayne. It all makes for a fascinating story.

On the other side of the tale, there is Dahlia. I found myself mesmerized by Minnie Driver this week. The breakdown of Dahlia as her past and her present just overwhelm her is great TV. It was impressive how much of her story they were able to tell by letting us watch her think about her situation. Dahlia's part of the story also served as the setting for some of the best Nina scenes I have had yet. I've liked the Nina character from the start, but watching her deal with Jim's death, and both Dahlia and Wayne, was Nina at her best. It really showed just how much alike Wayne and Dahlia are. She is so angry with Wayne, yet doing the exact same thing to Nina.

The only part of Dahlia's story, and the episode, that didn't work for me was the scene with Devereaux. I just wasn't buying his sudden kiss of Dahlia to start with, let alone with his wife and kids just inside the house. That's just not at all what I got from all of the earlier Devereaux scenes.

As to the kids, there's not a lot to take from Sam and Cael's involvement. I'm curious to see more with Sam and his new friend, but as this was the season finale, that bit felt kind of tacked on because they needed something for Sam to be doing. And Cael, he was more or less playing support to get to Quinn's big line. There was a bit more for Didi this week though. Dahlia tossing Wayne under the bus by telling Didi about Pete set a lot of things in motion. The telling line for me was Didi asking Wayne if that's who they are now. She's left searching and confused, seeing everything falling apart and takes off for some good old fashioned teen age rebellion.

And there I am. All the seeds have been planted for what should surely be a great season three. I do wish that I could get all of those answers over the next couple months as a full season two raps up, but what am I gonna do? I suppose I should take from it that six episodes of a very good show is still a check in the win column.

The Riches: Dead Calm

Here I am, with the next to last episode of the season, and I found it just a little strange. Perhaps I was reading too much into the fact that there is only one more episode to go. But this didn't feel like an episode setting me up for a big conclusion/cliff hanger. I'm left thinking there are a whole lot of irons in that fire that need to be dealt. While it wasn't what I expected, there were some very interesting developments in Eden Falls.

Let's start the day at the office, and head home later. I was happy to see things moving forward with Hugh's mayoral campaign, and I love the slogan. Out with the old, and in with the Hugh. That's top notch local politics. Wayne's solution to get the signatures was even simpler than I imagined. I got where he was going with the list of voters from the church he asked Aubrey for, but I thought I would be treated to an example of Wayne winning over another crowd. There just wasn't enough time, I suppose.

There were bigger fish to fry at the office as it was time to pick a contractor for Bayou Hills. Again, I was surprised as Hugh eschewed Doug's choice, Riley, and went with his man Wilkins. The explanation, "Wilkins is a stiff, but he's my stiff." was perfect Hugh reasoning. Of course, the real story was with Riley, and Dale. I finally get a peek at the game Dale is running. It's bigger than Dale. It's bigger than Riley. It's Quinn.

The Irish accent was a clear tip to where that was headed, but I was still surprised when Dale was waiting in the bar. I was looking for Traveler involvement in the bid, but not that Traveler involvement. It's the fork in the road that has been looming for Wayne and Dale all season. And didn't I know that Wayne was going to come out on top in this battle? That last scene at the Rich house explained it all so well. Dale was in way over his head. Enough that he pleaded with Wayne to help him. But he's still too stubborn to actually come clean. As to who is in the truck waiting to visit punishment on Dale, I'm going with Riley and his merry band of thugs. Whether this will be the end of Dale though... I tend to think not. He doesn't have the stuff to lead or take control, but he does have the resilience to keep coming back.

Stopping by the school before I get back to the house I find a very strange part of the episode. I'm all for some development for Didi and Sam, but is now the time for it? There's only one more episode to go. Sam finding someone that accepts him without questioning is a story with some legs. But those are probably legs that would be better stretched in season three. And the same could be said of this new Didi story. I'm curious about her and the security guard with grand ideals about how I should treat everyone. There little scene in the chapel was intriguing, but also just felt somewhat out of place as I lead up to what is serving as the season finale.

Cael's story, on the other hand, does feel like it fits in here. I just can't decide which way this is going. It certainly seems like it's all a setup, and the future is not looking bright for him. With Wayne set to make a big score, Cael's value as bargaining chip is enormous. However, Quinn has just enough of an aura of being reformed that he could actually have other plans for Cael. Granted, it is a slim chance, but one that still has possibilities.

And that brings me to casa Rich, where the real action was this week. It all played out beautifully right from that first conversation between Landry and Dahlia. Once again I see that on her own, and off the cuff, Dahlia is not the greatest con. Landry didn't have to write anything in his notebook because he wasn't buying a bit of it.

I loved the starts and stops of the conversation that I knew was coming all night. Dahlia asks about the P.I., and Hugh interrupts Wayne. She asks about the money, setting the trap, and you could feel the tension, what would Wayne do? I wasn't shocked when he lied about it. Wayne is one-tracked on Bayou Hills to his own detriment, but again I was put on hold. And I saw the interruption yet again when they were about to have it out and Jim's party showed up.

Finally, the showdown I had been waiting for, and that same tension was there. How far would Wayne carry the lie? I was glad that he finally came clean, and then riveted as he kept trying to justify Pete's death. It is all coming together now, what integrating themselves into the buffer life has done to them. All of the worries from the beginning of the show are coming back. As Dahlia put it, "Cael's right. We've lost our souls." It's a huge wedge between Wayne and Dahlia, but at the same time, they've come so far with it that they are stuck together. I find myself being more and more sympathetic with Dahlia's case as it all develops, as crazy as that case is.

There were a couple of misfires, but I thought the revelations and story between Wayne and Dahlia really made the episode. It all does leave me wondering just what is going to happen. One episode just doesn't seem like enough time. Bayou Hills, the election, Dale, Devereaux, Landry, Quinn, Cael... There is a lot of story to rap up. I suspect I'll be left hanging where some of that is concerned. Either way, it does set up to be a very interesting finale.

The Riches: Trust Never Sleeps

Right about now, some of the Malloys should probably be having some second thoughts about returning to Eden Falls. The lure of big money is hard to resist, but it's certainly not going to be easy money. The dark turn to their adventure continues in episode five as I find Dahlia continuing to struggle with her new triple life, Pete causing more trouble for Wayne, and young Cael striking out and getting some story all his own.

As mentioned before, that Bayou Hills payday is a fat one, and it's going to help lessen the perception of many a threat. P.I. Landry came calling. It did all play out as a throw-away story of the week, but then, that's only true if Landry doesn't come back. That's something I expect I will see at some point.

When he started going through the trash my first thought was that Wayne is much too careful to have anything incriminating in something so publicly accessible. The fact that Sam had tossed the towel, and was sharp enough to put two and two together and realize what could come of it, was a clever way to go. It also got us back to the always entertaining "partnership" between Wayne and Dale. It's a great dynamic because they both know there is no partnership, and they are both convinced that they have the upper hand.

Wayne also had his hands full with Hugh. I'm thrilled that the mojo transplant is taking. This Hugh is so much more fun. I love hearing him rattle off lines like how he doesn't want to spend his time with politicians, because they are liars and crooks. Right after he bitches because his crooked politician got fired. Hugh does see the world in a very particular way. Speaking of Hugh's go to zoning guy, Graham, I liked his replacement, Ulysses Gillard. I suspect that Gillard has no idea the kind of mess he is getting himself into, but it's worth it for the simple fact that he has proven to be the catalyst for Hugh's mayoral campaign. That has all kinds of potential.

Meanwhile, Dahlia just continues to dig her hole deeper and deeper. It was pretty clear from her meeting at Devereaux's office that this just can't end well. He is just way too smart to get played for long. Add to that the fact that with everything else going on around Dahlia, she is really off of her game. The double life of being Dahlia with the family, and Cherien to the public was asking a lot. Add in another secret life of law abiding Dahlia and those dark clouds really start to roll in. I don't really have my finger on where Devereaux's heading with this. It sure seemed like he had taken just about all the crap he was going to take from Dahlia in that final scene in the squad car. But is there another angle for him to pursue? I'm curious to see where that goes.

The other thing I wasn't completely sure on was Di Di's little B&E adventure. Where did that come from? A little nostalgia for the old times, or did Cael get inside her head a little bit before he took off? With all of the tension between Wayne and Dahlia, which was so obvious to Di Di, is her curiosity for the buffer life finally being overshadowed by the reality of their surroundings?

And finally, saving the best for last, my favorite part of the episode was Cael. I was a little concerned with his story when his latest tent adventure started. It seemed like it was a path I had been down a couple times already. Making the move to have him set out on the road was a good choice. And it didn't go down at all like I thought. I've seen it so many times, when he started in with his pool hustle, I was sure there was a beating coming, to show him that life on the road has it's own particular set of bumps.

The escape into the waiting Cassidy RV was a pleasant surprise. That first conversation with Decklin was particularly good as there was a very nice tension between the two of them as they both tried to get a feel for what each others intentions really were. Cael might have misjudged a bit, or had his judgment clouded by Rosaline. Understandable I suppose, as it wouldn't be the first time he has made that mistake. There wasn't much to his meeting with Eamon, although I could tell that Cael had a whole history of who he had been in the past by his reaction. Still, that little "Welcome home." carried some weight for where things will be heading in the next couple weeks.

Overall, a nice solid episode, and I think they have things lining up for an exciting finish to what is probably going to end up being looked at as an all too brief season.

The Riches: The Slums of Bayou Hills

Use any cliché you want: this is the episode where the chickens come home to roost, the shit hits the fan, the bill comes due, the Malloys have to pay the piper, etc. etc. What I do know at the end of this episode is that Wayne is starting to get in over his head, and even he knows that his conning skills are only going to get him so far. He's been able to dig himself and his family out of the messes they've created to this point, but this one is a doozy. Not only is he going up against a guy that's probably an even bigger con artist than he is, but also this guy doesn't have any semblance of a conscience. Talk about a deadly combination.

You know, looking at Felix Minkov, you wonder how Hugh could have ever entered a deal with the guy in the first place. He just looks like he's up to no good. But I know what Hugh sees: dollar signs. So it doesn't matter if the guy he's golfing with looks like he just came off a Russian fishing barge; all he's hearing is the song of $150 million. Little does he know that Felix wants to not only screw Hugh out of the deal, but do so by sending him to prison, as well. And he's going to want Wayne's help. Check that, he forces Wayne to help him, because a con man knows another con man when he sees him, and could sell out Wayne in a heartbeat.

But there are more layers of deceit in this Bayou Hills deal. Felix's lawyer, Barry Stone, could sell Wayne out, since he went to college with Doug Rich. But the patented Malloy Dirt Search(tm) took care of that quickly. Also, Felix not only wants to cut out Hugh, but he also has Hugh believing that they'll be able to build Bayou Hills and somehow sidestep the federal government's low income housing requirement. See, they're counting on the rich tenants objecting to living near poor folks who were displaced by Katrina. Peachy guys, aren't they?

Wayne has to be the most naive con man on the planet, because he not only promised Aubrey that he wouldn't sell out the Katrina victims, but he had no idea that Felix would "make" him, so to speak. Anyone who's been watching the show since day one knows that Aubrey's been suspicious of "Doug" for quite a while, but didn't call him on it until now, when she realized he was going to sell out. Since Aubrey's been his law lifeline all this time, Wayne knows he can't lose her. He must have freaked out inside when "You're not really a lawyer, are you?" appeared on his BlackBerry screen after Aubrey transmitted all that law info during the investors' meeting.

Before I get to Dahlia, lets talk a little about DiDi and Cael. We know Cael wants out; he even camped on the lawn because he didn't want to stay in some "rich asshole's" house any longer. But DiDi likes this world, despite the bitchiness of her classmates. She truly was embarrassed that her classmates saw her and Cael play street musicians at the mall. The scene where the two of them sat at the mall, discussing about their diverging interests in Eden Falls, was short but sets up a nice storyline that I hope is explored later in the season.

Now, Dahlia. I'm amazed that she was genuinely surprised that the parole officer cuffed her and yelled at her. The man's seen far too many people skip out on their parole to trust anyone, even someone who's saying that she's tired of running. I'm also surprised at her shock that she couldn't find a job because of her criminal record. It's probably a function of the fact that Dahlia's never had to honestly look for a job before. So, now she has to live even more of a double life; stay in a crummy apartment and gut fish to stay out of jail, work at Panco and live in the Riches' house in order to help Wayne score the big deal. When is she going to crack from the pressure?

Other interesting stuff:

Dale's still trying to weasel himself into this deal, which is hard to do from the mailroom. The look on Hugh's face when he saw Dale in a suit in his conference room was priceless.

Eamon Quinn is still lurking. And now he has an education to back up his villany, courtesy of the Univeristy of Phoenix. Did the school pay for that product placement? I can see the slogan now: "Teaching con men in prison since 1996." Who knew they even let maximum security prisoners use the internet?

Still, Quinn's speech to Ginny about the value of education made him even more creepy. Wayne always felt he was better than the rest of the Travelers because he had a bit of education. Now, he's going to meet his match in Eamon.

Things are getting serious at Eden Falls. Like the last episode -- and, admittedly, the entire second season so far -- the show's going in a direction that's obliterating pretty much any of the lightness we saw in the first season. I can't imagine that the remaining three episodes of this shortened season are going to get any lighter. That's too bad; I really liked the more whimsical elements that this show displayed last year. Oh, well. Time to buckle up, as things look like they're just going to get darker from here.

The Riches: Field of Dreams

Well, the Malloys are back in Eden Falls, living life as the Riches. And all hell's about to break loose.That's the situation in this episode. Wayne's trying to keep the big deal Hugh brokered alive while Hugh searches for his mojo. Dale is stalking around Panco looking for a job so he can be in on the deal. Only I know that the slimeball has some information and a hell of a lot of muscle behind him. And Dahlia is having yet another crisis involving her sense of place in the world. Oh, and then there is the kids: Cael wants out, DiDi wants to fit in, and Sam wonders why there's blood stains on the stairs. Looks like I'm entering the darkest part of the tunnel in this show, aren't I

Dale's muscle is Eamon Quinn, a Malloy family member who's just been released from prison after twenty years. My guess is that he went away for killing Ginny Dannegan's father and uncle, though her revenge -- shooting him in the shoulder -- seems to be a bit mild. But who knows what the Traveler code is like? Anyway, Eamon is an Irish Traveler who's actually from Ireland, and he seems to be simultaneously tougher and smarter than the entire inbred Malloy clan put together. For reasons as yet unexplained, Dale is partnering with Eamon on this deal, and now that Eamon is out, he's turning the screws (or, more accurately, wielding a mean fork) on Dale.

I'm not sure why Dale is partnering with Eamon. Does he think he's in over his head and needs the help? Or does he owe Eamon for something that happened twenty years ago? Either way, Eamon is a scary-enough presence that it motivates Dale to threaten his cousin Dahlia while she was in the bath. Give him a job at Panco or she goes back to jail. That was a pretty intense scene, and a good indication of why Todd Stashwick is so good in what is kind of a one-dimensional role: he makes Dale scary as hell.

I don't think Dale was the only reason why Dahlia decided to turn herself in to the local parole office, but it was a big one. Dahlia is just sick of running away from her problems. I still don't know the entire story about how she landed in prison; I vaguely know that it was a credit card scam and she may or may not have taken the fall for Wayne, but that's about it. But it looks like she knows she can't hide behind lies and schemes and smack and pot anymore. Of course, facing up to her parole violation is going to complicate things later, at a time when things for the Malloys least need complications.

Other stuff:


The Cael grade fixing plot was one long exercise in how Wayne can work within the sometimes-scummy world of the wealthy, but be simultaneously shocked at how truly scummy some of these people could be. Cael sold himself out because he doesn't want to be a buffer going to a boarding school, with a power-hungry father he doesn't recognize. "I'd rather be piss poor with my dad than $13 million richer with whoever you are," he tells Wayne.


I kind of wish the characters of Cael, DiDi, and Sam were a little more developed than they are right now. Especially Cael: he's just been a snotty rebellious teenager -- albeit in an twisted way -- for this entire run, and his character is the one that wears on me the most.


Nina looking up info on the Irish Travelers on the Internet tells me that she wants to be one. I do find it interesting that her pot dealer can be found at an AA meeting held in a church. I guess nothing is really sacred.


At least Wayne was able to convince Hugh that landing the big deal is what he needs to get his mojo back, instead of an expensive sports car. This show needs a mojo-filled Hugh back, if only for comic relief. I guess, due to the subject matter, it was inevitable that the show was going to take a dark turn, but I wish it didn't go in this direction. Yes, the performances are great and the writing conveys a good intensity. But you don't cast Eddie Izzard and Minnie Driver in a show to be super-serious all the time, and the relentless grimness is starting to wear on them and me. Let's hope there's a light at the end of that dark tunnel as it gets towards the end of the season.

The Riches: Friday Night Lights

For the second episode in a row, Wayne spends most of the episode separated from the rest of his family, cleaning up the messes he got in at the end of the first season. In fact, this is pretty much where it left off last episode, with Wayne trying to figure out what to do with Hugh and Dale while also trying to figure out how to dispose of poor Pete. Meanwhile, Dahlia, Nina, and the kids try to steal a van but are caught by a stressed out man with a big gun and an itchy trigger finger.

What this sets up is, in a lot of ways, a "scam of the week" episode, something I saw a lot of last season. But I get the feeling this might be the last one I see for a while, mainly because the "big scam," which is Hugh's massive development deal, is going to swallow up not only the Malloys, but everyone around them.

Don't get me wrong; I liked the scam of the week. As I saw last year, the Malloys' cons had a sense of whimsy to go along with the criminality, and this one was no exception. It's Friday night, in Blunt, Texas... you know what that means: high school football! Take a stolen Escalade, a returning hero, a fake raffle, and a coughing Sam in a wheelchair and you've got yourself a classic Malloy con. Add to that the efforts of Nina, who volunteered to stay behind with the family's captors, Bob and Amber Day; she broke out one of her "medicinal" joints and was able to stroll out when her stoned kidnappers decided to have the wildest makeup sex ever.

It was all a lot of fun... but they were rusty, weren't they? It was that waitress... the one in the coffee shop that figured out that Cael stole money from the old lady. They were teetering a bit when the "hero" that they were raising money for -- a former star player who needed surgery -- actually decided to show up for the game. But then the waitress saw them at the game and all hell broke loose. Cael has proven in the past that he's not that sharp or careful (it's ironic that, very early in the series, I used to think he was the smartest one), but Dahlia should have known that everyone in a Texas town comes for the Friday night football game. The old Dahlia, pre-prison, would have remembered that, and never approved the plan to begin with. Buffer life has made her mind dull, and she knows it.

See, here's where things in the story break down for me: Wayne buries Pete, frees himself from Dale, fixes the RV, picks up Nina, and shows up just in the nick of time to save his family from getting pummeled by an angry mob. And he's able to quiet the crowd all by himself, with a fake (?) gun and an FBI badge. That's been an issue with this show from the beginning... the Malloys seem to be good at digging themselves out of the holes they dig for themselves. It's almost as if they're better at ass saving than at grifting.

Then, there was the "setup moment," the one that establishes the rest of the season: Wayne convinces everyone that if they're the Riches for a few more months, they'll score big at the end. I mean, they were home free for Mexico! But if they drove to Mexico, the show would be over. So back to Eden Falls they go. It just seemed to be just a bit neat and clean, almost like an episode that introduces a new cast member to a show.

Other interesting stuff:

Dale complaining about the blisters on his hands as he and Wayne dig deeper in that fresh grave in order to bury Pete. Dale's got to be one of the daintiest brutes ever seen on TV. He doesn't mind killing people, but a cut on his hand sends the moron into fits.

Interesting how Dahlia made those quick calculations to see how much the Days would need to be happy. And, despite the fact that they needed to get out of Blunt in a hurry -- and could use the money -- they still dropped the money off at the Days' house before bolting. They're the nicest criminals ever, those Malloys...

Poor Kimmie... she's Panco's most clueless employee. If she only knew what was in Wayne's trunk...

Judging by the conversation she had with Cael, DiDi's enthusiasm about going back to Eden Falls isn't going to be all about the money, is it? Oh, and, as I saw at the end of the episode, Wayne thinks he'll be able to "deal with Dale" and his desire to be partners in crime with the Malloys. But he doesn't realize who he has on his side.

It's taken two episodes to sort out last season's messes. But from here on out, the stakes escalate. The show needs to lighten up a bit, given the original idea behind it, but it's likely things are going to get darker before they get lighter.

The Riches: The Last Temptation of Wayne

As much as I liked the first season of The Riches, I thought the show had a couple of basic flaws. First, it seemed like too many episodes were about the con of the week rather than the "big con," which was the Malloys trying to pass for the Riches. But the most fundamental flaw of the entire first season was that, well... I just didn't find enough of a reason to like the Malloys. As despicable as the characters around them in Eden Falls were, I still felt that they were the victims of this family of Irish Travelers stealing the American Dream.

And where did the show leave off? Dale had infiltrated Eden Falls and is threatening to blow Wayne and Dahlia's cover; Doug Rich's old friend Pete Mincy, who the Malloys were trying to keep from ratting them out, ran afoul of the violent Dale; neighbor Nina's marriage fell apart after her husband revealed he's gay; Hugh Panetta lost his mojo after his new stripper wife dumped him; and in general the Malloys were ready to go back to the RV and run to Mexico.

What I found out is that Dale's just smart enough to not let them leave, but not smart enough to hurt Pete without killing him. So as Dahlia, the kids, Doug's Cherien Rich's mother (yes, she's part of the family, at least for a few episodes) and Nina hightail it out of town in the Mercedes, Wayne and Dale deal with what to do with Pete.

Almost the entire first episode sees Wayne separated from the rest of this family, as the Pete situation is complicated by the arrival of a drunken Hugh. I wonder if the writers wanted to make Hugh a little more sympathetic by having his wife dump him: he was a world class asshole most of last year, and it made me wonder why Wayne would waste time on the guy, despite the buffer life sucking up to Hugh provided. What I learn here is that there's an even bigger deal brewing, one that is going to drive the Malloys for the rest of the season. There has to be some way to bring the Malloys back together and bring them back to the Riches' house, right?

Interesting stuff:

Dale and Hugh in the same room is a dangerous thing. Though, the best dramatic tension in the episode comes when Dale holds the gun on the security guard as Wayne tries to tell him that shooting the guard is only going to screw things up for both of them.

It must be killing Wayne to have to be in this partnership with Dale. But at least he has Pete's death to hold over the big idiot; Dale thinks that Wayne killed the Riches, but can't be sure.

I still don't really know what Nina's purpose is besides showing how desperate things are at Eden Falls. I'd like to see her character developed more this season.

Having her tail along with Dahlia and the kids was an interesting plot twist, but it has a very artificial kind of feel; Mother Morgenstern was one thing, considering she was out of it and had no one to take care of her. But Nina? It doesn't seem like a Traveler family would ever let an outsider join them in their conning adventures. Maybe that's a sign that the family is softening in the buffer world.

As for the kids: Cael is still doubting and obnoxious; DiDi is still emotionally in both worlds; and Sam... well, let's just say he grew a lot between seasons, which doesn't help when the story just picks up from where it left off. He still is the young manifestation of Eddie Izzard, though, cross-dressing when the mood strikes.

Sam really does seem like he's the smartest Malloy, doesn't he? He's the only one who knew where the money was buried. He also seems to do well during the family's cons. He's got a future in either world.

As I guess we will see what is in store for the Malloys. The Malloys' moral struggle will be more acute than ever. Will it make them a more sympathetic family? I guess I will find out soon enough.

The Riches: Waiting for Doug (Season Finale)

The Riches had the kind of season that had its ups and downs and left me on the fence about whether or not I wanted to keep watching next season. At this point, it was really up to the finale to win me over. Now that the final episode has aired, wrapping up the inaugural season it's unfortunate to report that The Riches simply didn't amount to much.

One of the major problems with The Riches was an apparent unwillingness to commit to a tone, a direction or an overriding narrative drive. The show lacked focus, wavered from being a drama with comedy to a comedy with dramatic elements until ultimately it was difficult to be that invested in either the story or the characters. This was all the more frustrating because so many of the elements worked.

It's a great idea, Eddie Izzard and Minnie Driver formed a very strong core for the cast, and the show often hinted that interesting developments were coming. They never really arrived however, and The Riches ended up being mostly setup with very little payoff. Dale remains menacing without posing any real threat for the entire series. Doug's relationship with Hugh seemed to get relegated into the background towards the end. The small bits that occur in the one-off episodes, such as Doug's ex-wife, the Clancy Brown sting, and the ever growing sense that Doug's paralegal, Audrey, was catching on to him. None of this bore any fruit and the series seems to end with a shrug of the shoulders more than a jaw-dropping cliffhanger.

The introduction of Pete worked okay last episode, but he just comes off as a fool here. He buys every lame line and excuse from Wayne and Dahlia. It's hard to tell if this is because the writers are trying to make Wayne seem clever or Pete seem pathetic. The latter is more believable, and Wayne stopped seeming too clever several episodes ago. The writers tend to dumb down the Malloy's marks, rather than craft well thought out cons. Which is a shame, because the pilot held far more promise of what the Malloys were capable of; back then, Izzard played a small time crook with natural talent who dreamed big.

The series also promised a bit more from the kids, Didi, Cal and Sam. All of these roles were very well cast with great young actors. While some interesting things popped up at school with Cal working for rich kids, Didi dating a "buffer" and Sam painting their life story on the wall - much of this material was dropped halfway through. The rest never came of anything. What did happen to Didi's boyfriend? Whatever happened to the rich prep school kids that Cal seemed to be befriending? In the finale we see very little of them and their individual storylines are forgotten.

FX has already renewed The Riches for another season, so it seems they have confidence that the producers are taking it somewhere. The show and cast are interesting enough to see what happens next season. However, a very uneven season and a lackluster finale doesn't exactly have me chomping at the bit for more Riches

Soup of the Week & The Riches: It's A Wonderful Life

This soup goes together in short order and is very good!

Creamy Chicken Rice Soup

Chopped onion

1 chopped carrot

1 chopped celery rib

Minced garlic

1 tablespoon oil or butter

2 cans (14 1/2 oz each) chicken broth

1/3 cup uncooked long grain rice

3/4 teaspoon dried basil

Pepper

3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1 can (5 oz) evaporated milk

1 package cooked chicken

In a saucepan, saute the onion, carrot, celery and garlic in oil until tender. Stir in the broth, rice, basil and pepper. Bring to a boil Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 15 minutes or until rice is tender.

In a small bowl, combine the flour and milk until smooth; stir into soup. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Stir in chicken; heat through.

The Riches:

With one more show to go in this season, things are getting complicated for The Riches. Maybe not complicated enough, and certainly not as dramatic nor as thrilling as the pilot seemed to promise - but things are interesting nonetheless.

At long last, someone from Doug's past has come calling - and this time it's not someone Wayne can easily take care of, such as Doug's mother-in-law and ex-wife. This time, the man in question is Pete, Doug Rich's best friend. Pete's a troubled guy down on his luck, and has come to find his good friend Doug. The Malloys do their best to put up a front as the "Montpierres," and it looks like Pete has bought it.

Dahlia has to pretend to be Doug's ex-wife and she tells Pete that Doug was never his friend, and used to mock him behind his back. This is exactly the wrong news for Pete, who has a panic attack, which he follows by contemplating suicide. Whether he would do it or not we'll never know, since Dahlia and Wayne arrive in time and Dahlia talks him down.

Making matters worse, Dale finally shows his face at Hugh's wedding. He doesn't make any demands or threats, which somehow seems worse. Wayne is still trying to figure out how to deal with Dale when Pete shows up in his office. Pete has now seen that Wayne is pretending to be Doug Rich, and he knows for a fact that Wayne is not Doug Rich. This is the first time in the series that this has happened, where there's really nowhere for Wayne to run or hide.

While Dale and Pete are adding real dilemmas for the Malloys to deal with, it's a bit too little too late in the season. With only one episode to go, it's kind of hard to believe that this is the first time this scenario has come up. Every other situation has been dealt with cleanly and efficiently and without consequences. When you add up the various problems that the Malloys have dealt with in a single episode, the show really begins to strain credibility.

Nina starts to put it together in this episode that the Malloys aren't who they say they are. She says it in a way that almost feels as if the producers are acknowledging the doubts and questions of the audience. While the season finale might be truly fantastic, as a whole the season of The Riches has mostly been one of "take it or leave it." Not bad, with some interesting and original ideas, but not especially compelling and sometimes poorly executed.

This episode showcases some of that lack of "oomph." Take the moment where Pete considers suicide, for instance. I never thought he might do it, as the show has shown by now that they're not that kind of show. Pete never really was going to kill himself, so Dahlia talking him down isn't that remarkable. Hugh's 5 day sabbatical isn't that interesting because it started as a destructive meth bender and ended with him taking time off at a spa and marrying a stripper. It really feels as though the writers are afraid to commit to their own ideas. I'm reserving judgment here until the final episode, but so far I'm not exactly chomping at the bit for more Riches.

The Riches: Anything Hugh Can Do, I Can Do Better

I'm covering some familiar ground here. The Riches continues to be about a group of people who aren't sure "who they are anymore." However, not much is really happening. The show has begun running in place, and has removed much of the jeopardy that was setup early on in the season. It's still well acted, well produced and for the most part well written - but it's hard to argue that it's appointment television.

A few plot threads seem to have come to a crawl in this episode. Hugh is supposedly on a drug bender, but I find him in a spa, getting facials and wraps. Dale is hanging out at the neighbor's house, repeatedly scoping out the Malloy/Riches house, without ever actually doing anything. There's only so long you can be a "creeping menace" before you just start to seem foolish and as not much of a threat. Both guys are excellent actors giving good performances, but they've been asked to spin their wheels for far too long on this series. Hugh is always about to do something crazy, and Dale is always about to do something threatening - but they never really get around to it. It looked as though Hugh was headed there after falling off the wagon, but there's been little screen time for him since.

Once again Wayne's facing the dilemmas of being Doug Rich. The beat of "I don't want to be this man" has been hit many times. Starting with firing the man whose job he took, Wayne has repeatedly been faced with having to do things required of Doug Rich that he hates. And yet - he keeps doing them and I keep finding him having a similar dilemma. Even stranger, within this episode, Dahlia goes from wanting to keep their "buffer life" to wanting to scrap it - without any real catalyst for the switch. This just felt like lazy writing - as if something got left over between drafts.

Finally, the episode took an awkward turn into dealing with "issues." When Wayne finds out he has to go to court simply to keep a gay couple from moving onto Panco property, he has a crisis of conscience. Dahlia yells at him that it isn't right and "what if this were your son?!" She never acknowledges the reality of the situation, which is that if Wayne were to lose the case, it could bring the company down. This entire aspect of the story felt awkward and wedged into the episode. This could have been much more interesting, especially considering the possibility that Sam could be gay. Instead it's just another reason that Wayne feels guilt over being Doug.

With only a few episodes left, hopefully The Riches will pick up some steam and deliver a great finale. So much of the original promise of the series has been lost in uneven episodes and slow progression of the story over the season. Wayne has mostly found it too easy to pretend to be a high priced lawyer. While it's interesting that most of their conflicts have become internal, and about their feelings of lost identity - but it's not believable that this would be their primary issue.

How the next few episodes resolve these issues will largely determine whether or not I'll be interested in another season of The Riches.

The Riches: This Is Your Brain On Drugs

The fallout from the dinner party in "Cinderella" hit this week, and it made for one crazy ride. This is also the episode that switched my thinking from "Eddie Izzard, the comic, is doing a great job as Wayne" to, "Eddie Izzard is an actor." The writers heaped a heavy load on his back this week and he answered with what was an amazing performance.

Things got off to a great start with Wayne and Dahlia's fight over the drugs that Chunky left behind. It's interesting that he walked in on her before she could decide which way she was going. I think that she would have flushed the stuff eventually, but I'll never know for sure. The chaotic argument after Wayne snorted a handful of the crank was fantastic. Dahlia's reaction, "Of all the assholic things you have done, this is the most assholic." summed it up nicely. That was such a crazy thing to do that it warranted brand new words to describe it.

While it was probably the worst intervention ever, you can see where Wayne is coming from. Clearly he places Dahlia on a pedestal, and the idea of her being an addict is a personal failure to him. They hit on it again later in the episode when Dahlia tells him that everybody knew she was taking the pills, he just wouldn't see it. It's part of the force driving him to make their life as the Riches work. If he can just make it perfect for her, she won't have these problems.

And from there, things really took off. Watching a manic Wayne panic over the realization of just how expensive this new life is was a treat. The fact that the dinner party left his status with Panco up in the air just added to the pressure on his clouded mind. His sudden desperate job search was funny, while also bringing out just how uncomfortable Wayne still is in Doug's skin. The scene with the receptionist at Hayden-Javitz & Associates was particularly good as Doug prattled on and on, making little sense. She was so annoyed with it. It paid off nicely when the managing partner turned out to be Stewart Peel. Wayne was suddenly so elated that he thought he had an answer, and then so crushed as Stewart dropped the hammer.

Meanwhile, with Wayne off on his crank induced adventure, Dahlia was left to hold down the fort at Panco. One thing I was a little disappointed in was the decision to not have Hugh hovering around the office. It would have raised the pressure just a little more as he questioned Doug's whereabouts. I could have even gone for a Doug/Hugh phone call. Despite that missing bit, Dahlia did well covering for Wayne. She showed how much the two of them have in common as she strung them along until she got her opening.

The situation with Cherien's mother came out of the blue and it makes me wonder where they are going with that. As the Malloy's become more and more a buffer family, the money becomes more and more of an issue. Would it be worth the $4300 a month to take in "Grandma" and have her live with them? Dahlia and Di Di both seemed to warm up to her rather quickly. That story also brought up the line of the night as a frustrated Wayne told Marvin O'Keefe that he is causing the supply of Doug Rich to greatly exceed the demand for Doug Rich.

As all of that was going down, lurking in the shadows was Dale. I think I have known since day one that Dale would eventually find his way to Eden Falls. The big question is what is he going to do now that he knows all about Doug and Panco? He couldn't have been luckier than to stumble across Hartley Underwood. Their scenes together were very good, as each of them felt the other out, trying to gauge whether they were on the same page. It also provided one of the creepiest flirting scenes I have ever seen as Dale admired and caressed Hartley's prosthetic arm.

Not much to do for the kids this week, but they did reinforce the differing paths of Di Di and Cael. As the family worried over Wayne's gig with Panco, Di Di made it perfectly clear that she didn't want to leave this life and go back to the motor home. It's understandable. She's a smart girl, and she is flourishing in this new environment. She recognizes that she has an opportunity here.

In the end, while it probably wasn't the road anyone would have advised for Wayne and Dahlia, this whole adventure was ultimately good for them. It forced them to work out some of their issues, and I think it was the final push that Dahlia needed to actually get straight. They'll be just fine, and their relationship is once again as strong as it ever was. Which is good, because more tough times are on the way.

The Riches: Cinderella

One of the most interesting aspects of The Riches is that, because of Dahlia's jail term and the family's Traveler history, any disruption that the writers can throw in the Malloys' way seems at least somewhat plausible. Heck, I think the only thing that would make me roll my eyes is if Godzilla came to visit Eden Falls. And even then, I would give the story at least a half hour to play out before dismissing it completely.

Up until this episode, I didn't know much about what Dahlia went through in her two years in prison. I still don't know everything, but after meeting her Chunky Kay, we know that Dahlia's two years could have been a whole lot worse if not for her "cellie." We also know that friendship on the inside doesn't necessarily translate to friendship on the outside.

Davenia McFadden did a nice job as Chunky; I know that deep down she's a good person, but life circumstances -- she killed her abusive husband and readily admits it to Wayne and the kids -- and has a bit of an anger control problem. Despite the fact that her idea to market rabbit meat was a little stupid, and her way to get back at Hugh was to have him snort coke (or was it heroin?) off her boobs, she still seemed sincere in her desire to honestly get ahead in life. But Wayne knew things weren't quite right with her: seeing her sniffing glue was the biggest clue. He was right on the money when he told Dahlia that they were most likely "drug buddies" than anything else, and I'd imagine he now knows who helped make his wife the addicted mess she currently is.

Well, make that was. She didn't take what Chunky offered her after she asked her cellmate to leave. You want to respect Dahlia's efforts to want to share the Malloy's new-found wealth, but every effort to poke an opening in the walls she says they're building around themselves is another opportunity for their cover to be blown. It's going to be a constant fight for the Malloys; how do they make their way in this buffer life and not let their emotions cloud their judgment?

Speaking of judgment-clouding... Wayne came awfully close to becoming a partner at Panco, didn't he? Luckily, he decided to hold off singing the agreement Hugh put in front of him at the dinner party. It would have just been too much too soon for the Malloys; they're still Travelers, and Hugh being a partner would have made him into a buffer far too quickly, and Dahlia let him know that. But I also think he passed on the partnership because he saw Hugh being a raging lunatic tweaking out on his first snort in eight years, and I'm sure he thought that maybe ownership wasn't the best thing for him.

And Hugh was certainly hitting his stride when he publicly outing the Riches' neighbor Jim. How he knows Jim was gay is beyond me; maybe that's better left unsaid. But now I know why Nina sucks down those pills like they're Skittles; she's been in a sham of a marriage for 18 years. How sad for her that the only thing that keeps her going is the thought that people who drive past Eden Falls on the highway are jealous that she's living there. Compared to Nina and Jim, the life of the Malloys seems a whole hell of a lot more fulfilling.

What were those adjectives Chunky gave Hugh to convince him to make Wayne a partner? Or were the adjectives hidden under her bra? We'll never know, I guess.

The kids weren't particularly involved in the story this week. I still want to see more of Sam, but I was happy that the writers briefly explored some of his cross-dressing tendencies in this episode. "It's just a barrette," he says as he chafed in his dinner party suit. But I knew that, as soon as he eyeballed the lipstick in his hand, that he'd come to dinner in his prettiest Sunday brunch wear. Nice cover by Di Di; Hugh is enough of a prick that he would have never let Wayne live that down, while ripping Sam a new one in the process for not being part of the "B" team ("B" for "boy").

This was an entertaining episode, with a nice mix of humor and drama. There were a couple of loose ends presented (will Chunky seeing Doug Rich's degree come back to haunt the Malloys? How about her calling Dahlia by her real name in front of all the guests?) that may or may not get resolved. But it was well-plotted and well-acted as usual.

The Riches: X Marks The Spot

I remember thinking after episode two that it was good, but mostly setup for the good stuff that would eventually come along as I follow the Malloy's story. With the return to traveler camp last week, and the big scam this week, that setup has really started to pay off.

This episode is very much what I envisioned when I first met the family. It's a classic con, with all manner of stumbling blocks along the way. And each of those is handled creatively by the ever inventive team Malloy.

I loved the setup. I was a Minnie Driver fan coming in to the show, but she impresses me more and more as the series goes on. The scenes between Cherien and Rudy were great. I totally bought into Rudy's infatuation with Cherien. She really sold the "nympho routine." Even while she had a problem doing it the whole time. I especially liked the irony of Dahlia covering Sam's ears so he wouldn't hear any of the sex talk, but uncovering them so he could help them plan the huge felony that they were undertaking. Dahlia is a complicated character, as is the rest of her family.

The protection racket being run by the denizens of the trailer park was a nice setup for bringing them into the scam. I thought they worked well and it would be interesting to see some of them pop up again from time to time. While it was obvious from the get go that the FBI agent was part of the plan, Cael not breaking character being the first clue, the twist that he was the pool guy was funny.

It didn't really come as a surprise that Di Di was the one that had reservations about the plan. However, Dahlia's speech about why they were going to do it wasn't what I was expecting. It marked something of a change in Dahlia. I'll chalk it up to the events at the camp, along with her natural instinct to protect the family. It also laid the groundwork for the final scene with Doug. That was a very different Dahlia than the one we have come to know so far. "You got a job. I got a job. The kids are in school. We live here now." With that, I think the whole family is now fully committed to the plan.

That scene also served to float something of an escape clause. Now that they have seen just what kind of opportunities this new life has brought them, they could make a big enough score to get out of it. Of course, before that can happen, there are other fish to fry. Dale, and Ginny, are still lurking on the horizon. That part of the story isn't done by a long shot. But I'll cross that bridge when I get to it.

Another round of great performances from the cast and a fun con to play along with. The Riches has hit its stride.

The Riches: Virgin Territory

Guns. Money. Blackmail. Threats. I knew that when the Malloys made their way back to the Traveler village for Earl's funeral that there'd be trouble. But little did I know that there'd be so much of it.What's amazing about this episode was that, with everything going on, I was easily able to keep track of the various plot lines. The cost was a decided lack of heart-palpitating tension. I really expected, with the Malloys re-entering the fold for the first time since Wayne stole the family money and buggered off with his family, that I'd be seeing more action.But The Riches isn't about action. It's about relationships. And, boy, did I find out a lot about those relationships tonight.

First off, let me pay tribute to Ken. He may be an idiot, but he's the only one in the Traveler clan who seems to have any semblance of honor. He truly wanted to marry DiDi for love and no other reason. Up until he tried to consummate the relationship, I really thought he was a dimwitted player in his sister Ginny's scheme. But I couldn't help but start to feel bad for him when he not only told DiDi that he was a virgin (not a surprise), but, even after she rejected him with malice -- "I barely know what love is. But I'm pretty sure I'll never love you." -- he loved her enough to defend her against his own sister. Maybe some of the other members of the Malloy family need to get a fever... it might put some sense in them.

A good example of that is the couple that originally tried to get to the Malloys when they escaped the village. Dale offers them $25,000 -- he took out insurance policies on his father's life... imagine that -- to kill Wayne. But Wayne has something up his sleeve, which is the fact that he can nail them for leaving the scene of a fatal accident. But that's not the end of it. Dahlia knows that Dale left Earl out in the woods to die, and any attempts he makes to turn the blame back on her backfires. So, at the height of the episode Dahlia has a gun on Dale, Wayne making threats even though a gun is pointed at his face, and DiDi about to be betrothed to a man who she'll never love.

You'd think there would be more tension there. But I wonder if such a climactic sequence happened too early in the show's run. It's not even halfway through the show's first (and, perhaps only, given the ratings) season; so, even as all of this is going on, I know that Wayne isn't going to get shot, Dale is going to live to menace another day, and DiDi and Ken will part ways pretty quickly. All of that knowledge inadvertently diffused the excitement in what was a well-written episode overall. But I guess having episodes where The Malloys/Riches pull off elaborate scams, while Dale bares down on them, is what the writers are aiming for, not cheap gunshot cliffhangers. Speaking of which, I didn't think for a second after Wayne saw gunshots go off in Dale's trailer that Dale was dead. That would be too easy.

Speaking of Dale, I really thought he was going to kill Ken at the end of the episode. But I guess that he'd rather beat the location of Eden Falls out of him. I wonder how long it's going to take for Ken to crack? And we finally know where most of Dale's hatred towards Wayne came from: he's been in love with Dahlia since he was a kid. Heck, even Cael's dopey friend Brent lunged for her when he came around the house and encountered a drunken, lingerie-clad "Sheree Cherien Rich." Dale doesn't understand what she sees in Wayne, but I know better: Wayne is fundamentally good, and Dale is fundamentally evil. Wayne might steal from his father, if he had one, but he'd never leave the bastard out to die. Heck, he even managed to get the guy who was pointing to gun at him to accidentally shoot his wife instead.

The character that seems to be headed for a breakdown is Dahlia. Being rejected by Earl's wife was about as cold as it gets. She's already the most unsure of the new life Wayne has stolen for them, and the most likely to want to escape back to the womb of the Traveler clan. And, she can't seem to convince people that it was Dale, not her betrayal, that killed Earl. It makes me wonder if she's going to be the first to break, especially after she drains another bottle of vodka or swallows yet another couple of painkillers. Minnie Driver does play the pain quite well, though, as we see Dahlia's self-conflict in Driver's face, scene in and scene out.

Still, The Riches continues to turn in quality episodes with fantastic writing and acting. I'm not sure why it hasn't garnered the buzz of some of its FX schedule-mates (like The Shield, Rescue Me, and Nip/Tuck).

The Riches: Reckless Gardening

Last episode, I found out two things about the Malloys and their life as the Riches: 1) Wayne is going to have to do more than BS if he's going to survive as a Panco lawyer, and 2) life as a buffer is more trouble than anyone expected it to be. This episode, I saw the noose starting to tighten around the Malloys, as more and more pieces of the Traveller life are seeping into their Eden Falls existence. And, unfortunately for Di Di, those pieces are flying around and smacking her square in the face.

Di Di is certainly becoming the most level-headed of the family, isn't she? At first, I thought it would be Cael, because I thought he had the smarts to protect his family from getting caught. But, of course, a girl got in the way. But it seems pretty unfair that because Cael managed to get tailed by Ginny that Di Di has to pay for it by being "engaged" to Ken the dipweed.

I mean, even if Travellers haven't done a lot of book learning, most of them have the requisite street smarts to be able to scam and scheme their way through life. Ken can't even staple papers together. The only thing he's good at is stealing, and he's still way too obvious when he does that. But Di Di, as much as she wants Ken out of her life, knew that if he was caught with the pot Cael's buddies planted on him, he'd be way too stupid to keep his mouth shut. He already spent the entire day at Panco saying "Wayne" and "Mr. Malloy" instead of "Doug" and "Mr. Rich." Aubrey's already suspicious; I'm sure Ken's day of "aprenticin'" hasn't helped.

It was strange that Wayne was a surprisingly competent lawyer. It's almost as if he's getting the hang of the job (with Aubrey's help, of course). But it did seem like he not only knew the facts and law behind the alligator attack case, but had the wherewithal to dig up just enough dirt on the victim, Hartley Underwood, to get her and her lawyer to back off. Panetta's threats probably helped, and Wayne's Traveller experience can help him in some aspects of lawyering, but knowing about how to lie can only get even the best lawyers so far.

Gregg Henry (Hugh Panetta) is pretty adept at playing an asshole, there's no doubt about that. Hugh Panetta is about as slimy as it gets, and it felt good to see Dahlia dig her fingernails into his scrotum. But only he can use her desire to get clean against her. It's amazing how powerful blackmail is. Just ask Di Di. But somewhere within that assholish personality is a sympathetic figure. Heck, he was able to get Wayne to admit that his mother left him. I'm guessing she was the non-Traveller side of Wayne's family, but I guess I'll find out more about that soon.

Let's talk about Dale for a second. Wow. Sociopath doesn't even begin to describe him. The man will literally kill his own father just to get a chance to lead the clan. I don't think I knew until now that his father wanted to have Wayne lead the family after he died, and I wonder if anyone informed him that Wayne stole all his money and skipped out. But even Ken can see that Dale is pure molten evil, and unfit to lead the clan. Heck, even Dale probably realized it, which is why he took his father out for that "walk."

Somehow, thanks to Dahlia, Di Di didn't get a permanent record. It was good to see both Eddie Izzard and Minnie Driver play to their strengths this week: a drunk Wayne is a funny Wayne, especially when he's trying to be a police sketch artist or when he locks Ken in the trunk, and I would like to see Dahlia sing more often, so I can hear Driver's wonderful voice.

It was a pretty entertaining episode. However, I think it should have had a little more tension, and Wayne's suddenly competent lawyering didn't sit right with me. But it's undeniable that this show has smart writing and an emotional underpinning that makes all of the Malloy's shenanigans more palatable.

Soup of the Week & The Riches: The Big Floss

This soup is a snap to whip up. It tastes even better the next day.

Vegetable Cheese Soup

2 tablespoons chopped onion

1/4 cup butter, cubed

1/4 cup flour

3 cups milk

1 1/2 cups chicken broth

1 package (16 oz) frozen Californian-blend vegetables, thawed

1 1/2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese

3/4 cup Cheese Whiz

In a large saucepan, saute onion in butter until tender. Stir in the flour until bended. Gradually add milk. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened.

Stir in broth and vegetables. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 15-20 minutes until vegetables are crisp-tender. Stir in cheddar cheese and cheese sauce; cook until heated through and cheese is melted.

The Riches: The Big Floss

I mentioned in my last post about The Riches that the scene with Doug trying to handle the Homeowners against Panco didn't work for me. This week, Wayne's Doug stuff worked much better. The show needed Wayne to be put in his place. This is not an easy thing he is trying to do, and he's not going to be able to just bullshit his way out of every situation.

There was some great tension as the opposing attorneys continued to reference case after case, all of them going right over Wayne's head. I was wondering, how can they possibly get him out of this. And I was as surprised as everyone in that room when he just went to sleep. It was interesting how that move was deemed something of a cop-out by the rest of the family. What I really liked about it was that Hugh didn't buy into it for a second. His 48 hour deadline is the kind of thing I want to see. A little pressure for Wayne.

His solution this week was rather clever. You could make the argument that he sure got that guest lecture gig on awfully short notice, but I'm willing to let that one slide because I like how it all played out. Wayne got the answers that Doug needed, and did so in a way that didn't require him to know more than he should, or his foes to be idiots. It's also worth noting that Aubrey started asking about "Wayne."

I really liked the scene when Dahlia came to the office. "Wayne." "Dahlia." "Doug." "Cherien." "Aubrey."As Wayne was struggling with all of that, there was a nice parallel with Dahlia as she had her own troubles with her new job. Not only were they both having trouble adapting, they both had instances of covertly revealing their true colors to someone.

Dahlia's new job did set the stage for some good stuff. Her scenes with Isaac (Charlie Robinson, Night Court) were very good. More interesting though was how they effected Dahlia as she related Isaac's experience to what she and Wayne are going through. It's as if now that they set this ball in motion, nobody is willing to be the one that actually brings it to a stop. They all realize to some degree that it isn't going to work in the long run, but they are just too stubborn to cut and run.

Cael and DiDi picked up right where they left off with DiDi becoming more and more comfortable with the buffer life while Cael misses the old ways. It all led nicely to the payoff from last episode's cliff-hanger where we found Ginny watching the Malloys. I have to say, that one caught me off guard. I fully expected Ginny to want a cut in return for not ratting them out to Dale.

And when Wayne and Dahlia pulled Cael out of school and mentioned what it cost them, I was curious to hear the price. The price being DiDi's hand in marriage wasn't what I expected. I considered it, but given Wayne's reaction when Dale brought it up earlier in the series, I just didn't think it would happen. That was a nice bomb to drop at the end of the episode. Made all the more potent by the fact that Eric was finally over for dinner.

Of course, that wedding just can't happen. There is a line in the sand, and DiDi actually marrying Kenny is far to the 'not bloody likely' side of it. It should provide for some funny stuff over a couple episodes before the whole thing blows up and creates even more drama. Overall, I'm really happy with how the show is progressing. Considering Wayne's guest lecture gambit, a nice turn by Charlie Robinson, and the slow ratcheting of the tension with the traveler family, I'm thoroughly enjoying this show.

The Riches: Been There, Done That

I'm really looking forward to seeing Dale come knocking on the Riches front door, hopefully looking like Nicholson in The Shining, but I know I'm going to have to wait for that. That's fine though, because there are plenty of other tales to tell.

Jolinda, for instance. This was good, although I was pretty sure that she was going to show up to meet Doug in person. And almost convinced of it when Hugh pointed out to Wayne that ex-wives always find you. Having Wayne and Dahlia head that one off at the pass actually worked out even better though.

The con aspect of the story was good, and well crafted. Not only was Dwayne able to solve the Jolinda problem, he also managed to ingratiate himself with Jim by unloading his bum alpaca. And by my calculations, he even managed to make 20 grand in the process. As good a result as they could have hoped for.

What sold me on the whole caper though, was the phone call.Wayne and Dahlia have an unconventional relationship. The vast majority of us manage to make it through without having to worry about meth addictions, traveler families bent on revenge, or the threat of someone discovering we are living in a dead guys house. That's a lot of extra baggage to stack on top of the normal relationship trials. It's asking for drama.

I thought they handled it beautifully here when Wayne called Dahlia, making the fake phone call to Doug. There's a moment in there where the conversation turns, and they aren't talking about Doug and Jolinda anymore. They are finally having a long overdue conversation about Wayne and Dahlia. It's never going to be easy for them, it's just not who they are. The revelations about just what kind of a person the real Doug was were also interesting. That could certainly lead to more surprises popping up.

I really like Dahlia with Nina. She is just such a crazy character. Her little rundown of the neighbors and their obsessions was the funniest scene of the night. I was left a little confused by the scene with Hugh feeling up Dahlia in the bathroom. A little creepy, and kind of came out of nowhere. There has to be more coming from that later.

The one scene that I felt didn't work was Wayne at work. Doug meeting with Homeowners against Panco certainly had its moments. "We're completely against anyone blowing up... we take those grenades and we turn them into lemonade." There was just no end to it. Why would that make an angry mob of homeowners just leave? It's a case of things being a little too easy for the fake Doug. Wayne should have had to struggle more with that one.

Meanwhile, DiDi is off blending in. I suspect that we are going to see more of Eric as time goes by. For now, I think her time with him, as well as seeing her excel in the classroom, continue to hint that DiDi is warming up to the buffer life much quicker than her brother or her mother. She is her father's daughter.

Cael, on the other hand, isn't really conforming to this new life. He did manage to make a couple friends, but doing so by reverting back to what he knows, says as much about him as the classroom scene says about where DiDi is headed. We also got some resolution on those Tammy phone calls. I really liked that scene. They did a nice job of making Tammy suspicious without making it obvious, so Cael's reaction was just right. He also showed that he has been paying attention to his father. The call to the police was a nice call back to Wayne explaining that cops are the buffer's friends.

And finally, a great ending. Cael managed to thwart Dale's attempt to flush them out, but they've now set up the next chapter of the ongoing story because the family knows where they are. I'm looking forward to see where this goes next.

The Riches: Operation Education

Things are starting to settle in for the Malloys, and their new lives as the Riches, and this is where the fun starts. As I watched the first two episodes, I was waiting for the series to get into a routine and show the Malloys faking and conning their way through life at Eden Falls. I just felt during these cons we'd see the lighter touches that the show's casting and premise indicated would be there.And this third episode doesn't disappoint.

We see one con after another in this episode, as the Malloys actually try to become upstanding members of society, all under Wayne's direction. The social security con was especially funny, as the kids were able to cop a form of gibberish that was close enough to Indonesian to be convincing. Of course, we had Wayne faking his way through his welcome speech at Panco, which he made soon after screwing Dahlia in their rented Mercedes. He even managed to incorporate the rock he used to make his briefcase look realistically weighed down. "We're rocks, all of us are rocks." When someone chimed in that together they make a mountain, we know that the buy-in on the part of the buffers has begun.

But you wonder how Wayne is going to actually do his job, considering he knows nothing about the law. He probably realized he was in deeper than he thought when he looked at the files and didn't even know a relatively straightforward term like "eminent domain." Heck, he even found it tough to fire the person whose place he was taking, momentarily getting conned himself (the guy said he had 12 kids, even though the pictures were cut out of a catalog). We know he's going to utilize the paralegal as much as possible, but that's only going to get him so far. And Panetta may be an asshole, but he's not a stupid asshole; he'll find out eventually that he hired a fraud. There's a reason why Wayne hasn't held down a job for more than a couple of days at a time.

The big con, of course, was Dahlia's efforts to get the kids into an exclusive private school after the headmistress, Jane Fedley, dismissed their entry. To be honest, as condescending as Fedley was to the Malloys, it's almost understandable. This family comes in, not knowing anything about the process of getting the kids into this school, and asks to have the kids enrolled immediately.

Cael and Dehliah don't even want to go to school anyway, thinking it's just "buffer bullshit," as Dehliah put it. But you can tell Sam wants in, as you almost seriously believe that he knows how to read Shakespeare in French ("Just the soliloquies," he tells Fedley during the con). Now, how does he want to do it, as a boy or a girl? Dahlia loves the kid the way he is, but knows he has to make a choice. I wonder if we're going to find out that Sam has more in common with his half-breed father than just a desire to steal the American Dream.

For a woman who was "scared of school," as Wayne said, Dahlia sure tried her hardest to get the kids into that place. That's what happens when you cross Dahlia Malloy, I guess. Anyway, putting one over on the headmistress, kidnapping her parrot, then pretending to find it in order for her to "owe them one," didn't feel as satisfying as it should have. I think it was because, as condescending as the woman was, she was an innocent victim. And that's going to be a problem with The Riches.

That's probably why we have the specter of Dale hovering over the family. Dale is pure molten evil, and the way he got Tammy to manipulate Cael to the point where he's on the verge of showing Dale where they've been hiding, makes you think that he's going to get close to Eden Falls sooner than you think. He's the one guy that no one roots for, making a good counterpoint to the grey world of both the Malloy family and the phony buffers in the world of the well-to-do.

Actually, I'm surprised Cael fell for Dale's scheme so easily; he seems to be the one in the family who has his head screwed on straight. Maybe he knows what's going on, and we won't find out about his reaction until the next episode.

Good performances all around; I'm intrigued by Sam, and am looking forward to seeing more of him. He seems to be an expert con artist already, and his penchant for dressing like a girl can only help that. I'd imagine we'll see more scenes of Minnie Diver sucking down cough syrup or shooting meth, but for now, she's content to just swipe pills from her neighbor Nina. And that stoner musician dude who Dehliah met? I'm sure we'll see him again. Anyway, as the scenes FX showed at the end illustrate, the poop is going to hit the fan, making it harder for Wayne to keep things together. Looking forward to seeing how it turns out.

The Riches: Believe in the Lie

The Malloy family continues their transition into their new lives. The episode felt like a part two to the premiere as it ended with a bit of resolution for everyone, finally acknowledging that they are really going to do this. Now that they have committed, we can move forward with the story and let the drama and hijinks begin. For me, the best part of this episode was how they showed each of the characters dealing with all of these changes. Of those, I thought Dahlia's story was the most interesting. The burying of the money and the towing of the RV both served to show hard it is for Dahlia to let go of her old life.

Really, the Riches have no use for that crusty old RV. It just makes them stand out in a place where blending in is desired. To Dahlia though, it's not just a mode of transportation. The RV is part of who they are, and it represents some kind of safety for her and, more importantly I think, her family. She didn't have to get it back because it was taken from her wrongfully. It was much more for the psychological security of knowing it is there as an option.

Burying the money is a similar thing. They do have a perfectly good house, and burying money is a little nutty. But it seems that Dahlia doesn't think she belongs there, and she knows that settling in is inviting all kinds of trouble. Couple that with her struggles with drugs and it isn't a hard jump to get to Didi and Cael's conversation about Mom being crazy.

I'll add here that I thought the scene with Dahlia and Nina was excellent. She was so bizarre with the pulling of the hair and the way she was playing games with Dahlia. Nina being stoned out of her mind in the middle of the afternoon was not at all what I expected from that character when we first met her.

For their part, the kids aren't doing so bad. It's quite obvious that Cael's phone calls to Tammy are not going to end with a date to the prom and taking the rented Mercedes to Inspiration Point. Didi is hard to put your finger on at this point. She's a tough kid, and resilient, but you could see in the way she snapped at Dahlia that there is some hostility there. Sam is probably handling things better than anyone. That's due in part to his age of course, but he is making the most of this new adventure.

Wayne was having a pretty good go of it, initially anyway. Despite evidence to the contrary, he was set to make this work, and jumping in with both feet. I liked the job interview. Watching Wayne do his thing is going to be one of the highlights of the show as we move forward. You can see the gears turning as he works and works, just treading water, keeping himself in the game. And then, he gets the opening, this time in the form of Hugh, and finishes it off. The little look he gave when he asked how many of the cases against Hugh they had won was great. Right then, he knew he had his mark.

Things weren't all roses though. Wayne coming to grips with just how much he had bit off while he talked to the bartender was interesting. It gets right to the root of the problem. It's one thing to fool someone for a few minutes, or even a few hours. Fooling them for days and weeks, possibly even months, is a whole different ball game. It all finally took hold as he sat on the porch shooting guns with Hugh. His resignation that he is going to retire, and get an RV, brought him full circle. I think at that moment that he was actually ready to call the whole thing off.

It's interesting how the family came to the decision. It seems like Wayne's confidence and the way he was so set to make this work was part of what ultimately turned the rest of them around on the idea. And then, when he was as close as he has been to pulling out, seeing all of them together, in his idea of that American dream, they brought him right back around. It should be fun watching Wayne in his new gig working for Hugh. Still, you have to believe that all of this can't end well. There are just too many balls for anyone to juggle.

There was a little peek at some of that tonight. The phone call to Doug that Wayne answered. There is also Dale to be concerned with. While the family politics between him and Jenny are interesting, I don't think that is going to be enough to put off the eventual confrontation. So far, so good. It looks like it's going to be a fun ride.

Soup of the Week & The Riches: Pilot

This is a great soup when you need a meal in a hurry.

Chicken Corn Chowder

1 can cream of chicken

1 1/2 cups milk

1 teaspoon dried minced onion

1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary

2 cups cubed cooked chicken (I use the precooked Tyson grilled chicken)

1 can corn, drained

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

In a large saucepan, combine the soup, milk, onion, and rosemary. Stir in chicken and corn; heat through. Add the cheese; stir until melted.

The Riches: Pilot

If there's anything close to a certainty in this wacky world of 3,000 channels, it's this: When a new show premieres on FX, chances are it's going to be pretty good. Even the less-than-stellar shows are more daring, creative, and entertaining than most of what I might see on a broadcast or basic cable network. And The Riches is no exception; in fact, it is one of the most well-done new shows of the year. The Riches knows where it's going. And it looks like it's going to be a pretty fun ride.

Eddie Izzard plays Wayne Malloy, the patriarch of a family of Irish Travelers, who roam from town to town assuming identities and ripping of innocent people, or "Buffers," in their terms. We find that out right away when Wayne and two of his three kids -- Dehliah and Sam -- invade a high school reunion; the kids steal everyone's wallets while Wayne distracts them by becoming the life of the party. The oldest Malloy child, Cael, awaits to spirit them away in the family home / getaway RV.

After some difficulty, they swing by the penitentiary to pick up Dahlia, played by Minnie Driver. Dahlia missed her kids and husband during her two years in the joint, and we find out later that she got snagged for a crime for which Wayne should have taken the fall. Anyway, after Dahlia reunites with her Traveler clan, a dustup occurs between Wayne and his cousin-in-law Dale, who has taken control of the clan's affairs. Wayne steals the family's money and takes the Malloys on a trip to parts unknown, essentially breaking from Dahlia's family in one fell swoop.

On the road, they get involved in an accident that kills the occupants of a BMW. Wayne decides to take the family's ID and the keys to their new house in a wealthy Baton Rouge subdivision, where no one has ever met the dead couple. Once they move in, Wayne realizes that assuming the role of the dead couple -- the Riches -- not only helps them hide from Dale, who wants Wayne's hide, but will also allow his family to get off the road and finally live the American Dream, in their own perverse way. After initially objecting, Dahlia agrees to stay. And so begins the Malloys' life as the Riches.

Izzard and Driver are what make this show work .I don't know much about the kids just yet, outside of the fact that Cael seems to be the one most in control, Dehliah knows more about the family's skeletons than she lets on, and Sam likes to wear girls' clothes. But I'm sure I'll learn more as the weeks go on.

The pilot actually showed less humor than I initially expected, but there were flashes. The scene at the reunion showed Wayne at his schmoozy finest, and the scene where he goes golfing with his neighbor Jim and hustles obnoxious executive Hugh Panetta, shows Wayne's sly side.

Questions abound: will the Malloys be outed? How does a bumpkin like Wayne know how to play golf so well? Will Jim's wife Nina be the one to find out the ruse, or will she be too doped up to care? When will Dale catch up to them?

Like most FX shows, there's an overabundance of bad language, some violence, and flashes of nudity. But it didn't distract me from concentrating on the Malloy's adventure.