Being a Gypsy is Cool: A Review of The Riches

Have you ever wondered how living life as a gypsy would be? Traveling from place to place, pulling off cons and then high-tailing out of town? In the new television series "The Riches" on the FX network, you can find out just that.

The Riches is based on a gypsy family that takes over a dead mans life. The man was moving to a new house with his wife, but he and his wife die in a car accident caused by the gypsy family. The gypsy father, played by Eddie Izzard and his wife, played by Minnie Driver assume the lives of the dead couple - ironically named Mr. & Mrs. Rich. It turns out that Mr. Douglas Rich was a lawyer and was making a very decent living.

The new Mr. & Mrs. Rich move into a huge house and have to adjust to living life as a regular person, or a "buffer" as they are referred to by gypsy's.

Mrs. Rich (Minnie Driver) has recently just been released from prison and is fighting a drug addiction. The Rich's also have three children, 1 teenage boy, 1 teenage girl and 1 pre-teen boy. The pre-teen boy wishes he was a girl and dresses that way a majority of the time.

The series follows the Rich's as they lie, I mean adjust to mainstream life. The show is extremely original and aside from its peculiar storyline, is quite addicting. The writing is superb. Any writer that can make me like and be sympathetic to a family that killed a couple and assumed their identity is excellent at his or her craft. Each week the Rich's run into problems that must be solved to keep their true identity secret.

For example, during one episode the teenage daughter gets arrested for possession of marijuana. As she tries to make a phone call from jail, Mr. Rich is drunk at the country club with his new boss and Mrs. Rich is out shopping.

After the daughter finally gets a hold of her parents, they have to make sure she is not fingerprinted. If she were fingerprinted, the authorities would know she is not who she says she is and the entire charade would be over. In the end, the smooth talking Mr. and Mrs. Rich get their daughter out of jail with only a warning.

The Riches is a breath of fresh air. It is original, funny and dramatic television all nicely wrapped together in one package. If you are looking for a great television show to watch, I suggest you give The Riches a chance. The Riches airs at 10pm on Monday's on the FX network.