The show had an interesting premise, so much so that, even given my 4/10 rating, I had to watch it to the bitter end. Unfortunately, the show didn't live up to its potential.The acting on the show was fairly good, but there were too many character developments and plot points that didn't seem to make good sense, or at least weren't developed thoroughly enough to make sense. Here are a few: 1) Sammy's gender battle. The youngest child, a boy named Sammy, kept wanting to be a girl and would oftentimes dress up as a girl despite the fact that it very well could have compromised their operation. This was kind of interesting at the outset, but they never went anywhere with it. The character himself never really went anywhere. He was just the quiet "other kid" who would occasionally dress like a girl at inopportune times. What was the point? Who knows. Also, what about the murals he kept drawing? Pointless.2) Dahlia's dentistry gig. As part of Dahlia's effort to take over the life of Mrs. Rich, she had to attend a job interview at a dentist office. Somehow, she got the job and managed to work at the office for a few days despite her obvious lack of qualifications. This was way too far fetched. I guess the writers understood this, because, with very little set up or mentioning of it afterwards, the Dentist that she was working for committed suicide when he couldn't handle the grief of having recently lost his wife. The office then closed down and she didn't have to work there anymore. How convenient! How random and pointless...seriously, why did they even have her work there in the first place? It added absolutely nothing to the plot or to her development.3) The family's "conscience" and their criticisms of the "buffer lifestyle". They are a family of travelers. They roam around the countryside in their RV scamming, pickpocketing, and otherwise conning their way through life at the expense of everyone they come across. They have no problem with this. For some reason, though, when they take over the lives of the Riches, their moral compass comes from nowhere and creates arbitrary drama. Whenever they cross into the slightest grey of moral areas, they freak out because they're supposedly these moral and righteous people who have the right to look down their noses at "buffers". Hello! At the start of the season, these people went into a High School reunion and pick pocketed EVERYONE there! And now they're freaking out about winning a court case against a lesbian couple, temporarily covering up someone's accidental murder (which they had ALREADY DONE when they took over the Riches' lives), or cutting Wayne's boss (a corrupt asshole) out of a multimillion dollar real estate deal? And yet, they had no problem scamming an ex-athlete who was in dire financial straits out of half a million dollars, or ripping off a woman who was suing because her arm was eaten by alligators, or selling a breeding Alpaca for $100,000 even though it was infertile, or any number of their other scams. Their selective morality just made no sense and got old very fast, especially when their son, Cael (the most ruthless and morally ambiguous traveler of all of them) ran away from home because of who they had "become". Come on...4) Dahlia's parole fiasco. Everything is going right for them. They're on track to get $13 million and retire for life. All they have to do is carry on like normal for just a few months. Then, out of nowhere, Dahlia gets some crazy idea after sitting in on an AA meeting to confess to the police that she is a parole violator (something that could get her thrown in prison and/or blow her family's whole operation). What in the world?! This made absolutely zero sense.I think the writers had just run out of good ideas and were trying to throw whatever mayhem they could think of into the mix. It just wasn't sustainable and it didn't work out.

The Riches is the most recent TV show I've been watching from my Netflix que, and I have one question. How in the world could they cancel it!? More people watched the premier of The Riches than ever watched an episode of the Shield or Rescue Me. It's also got to be one of the most creative shows I've ever seen! The show centers around the Molloy family, a family of modern day gypsies. Today is a big day for them as the matriarch of their family is being released from jail, after serving a two year sentence. A big party is thrown for her and all seems well in the Molloy family, but things aren't what they seem. The Molloy family is forced to leave their camp. Wayne (Eddie Izzard) is not going empty handed thou. Before leaving he cracks the camp leaders safe and takes a substantial amount of money. Once on the road, they run into another family from camp, that had been oblivious to what was going on. It doesn't take them long to realize something isn't right, but before they can confront them, the Molloy's take off and a big highway RV chase begins. During the chase a passing motorist and his wife are killed. The man and woman are Doug and Shrine Rich, and they are on their way to a new home in Eden Falls. Doug was a savvy lawyer, who made a fortune at the expense of others. On this day he and his new wife were on the run also, moving away from everyone and everything they've ever known to move to a new state and into a new house they bought on the internet. Thanks to paper work in the car, Wayne Molloy quickly realizes who these people were and where they were going. It is then that he decides it's time to stop traveling the country and settle into a nice, normal, "buffer", lifestyle. Living in Eden Falls as Doug and Shrine. Along with their 3 kids, the Molloy's try to adapt from being a family of travelers to a family of wealth and stability. The show is amazing! There are so many twist and turns, cons and jokes, ups and downs, It's so well written , with an outrageous cast of characters, and most important of all, a storyline I promise you have never seen before! The show was canceled by FX in late 2008, but both seasons are available on Netflix, and according to Wikipedia, Eddie Izzard and the show's creator are currently working on a full length feature film. If you want something different crossing comedy, drama, and action, then I'd say The Riches are for you!

This was advertised in our TV guide as a comedy. It's also listed on IMDb as a comedy. I watched the first episode and I must say I didn't find much to laugh about. It took me a good 15-20 minutes to get into it, as I was expecting something funny to happen. But once I realised that was not what it was going to be, I started to appreciate it.It was well acted, well filmed and an interesting concept, so I'll be back for more. I've got a feeling it is going to get better.It's interesting that they cast two English actors in the lead roles as American Gypsies. But I am a fan of Minnie Driver and Eddie Izard so I'm not complaining.

I honestly think this is the best show I've seen on TV in a while! It's one of the most creative, innovative, and entertaining new shows out. I've always been a huge TV addict, but this is the only show that I have to catch each week.. there's always some new and exciting plot twist that you're not expecting. Instead of the common sitcom with the cookie cutter family whose biggest problem is someone getting an F on a test, this show has real depth and is very relatable (although not all of us are travelers who have assumed a new life in someone else's house)! You've got the conniving father who has, thus far, successfully carried out a lie that he is a competent lawyer, when in fact all he truly knows about law is how break it. The mother comes across as a slightly depressed housewife in a nice neighborhood, and her drug addiction is great, because so many suburban families and neighborhoods truly do have that issue underlying. The children are all great, and who can remember the last time there was a child in a show who wasn't sure about his gender role?! I just love the diversity of the family and each episode.. A+!