Action (TV series)

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Action was a short-lived comedy series about a Hollywood producer named Peter Dragon, who is trying to recover from his last box-office failure. It aired on FOX during the 1999-2000 season. The series was critically praised for its irreverent, and sometimes hostile look at Hollywood culture. Thirteen episodes were produced. The show was created by Chris Thompson and the show runner was Don Reo.

1 Main cast
2 Supporting characters
3 Celebrity cameos
4 Transgressive humor
5 Episode names
6 Trivia
7 Region 1 DVD release
8 External links

[edit] Main cast

Peter Dragon, played by Jay Mohr, is a star producer at Dragonfire Films. Peter got his start as a screenwriter for gay porn, but eventually moved up the ladder of Hollywood as a hotshot producer of tasteless action films. At the start of the series, Peter's latest film, Slow Torture, is a monumental flop, and he is under tremendous pressure to make his next film a big success. Peter is bossy and arrogant to his subordinates and is morally unscrupulous in negotiating with Hollywood talent. It is frequently suggested that Peter is sexually confused.

Wendy Ward, played by Illeana Douglas, is a former child actress who gained fame as the cute star of The Elephant Princess. Her career tanked during her teen years due to a nasty coke habit, and she is now a high priced call girl. Through circumstance, she ends up becoming Peter's date at the premiere of his movie Slow Torture. After she gives her honest criticism of Slow Torture, Wendy is named Vice President of Production at Dragonfire Films. Wendy's character is an intentional play on the "hooker with a heart of gold" movie stereotype.

Lonnie Dragon, played by Buddy Hackett, is Peter's uncle and chief of security at Dragonfire Films. Lonnie and Peter seem to understand each other perfectly. Lonnie is one of the few people Peter actually treats with respect. Lonnie has served in many wars, including World War II, and often complains about past injuries, most notably the fact that he only has one testicle. As he puts it, "The sack is half full."

Stuart Glazer, played by Jack Plotnick, is President of Production at Dragonfire Films. Stuart desperately wants to be taken seriously as a Hollywood developer, but is frequently abused and ordered around by Peter. In spite of his important sounding position, Stuart is often asked to do demeaning tasks like babysit Georgia, have suits dry-cleaned and order gift baskets for star talent. Stuart is gay.

Adam Rafkin, played by Jarrad Paul, is a struggling screenwriter whose screenplay, Beverly Hills Gun Club, was picked up by Dragonfire Films for development. Adam's script was actually bought mistakenly because his name was confused with Alan Rifkin. Adam lives alone, is sexually inexperienced and has had the same fuddy duddy agent represent him for most of his floundering professional career. A source of frustration is his lack of respect from Hollywood, most notably from Peter who never seems to recall his name.

[edit] Supporting characters

Bobby Gianopolis, played by Lee Arenberg is the chief executive of Dragonfire Films. Bobby G, as he is well known, uses menacing threats to get what he wants from Peter and the rest of the Dragonfire staff. Often these threats involve withdrawing his massive financial backing or exposing his gigantic penis. Bobby G is gay, but married Jane, Peter's ex-wife, in order to quell any rumors of such. Many critics have suggested that Bobby is a parody of former FOX CEO Barry Diller.

Jane Dragon, played by Cindy Ambuehl, is Peter's ex-wife. It is never revealed why she and Peter broke up, but she remarried with Bobby Gianopolis mostly to spite Peter. She is manipulative, scheming and is so orally gifted she can hum and whistle at the same time. She has a daughter by Peter named Georgia.

Georgia Dragon, played by Sara Paxton, is Peter's daughter by Jane. Ten years old, she is deceptively innocent but mildly stone-hearted for her age, a trait she gets from her parents.

Jenny, played by Erin Daniels, is a struggling Hollywood career woman. She used to work at UPN, but after sleeping with Peter, moved on to become a production assistant at Dragonfire Films, where she then slept with Wendy. She is in competition with Stuart.

Cole Riccardi, played by Richard Burgi, is a famous action star who has been in many of Peter's movies. He is introspective, self-obsessed and secretly gay.

Connie Hunt, played by Amy Aquino, is the aggressive publicist assigned to Peter Dragon by Bobby Gianapolis after a major PR disaster. She is dry, practical, cold-hearted, and is portrayed with the aura of a hitman/cleaner. A clap of lightning and thunder usually follows mention of her name.

Titus Scroad, played by R. Lee Ermey is an eccentric movie director with a predilection for hydro-colonic therapy.

Holden van Dorn, played by Fab Filippo is a hotshot young actor, with a very public record of alcohol and drug abuse.

Reagan Lauren Busch, played by Jennifer Lyons is a sexy starlet with a big appetite and weight problems.

[edit] Celebrity cameos

Action was notable for its heavy use of celebrity cameos. The actors played themselves.

Keanu Reeves is fondled during a movie premiere. (Episode 1)
Steve Kmetko and Jules Asner report on the extremely low opening weekend take of Slow Torture on their show E! News Live. (Episode 2)
Salma Hayek runs into Peter in a restaurant and reveals that Peter sexually harassed her early in her career. (Episode 2)
Sandra Bullock appears to protest a bootlegged sex tape Peter has made of her. (Episode 4)
David Hasselhoff appears at a charity auction, at one point mispronouncing an item owned by Mary Tyler Moore, so it sounds like a reference to her "derriere". (Episode 5)
Tony Hawk breaks a leg when Peter distracts him, trying to get him to convince Leonardo DiCaprio to do his movie. (Episode 6)
Scott Wolf, who turns out to be much shorter than he appears on TV, begs Peter to cast him as an action star, then physically threatens him after Peter makes one short joke too many. (Episode 6)
Mike Walker of National Enquirer fame appears to scoop Peter. (Episode 8)
David Leisure appears as a career-crashed security guard. (Episode 10)

[edit] Transgressive humor

Action was unusually explicit for a series on American broadcast television. The characters regularly used obscenities which were bleeped out (the DVD release restores them), and the writers managed to introduce sexual humor without explicitly calling attention to it. For example, in one scene Bobby Gianopolis has a prostate examination while standing at his desk during a business meeting. When he tells the doctor he's ready for the examination, the doctor tells him he has already begun. In another instance, Peter Dragon and Holden van Dorn drop in unexpectedly at Adam's apartment. During the ensuing scene, it becomes clear that Adam had been watching pornography and masturbating.

[edit] Episode names

Pilot
Re-Enter the Dragon
Blood Money
Blowhard
Mr. Dragon Goes to Washington
Twelfth Step to Hell
Strong Sexual Content
Lights, Camera, Action
Dead Man Floating
Dragon's Blood
One Easy Piece
Love Sucks
The Last Ride of the Elephant Princess

[edit] Trivia

Of the 13 produced episodes, only 8 ran on FOX in 1999.
- The final episode that FOX aired was "Lights, Camera, Action." In the episode, Peter dies of a heart attack and the paramedics taking him to the hospital call the time of death "Thursday, 9:30 PM" - the day and time the episode ended.
- The remaining five episodes were eventually broadcast on other networks such as FX and Comedy Central.
The names of past films from Dragonfire Films: Deadly Habits, Ripcord, Vatican Solution, The Butcher's Son, Mixed Blessings, Body Bags, Discharge and Slow Torture. These films are either referenced in the dialogue, or have posters visible in the background at the Dragonfire Films production office.
- Red Snow is the name of a film that Cole Riccardi starred in, and while not explicitly stated, it's suggested to be a Dragonfire Film.
- The series revolves around the production of Beverly Hills Gun Club.
The two charities that Peter Dragon forms are "Peter Dragon's Camp for Pediatric German Measles" and "Peter Dragon's Inner City Screenwriters Youth Camp".
On the DVD, the writers reveal that they wrote the show around stories of real-life events told to them by show producer Joel Silver and show creator Chris Thompson.
At one point, Peter Dragon refers to the show's producer (Joel Silver) as a "fat hack" who produced Xanadu.