Ostensibly, "John" is about the Yosts, a family of surfers from Imperial Beach, Calif. They're visited by the mysterious "John" of the title (Austin Nichols) who, at various times, has been thought to be mentally challenged, insane, or some sort of religious figure. That's the basic plot of the series, but, over the course of the first season, storylines have veered out into all sorts of directions, involving a bird-loving ex-cop (played by Ed O'Neil), a pair of thugs from Hawaii (played by Dayton Callie and Paul Ben Victor), a lottery-winning, mentally unstable hotel owner (played by Matt Winston), and many, many others.
There have been reams and reams of ornate, indecipherable, profanity-laced dialogue -- no surprise, as "John" is created by David Milch, who also brought us the dialogue-heavy "Deadwood." There have been loads of surreal moments, such as the scene in which John gives what can only be called a sermon, as the other characters gather around him, yet appear to be unaware of his presence.
There have been religious experiences, deaths, resurrections, drug use, levitation, hallucinations and lots and lots of surfing.
It all begs a single question: What the hell is going on here?
In the words of the title character, I don't know Butchie instead.
I have watched every single episode of this show and yet, whenever people ask me what the show is about, I start stammering uncontrollably. Because it's not really about anything in particular. Almost nothing concrete or tangible happens on "John." In fact, I don't even like it that much and, more often than not, I fall asleep near the end of the episode.
And yet, I can't stop watching it. That's because "John" is unlike any other show on television. Clearly, Milch and co-creator Kem Nunn have a vision here. It might not be a vision I understand, but it is unique. It also offers us the opportunity to watch a great group of actors wrestle some fairly decent performance out of the often incomprehensible script.
Luis Guzman, for instance, is a hoot as a slovenly yet good-natured denizen of the hotel, where much of the show's action is centered. Brian Van Holt is also terrific as Butchie Yost, the sweet, screwed up surfer who befriends John. And Nichols, as John himself, does well with a nearly unplayable character.
The show's dialogue also makes it worth watching. Oh sure, half the time I don't understand what the hell the characters are saying, but they're fascinating to listen to, and each character has his or her own distinctive voice. Well, except for John, who communicates mainly by repeating what the other characters say verbatim, or parroting cryptic, religiously tinged lines like "The end is near."
Still, it's surprising that HBO positioned this in "The Sopranos" old slot, indicating that the network expected it to make the cultural impact that that show did. But "John" isn't nearly as accessible as "The Sopranos." It screams "cult show" with every fiber of its being. Thus, I won't be surprised if "John" is short-lived. But I will kind of miss it.
Why?
I don't know Butchie instead.
The season finale of "John From Cincinnati" airs 9 p.m. Sunday on HBO.