A paparazzi who is so devoted to getting the story that he's willing to cut off his own finger to get into the emergency room to snap a picture of a starlet being treated there. An actress so concerned about her figure that she fakes being pregnant while a surrogate actually carries the baby to term. A child star so damaged by the fickle finger of fame that he takes a tabloid magazine office hostage just to get a cover story. After the year of shaved heads and jailbird celebutantes that we've had, none of what happened in the first season of FX's Dirt sounds too far out of the question and that's what makes it one of the most trashily enjoyable shows on TV. Just like you probably wouldn't admit to perusing Star, Us, or any of the other celebrity-driven magazines at the store, you probably will have to keep Dirt as a guilty pleasure, but, trust me, if you watch one episode, you're going to be hooked. It's a ridiculous, over-the-top soap opera that features some awful acting, unbelievable characters, and absurd plot twists...but that's what makes it great. Dirt is unabashedly trashy fun in a time when so much TV takes itself so deadly seriously.

Even the names are trashily hilarious. Courtney Cox plays Lucy Spiller (get it?), the editor of DirtNow Magazine, one of the most controversial tabloids in Hollywood. She's best friends with a schizophrenic photographer named Don Konkey (no, I'm not kidding...they might as well have just called him Jack Kass) played by the great Ian Hart. Despite his slam-at-the-paparazzi name, Don is actual the moral conscience of the show. He'll do anything to get the shot for his friend Lucy. Also floating around the soap opera of Dirt are the ambitious leading man (Josh Stewart), the tragically-in-decline starlet (Laura Allen), the hot young reporter (Alexandra Breckinridge), and Lucy's boss (Jeffrey Nordling). Guest stars are as diverse as Wayne Brady (who actually threatens to cut off a character's unit and feed it to him in a series' highlight for over-the-top insanity), Paul Reubens and Vincent Gallo.

Hart actually does great, underrated work as the photographer with a heart of gold but a mind of Swiss cheese. Don is seriously crazy. Like talking-to-dead-people crazy. Combine that with his unusual profession and Hart's acting skill and he's a fascinating character. Alexandra Breckinridge also shines as the new hot young thing who might become the next Lucy Spiller. Cox starts off weak but settles into her role well, something that can't be said for the incredibly dull Stewart, who I really hope is gone in season two. Dirt works when it's operating like a fictional, TV version of a tabloid, not when it's trying to take seriously the problems of a narcissistic, uncharismatic actor and his junkie girlfriend. In fact, any time Dirt tries to take itself seriously, the flaws shine through like bad plastic surgery. Luckily, that doesn't happen too often, making this TV starlet good enough for your DVD runway.

The show is fun but the DVD for season one is a little disappointing, coming with no commentaries and only a few weak special features on the final disc. The featurettes are interesting but all very, very short. Maybe there's not really much to say about a show like Dirt. Most soap operas speak for themselves.