Horndog Billionaire: The Philanthropist Sullies A Good Man’s Name
By Special Correspondent Arturo R. García
Scenes from a Roundtable Conversation
Mahsino (before watching the show):Am i the only one troubled by the new NBC show the Philanthropist? I’m seeing a lot of “white guy saves defenseless colored folks” in the promos.
maybe it’s just the Heroes announcer that’s making me suspicious, maybe I’m just itching’ to snark on something …Andrea (via email, in respose to Mahsino): it’s everything you saw in the promos and more …
Oh, how right they are.
“Based on” the work of real-life billionaire Bobby Sager, The Philanthropist might have had good intentions behind it, but as the series head into its’ third week, it instead veers horribly south of honoring Sager’s endeavors — if you didn’t know the guy, this show would make him look like a self-involved, almost pitiable nitwit.
The show’s titular do-gooder, Teddy Rist (an over-his-head James Purefoy), we keep getting reminded, is almost a bigger victim than the people he decides he wants to help – in the first two episodes, POCs. Sager’s bio doesn’t spell out when his own commitment to charitable work began, but in Teddy’s case, the flashpoint comes when, while being evacuated from a flood in Nigeria, he rescues an abandoned boy and flashes back to his own son, who has been dead for nearly a year.
This is all well and good as a starting point for Teddy as a character. But he’s written so schizophrenically you can’t take him seriously. As he spends the first episode retelling the plot to a skeptical female bartender, all we’re shown supports Teddy’s rep as “reckless” and “a playboy,” going so far as to sleep with a Nigerian doctor (Bonnie Henna) after he delivers medical supplies – on foot, while evading angry rebels and suffering from a friggin’ snakebite – to a village near the one destroyed in the flood. I’m tempted to call the Sager Foundation and do some fact-checking: So, did Mr. Sager ever hook up with a Nigerian doctor under a resplendent sky? Partake of an orgy with call girls supplied by a local drug dealer? … Hello? Hello?
At the same time, though, we get no evidence of Rist’s supposed business acumen. He tells the barkeep he built his company “by the bootstraps, no need of a bailout” — how Republican of him – but he’s so constantly put-upon he’s more like a bargain-basement Bruce Wayne, more Hugh Grant than Howard Hughes. His apparent shock – shock, I tell you! – in the second episode at learning his company is doing business with the shady military junta in Myanmar/Burma exposes him as criminally uninformed. About all he knows how to do is offer bribes.
Though he’s opposed at every turn by shady government officials and has his sanity questioned by his best friend and partner Philip (Jesse L. Martin) and Philip’s wife Olivia (Neve Campbell), only one person – the doctor he sleeps with in Week One – actually calls Teddy out before she gives in: “This is about you,” she says, and for a blessed few seconds, Teddy doesn’t have an answer. But, hey, no time for self-examination – he’s got a continent to save! And the subplot concerning Teddy’s grief over his son fails to attract the desired sympathy; it just makes the rest of the company look more incompetent for having a guy who’s obviously traumatized continue to represent the company publicly.
None of this, of course, is to be blamed on the Sager Foundation, which looks to be doing legitimately good works not only in Africa, but in Afghanistan, Iran and with the Dalai Lama, to name a few examples. But in making his journey “sexier” to American audiences, NBC and The Philanthropist only succeed in dredging up the worst White Man’s Burden stereotypes. You would think that, since we’re ostensibly dealing in fiction here, there would be an opportunity for someone to ask Teddy, “Hey, there’s little girls in New York City who need kidneys, too; why aren’t you out sleeping with their doctors?” But, hey, no time for self-examination – there’s women in Paris he has to save this week!
As you might imagine, the members of the Algonquin SnarkTable were similarly non-plussed by this show.
Mahsino: Am I the only one troubled by the placement of the “native” officials as villains? And is it just me, or does it seem like someone watched this and took it literally?
Diana: You’re not the only one. The natives in charge are bad and corrupt, the only people who “help” are the drug dealers who want to be just like Teddy, and the good doctor who can’t resist Teddy’s sweaty, snake-bitten charm. Puhlease! I actually liked the doctor until she fell for the okey-doke.
Arturo: For the purposes of the show, it makes some sense – “conflict” and all that. But you’d think that a company which already has a financial stake in the area, as we learned in the second episode, would already have some officials in the bag. You would also think that a “great businessman” like Teddy would’ve at least known about the deal with the Chinese company way before it went through, right?
Andrea: But remember, Philip Maidstone admonished Rist for not reading what he puts on Rist’s desk. It would also seem to me that another skill a great businessman would have is, well, reading–something ol’ Teddy can’t seemed to be bothered with. And the creative staff really didn’t hone their Picking Up on Satire skills ‘coz they did take “How Not to Write about Africa” seriously.
Arturo: “Losing your son. That must be so harsh.” Worst dialogue in television history or all of recorded history?
Mahsino: That whole bar scene was just- ugh. Why? Once I heard the Mohinder-Lite narration, I started raising eyebrows.
Diana: The only thing cheesier the dialogue was the music montage scenes, especially when one of the songs was Men at Work’s “Down Under.” I felt like I was watching bad music videos on a local access channel.
Andrea: Yeah, Diana, I shook my head for the sad state of music videos and local-access channels at that point.
Arturo: Okay, bedding the doctor in Nigeria was one thing, but scoring with the one in Myanmar, and keeping another man’s wife so close makes me wish this was an FX show, where Teddy would turn out to be an a-hole in the end. How ’bout you?
Mahsino: I didn’t make it to episode 2, but I have a feeling that Teddy’s going to take his friends wife and the writers will somehow try and make it seem justified.
Diana: I also did not watch episode 2, but I can see your point, Arturo. In order to give a the full “cad” effect to Teddy, cable is better. Your comment made me think of Christian on Nip/Tuck. The show’s creators need to decide if they want to be edgy or merely “meh.” I don’t have hope that they are going to push the envelope.
Andrea: I watched the second episode and completely missed Rist sleeping with the doctor. Perhaps it was because I was too appalled by the fact that Mister Theodore felt so entitled– oh, I’m sorry, compelled –to break into Lim Wai’s home because his question about his company being involved in Myanmar was more important than his acting in a threatening manner toward her. And I guess the fact that Lim Wai was a Buddhist (and an Asian woman) meant that she’d accept this dude’s unlawful entry into her home? Just. No.
Arturo: To borrow Andrea’s line, your take on Jesse L. Martin as “The Responsible Negro,” and Michael K. Williams as Kato — err, I mean Dax?
Mahsino: They defiled my image of Omar. That’s unforgivable.
Diana: Tokens, both of them. That’s a real disappointment because Jesse L. Martin is a very talented actor and I think he’s better than the lead actor. [Not having premium cable, I'm not familiar with Williams.] Jesse deserves a substantive role and not merely a background stint. FAIL.
Open Mic!
Mahsino: What pisses me off is the fact that the hero makes a living raping the natural resources of third-world nations and then goes and wonders why they don’t welcome him with open arms. It would be like the head of Firestone tire company asking why doesn’t the Liberian gov’t give them a pat on the back for every good deed they do on “the continent”. It’s called fixing what you broke – you don’t get a gold star for it. I can’t feel for this guy. I’m rooting for him to fail.
Diana: Ok, I watched it for the sake of the Table and to get my snark on. Racial issues aside, I found the show to be totally unbelievable. What is the DEA doing in Nigeria and why would they just leave the man in the jungle. And why were they walking around Nigeria in dark suits? I can just see every new episode from now on–Teddy does some heroic philanthropic act and gets to bed some exotic beauty as his reward. Seems like the producers need to tack on a PSA about HIV and STDs at the end of every show.
Andrea: I’m waiting for the news to reveal that Madonna and Angelina Jolie financed this show.
Carmen Van Kerckhove is co-founder and president of
jen* wrote:
So glad to read the Table on this one. Cuz I couldn’t bring myself to watch this at all. The commercials stunk.
Oh – and cosign on Jesse Martin. I love him, and he deserves better.
Posted 07 Jul 2009 at 10:06 am ¶
atlasien wrote:
I thought James Purefoy was great as Marc Antony in the HBO series Rome.
Maybe that’s what’s holding this series back… the fact that James Purefoy a) is not waving a sword b) is unfairly forced to wear a shirt. Take away the shirt, give him the sword, abandon all pretense of social relevance and just film him running around having sex with random people. Waving a sword. I would watch that.
Posted 07 Jul 2009 at 10:16 am ¶
Rob Schmidt wrote:
I watched the first episode and I agree with your comments. It seemed like a compendium of cliches and stereotypes.
Afterward, I checked out some reviews. Some people were calling it the best new show of the year and things like that. I thought, “Huh?”
A couple of over-the-top reviews:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/24/arts/television/24phil.html
The pilot, which will be shown on Wednesday, was shot on location in southern Africa and is dazzlingly filmed; the cinematography alone stands out. But it’s the hero’s duality — he’s a good Samaritan with a flawed personality — that helps make “The Philanthropist” an unusual and exhilarating network series.
http://www.slantmagazine.com/tv/tv_review.asp?ID=106
NBC has found the diamond in the rough it’s been searching for: a show with limitless potential, exploring all that humanity has to offer with a slight bent of thrill-seeking action and social responsibility. “The Philanthropist” proves compassionate and insightful, never didactic, and heartily entrenching. Clearly, this level of entertainment will stick out in a summer filled with schlock. Let’s just hope it finds the enlightened, NPR-listening audience it needs to survive.
Posted 07 Jul 2009 at 10:38 am ¶
Rob Schmidt wrote:
P.S. The “Dr. Carter in Darfur” episodes of “ER” were much superior to the initial episode of “The Philanthropist.”
Posted 07 Jul 2009 at 10:40 am ¶
cocolamala wrote:
yeah, my boyfriend and i saw this promoted online, and I went for the racialicious bait [billionare/post-colonial
exploitersavior], but he couldn’t stomach more than half the first episode.Posted 07 Jul 2009 at 11:09 am ¶
Barbara wrote:
I saw the pilot episode and I was deeply offended by it all. I completely concur with the comments expressed by the roundtable. It is no wonder NBC is burning this off in the summertime and did not give it a full showing as a mid-season replacement (like they intended).
I’m not sure what I expected from this show, but I was kind of hoping it would be more “Equalizer” than this piece of trash that was aired. Does anyone here remember that 80s show “The Lottery?” I loved it as a kid and thought that a show that featured different kinds of philanthropy (not just: “let’s help the brown people”) might actually be interested.
Posted 07 Jul 2009 at 11:12 am ¶
eccentricyoruba wrote:
ah so this is the philanthropist i’ve been hearing about. i have not watched the show and doubt i ever will. some Nigerian bloggers have expressed outrage at the way Nigeria was depicted in the show. i haven’t watch it so i really can’t say.
however, i personally enjoyed Sugabelly’s blog post on the lack of research put in Nigeria as shown by the way Nigeria was potrayed in the show. here is the link, http://sugabelly.blogspot.com/2009/06/why-i-hate-america.html
Posted 07 Jul 2009 at 11:16 am ¶
Diana wrote:
@Rob Schmidt–I too thought ER’s Africa episodes were much more interesting and compelling. At least three characters had Africa episodes–Dr. Carter, Luka, and Dr. Pratt. I may be leaving someone out.
Posted 07 Jul 2009 at 11:32 am ¶
Diana wrote:
I apologize if I offended anyone for calling them the ER “Africa episodes.” I think they did all take place in Darfur.
Posted 07 Jul 2009 at 11:35 am ¶
jen* wrote:
wow, atlasien, I never saw Rome, but I think I could get down with your idea – sword-waving and all. lol.
Posted 07 Jul 2009 at 11:44 am ¶
AJ Plaid wrote:
@atlasien–LOL! I just don’t think Purefoy’s mighty hairy chest can’t save this show. I do think that he and his chest would be of better use on HBO’s revival of Rome. (Take the hint, HBO.)
Posted 07 Jul 2009 at 11:51 am ¶
Mahsino wrote:
@AJ Plaid. Seriously, what has any of the cast gone on to do except fail miserably. I’m sure they can pull some more Marc Anthony stories from somewhere.
Posted 07 Jul 2009 at 1:13 pm ¶
jeff wrote:
Err, i think Rome was a BBC production rather than an HBO one. But altasian is right, you just cant go wrong with running around, waving a sword and having sex with random people.
Genius television surpassing even the Hoff’s baywatch. Maybe.
Posted 07 Jul 2009 at 1:53 pm ¶
Arturo wrote:
I never watched Rome, but this news about Purefoy is disturbing. Dude doesn’t even look like Marc Anthony.
Posted 07 Jul 2009 at 2:14 pm ¶
Mahsino wrote:
@Arturo
Booooo.
On second thought, I wouldn’t put it past casting directors.
Posted 07 Jul 2009 at 2:42 pm ¶
AJ Plaid wrote:
@jeff–though Rome was a BBC production, it played on HBO in the US. So, what I’m saying is HBO can, you know, revive the show to resusitate Purefoy’s career–especially since The Philathropist is well on its way to destroying it.
Posted 07 Jul 2009 at 4:00 pm ¶
Thom wrote:
Jeff-
Rome was a joint production for both the BBC and HBO…
Posted 07 Jul 2009 at 4:09 pm ¶
mile wrote:
I hadn’t heard of this at all. I don’t pay too much attention to summer series off of HBO though.
I loved Purefoy in Rome. As far as JLM goes, I’m a huge L&O fan. But I wouldn’t check this out even for them.
Thanks for the link on How to Write about Africa. It sounds really familiar so I think I read it before, perhaps when I was doing a report on Jamaica Kincaid. I love how it bashes people over the head with our ignorance and prejudices.
Posted 07 Jul 2009 at 6:52 pm ¶
Rob Schmidt wrote:
Since Marc Antony committed suicide at the end of “Rome,” I doubt James Purefoy will be reprising the role.
Posted 07 Jul 2009 at 9:50 pm ¶
Joy wrote:
I knew I didn’t want to see this when I saw the previews and now I have no need to find out for myself.
~*~
I agree with Atlasien – take his shirt, give him a sword, but that’s not enough. They must also take Martin’s shirt – give him a sword; take Kevin McKidd back from Grey’s Anatomy + sword – shirt and since all the “Rome” characters have died make a series about the Greeks or something.
Posted 07 Jul 2009 at 10:06 pm ¶
Eva wrote:
I just watched a few minutes of the first episode. I’ll watch the rest later. I agree with most of the criticisms but I’ve been trying to figure out what changes would make this show better. What would make it better for me would have the action in Eastern Europe. It just ticks me off that it’s always a white man to save the brown people; as if brown people can’t save themselves.
Posted 08 Jul 2009 at 8:17 am ¶
Anonymous wrote:
Ok. I’m unable to get hold of this show at the moment but I did read a lot of reviews, good and bad. As a soon-to-be doctor who was born in Burma and bred in South Africa, I find this horribly horribly offensive.
I take so much pride in my profession and the countries and cultures that have made me who I am. Thanks, stupid TV series, for sweeping up all the things that I identify with, adding a dollop of stereotyping, and laying them at the feet of a rich white guy.
Posted 08 Jul 2009 at 3:20 pm ¶
AJ Plaid wrote:
@Rob Schmidt and Joy–o, ye of way too much verisimilitude. Haven’t either one of you heard the “it was all a dream” device, as done on the TV soap Dallas? Stage it with a character waking up, walking to the bathhouse, and beholding a dude in full backside nudity doing his toilet only to have said dude turn around and–*gasp*–it’s James Purefoy himself.
Such a device 1) revives Rome and 2) atlasien, *jen, and I get to see Purefoy waving his sword again. I say “yaaaay” all around on this idea. Or at least it can’t be worse than the concept and execution of The Philathropist.
Posted 08 Jul 2009 at 4:54 pm ¶
toni wrote:
I noticed that in episode 2, Jesse L. Martin is listed as “Special Guest Star”, so your prediction that his wife will get stolen may be on the money. I only watch because of him and will immediately tune out the moment he is gone. By then I will have had my fill of Rist rubbing the heads of little brown children.
Posted 08 Jul 2009 at 8:53 pm ¶