High Desert

[High Desert] is ramshackle in the right ways, led by Arquette’s tour-de-force of mad, messy, brazen desperation and determination.

Peggy is your consummate weirdo, and Arquette nails the vibes. To watch her try to pull one over on a world that rewards sensibility is extraordinarily fun, and the rest of the show keeps pace one perfect half-step behind the viewer.

What may, at times, feel like too much, always stays true to its own kooky vision, and as a showcase for Arquette (who also executive produces), “High Desert” provides an ample spotlight. It won’t be for everyone, but neither is a 75-degree Thanksgiving.

While there’s an ensemble of kooky characters around her, this is a showcase for Arquette’s unique energy. There’s a vulnerability at her core, but also the frankness of someone who has spent most of her life operating on survival mode.

The show might not be everyone’s cup of tea because it demands fortitude. While the early episodes are enjoyable, High Desert shapes itself into a more insightful version over the remaining tightly paced outings.

She may sound unbearable. She can certainly cause a cringe or two. But because she's played with such brazen, blowzy, oxygen-bogarting abandon by Patricia Arquette, Peggy is a real original.

What keeps “High Desert” from greatness (though there is hope, if it gets another season!) is a failure to unite the farcical stuff, much of which is delightful, with the deeper story. The plot starts to feel so crowded, rushed and messy that the finale (critics got all eight episodes) at times feels as if it was written by — rather than for — Peggy.

High Desert’s early aimlessness evolves by midseason into a likable shagginess, warmed by a surprising amount of heart.

We’re on the fence. At times, High Desert comes off as an overflowing sack of chaotic scenes passing for a story, but at other times, when it’s focused on where it’s going, it can be fun to watch.

“High Desert” takes an actor in the ensemble of a more high-profile Apple project and hands them the spotlight, with mixed results. Like Crudup’s used-car-salesman vibe, Arquette’s maximal commitment turns out to work better in small doses.

That it makes sense at all is down to Arquette, whose powerful charisma draws the whole thing together. ... Otherwise, High Desert is very much a case of style over substance. It looks gorgeous, there is an endless parade of side characters, each brighter and kookier than the last, and the New Agey energy and stupidity of southern California is at least as much a presence as they are. But there is too much going on to allow the viewer to care about any of it other than Peggy herself.

High Desert strives for the free-flowing zaniness of an acid trip – but can’t quite conjure the accompanying profundity. As an off-beat exploration of grief, addiction, and recovery, though, it’s refreshingly easy to digest.

There’s lots going on. If you are looking for a calm, measured drama, High Desert is not for you. But Arquette is well cast, and her charisma propels the series through its changes of tone.

As much as Roach gets the job done here, I wondered if Stiller might have pulled the pieces of this inconsistent effort together with a more needed flair. ... Arquette rocks here yet again, holding “High Desert” together even as it threatens to wander off into the barren TV landscape.

While the whole cast of High Desert does what they can to elevate the show, there’s only so much even the most competent actor can do when the material they have to work with is this weak.