It's rare that a new series impacts me at all anymore, let alone one that was dropped from the network after only 7 episodes. SELFIE is one such series, though. On the surface, it's a silly idea: a modern updating of the PYGMALION/MY FAIR LADY concept where a more refined man attempts to make over a less refined woman. By "modern," I mean that it's purposely infatuated with current tech that will in the long run severely date the series! What were they thinking?
The series starred Karen Gillan. If you didn't know her, you'd get the distinct impression that she was indeed the vacuous, unashamedly slutty, American character she appears to be. If you DID, however, know her, it was undoubtedly from her multi-series run on DOCTOR WHO as the smart, funny, Scottish Amelia Pond, one of the best traveling companions that series has ever offered.
In between DOCTOR WHO and SELFIE, the actress shaved her head completely for a featured role in GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY so not only was her SELFIE accent not real but neither is her SELFIE hair. Well, it was real in a way. It was Karen's actual hair, made into a wig for her.
John Cho, best known as the new STAR TREK's Sulu and before that as Harold from the Harold and Kumar films takes on the Rex Harrison role in SELFIE, despite being about 15 years older than Karen.
And yet, after a rocky start where the premise is almost forced on the characters, by the script, it all works, and grows. Soon enough, the show reveals itself as a fearless ensemble comedy, with UK actor David Harewood as the boss--later so serious in THE NIGHT MANAGER and also now known as SUPERGIRL's Martian Manhunter--effortlessly stealing every scene in spite of superb competition from all involved. His willingness to be utterly ridiculous and yet maintain character integrity is a rare gift amongst today's thespians!
But it's the slowly evolving friendship between the often deadpan Cho and the ditzy Eliza that is the heart of the show, twisting it away from its seeming initial premise to show that there is no real right or wrong way to be for any of us.
While theirs would seem an unlikely romance, it never actually gets to that point, sabotaged by a final episode that was clearly anticipating a second season.
After SELFIE's network cancellation, I opted to save the episodes that aired since they weren't likely to ever turn up again. It was only this week that I learned that the remaining 6 episodes of the series were later aired on Hulu. I was able to attain them and watched again from the beginning. It started slow but it got good and it was ALWAYS funny. Both Karen and John show a real feel for comedy and both bring to it perhaps more reality than was originally intended. Makes it all the harder to know their characters are gone now and these 13 episodes are all we'll ever get.
