‘John from Cincinnati’: High tide, low tide

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After last week’s pilot, which seemed like an hour-long, heatstroke-induced mirage, John from Cincinnati coalesced into some sort of coherence this week. I mean, there was still talk of haunted hotels, churros, random earthquakes and waaay too much detail about bathroom habits, but it seems as though the show has divided into two major tales: the burgeoning surfing career of Shaun Yost, and the mysterious antics of the titular John, whose becoming Butchie’s best friend since he manages to heal - without the laying on of hands, even! - the addict’s drug-induced hangover.

Thanks to greasy surfing promoter Linc’s (Luke Perry) wheeling and dealing, Shaun is able enter into the Huntington Beach surf tourney that his dad barred him from last week. All is going spectacularly - and the surfing footage on the show is quite stunning; Steve Hawk, former editor of Surfer magazine (and bro to Tony) is a consultant and writer - when he gets whumped by a wave and breaks his neck. The doctors diagnose Shaun as brain dead, and the show looks like it’s on the verge of becoming a Lifetime movie-of-the-week story about organ donation...but wait! It’s not! This is a surfing show with magical realism! It’s like Gabriel Garcia Marquez, without the cholera! So, in perhaps the most literal use of deus ex machina, Zippy the parakeet brings Shaun back to life with a peck on the lips. (Or was that just a coincidence since John was loitering in the hallway outside of the hospital room?) There’s nothing like a little confusion over who, precisely, is the Jesus figure in a TV show to keep viewers turning in, right?

(Photo courtesy HBO)