The gang over at Showtime was gracious enough to send bloggers the first 4 episodes of their new dramedy THE UNITED STATES OF TARA and I’m head over heels in love!

Tara is a artist/decorator married with children and multiple personalities (aka “alters”) who stops taking her meds to feel more in touch with her life, family, sex and self. She has dissociative identity disorder (DID) and now that she’s off her meds, the alters that were once under control are now slipping through the cracks and making appearances in Tara’s life at the most inopportune times.

In the premiere we’re introduced to two alters but by episode two, all three have appeared. Below is my breakdown of the alters. Warning: mild spoilers ahead:

T – a 15 year old thong wearing, f-bomb slinging sex pot of a pain in the ass teen that tries to seduce Tara’s husband and corrupt their daughter Kate while making fun of their son Marshall. T is a hoot! She’s a typical teen and it’s incredibly strange and unnerving to watch the Mom interact with her kids as a peer. It’s even creepier to see her try to seduce her Tara’s husband. Sure it’s his wife’s body but it clearly is not her mind so what’s a man to do?

BUCK – watching Toni Collette turn into this chain smoking, homophobic, racist, butch, ass kicking truck driver is amazing. There is no hint of Collette (or Tara) once Buck arrives. He’s a buddy to Tara’s husband, an embarrassment to Tara’s daughter and a terrorist to Tara’s gay son yet everyone takes Buck in strides. He’s brash but below that porn loving surface is a man that has good intentions and is looking out for his/Tara’s family.

ALICE – Tara’s third alter doesn’t make an appearance in tonight’s premiere but she does show up in episode 2. Alice is kind of like Bree from Desperate Housewives but she scares me more. Alice wants the appearance of perfection, at any cost yet she’s the most dysfunctional and possibly destructive of the alters. While Tara and her husband Max have an agreement that he won’t sleep with the alters, Alice could care less. She eventually goes as far as telling Max that she’d like to have a baby with him… like I said, she’s going to be trouble.

Meet the rest of the cast after the jump…

MAX is Tara’s incredibly understanding, patient and sexy husband played by the always adorable John Corbett. He’s not only husband and father, he’s friend, enemy and target for each of Tara’s alters. There’s so much compassion in Max that it’s scary. I can’t even imagine having to endure the challenges he does but somehow he’s been able to hold his family together amidst the chaos.

KATE is Tara’s teenage daughter hell bent on rebellion as a way of coping with her Mother’s condition. She’s pals with T, embarrassed by Buck and hates Alice… good times. She gets a job at a local restaurant to make extra cash so she can one day get the hell out. She’s mouthy, bratty, sexually active and not afraid to flaunt it. Her boyfriend is a tool and the alters step in to take care of the situation.

MARSHALL is Tara’s youngest and I kind of love the kid. He’s a super smart, eccentric, headstrong little gay thing and he rocks! You’ve gotta love a kid that’s into Doctor Who AND The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari – not to mention he makes killer Muffins of Triumph!

Then there’s Tara’s douchey sister CHARMAIN who thinks Tara’s disease is not only controllable but convenient. She’s an aspiring Vita-cel hawker that seems to have a thing for her sister’s husband. Luckily actress Rosemarie Dewitt makes her semi-likable and not a complete twunt.

Then there’s TIFFANY, Charmain’s mentor/boss and Tara’s newest client. Tiffany is a super go-getter that likes to over-share and live in cliches without being one herself. I thought I would hate Tiffany but she’s one of my favorite characters on the show.

Like I said above, I’ve seen the first 4 episodes and it’s a wonderfully funny yet surprisingly depressing take on a new kind of American family. Diablo Cody’s writing and fingerprint on the show helps keep the series from becoming too cartoony or schmultzy. It’s a rough ride but one you have to take!

THE UNITED STATES OF TARA airs Sunday nights at 10pm on Showtime

This entry was posted on Sunday, January 18th, 2009 at 7:40 pm and is filed under Ducky Does TV, The United States of Tara. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.