"Loaded": Overloaded, but With a Gay Romance

Loaded, on Netflix, is an 8-episode Britcom about four techies who suddenly become "loaded" after the iphone cat game they developed goes viral. Although they have apparently been friends for years, they have quite disparate personalities.

1. New Agey, "Everything happens for a reason" Leon (Samuel Anderson,).

2. Level-headed focus character Josh (Jim Howick).

3. Dazed, chubby, multi-tattooed Watto (Nick Helm)

4. Neurotic, afraid-of-everything Ewan (Johnny Sweet, below)

They spend the first episode driving around to insult everyone who didn't believe in them, and gifting Josh's parents with a totally inappropriate 3-month long tour of places of cultural significance around the world (like Uganda and Yemen).

Back at the office to deal with a glitch, Josh explains to an employee why his picture isn't on the advertising materials (not photogenic).  She obviously has a crush on him, but he is oblivious.

Neurotic and oblivious to girls?  I wonder if he's gay
I skip forward to Episode 5. "The Boat," because it says that Ewan has a crush on The Chef, without stating whether The Chef is male or female.

Scene 1:  The guys in their old caravan (trailer), where they do their best work.  Leon tries to get them to focus on their new game, while they are all distracted by rich-person pastimes.

Scene 2: Josh and his girlfriend having dinner.   He asks her to do something rich this weekend, but she's busy -- she has a job.  Anyway, he's supposed to be working on the game, right?

Scene 3: Establishing shot of London (for once, Tower Bridge instead of that darn ferris wheel).  Leon tells his boss that the game development is going great. Good, because she's planning a massively publicized announcment "on the main stage, right after the Angry Birds guys."  She lends him her assistant, Naomi.

Scene 4: Naomi talks Leon into buying a gigantic yacht so the guys can work without distractions.

Scene 5: The guys and Naomi board the yacht.  We meet the surly captain, Callum (Oliver Johnstone),  who insults Ewan for carrying a poofy pink pillow.

Scene 6:  They try to work, but keep getting distracted.  Ewan acts weird around Captain Callum,  They ask what he was doing; he replies that he was flirting.  They suggest a better approach.

Score! Ewan is gay!

Wait -- Callum is The Chef?  They hired someone to cook, but no one to drive the boat?

Scene 7:  Ewan goes down to the galley and tries to flirt again.This time Callum gets the idea,and they kiss.

Score!  A kissing scene!

Scene 8: The boss phones Naomi to get the dirt on what's going on.  Are they really working, or goofing around? Can she send a copy of whatever they have so far?

Scene 9:  The girl from the yacht next door arrives and reveals that the last owner killed his wife and himself here.  Weird -- I thought this episode was about being distracted from working.

Wait -- the heirs didn't throw out the blood-splattered sofa before selling the yacht?

Scene 10: Cut to Ewan and Chef Callum getting dressed after sex in the galley (nice chest shots).  Whoops -- Chef Callum thinks that Ewan is a fellow employee.  He hates the rich!  So Ewan, of course, lies.

Scene 11:  The guys discover that Naomi came on board to spy on them. Ewan pretends to be their valet.

Scene 12: In the kitchen, Chef Callum advises Ewan that he shouldn't let them belittle him.   He demonstrates the "spitting in the salad" trick, but notes that he just spits, he doesn't wank into their food like other chefs.

Scene 13: Naomi has gone over to the guys' side.  She tells the boss that the game is finished, and brilliant.

Scene 14: Subplot involving Josh's girlfriend cheating on him. This is getting a little long.  Callum and Ewan serve dinner.

Scene 15: Subplot involving Watto's mum.  What about the murder-suicide?

Scene 16:  Hokey smokes, not more subplots about Naomi being interested in Josh and Leon spiking Watto's drink with LSD?  I've got other things to do today.

Scene 17:  Ewan tells Chef Callum the truth.  He explains that the money didn't make him a twat;he was already a twat when he got rich.

Scene 18: More stuff happens.  I'm going to just fast-forward to the Callum-Ewan plotline.

Callum acts all bitchy to Ewan.  Leon intervenes: he's a great guy, you should give him a chance.

They have a heart to heart.  Ewan reveals that having money changes you, even if you don't want it to, and the worst part is, you don't realize that you've changed.  Callum invites him to a pub.  But they're stuck offshore, and Watto took the only lifeboat.  Not to worry -- they take off their shoes and jump off the ship.

They're going to go to a pub soaking wet, without shoes?

My verdict:   I liked Ewan getting a boyfriend, and everyone else being so nonchalant about it. (Callum appears in a  later episode as well). But there were so many other subplots running around, some thrown in for no reason, that I got bored. Nor was there an overall theme to draw things together.  A tight 23 minutes would be better. Just save the Naomi, mother, LSD, and murder-suicide bits for later, and do an episode with just Ewan-Callum-hate the rich.  Add a few more humorous scenes of Ewan pretending to be a servant, maybe with the guys helping out: "Ok, Valet, iron my trousers."

When a viewer can come up with a better episode than the professional writers, you know somethig is wrong.

My grade: C+