A good series - but what's missing? Why isn't it great? : Slings & Arrows

At last Jeffrey Tenant (?) takes over as director of the New Burbage Shakespeare Theatre Festival's ill-fated Hamlet in the Canadian series "Slings & Arrows." Good, but bad. The pretentious and craven director they'd brought in, with his snide remarks and leather pants and idiotic theories - emphasizing the "rotten" in the state of Denmark - was really pretty funny. Jeffrey is meant to be a super-talented director who's had a nervous breakdown (while playing Hamlet) and fears getting back onto the stage. Well, that's obviously where he's heading - he will not only direct but will take the lead, as the action-movie star who's been brought in to play Hamlet can barely read his lines (Oh, you angles... Stings and arrows ... ). This whole schema would be better and stronger if we could really see that Jeffrey was and still is a great actor and director, but we never do really see this convincingly. Still, he's likable enough, as is the whole cast really - the greatest strength is how well the show captures the nuances of theater types outside of the production, from the aging star to the ingenue to the apprentice, the visiting celebrity, and even the crew and the business staff. Part of the drama in episode 4 concerns the battle for control of the festival board - and I have to admit the obnoxious and scheming business agent and his control-freak, middle-brow girlfriend, Holly, are my faves to watch. The series grows on you a bit as it moves along, but I'm always kind of wanting to push it a little harder and make it better - make Jeffrey a great director, raise the stakes for him and for everyone - which I never feel when I'm watching a truly great series.