Round One

THE AFFAIR

VS

CRISTELA

See all the bracket action at http://challonge.com/popfilter

Today’s match up has Showtime’s The Affair pitted against ABC’s new sitcom Cristela. That sentence has all the information you need to determine the winner. End of article? No! Keep reading.

Showtime has given the world some great television, such as the first two seasons of Weeds and Dexter. Showtime has also given the world some abysmally terrible television, such as the remaining seasons of Dexter and Weeds. What we know for sure is that Showtime is good at getting a conceptual show off the ground. What’s high concept about The Affair isn’t the premise, it’s about two people who cheat on their spouses. Rather, the conceptually interesting thing about it is how the pilot deals with the truth of the world its building. The story is framed by an investigation that has the two affairees, The Wire alum Dominic West and Ruth Wilson, in an interrogation room being questioned. Their statements are a literal he-said, she-said account of their relationship. The truth of either version is not up for debate; this is all about how Noah and Alison express cognitive dissonance. Their stories reflect what they want to believe about what happened in order to not be totally responsible for it. I was very impressed by the way the lead actors pulled off the two different characters they play: the Noah and Alison of his story and the Noah and Alison of hers. The choices the actors make highlight the way people cast themselves as well-meaning, innocent bystanders of circumstances beyond their control in the stories they tell about their lives. This is an amazing debut and I can’t wait for the second episode.

Cristela is the kind of sitcom pilot that TV writers who want to sell their show should study. Its easily digestible, introduces its characters subtly but with an understanding of what their roles are, and takes on enough plot to set up a world while not feel crammed into 22 minutes. The star of the show, Cristela Alonzo, is likeable enough to make her cheesy lines work. The biggest flaw comes in the form of Gabriel Iglesias, a comedian whose stand-up I really enjoy. He is there because he is the only recognizable name on the show but the writers don’t know what to do with him. So what do they do? They force him in with awkward results. His character has a crush on Cristela, but she adamantly rejects him making his persistent advances creepy. They need to figure out how to make him work or axe him. Still, I’m rooting for this show to become a hit and for America to make Cristela Alonzo a star. But it is no match for The Affair. The Affair is incredible.

Looks like Transparent finally has some real competition.

-Stephanie Rose

NEXT TIME: GRACEPOINT VS SURVIVOR’S REMORSE