Flying to New York to make his fortune as a film director, Self meets Fielding Goodney (ably performed by Mad Men‘s Vincent Kartheiser), a smooth-talking and slick producer who tells John to “put his dick on the table” and “dream big, win big”. There’s a brilliantly awkward moment in which an ageing, massively egotistical actor insists on adding an explicit sex scene to Self’s film. In fact, every actor has his or her own objections to the first draft of the script. Where one demands more sex scenes, another demands fewer. When not trying to get his film off the ground, Self divides his time between eating junk food and frequenting sleazy strip joints, chasing unavailable women and drinking himself into a stupor. Meanwhile, an increasingly persistent mystery caller continues to pester Self for money, and the episode concludes with the implication that Self’s entire life could soon spiral out of control in the next. Nevertheless, the keen wit of Amis’ original writing still surfaces. Self’s melancholy, self-doubting internal dialogue is full of wry observations, including one memorable comment on Americans playing tennis: “When Americans say they can play tennis, they don’t mean what English people mean when they say they can play tennis. When an American says he can play tennis, he means he can play tennis.” Visually, Money is a handsome looking production, and successfully evokes the sleaze and vacuity of the 80s with its gaudy hotel rooms and tacky bars. New York is distinctively shot using a palette of blacks and golds, while Thatcher’s Britain is a monochromatic shade of brown. Part two of Money screens on Wednesday night…