I was dubious about this TV show, I was wondering if it was going to be offensive just to watch it or if the humour was going to go right over my head, but Jordan Gray is extremely talented and has shown that the best way to feel comfortable is through humour, f*ck everyone else.
Transaction follows Transgender woman Liv as she is hired by a local supermarket as a PR stunt following some very bad press. As she is unable to quit and soon finds she is unsackable, she decides to cause chaos and watching this unfold is the most hilarious thing I've seen in a while.
Of course the show doesn't just tackle Trans tropes, no, we've got Millie who has Dwarfism and Beefy Linda who is Black, so as Liv aptly points out they 'look like the set up for a joke that would get you uninvited from Christmas dinner'. All the diverseness is addressed and all of it is mocked in order to draw attention to how disgusting treatment usually is.
The first episode consists of us meeting Liv. She uses the expectations of having Gender Reassignment Surgery to get out of money situations, eg. paying rent and we later see this backfire. This of course is addressed amusingly, however it's clear Liv doesn't want this surgery and why should she? But this is what leads her to being forced into the job role. We see her take on pro-trans activists, her new boss, defend her friend who she treats badly, and other wise cause absolute chaos in the most hilarious manor. This gal is banning certain produce because of what it represents, maliciously complying to the rules in the handbook, and generally being an arsehole. She's rude, vulgar, and not very nice at all, but within all her flaws is a deeply relatable and insecure person and that's what makes us love her more, that and the fact she is an agent of mischief.
Episode two focuses on Liv and Millie as they battle it out over Thomas and who is the better friend. Millie is a people pleaser and this no doubt stems from being over looked, but otherwise she is insanely nice and we see this on screen. Liv takes an issue with this as it shows her up especially as she forgot Tom's birthday. She decides she's going to get Millie sacked, however this doesn't go well and very nearly ends in Millie going splat. In a hilarious and unrealistic which-makes-it-funnier scene, Liv saves her and they bond using humour only they can and it's so horrific you have no choice but to laugh.
Episode three juggles homophobic graffiti in the ladies bathroom and the fallout amongst the characters from this while Liv is asked for marriage advice by Simon. This wasn't the best episode I found, it wasn't as funny and Liv wasnt as chaotic. It focused on her lying about being pregnant to keep an arsehole of a casual fling around who suddenly appeared and was gone just as quick. It seemed fairly boring in comparison to the two previous episodes. Obviously we knew Liv was responsible but this one taught more of a lesson here, mountains made out of molehills as people jumped to the defence when it wasnt needed.
Episode four was more like it. Home Alone-esque. We meet Simon's daughter in this one and she's known to me as Polly from Dodger, it was a much more chaotic episode. Forced to babysit, Liv has fun with a pre-teen as they make everything sandwiches, set up boobytraps and pummel Simon's soon-to-be-ex-wife in the face with a raw chicken. The Pullock's family become closer while Simon's real family falls apart.
Episode five is back to being a bit lacking. Liv's date has been cancelled and she's gone into work all dolled up to find Simon's lost the plot and invested in AI tech to cease the dependence on people. This fails as it turns Millie into a psycho who tries to kill Liv, Liv falls in love with a self checkout who's got her voice, and Thomas is falling apart at it all. This one was a good premise it was just a little boring, there wasnt quite enough Liv centric chaos, I miss her destroying things.
Episode six was again more like it, but it was a little sad. We got Liv being accepted for who she is but people degrade her further now. The gender pay gap jibe didn't sit well with me but then of course it wouldnt as I'm a woman too and it affects me. A bloke would have found that bit hilarious not understanding it was there to draw attention to the fact its shit and needs to change. Liv gets caught out in her lie of having her Gender reassignment surgery when in fact she went to Thailand for a month. It all comes out and nearly destroys the future of the store but she saves it with an epic musical number and dribble, then Simon actually steps in and undoes everything we'd worked on in the series. It was a good end just a little sad for Liv and the others. Tom and Millie missed out on their kiss, Liv is now trapped and it all ended up a little pointless. It was fun, but not as funny, but there were serious issues displayed so I suppose it couldnt have been. They didnt really have any right to try and force her into a surgery she didn't want.
I love the double meaning of the title; Transaction. Literally the premise is a transaction, she's getting money for not destroying the store with furious activists, but it's also action taken by a Trans person and that has so many meanings, but Liv is single handedly taking on the world who is usually against her and rocking every minute of it. I love it. Not to mention her style, Morticia Addams meets Frank-N-Furter (Rocky Horror Picture Show).
I think this show was one of those were its one step forward, one step back, but I enjoyed it immensely. I liked tthe dark humour, I liked the points addressed, bad press is good press I guess, anything to draw attention to the issues at hand.
I'm giving Transaction an 7/10. It's comedic, it's awful, it's a genuine trainwreck, but these are what makes it so good. You can't stop watching and you can't stop laughing, if you do you'll cry. I adore Liv and I so hope it gets a second series if that's what Jordan wants to do as it was very clever in how it handled the portrayals on screen and while fairly offensive it did so in a liberating way, she wasn't laughing with the transphobes and mocking herself, she's mocking them while owning her identity, I dont see a bigger fuck you than that and I am here for it.
Thoughts? Social comments are always appreciated!
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