'The Affair' - Why It Won at the Golden Globes

By T.J. Clemente (Star Patcher)

Not too long ago I proposed writing a summary of the first season of the Showtime series, The Affair, for a large east end website that I contribute to on occasion but the editor in chief said, “No Thanks, I tried to watch that show, but I just didn’t get it.” To her, I dedicate this piece.

After winning the Golden Globe award for “Best TV Series Drama,” The Affair is now once again the talk of the internet. I believe the reason this series resonated with the TV viewing public was the way it navigated through how and why affairs happen and shined a bright light on the damage they do. The series showed how a simple flirtation can lead to a chain of events that in the end wrecks families and lives in a devestating way.

The show using a his and her point of view portrays the many angles of perception that goes on in the formation of relationships. The Affair shined a bright light on what is actually going on in affairs, until events and the momentum of emotions take over. I once describe having an affair similar to, “Driving a car 100 mph the wrong way on an interstate during rush hour. You crash.”

Too often during the episodes I was squirming feeling uncomfortable because of my own past actions, I believe I was not alone. I suppose the Golden Globe award validates that idea. What was haunting even more to me personally was that Ditch Plains in Montauk, a place where a good part of this show takes place, was the actual place I was living when I put my life back together. Perhaps this is why I watched this show from the beginning.

In a previous article that was published on Hamptons.com,(http://www.hamptons.com/Real-Estate/Hamptons-Estate-Of-Mind/20218/Some-Thoughts-on-Showtimes-The-Affair.html#.VLQyt8YqrjQ) I wrote, “’The Affair’ is about stuff we all have witnessed no matter where you live; two married people stepping out of their lives to find something they think they need at that time, and not totally realizing the effect on everyone else in their lives. If you have ever been there, you know how the forces of nature can be so disruptive. In this case Alison the married local daughter of a long time fishing family hooks up with Noah an author and married father of four children residing in NYC but vacations in Montauk at his father-in-laws luxurious digs in Montauk…Quite frankly, at times it is too dead on.”

Ruth Wilson, who portrays Alison Bailey in The Affair, won the Golden Globe for Best Actress in a TV Series Drama. In her acceptence speech she just slipped in that this role was perhaps the most “depressing” one she has had in her career, but afterall she is only 32 years old. Dominic West plays Noah Sollaway although he did not win a Golden Globe he was nominated. The point is watching this show is not easy lifting. It deals with real problems like; recovering from the death of a child, drug abuse, teenage pregnacy, and going bankrupt. Somehow the actors glued it all together with some good writing all quarterbacked by the shows creators, Hagai Levi and Sarah Treem.

Of course like all movies and TV Shows, liberties are taken and some shots/scenes are not where they are suppose to be and that stuff drives most Montauk/East Hampton locals nuts. But who doesn’t enjoy seeing the Montauk lighthouse or local beaches/venues as a background for some scenes in a show they watch?

Also on Patch:

• New Burger Restaurant Opening This Week In Milpitas
• Caught-In-Act Burglar Fibs About Why He Is In Mtn. View House: Police
• The First Asian-Raised CA Assemblyman Kansen Chu
• Los Gatos Museums Announce Openings For Committee Members
• Docs paint! Nurses garden! Kaiser’s Day of Service on MLK Holiday
• Saratoga Ranks No. 46 of ‘Best Small Cities for Families’
• Astronaut Sends Shout Out to Bay Area, Tweeting This Beautiful Photo
• Local Branch of ‘National League of American Pen Women’ Hosting Fundraiser Luncheon
• Mystery Goo Spreads To Peninsula Birds
• Growing TripAdvisor Moves To Larger Offices In Palo Alto
• Coming To Cantor Arts Center: 12 Artists Dynamically Explore Identity, Narrative, and War in Daily Life