The series tagline goes, "You don't wake up wanting to be someone's mistress - somehow it just happens."
By ARYEH DEAN COHENmistresses tv show 88(photo credit: )Sex and the City it ain't, but the women of Channel 3's new offering Mistresses do share something in common with Carrie, Samantha, Charlotte and Miranda: a fondness for men and a tendency to get themselves into dysfunctional relationships.
That said, the BBC import isn't nearly as light as the HBO hit, though it's almost as well-acted and will likely please those who can tolerate the wrong choices these women make.
After all, as the series tagline goes, "You don't wake up wanting to be someone's mistress - somehow it just happens." Exactly. And without the relationship mistakes, there wouldn't be much of a series.
So it's a good thing that Dr. Katie Roden (Sarah Paris) was having an affair with her patient. Oh yeah, and that she helped him kill himself when the pain got too severe. Only problem: his son suspects she's the one dad-dums was hooked up with.
Good thing, too, that Siobhan (Orla Brady) - who'll do anything to get her husband interested in sex, including buying the tightest corset known to man which shoves her breasts up to her eyeballs - agrees to work late to stay on the fast track to partner. Otherwise we wouldn't have a come-on by her co-worker Dominic, who proves more adept at making love to her in the office than her husband does at home.
And isn't it fortuitous that Jess (Shelly Conn), an events planner who's heavily into her married boss, gets assigned to plan a wedding for a lesbian couple that has her questioning her own sexual orientation, that is, when she's not busy comparing shagging notes with the girls.
Lucky for us, too, that widow Trudy (Sharon Small) met mysterious stranger Richard, whose kid joined her kids' school and asked her out for coffee - just a day after she got a check for $2 million from the 9/11 fund as compensation for her husband's death. But who's making the mysterious phone calls to the house? And will Trudy remember what to do when Richard gets past coffee and onto something more serious?
Ah yes, ladies, this is the stuff this chick-flick series is made of: bad women making bad decisions. And there's plenty of that to go around, with more coupling in the first episode than in some rabbit hutches.
What makes this series watchable, however, are the separate storylines that keep us interested and the overall good acting. And of course, there are the words to the wise shared by the girls, as when one of them offers: "Married men are a no-brainer. They're bedroom trained, and no maintenance."
We also enjoyed the discussion of whether Trudy's suitor had asked whether she "wanted" to go for a coffee or "fancied" having one, the latter indicating he truly was asking her on a date. Gentlemen, take note.
Like most shows of this nature, it has a tendency to go a bit overboard, such as the focus on Siobhan's wedding ring when she's about to have her fling in the office, or the picture of Trudy's dead (?) husband conveniently being right next to the phone when the mysterious call comes in.
Still, such standard drama devices shouldn't distract from what's really on offer here: a six-part soap opera, already renewed for another season and with an American version in the works. That in itself is a testament to its success.
For those who spend their summers reading romance novels, believe in the power of sisterhood, or just like serial dramas, Mistresses is definitely your cup of tea.
Mistresses airs Saturdays on Channel 3, Hot, at 10:05 p.m.
if(catID != 151){
var cont = `Take Israel home with the new Jerusalem Post Store
