Shores has created a funny, loopy, off-kilter comedy that, truth be told, probably would play just as well on other cable channels, including Comedy Central and TV Land.

Del Shores brings his movie and stage show about crazy Texan Women and slightly-less-crazy gay men to TV with a cavalcade of camp icons and brilliant, canon-ready Beth Grant. [25 Jul 2008, p.64]

Both the humor and the storytelling can be blunt. But the performances are mostly appealing--the ensemble really seems to be having fun--and the jokes often slip past you more quietly than you expect.

From where I sit, it is something of a mixed bag, but it works more than it doesn't, and an impressive, semi-big-name cast helps keep it upright and lends the project an air of prestige--especially in the context of its modest little network.

It's like watching a drag show--you know, when you're supposed to laugh because we're conditioned to laugh on cue. But in reality, it's forced, er, gaiety.

Sordid Lives: The Series has a decidedly amateurish tone, with shoddy production values and acting that shows some seams. But the tone works in the show's favor.