To Watch or Not to Watch, There Is No Question

How much do I love Slings & Arrows? Or, better put, is there a better show on TV than Slings & Arrows? I’m going to say no, and not just because I don’t actually have cable and therefore have limited access to the bounty that is network television. (Sorry, Battlestar Gallactica, it was never meant to be.)

(Warning: spoilers ahead)

Slings & Arrows, a Canadian comedy currently in its third season on the Sundance Channel, follows the action behind the scenes of the fictional New Burbage Shakespearean Festival (New York magazine called it "Shakespeare in Love meets Topsy-Turvy). Artistic director Oliver Welles (Stephen Ouimette), once the director of critically acclaimed, provocative theater, is staging a gorgeous yet lazy production of Midsummer’s Night Dream. While he’s making sure the fake goats bleat on cue, temperamental star Ellen (Martha Burns) interrupts rehearsals to discuss problematic blocking and general manager Richard (co-writer Mark McKinney) disrupts everything to make sure Oliver is meeting every need of the corporate sponsors. The pressures of running the festival, with its media coverage and long, lustrous history, drive Oliver to drink so much that he fatally stumbles in front of an oncoming truck the very same night the show opens.

Enter Geoffrey Tenant (Paul Gross, writer, director and actor in TV's Due South, Brian in the first Tales of the City miniseries and Burns' real-life husband). Passionate, histrionic, a little loony and strangely sexy, this extremely anti-corporate actor/director is failing to keep his own Shakespeare theater company afloat when the New Burbage calls on him to temporarily replace Oliver. New Burbage is where Geoffrey famously triumphed seven years prior as Hamlet opposite Ellen’s Ophelia, yet also where he then suffered a nervous breakdown only three performances into the production.

After begrudgingly accepting the offer, Paul meets the crew: neurotic assistant Anna (Susan Coyne), devious board member yet ironically named Holly Day (Jennifer Irwin), kooky actress Claire (Sabrina Grdevich) and her fresh-faced understudy Kate (a pre-Mean Girls Rachel McAdams), among others.

Like Shakespear in Love, the more you know about Shakespeare, the more you'll get out of the show. But I'm not a big Shakespeare expert and there's still a lot to enjoy. Geoffrey and Ellen's relationship is much deeper than just being co-actors, and their romantic history is further complicated by their director and shoulder to cry on, Oliver. Since the love of her life abandoned her on the stage, Ellen enjoys the company of local young boytoys, whether a bartender or delivery guy. How refreshing it is to have a non-ingenue leading lady enjoy her sexuality without flaunting or apologizing for it. Oh, and since Oliver can't be with them in person anymore, he decides to haunt Geoffrey, causing him to yell "Shut! UP!" during a conversation or televised interview.

Meanwhile, Kate is striking sparks with the Burbage's new Hamlet, Hollywood action star Jack Crew (Luke Kirby). I haven't seen a single Rachel McAdams movie yet, but she is so adorable here I just want to put her in my pocket and buy her lots of ponies. No wonder people call her the next Julia Roberts, however unprophetic that may be.

Also, Holly begins a kinky power dynamic with weak, "spindly" Richard, cruelly manipulating things so he can become the new chairman of the board of directors. Even though he might be the one ascending in power, slimy Holly clearly calls all the shots both in and out of the bedroom. In fact, Holly is so disgustly evil, with her perky smirks, affirmation tapes ("You are the center of the universe. You are God."), and disdain for anything and anyone in the way of her ambitions, you pretty much love to hate her. All of which is why Irwin is such a good actress.

This doesn't even scratch the surface of the large cast, which also includes an actor-hating stagehand and the two Irish actors who behave as less cranky versions of Statler and Waldorf. The show obviously has a large budget which I guess is possible with short, six-episode seasons.

The great thing about Slings & Arrows is that whethor or not you love Shakespeare or even theater itself, you can't help but be moved by the actors' and directors' love for what they do. They're not just crazy and high-strung just because they're artists, they're crazy and high-strung because they believe in the power Hamlet can wield over an audience. Their desperation is born not just out of vanity (note the "just") but because they sincerely want their screwy theater company to succeed! They live for the that thrilling, fleeting moment when the actors on stage forget they're on stage and just live it. Even if the show contaminates their personal lives or they have no budget for costumes or sets or the critics belittle them, these people clearly have no choice. They must do what they're doing. The hilarious side-effects are our benefit.