ABC Fall Pilot Review: The Middle - Premieres September 30; TV Land Goes Brady Crazy This Week

The Middle - Wednesdays 8:30PM ET/PT on ABC
Premieres Wednesday, September 30, 2009 at 8:30PM ET/PT

Emmy-winner Patricia Heaton stars in this warm and witty single-camera comedy about raising a family and lowering your expectations.

Frankie Heck is a superhero. Well, no, not an actual superhero - not unless you count getting her kids out the door for school every morning as a superfeat. Middle-aged, middle class and living in the middle of the country, this harried wife and working mother of three uses her wry wit and sense of humor to try to get her family through each day intact. Frankie has a job selling cars at the town's only surviving car dealer; her husband, Mike, is a manager at the local quarry.

In between juggling shifts and picking up fast food dinners eaten in front of the TV, Frankie and Mike raise their kids with love and solid Midwestern practicality. Axl is the oldest, a teenage jock who eats the family out of house and home and walks around in his underwear. Then there's Sue, their extraordinarily ordinary pre-teen daughter who fails at everything she tries with great gusto. Brick, the youngest son, is an odd kid whose best friend is his backpack. Together, they're putting THE MIDDLE on the map.

Cast Details:

* Patricia Heaton as Frankie Heck
* Neil Flynn as Mike Heck
* Charlie McDermott as Axl Heck
* Eden Shur as Sue Heck
* Atticus Shafer as Brick Heck
* Chris Kattan as Bob

Patricia Heaton (Frankie Heck) is perhaps best known for her role as Debra Barone on the award-winning series Everybody Loves Raymond. She won two Emmy Awards for the role and was nominated seven times. In addition to her Emmy wins, Heaton is also the recipient of the Best Comedy Actress Award from the Viewers for Quality Television, a SAG Award and three SAG nominations in the Best Actress category for her work on Raymond. Heaton most recently starred opposite Kelsey Grammer in the Fox comedy series Back to You. She also starred in the Hallmark Hall of Fame film, Front of the Class. Other television credits include a recurring role on ABC's popular series thirtysomething and prominent roles in the series Room for Two, Someone Like Me and Women of the House, as well as the television films A Town Without Christmas and Miracle in the Woods. Heaton produced and starred in the TNT/FourBoys Films production, The Engagement Ring, She also starred in the TNT/Neil Simon production of The Goodbye Girl and ABC's The Path to 9/11. Her feature film credits include Memoirs of an Invisible Man, Beethoven, New Age and Space Jam.

Neil Flynn (Mike Heck) just finished his eighth season as Sacred Heart Hospital's menacing janitor in the ABC comedy series Scrubs. Flynn can be seen interrogating Harrison Ford in Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, directed by Steven Spielberg, and is also well known for playing Lindsay Lohan's dad in the hit comedy Mean Girls. His other feature appearances include Hoot, Home Alone 3, The Fugitive, Chain Reaction, Rookie of the Year, Baby's Day Out and Major League. Equally adept at comedy and drama, Flynn has performed a variety of roles on television series, ranging from Seinfeld, The Drew Carey Show and That 70's Show to C.S.I., Boston Public and NYPD Blue. Other T.V. appearances include Arli$$, Ellen, Family Law and Smallville.

Charlie McDermott (Axl Heck) is a quickly rising star who will make his presence felt on both the large and small screen in 2009. On the big screen he has two new films in production: He'll join Chevy Chase, John Cusack, Rob Corddry and Craig Robinson in United Artist's Hot Tub Time Machine, an absurdist comedy slated to open in February 2010; he will also star alongside Laura Linney and writer/director Leland Orser in Morning, opening later this year. McDermott began his career with M. Night Shyamalan's The Village, alongside Joaquin Phoenix, Adrien Brody, William Hurt and Sigourney Weaver. Additional film credits include The Sex Drive, opposite Seth Green and James Marsden. Television credits include The Office, as the disinterested student who ignores Michael Scott (Steve Carell), ABC's Private Practice, Parks and Recreation, and Medium.

Eden Sher (Sue Heck) is best known for her work on the ABC comedy Sons & Daughters. She has also starred in Starz Party Down, ABC Family's The Middleman, Disney's Sonny With A Chance and Showtime's Weeds.

Atticus Shaffer (Brick Heck) was discovered by his manager in 2006 and soon landed a guest starring role in the series The Class. That role led him to the role of Brick in the original ABC pilot, The Middle. Several episodics followed, such as My Name is Earl, Days of Our Lives, Carpoolers, Out of Jimmy's Head and Human Giant. Perhaps best known for the bus stop scene he shared with Will Smith in Hancock, Atticus' other roles in feature films include The Unborn, An American Carol, Leaving Barstow and Opposite Day.

Chris Kattan (Bob) is best known for his many characters on Saturday Night Live, which he joined in March 1996, completing his seventh and final season in 2003. With numerous upcoming projects, he was recently seen in the Independent Film Channel's three-part miniseries, Bollywood Hero, in which he played himself in an otherwise fictional comedy. Other big-screen credits include Universal's Undercover Brother, Disney's Corky Romano" the script of which was based on a character Kattan developed, and A Night at the Roxbury, written by Kattan and Will Ferrell and produced by Lorne Michaels and Amy Heckerling. Kattan was also seen opposite Brendan Fraser and Bridget Fonda in Monkey Bone, and in The House on Haunted Hill, opposite Geoffrey Rush, Famke Janssen, Ali Larter and Taye Diggs and produced by Joel Silver and Robert Zemeckis.


Pilot Plot:

#1 "Pilot" (Airs September 30)
Frankie is struggling in her career as a car salesperson because she has failed to actually sell a car. Sue has auditioned for show choir and, to everyone's shock, makes the team, but fails to mention that she's part of the stage crew. To top things off, Brick wants Frankie to come to his class presentation dressed as a superhero. Just when Frankie thinks she's got a car sold and her kids under control, she does show up to Brick's class dressed as a superhero -- but he's given her the wrong day -- and the car she thought she had sold is stolen right in front of her. Work and home have taken over Frankie's life... to the point that she barely recognizes herself and has even taken to coloring her hair with a magic marker. Her youth has faded and the day-to-day grind has worn her down, but it's family and the struggles they face together that keep Frankie and the rest of the Hecks one big happy mess.
Guest starring are Brian Doyle-Murray as Mr. Ehlert, Amy Farrington as Gail, Patricia Belcher as Mrs. Rettig, Jeanete Miller as Aunt Edie, Francis Bay as Aunt Ginny, Peter Breitmayer as Pete, Andy Kreiss as choir director, Ping Wu as Mr. Yamamoto, Mike Randleman as flight attendant and Robert Clendenin as P.A.
"Pilot" was written by DeAnn Heline and Eileen Heisler, and directed by Julie Ann Robinson.


Analysis:

ABC has had this pilot in development for a few years, so they have really believed in it and got to a point where they made it the best they could. Previously when it was in development, Ricki Lake was the star...now we have Patricia Heaton as the star and she shines in this role! This sitcom is about an average family living in "the middle" of the country in Indiana. If you liked Malcolm in the Middle, you are sure to like this. While that series was focused mainly on Malcolm, this series is all about Frankie Heck (Patricia Heaton). But that is not to say this isn't an ensemble, because the family is a key part of the show.

The pilot is excellent. Mike and Frankie Heck have three children Axl, Sue and Brick. They are all so unique and funny in their own ways. I think everyone in the entire country will love the youngest child, Brick. He is unbelievably funny! Even his name is pretty funny! Seriously, Frankie, Axl, and Brick...strange names, but funny! Frankie is a car salesman and of course a mom, where she has to juggle so many tasks. Brick has even called his mom a superhero for his class. What happens with that is actually very hysterical. Frankie also can't sell any cars and when you think she is about to, something very out of the blue happens that you'll never see coming. And at the dealership, Frankie's co-worker Bob (Chris Kattan) is there, but he hasn't really gotten any substance yet. He has now been made a series regular, where on this pilot he was just a guest star. We have two very fun men here in Neil Flynn as Mike Heck and Chris Kattan as Bob the car salesman. Just a wonderful cast and a hilarious family!

You've see some hilarious scenes in promos, such as Brick unknowingly tapping her teacher's breast when trying to get her attention, and the hilarious scenes just keep on coming on this show! Another scene that is hysterical is when Frankie is telling Brick to lick his frozen pancake because it will last longer! Everything in this pilot clicks very well and ABC now I think has 3 very good comedies on Wednesday nights, with only Hank (The Middle's lead-in) being the exception so far.


Conclusion:

This could quietly become one of the top comedies on the air right now. Modern Family is probably the best family comedy, but this should not be overlooked either. If you like sitcoms like Roseanne and Malcolm in the Middle, you'll love this one because it is a mix of both. I am from the Northeast, so I don't know if families are really like that in "the middle" of the country, but Heaton has said in interviews that she was born in Ohio (close to Indiana) and her family was so much like this. I'm sure people in the middle of the country will even like this show more since they can relate to this. In these tough times, we sure need a show like this! I never really liked Everybody Loves Raymond, but Patricia Heaton shines in this role...she plays it real and is funny. Neil Flynn was always hilarious on Scrubs and just seeing the janitor from Scrubs as a father is hysterical itself! I think the real show stealer in this is Atticus Shaffer as the young Brick. He pulls his pants down in public to go to the bathroom, he touches his teacher's breasts (not on purpose), and repeats stuff under his breath. He is like Dewey from Malcolm, but so much funnier!

The ratings should be pretty good for this show. This hour is pretty weak and the show is millions better than CBS's competing Gary Unmarried. Tune in tonight at 8:30pm for this new hilarious comedy on ABC Comedy Wednesday! You'll be saying "this is a winner" and like Brick, you'll say it under your breath, too!

Final Numbers (out of 5 stars):

Watchability: 4.5/5
Funniness: 4/5
Overall: 4.5/5

-- Reviewed by pavanbadal on 09/30/09

Discuss the show after you watch it on Wednesday, September 23 on our message board.

Related Links:

ABC.com Official Site

TV.com

epguides.com

Internet Movie Database

Wikipedia

The Middle Photo Gallery

Preview:

TV Land has made a slight change for the remainder of the week starting tonight. The Brady Bunch will air Wed-Fri this week ONLY in the 7pm hour instead of the usual back-to-back The Beverly Hillbillies. That is interesting as it seems last week's Brady Bunch anniversary must have did decent for them in the ratings. However, it just seems so strange they have Brady Bunch followed by Married...with Children! Talk about two totally different shows! I'm not sure what TV Land is doing, but their scheduling has been pretty weird the last year or two.
TV Land has also quietly returned Extreme Makeover: Home Edition in the weekdays at 9am hour, replacing Good Times, which now shifts to 10-11am, followed by Sanford & Son from 11am-12pm. Previously three episodes each of these two sitcoms were airing from 9am-10:30am and 10:30am-12pm.
Stay with us for more TV Land news. We hear more changes could happen next week, so keep checking back. We also have the TV Land November 2009 schedule to give you all, but we might wait a few days for that...just in case we have wholesale changes happening next week.

ABC Fall Pilot Review: Hank - Premieres September 30; ION Not Airing Season 2 of Durham County...Yet

Hank - Wednesdays 8:00PM ET/PT on ABC
Premieres Wednesday, September 30, 2009 at 8:00PM ET/PT

Sometimes scaling back is the best way to get ahead. A legendary entrepreneur in the sports retail world, Hank Pryor (Kelsey Grammer) and his wife, Tilly, have been living the high life in New York City. That is until Hank is forced out of his CEO job and has to downsize and move his family back home to the small town of River Bend, Virginia.

A self-made man, Hank is used to being the boss. But now that he's lost almost everything, is he up for the even bigger challenge of being a husband and father? While Tilly regrets having to leave the glitz of New York City to move back to her hometown, Hank is gung-ho to relaunch his career in the place where it all began for him. Unfortunately this also means having to spend way too much time with his brother-in-law, Grady, who delights in Hank's recent misfortunes. Hank struggles to find common ground with his kids -- offbeat son Henry, who would rather play with action figures than toss a baseball with his dad, and daughter Maddie, a hip, New York City teen in whose eyes Hank can do no right. But every great businessman knows that the key to success is to turn setbacks into opportunities. It may take a while for this corporate giant to figure out how to mingle with the little people -- like his family -- but Hank's up for the challenge, a man who feels he is destined to return to greatness. And he is. It's just not the greatness he imagined.

This hilarious family comedy mixes genuine, heart-warming moments with Grammer's trademark blustery humor.

Cast Details:

* Kelsey Grammer as Hank Pryor
* Melinda McGraw as Tilly Pryor
* David Koechner as Grady Funk
* Jordan Hinson as Maddie Pryor
* Nathan Gamble as Henry Pryor

Kelsey Grammer (Hank Pryor) has excelled at the highest level in theatre, television and film as an actor, producer, executive producer and director. Grammer was cast in two TV miniseries, first as Stephen Smith in Kennedy (NBC, 1983), and next as Lieutenant Stewart in George Washington (CBS, 1984). Then, an initial guest-starring role as Dr. Frasier Crane on Cheers developed into the cornerstone of actor's career. He continued playing the celebrated character in two different television series (Cheers and then Frasier) over the span of 20 years, tying the record for longest-running television character. This fall Grammer of course stars in the show but also serves as executive producer of the series. Portraying Crane, Grammer won four Emmys, two Golden Globes and a SAG Award, and received an unparalleled 16 Emmy nominations, eight Golden Globe nominations and 16 SAG nominations. Fifteen years ago, Grammer created Grammnet, a TV production company which has produced such hit television shows as the Emmy-winning Medium for NBC/CBS and The Game and Girlfriends for UPN/CW. Grammer has directed single episodes of Everybody Hates Chris, My Ex Life and Out of Practice. He has also directed several episodes of Frasier, one of which earned him a DGA nomination.
Also accomplished as a voice-over artist, Grammer plays the character Sideshow Bob on The Simpsons, for which he won an Emmy in 2006. He has also lent his voice to the feature films Toy Story 2, Anastasia and Teacher's Pet, to the television series Father of the Pride and Gary the Rat and to the Emmy-nominated Animal Farm for TNT. Other acting credits include Vivendi Universal's An American Carol, Disney's Swing Vote, Fox's blockbuster hit X-Men: The Last Stand, Fox TV's Back to You -- in which he also served as executive producer -- A Christmas Carol for NBC, Benedict Arnold for A&E, Mr. St. Nick for ABC's Hallmark Hall of Fame, and many more films. In his latest film project, a remake of Fame, he stars as the orchestra maestro at the prestigious New York City High School of Performing Arts.

Melinda McGraw (Tilly Pryor) has made regular and recurring appearances on Mad Men, Journeyman, The West Wing, Desperate Housewives, Inconceivable, Center of the Universe, The District, My Adventures in Television, Skin, Living in Captivity, Pursuit of Happiness, The X-Files, The Commish and The Human Factor. She has also appeared in Law & Order: SVU, Saving Grace, The Practice, Ally McBeal, Mad About You, Larry Sanders and Seinfeld. In addition to television, she appeared in the films Meeting Spencer, Skateland, Weather Girl, The Dark Knight, Wrongfully Accused, Nutty Professor: The Klumps and Albino Alligator.

David Koechner (Grady Funk) spent one season on the cast of Saturday Night Live before moving to Los Angeles, where he landed guest appearances on Curb Your Enthusiasm, Reno 911 and played a recurring character on Still Standing. And in film comedies like Out Cold, My Boss' Daughter and A Guy Thing. Concurrently, Koechner, along with Dave "Gruber" Allen, developed and performed The Naked Trucker & T-Bones Show on stage at Club Largo in Los Angeles, which later became a Comedy Central series. Koechner's first major film break came when he was cast as Champ Kind in Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy. Since then he has been seen in a variety of films, inlcuding The Dukes of Hazzard with Johnny Knoxville, Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby, Snakes on a Plane, the animated feature Barnyard, the family film Yours, Mine and Ours, the critically acclaimed Thank You for Smoking, opposite Aaron Eckhart and Maria Bello, Semi-Pro and Get Smart. He recently starred in the Fox Atomic comedy The Comebacks. Koechner can be spotted in cameo roles in The 40 Year Old Virgin, Balls of Fury, and Sex Drive. He continues to play the recurring character Todd Packer on NBC's The Office as well.

Jordan Hinson (Maddie Pryor) began acting in plays at the age of five. When she was 11, she moved to Los Angeles to pursue her acting career. She began modeling and appeared in several television commercials. Shortly thereafter, Hinson was cast in her first starring role as Kaitlin Kingsford, an aspiring figure skater in the Disney Channel Original Movie, Go Figure. She went on to play Zoe Carter for three seasons on Syfy's highest rated series, Eureka. She also co-starred with Angie Harmon in the movie Glass House 2: The Good Mother. Between seasons of Eureka, she continued to work, guest starring in such shows as Dirt and CSI: Miami.

Nathan Gamble (Henry Pryor) has already established an impressive career in television and film at age 10. His introduction into the entertainment business came when he played the role of Mike, Brad Pitt's son, in the Golden Globe-winning picture Babel. Babel director Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu discovered Nathan after a nationwide search encompassing more than 20,000 young boys, all eager to play the part. Nathan's career soon took off, as he appeared in the feature Marley & Me, starring Jennifer Aniston and Owen Wilson, the blockbuster hit The Dark Knight, directed by Christopher Nolan, in Stephen King's The Mist, opposite Thomas Jane and Marcia Gay Harden and directed by Frank Darabont, and in the 3-D feature The Hole for Bold Films.
His television credits include the CW series Runaway, as Donnie Wahlberg's son, and the pilot Captain Cook's Extraordinary Atlas, directed by Tommy Schlamme for ABC. Nathan has also had guest appearances on Ghost Whisperer, CSI, Without a Trace and House, MD.


Pilot Plot:

#1 "Pilot" (Airs September 30)
A legendary entrepreneur in the sports retail world, Hank Pryor, and his wife, Tilly, have been living the high life in New York City. That is until Hank is forced out of his CEO job and has to downsize and move his family back home to the small town of River Bend, Virginia.
"Pilot" was written by Tucker Cawley, and directed by Andrew Weyman.


Analysis:

I saw both the original pilot and the new pilot. They are pretty much the same but with new actors playing the children. There are a few scene changes, such as the opening scene is almost completely different and for the better. I think this new pilot is a bit better than the original pilot. I don't like that they replaced Macey Cruthird with Jordan Hinson, though Hinson sort of does look like Cruthird. Why the change then? Actually before Hinson was cast as the daughter, they had Sasha Pieterse replacing Cruthird. Not sure what happened there, but they didn't shoot any scenes with Pieterse. The son was also recast from the original pilot. Originally it was Ryan Wynott, now it is Nathan Gamble.

Anyway, as for the pilot itself. It is nothing special so far. There are a few laughs, but it has potential. Kelsey Grammer is clearly the star and is in nearly every scene. It's nice to see him in a family comedy for once and playing a dad, but he still has a bit of Frasier in him. The show is about him as a big time CEO who lost his job in New York and he decides to move his family back to his hometown in Virgina. The chemistry between Kelsey and Melinda McGraw, who plays his wife on the show, is not there yet...but I see potential. They had a great scene in bed that was actually funny. She calls Hank, "Awesome Hank." Not sure why since the entire family seems to think he isn't awesome. They all basically ditched his family meeting (see preview video below). Hank is out of touch completely with his family. He has no idea what his kids like and do...so it will be interesting for him to learn now. By the end of the first episode he learns a bit about his son, but also gets played a bit by both the daughter and son. That was one of the better scenes. Brother-in-law Grady Funk is also a bright spot, but I wish he was in it more. David Koechner is a hilarious actor!

Usually pilot episodes, especially for family comedies, are usually one of the weaker episodes because they are setting things up for the show. So I hope the show does get better because we need a multicamera family comedy. I don't think this is in the same league as recent ABC multicamera family comedies such as 8 Simple Rules, George Lopez, My Wife & Kids, Hope & Faith or According to Jim. But Kelsey is certainly a big name and will draw an initial audience. Let's hope the show gets better!


Conclusion:

Originally this show was titled Awesome Hank. I think they should have kept that because Hank seems so dry and broad. Well maybe they decided not to name it that because Awesome Hank is a weird nickname for Hank because they really don't think he is awesome, but maybe they do deep down. I like the nickname for his daughter Maddie better, Moody Maddie! I think you should give the show a chance, meaning not just this episode because it isn't that good. Give it a few episodes to find its footing. Kelsey Grammer deserves that because he is such a great sitcom actor and he even is producing this show. So maybe it will get better. I haven't seen any subsequent episodes, but the second episode is about a yard sale in which Hank tries to run that as he did as a corporation. It's going to be interesting to see if Hank can find himself as a father. The competition isn't that strong in the Wednesday at 8pm hour, so Hank certainly has a shot and ABC Comedy Wednesday is off to a great start already with Modern Family and Cougar Town. Try this....but stick with it for more than just the pilot, because this is just a set-up that isn't very funny yet but has potential. America is an economic crisis, so maybe the nation will watch as it is a reality.


Final Numbers (out of 5 stars):

Watchability: 3.5/5
Funniness: 3/5
Overall: 3.5/5

-- Reviewed by pavanbadal on 09/29/09

Discuss the show after you watch it on Wednesday, September 30 on our message board.

Related Links:

ABC.com Official Site

TV.com

epguides.com

Internet Movie Database

Wikipedia

Hank Photo Gallery

Preview:



Part of ABC Comedy Wednesday:


Stay tuned tomorrow for our pilot review of The Middle, which follows Hank on ABC Comedy Wednesday at 8:30pm ET/PT.

ION Television has been airing original series Durham County, a one-hour crime-drama series that follows the troubled world of Homicide Detective Mike Sweeney, on Mondays at 10pm since Sept. 7. The show has six episodes for its first season, and ION will air all six...but season two was supposed to start immediately following season one starting Oct. 19. Now that will not happen. Effective Monday, October 19 Criminal Minds will take over the Monday at 10pm slot on ION. Durham County will still air repeats Mondays at 11pm, though. So will ION air the season two episodes at a later date? I'm not sure, but I think they will. 6 more were ordered for season two. The ratings have not been too good, though. The series is a Canadian production and season two has already aired in Canada. Stay with us for continued updates!

Fox Fall Pilot Review - The Cleveland Show - Premieres September 27; ION Adds More Ghost Whisperer

The Cleveland Show - Sundays 8:30PM ET/PT on Fox
Premieres Sunday, September 27, 2009 at 8:30PM ET/PT

Rather than attempt to explain the premise of The Cleveland Show myself, I thought I would let the words of the show's main voice actor, Mike Henry (voice of Cleveland), explain it.

"Cleveland has kind of had enough in Quahog - he kind of realizes that he wants his own friends, his own sidekicks, his own stories. So he sets out to California to make it in a way that we'll have to keep a secret until the show starts, and then he ends up somewhere else, which we'll also keep a secret until the show starts. But he basically goes home – he goes to his hometown in Virginia and rekindles an old high school flame."

The above explains this show far better than I could. I'll go ahead and warn you, though, that if you're one of the people who detests both of Seth MacFarlane's comedies (Family Guy, American Dad), you can stop reading *now* as, though the show generally has a cohesive pilot (that, as a bonus, usually makes sense) it is still very clearly a Seth MacFarlane show.


Cast Details:

A word of caution here: Because of the animated nature of this show, none of the cast will be physically present in any episodes, and many characters may rotate in-and-out based upon the needs of the episode. Also, as is common in animation, one voice actor may provide the voice for multiple characters.

* Mike Henry as Cleveland, Rollo
* Sanaa Lathan as Donna
* Reagan Gomez-Preston as Roberta
* Kevin Michael Richardson as Cleveland Jr., Lester the Redneck
* Seth MacFarlane as Tim the Bear, English Father

Mike Henry (Cleveland, Rollo) performed stand-up and improv and acted in commercials for several years before meeting Seth MacFarlane in 1995. Henry was a writer and producer on Family Guy for the series' first six seasons. He voices many of the characters he created, including "Cleveland," "Cleveland Jr.," "Herbert," "The Performance Artist," "Consuela" and "The Greased-Up Deaf Guy." His additional acting credits include Scrubs, Gilmore Girls, Yes, Dear, American Dad! and Robot Chicken. Henry and his brother are the creators of the internet-based series Kicked in the Nuts.

Sanaa Lathan (Donna) was recently seen in Tyler Perry's The Family That Preys alongside Perry, Kathy Bates and Alfre Woodard. In 2004, Lathan earned a Tony Award nomination for her performance in the revival of the Broadway classic, A Raisin in the Sun. She later reprised her critically acclaimed role as "Beneatha Younger" in the television adaptation of the play alongside Sean Combs. Lathan's most recent credits include her NAACP Image Award-nominated roles in Something New and Nip/Tuck. She previously starred in Out of Time, Alien vs. Predator, Brown Sugar, Love and Basketball and The Best Man.

Reagan Gomez-Preston (Roberta) and her mother, at age 14, made a trip to Los Angeles with Dateline documenting their journey for an episode about young actors. Within a few of weeks of landing in Los Angeles, she had booked the remake of Freaky Friday with Shelley Long. Shortly after, Gomez-Preston landed a starring role on the Robert Townsend series The Parent Hood, and with his guidance and support, she co-wrote one of the series' most-watched episodes on teen rape. Her other TV acting credits include Love, Inc., Carmen: A Hip Hopera, ER, That '70s Show, JAG and One on One. Her feature film credits lead roles in Never Die Alone opposite DMX, Love Don't Cost a Thing and Beauty Shop with Queen Latifah. Gomez's additional film credits include the independent films Doing Hard Time and Trois 3: The Escort.

Kevin Michael Richardson (Cleveland Jr., Lester the Redneck) is no stranger to animation. He has voiced hundreds of characters for films, commercials and video games, including Family Guy and American Dad! Richardson was nominated for a Daytime Emmy for his work as The Joker on the animated series The Batman. He has also voiced characters on The Boondocks, The PJs and The Penguins of Madagascar. His feature film roles include Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, The Matrix III and Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. Richardson starred in the television series The Knights of Prosperity and recently appeared in the drama series The Cleaner.

Recurring Cast Members include Seth MacFarlane (Family Guy, American Dad!) as Tim the Bear, English Father, Jason Sudeikis (Saturday Night Live), and Arianna Huffington (author & columnist).


Pilot Plot:

Episode #1: "Pilot" (Airs September 27, 2009)

After Peter (Peter Griffin, from Family Guy) destroys his house one too many times, Cleveland has had enough and decides to move to California with his son Cleveland Jr. Along the way, Cleveland decides to stop in his old hometown of Stoolbend, VA where he meets an old high school love interest and hits it off.


Analysis:

Here's the thing about this: As a self-contained episode, this program was OK. The episode feels something that would be consistent in tone and quality from the early years of Family Guy, before the show got consumed with cutaway gags and time-filling jokes that run on for too long. It really does harken back to a time before Family Guy lost its way.

On paper, I should really like this show. But there's this nagging feeling I keep having when watching. Perhaps it's because they took the 2nd least interesting character from Family Guy (really, is there any character less interesting than Meg?) and gave HIM his own show. This, at least in the first cut of the pilot, is even referenced in a line by Stewie before Cleveland & son drive off into the sunset, with Stewie remarking in shock that it's *Cleveland* getting his own show?

Also, a note: The first quarter of the episode – the expositional cold open - at least in the version I viewed, *is* set-up as seemingly your usual Family Guy adventure. It has the same musical transition, your usual Family Guy characters (Quagmire, Joe, Peter, Stewie, Brian, et al.), and doesn't become The Cleveland Show until the main theme hits a few minutes in. You'll know when the transition occurs as the show suddenly shifts from full-frame to widescreen in a nice effect.

Pilots often aren't the strongest episodes of a series, and do tend to get better. This episode left me neutral, so there IS room to grow from here.


Conclusion:

I was a huge fan of the show that Cleveland Show is replacing. I absolutely adored King of the Hill, and it's the second show cancelled largely due to Fox's own ineptitude (the list would have been three had they not backpedaled on Family Guy itself). When Fox wants a show to die, it schedules it in the 7-8 PM hour on Sunday nights. They did this to Futurama and they did it to King of the Hill. King of the Hill was one of the best animated comedies I've ever seen, and I can say there WILL be a contingent of viewers who, missing King of the Hill and wary of Seth MacFarlane's growing stranglehold of Fox, will be unusually cool to The Cleveland Show due to its origin and timeslot alone.

But, there's a lot of potential here, and it'll be interesting to see in which direction things go. The Cleveland Show is a nice detour from the madness that is your average episode of Family Guy, but I've yet to see evidence of how they're going to sustain this show beyond a few episodes. Yes, there are new characters to play off of. But you can't really get away with simply making the show a clone of Family Guy (nor American Dad!), and I'm not sure if Cleveland is an interesting or dynamic enough character to be the focal point of a weekly television series. Of course, they've turned simple background characters into stars of popular spin-offs before - that's the genesis of half of 1970s television right there! Still, I'm neutral at best about the ability of this show to be interesting, good, or funny long term. Consider me "cautiously optimistic."


Final Numbers (out of 5 stars):

Funniness: 4/5
Watchability: 4/5
Overall: 4/5

-- Reviewed by Seth on 09/25/09

Discuss the show after you watch it on Sunday, September 27 on our message board.

Related Links:

Fox.com Official Site

TV.com

epguides.com

Internet Movie Database

Wikipedia

The Cleveland Show Photo Gallery

Preview:





ION Television will be adding another hour of Ghost Whisperer starting Monday, Oct. 5. Ghost Whisperer currently airs Mon-Thurs at 8pm and also Wednesdays at 9pm. The series has done so-so in the ratings and is not doing as well as Criminal Minds or NCIS. But still they will add another airing on Mon-Thurs. The new airing will be Mon-Thurs at 7pm, so it will now air back-to-back on Mon-Thurs from 7-9pm, and yes Wednesdays it will be a triple shot from 7-10pm. Ghost Whisperer at 7pm will be replacing Reba, which will move to 4-5pm, as we mentioned. So Reba won't get to air for two hours after all.
Anyway, as for Ghost Whisperer, if this doesn't help its ratings, I can see ION removing the 8pm hour and airing something else.
View our full ION Television October 2009 schedule.

Fox Fall Pilot Review - Brothers - Premieres September 25; WGN America Punk'd Us, No Punk'd

Brothers - Fridays 8:00PM ET/PT on Fox
Premieres Friday, September 25, 2009 at 8:00-9:00PM ET/PT

BROTHERS is a comedy about a former NFL hot shot who learns that even though you can always go home again, doing so might be more difficult than you think.

MIKE TRAINOR (Michael Strahan) seemingly has it all - he's a good-looking, wealthy and recently retired NFL player living the high life in New York City, but he's about to get sidelined. When Mike gets a phone call from his mom, ADELE (CCH Pounder), who orders him home to Houston, he quickly realizes that the more his life has changed, the more his family has stayed the same.

His brother CHILL (Daryl Chill Mitchell), whose life changed drastically after a car accident left him in a wheelchair, is struggling to keep Trainor's, his sports-themed restaurant, afloat. Even though the publicity from his famous brother might help business, Chill doesn't want help from Mike. The rivalry between the brothers is exactly the same as they were when they were kids. If they can stop their bickering, put aside their differences and learn to be teammates, Mike and Chill might just turn out to be each other's biggest asset.

Wedged between Mike and Chill are their parents. Their father, whom everyone refers to as COACH (Carl Weathers), is the local high school football coach and the conservative, opinionated alpha male of his clan. Coach thinks he runs the show, but it's actually Adele who calls the shots. Saucy, stern and a schemer, she is the mastermind behind this family.

And when she learns that Mike's business manager took off with all his money, she orchestrates a plan to keep Mike in Houston, save Chill's restaurant and bring the family back together under one roof again.

Adele's plan helps Mike realize that his family -- however dysfunctional they may be -- is the only one he's got. And although he may not have a penny to his name, as long as he's surrounded by people who love him, he'll always be a rich man.

BROTHERS is created by Don Reo and produced by Tantamount Studios and Impact Zone Productions, Inc. in association with Sony Pictures Television. Eric Tannenbaum, Kim Tannenbaum, Mitch Hurwitz and Don Reo serve as executive producers. Ted Wass directed the pilot written by Don Reo.

Cast Details:

* Michael Strahan as Mike Trainor
* Daryl Chill Mitchell as Chill Trainor
* CCH Pounder as Adele Trainor
* Carl Weathers as 'Coach' Trainor

Michael Strahan (Mike Trainor) - Super Bowl Champion and Fox NFL Sunday co-host Michael Strahan retired from football in 2007 after completing 15 seasons with the New York Giants and leading the team to their dramatic Super Bowl victory over the previously unbeaten New England Patriots. Strahan had an outstanding final season and lead one of the top defenses in the league. In 2005, he was among the league's leaders in total sacks, and earned his seventh trip to the Pro Bowl. In 2001, Strahan completed what is widely considered to be one of the greatest seasons ever for a defensive player. As the charismatic leader of the New York Giants, Strahan was named the 2001 NFL Player of the Year by Sports Illustrated and the Defensive Player of the Year by the Associated Press. He was also one of only four players to lead the NFL in sacks for two seasons.

Strahan's additional television credits include Pros vs. Joes, which pits amateur contestants against professional athletes in a series of athletic challenges; the family-oriented cable series "Backyard Stadiums," where he and his co-host visited various neighborhoods to build batting cages, putting greens and outdoor recreational centers. He also hosted "Sack and Renovate," giving viewers an inside look at the renovation of his 100-year-old home and revealing his own passion for antiques.

Daryl Chill Mitchell (Chill Trainor) was born in Bronx, NY, and grew up on Long Island with his five brothers and three sisters. Mitchell first garnered public attention as a member of the rap group Groove B Chill. The Hudlin Brothers, who directed one of Groove B Chill's videos, cast the group in the 1990 feature film House Party, where Mitchell had the opportunity to work alongside Martin Lawrence and Tisha Campbell. He enjoyed the experience so much that he decided to turn his focus from music to acting.

Mitchell followed House Party with appearances in the feature films Boomerang, House Party 2, Sgt. Bilko and Home Fries. His more recent films include The Outside Man opposite Denzel Washington, 10 Things I Hate About You, Galaxy Quest, Lucky Numbers, Black Knight and The Country Bears. His television credits include The John Larroquette Show, Veronica's Closet, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Law & Order, The Cosby Show, Here and Now, The Suite Life of Zack and Cody and I'm With Stupid. In November 2001, Mitchell was temporarily sidelined by a motorcycle accident that left him paralyzed from the waist down. However, it never halted his momentum, and once he was in control of his wheelchair, Mitchell went back to work as a series regular on the series Ed. Mitchell's character, Eli, was known for using the phrase "Roll...or fold," and Mitchell adopted that saying to express his take on life.

CCH Pounder (Adele Trainer) - Award-winning actress CCH Pounder has earned a long list of credits and accolades throughout a career that spans nearly three decades. Most recently, Pounder appeared in the feature film Orphan and the sci-fi television series Warehouse 13. Other recent credits include the cable series The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency and the independent feature Rain, which garnered praise at the Los Angeles Pan-African Film Festival.

For seven years, Pounder portrayed "Det. Claudette Wyms" on the critically acclaimed series The Shield, a role that earned her an Emmy nomination for Best Supporting Actress in a Drama Series, 10 NAACP Image Award nominations for Best Actress in a Drama Series, the Minorities in Business Prism Award for Outstanding Actress in a Television Drama, two Golden Satellite Awards for Best Performance by an Actress in a Drama Series, the Genii Excellence in TV Award from the Southern California Chapter of American Women in Radio and Television and the LOOP Award from Lupus LA. Pounder's other honors include Emmy nominations for Best Supporting Actress for her role as "Dr. Angela Hicks" on ER and for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series for her work on The X-Files. In addition, Pounder earned a Grammy nomination for Best Spoken Word Album for Grow Old Along With Me: The Best Is Yet to Come, and she won an AUDI, the Audio Publishers Association's top honor, for the album Women in the Material World.

Carl Weathers ('Coach' Trainor) was born in New Orleans and attended San Diego State University, where he established himself as a football star. After graduating in 1970, Weathers played professional football as a free agent for the Oakland Raiders, as well as the Canadian Football League's B.C. Lions. He retired from the sport in 1974 in order to turn his attention to acting.

Weathers' big break came when he was cast to play the iconic role of "Apollo Creed" in the film Rocky and reprised the role in Rocky II, Rocky III and Rocky IV. His additional film credits include Predator opposite Arnold Schwarzenegger, Happy Gilmore opposite Adam Sandler, Action Jackson, The Comebacks, Force 10 from Navarone, Death Hunt and The Sasquatch Gang. Weathers' television film appearances include The Defiant Ones (which he also co-produced), Shadow Warriors, OP Center and The Hostage Heart. His TV series credits include Arrested Development, The Shield, In the Heat of the Night, Street Justice, Fortune Dane (which he also executive-produced), McCloud, Starsky and Hutch, S.W.A.T., Tour of Duty, Good Times, Barnaby Jones, Kung Fu, The Six Million Dollar Man and The Streets of San Francisco.

Pilot Plot:

I received the first two episodes for review.

#1 Pilot (Airs September 25)
Mike Trainor seemingly has it all he's a good-looking, wealthy and recently retired NFL player living the high life in New York City. With one phone call from his mom, Adele, Mike's life changes in an instant. He comes home to Houston to find that his brother Chill, whose life changed drastically after a car accident left him in a wheelchair, is struggling to keep his restaurant afloat and that his father's memory is not as sharp as it used to be. When Adele reveals everyone's secrets, the family decides it's time for a fresh start.
Directed by Ted Wass
Written by Don Reo

#2 House Rules/Anniversary (Airs September 25)
Mike's date spends the night at his parents' place propelling his mom, Adele, to set specific house rules for her very grown sons. As all the family members try to find their way living together again as adults, Mike and Chill are taken aback at their new assigned daily chores and strict limitations on overnight guests. Meanwhile, Coach forgets his and Adele's anniversary and lands in the doghouse, forcing him to come up with a creative way to make it up to her.
Guest Cast: Jazsmin Lewis as Monica; Shvona Lavette as Janine

Analysis:

This is Fox's only new live-action comedy and the only African-American sitcom currently on broadcast tv. It's a multi-camera comedy that is filmed in front of a studio audience. It will air on Friday nights at 8:00pm ET/PT.

In the "Pilot" episode, we are introudced to the Trainor family. Chill goes to pick up his brother at the airport. Mike talks to 'Coach' in the basement. Mike and Chill play some basketball in wheelchairs. Adele asks Mike to make a special appearance at Chill's restaurant. There are some serious talks between various family members. There's a nice mix of humor and heartwarming moments in the pilot.

The second episode, "House Rules/Anniversary," isn't quite as funny as the pilot. It opens with a scene at The Gutter bowling alley. Mike meets Monica who gives him some bowling shoes. Adele and Chill are shocked when they see Monica at the fridge dressed only in a football jersey. This casues Adele to set some house rules. Mike is embarrassed to tell Janice that he is living with his mama. Carl plays some foosball with Carl and Mike in the game room. Coach forgets that it's his wedding anniversary and Adele is not very happy about it. He creatively makes it up to her.

Houston is the location of the show, although you really wouldn't know it by watching the first couple of episodes. They probably could use some more exterior shots or references to the city. The house looks quite nice and the sets are spacious. It just seemed unusual that they have such a small kitchen table in an otherwise large kitchen. Carl has a nice game roon with green carpeting that has yard markers like a football field. The Trainor's set looks your typical bar/resturant with a large photo of Strahan in his football uniform.

Conclusion:

This show looks pretty funny from the first couple of episodes, especially the pilot. Michael Strahan has some natural instincts and on-screen charisma. He is basically playing himself on the series. Comedic timing isn't always easy, but he appears to have it down already. Daryl Chill Mitchell brings over 20 years of comedy experience and has some funny scenes. CCH Pounder is not known for comedy, but she really steals the show with some hilarious lines. She reminds me a bit of Jo Marie Payton from Family Matters. Her character is very strong and brings an authoritative presence to the show. Carl Weathers is known for more serious and action-oriented roles, but he has shown he can do comedy from his appearances on Arrested Development. The cast certainly seems like they have some good chemistry and act like they are a real family.

The show is airing on Friday nights at 8pm ET/PT. I don't think there will be as much pressure on it airing on that night in that time slot. Fox NFL Sunday has given this show a lot of promotion. I'm sure we will be seeing the gang from that show making guest appearances at some point in the season. Kim Kardashian and Mike Tyson will also be guest starring. There are quite a few jokes about Michael Strahan's teeth, Chill's wheelchair and handicap, white people, Coach's memory problems and references to the Rocky franchise in the first few episodes. They are funny in these episodes, but will they get old in later episodes? I guess they won't soon run out of material and can get creative to work these types of jokes in each episode. I think they will need to develop some better storylines in future episodes instead of just randomly tossing in the jokes. If you need some good laughs and occasional warmth, the show is definitely worth checking out on Friday nights.

Final Numbers (out of 5 stars):

Watchability: 4/5
Funniness: 4/5
Overall: 4/5

-- Reviewed by Todd Fuller on 09/24/09

Discuss the show after you watch it on Friday, September 25 on our message board.

Related Links:

FOX.com Official Site

TV.com

epguides.com

Internet Movie Database

Wikipedia

Brothers Photo Gallery

Preview:




Now back to some news! Last month we gave you WGN America's fall schedule, they made a minor change to this. Punk'd was set to launch this week at 5am, but was replaced by Funniest Pets & People...but that delay was only supposed to be a week for Punk'd. Now WGN America has "punk'd" America (ha!) by not going to air it at all! Effective Monday, Sept. 28 America's Funniest Home Videos will air in the 4am ET hour (Mon-Wed) and Reno 911 will air Tues-Fri (and Sundays as planned) at 5am. Toni On! New York will air at 5am on Mondays. Punk'd was also scheduled to air Thursdays at 9pm ET following WWE Superstars, but now we get America's Funniest Home Videos instead. The same goes true for Sundays at 11am ET, with AFV instead of Punk'd. We are not sure what happened with Punk'd, maybe Ashton planned this?
View the full WGN America Fall 2009 schedule by Sept. 28.
And stay tuned in the coming weeks for more WGN America news, including classic TV marathons for the major holidays this holiday season starting with Halloween!

ABC Fall Pilot Review: Cougar Town - Premieres September 23; Glee Picked-Up For Full Season

Cougar Town - Wednesdays 9:30PM ET/PT on ABC
Premieres Wednesday, September 23, 2009 at 9:30PM ET/PT

Courteney Cox stars as Jules, a recently divorced single mother exploring the honest truths about dating and aging in our beauty and youth obsessed culture. While most women in their twenties go through life experiencing the challenges and often humorous pitfalls of meeting men, Jules took on the responsibilities of marriage and raising a son. Now in her forties, she embarks on a journey to self-discovery whilst surrounded by fellow divorcees and singletons eager to live or re-live a time gone by.

Along for the journey are her friends and family: Laurie (Busy Philipps), the younger, feisty co-worker who encourages her to get out there and have some fun; Ellie (Christa Miller), the sarcastic, unapologetic confidante content with her life and marriage to her average, but loveable husband, Andy (Ian Gomez); ex-husband Bobby (Brian Van Holt), a classic under-achiever who'll test her patience as they attempt to raise their teenage son, Travis (Dan Byrd); and newly divorced neighbor Grayson (Josh Hopkins), who proves to be a catalyst of sorts for Jules.

Cast Details:

* Courteney Cox as Jules
* Busy Philipps as Laurie
* Dan Byrd as Travis
* Christa Miller as Ellie
* Josh Hopkins as Grayson
* Ian Gomez as Andy
* Brian Van Holt as Andy

Courteney Cox (Jules) gained overnight fame as neurotic yet loveable Monica Gellar on the Emmy Award-winning comedy Friends. She teams this season with Scrubs creator Bill Lawrence on the new ABC comedy Cougar Town. They will serve as executive producers through their companies, Coquette and Doozer, respectively. She most recently created, starred, and produced in FX's comedy Dirt. Cox made her acting debut in 1984 on the daytime soap As the World Turns, and later that year was cast by Brian de Palma for Bruce Springsteen's video, Dancing in the Dark. She landed her first well known work as an actress in 1987 when she was cast as the bright, perky girlfriend of Michael J. Fox on Family Ties. Following the series, she appeared in several feature films, including the box-office success Ace Ventura: Pet Detective, opposite Jim Carrey. In 1996 Cox starred in Wes Craven's horror/comedy Scream, which grossed over $100 million at the box office. She went on to reprise her role two additional times for the Scream trilogy. Additional film credits include 3000 Miles to Graceland, Mr. Destiny, Cocoon: The Return, Zoom, November, The Longest Yard and Barnyard. Cox was most recently seen in Disney's family comedy Bedtime Stories, opposite Adam Sandler.

Busy Philipps (Laurie) had a memorable performance as tough but sympathetic rebel teen Kim Kelly in the critically praised series Freaks and Geeks, from Judd Apatow and Paul Feig, Philipps crafted one of the most compelling young characters in contemporary television. After roles on Dawson's Creek and Undeclared, in 2004 she took a lead in the Shawn and Marlon Wayans comedy, White Chicks. In 2006 she starred in the UPN sitcom Love, Inc., from Friends showrunner Adam Chase. Next, she joined the cast of ER for one season as the devout Christian med-student, Hope Bobeck. Most recently, Philipps has been seen in standout roles in the films Made of Honor and He's Just Not That Into You. While eight months pregnant with her first child in summer of 2008, she filmed a five episode arc on Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles.

Dan Byrd (Travis) had a memorable arc as Sylar's protégé apprentice, Luke, on NBC's drama Heroes. Last year he starred on the short lived but critically acclaimed CW series Aliens in America. Other television credits include the CBS drama Clubhouse, the lead role in the TNT miniseries Salem's Lot, with Rob Lowe, Sci-Fi Channel's miniseries Firestarter 2: Rekindled, with Dennis Hopper, and the Lifetime Original Movie Just Ask My Children, starring Virginia Madsen. He also made guest appearances on Joan of Arcadia, The Guardian, Boomtown, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, Judging Amy and State of Grace. On the film side, he recently began production on Screen Gems' comedic retelling of The Scarlett Letter, Easy A, opposite Emma Stone and Amanda Bynes. Byrd has wrapped production on the independent coming-of-age drama Norman, opposite Emily VanCamp and Adam Goldberg, in the title role. He got his big break starring alongside Hilary Duff and Chad Michael Murray in the Warner Bros. teen romantic comedy, A Cinderella Story. Additional feature film credits include Universal Pictures' Lonely Hearts, opposite John Travolta, FOX Searchlight's The Hills Have Eyes and 28 Days, opposite Sandra Bullock.

Christa Miller (Ellie) has her first role on television in Kate & Allie, which starred her real-life aunt, Susan Saint James. n 2001 Miller's husband, writer-producer Bill Lawrence, conceived the comedy-drama Scrubs. Miller was given a guest role as Jordan Sullivan, the bitter ex-wife to Dr. Cox (John C. McGinley). Originally the character was intended to appear in only one episode, but in Season Two the role became recurring and she has appeared every year since. Miller also had a leading role in the 2008 TV miniseries The Andromeda Strain. She appeared in episodes of Northern Exposure, Fresh Prince of Bel Air, Party of Five and Seinfeld. She had a major role on The Drew Carey Show from 1995-2002 as Kate O'Brien, and was the voice of Cleopatra in the short-lived animated show Clone High. Her film credits include Deceived and Love and Happiness. She also starred with Kellie Martin in the acclaimed made-for-television movie, A Friend to Die For.

Josh Hopkins (Grayson) was most recently seen as Dr. Noah Barnes on the ABC drama Private Practice. He also recently appeared on CSI: Miami and in the film Pretty Ugly People. Prior to that, he appeared in the CBS drama Swingtown. Hopkins made his debut as a season regular on Fox's critically acclaimed series Ally McBeal, portraying Raymond Milberry, a rival lawyer and potential love interest to Calista Flockhart. Additional television credits include Ghost Whisperer, ABC's Brothers & Sisters, with Calista Flockhart once again, the CBS drama Surrender, Dorothy, with Diane Keaton, the CBS mini-series Robert Ludlum's Covert One: The Hades Factor, the TNT original movie Pirates of Silicon Valley, opposite Noah Wyle and Anthony Michael Hall, Fox's New York Undercover, The WB's Jack & Jill and Kate Brasher. In addition Hopkins starred opposite Rebecca Romijn in The WB romantic comedy, Pepper Dennis.

Ian Gomez (Andy) is a familiar face to film and television audiences. He was most recently seen in the multi-camera Lifetime comedy, Rita Rocks, and in the ABC single-camera sitcom Jake in Progress. He starred as the popular character Javier on the series Felicity, as the shameless self-promoter Larry Almada on The Drew Carey Show, and as Danny Sanchez on The Norm Show. Gomez has also starred in such feature films as My Life in Ruins, I Hate Valentine's Day, Connie and Carla, Dickie Roberts: Former Child Star, Chasing Papi and My Big Fat Greek Wedding. He developed his improvisational skills which he showcased when he guest starred on the hit improv series, Whose Line Is It Anyway? Other television credits include guest starring roles on George Lopez, Curb Your Enthusiasm, NYPD Blue, Murphy Brown and the television movie Get a Clue.

Brian Van Holt (Bobby) starred in the critically-acclaimed HBO series John from Cincinnati, created by David Milch, portraying the lead role of Butchie. Van Holt's many feature film credits include Ridley Scott's Black Hawk Down, as Task Force Ranger Jeff Struecker, who led the convoy to a fallen soldier in Mogadishu, Somalia; he starred with Nicholas Cage in Windtalkers as a U.S. Marine officer assigned to protect a Navajo code-talker in World War II; he was the enigmatic soldier Dunbar, opposite John Travolta and Sam Jackson, in Basic, directed by John McTiernan; he then segued to Swat, with Colin Farrell and Sam Jackson and many more.


Pilot Plot:

#1 "It Takes a Village Idiot" (Airs September 23)
A recently divorced single mother in her 40s explores the honest truths about dating and aging in a society dominated by youth and beauty, along with her friends, her ex-husband and the cantankerous divorced man living next door.
Recurring is Carolyn Hennesy as Barbara Coman.
"Pilot" was directed and written by Bill Lawrence.


Analysis:

The hilarious mind of Bill Lawrence (Scrubs) is bringing you this show, so of course there will be laughs. Courtney Cox returns to broadcast television in a very funny and sexy comedy vehicle. I never liked Friends and thought it was vastly overrated. But I'm sure many Friends fans will want to watch Cox return. Who knows there could be some Friends stars popping-up for guest appearances. Anyway, as for the show itself...it is funny, quirky, sexy, and maybe even risque. I first saw the pilot this summer and there were rumors it was very risque. Other than maybe a scene or two, it seemed tame compared to some other shows, particularly on premium cable. If you watched the 2007 movie Cougar Club, then this show is nothing in terms of risque. That was a very wild movie! Cox plays Jules, a divorced mother of a teenage boy (Dan Byrd). She works as a real estate agent with Laurie (Busy Phillips). Laurie is a bit younger than Jules, so Jules I think tries to keep up with her and be "hip." Jules does have a best friend her own age in Ellie (Christa Miller), but with Laurie in the picture...Jules is showing off her bad side by hitting on younger men. Ellie is married to Andy (Ian Gomez). One of Jules' neighbors is the new bachelor Grayson (Josh Hopkins) who just got divorced and now has a different women each night...and they are all young, much to to the dismay of Jules. Jules' ex-husband Bobby (Brian Van Holt) stops in from time to time to take his son.

The pilot centers around Jules being lonely. She seems attracted to Grayson, but she just doesn't like him with these younger women. Jules and Laurie go to a night club where Jules meets a much younger man...and the funny stuff happens. With her son Travis hanging out with his father, Jules has the house to herself. One of the risque scenes I was talking about earlier happens by the pool...but it doesn't go too far because back comes her son and ex-husband! After that, Travis is just embarrassed and gets even more embarrassed when some kid is stealing real estate signs with a sexy picture of her mother...to well pleasure themselves. Wild stuff...but funny!

Ellie and Andy don't have much to do in the pilot, but I think their characters will be important to Jules, as she needs someone her own age. The recurring character of Barbara (Carolyn Hennesy) is hilarious! She plays one Jules' co-workers and she seems like a cougar herself, as she was also at the nightclub where Jules and Laurie went to. This show is much more than Jules sleeping around with younger guys, it has substance and it could be a sense of reality with women in their 40s who are divorced. Even if you're not a women in your 40s, you'll like this show!


Conclusion:

What a fun show! This has to air at 9:30pm, since it is a bit risque for network TV. That isn't to say it is vulgar or anything, but a few scenes in the pilot might be a bit weird to have in an earlier timeslot. It is going to follow a family comedy in Modern Family, but that show will have more adult viewers than kids, so I think this show was placed correctly. I haven't seen any subsequent episodes yet, so I am not sure if there will be any more risque scenes like that...but from the plotlines, we are still in for some good fun and laughs! If you like Scrubs, then you'll want to watch this since Bill Lawrence created this. And if you're a fan of Friends and Courtney Cox, then for sure you'll want to watch! I have always liked Cox. She was great on Scrubs last season and in many other roles like one of her earlier roles in Family Ties.

There isn't much more to say, but you need to watch the show. We need sitcoms to make a big comeback and ABC so far is 2 for 2 in the reviews (Hank and The Middle reviews to come next week). If you missed our Modern Family review yesterday, please read it! Tune in to ABC Comedy Wednesday starting tonight! You're going to be in for a fun, sexy, and of course funny ride in Cougar Town, Florida! Meowwwww!!!


Final Numbers (out of 5 stars):

Watchability: 4.5/5
Funniness: 4.5/5
Overall: 4.5/5

-- Reviewed by pavanbadal on 09/23/09

Discuss the show after you watch it on Wednesday, September 23 on our message board.

Related Links:

ABC.com Official Site

TV.com

epguides.com

Internet Movie Database

Wikipedia

Cougar Town Photo Gallery

Preview:

Fox has ordered a full season of the critically acclaimed one-hour comedy Glee after just two episodes this fall. The show hasn't even aired during the actual season yet and Fox has picked-up a full season. Glee, the genre-defying new musical comedy series, follows an optimistic teacher who against all odds and a malicious cheerleading coach attempts to save McKinley High's Glee Club from obscurity while helping a group of aspiring underdogs realize their true star potential. The critically acclaimed series stars Dianna Agron, Chris Colfer, Jessalyn Gilsig, Jane Lynch, Jayma Mays, Kevin McHale, Lea Michele, Cory Monteith, Matthew Morrison, Amber Riley and Mark Salling. Guest stars this season include Victor Garber, Josh Groban, Kristin Chenoweth and Eve.

ABC Fall Pilot Review: Modern Family - Premieres September 23; Nick at Nite Moves Chris to 9PM

Modern Family - Wednesdays 9:00PM ET/PT on ABC
Premieres Wednesday, September 23, 2009 at 9:00PM ET/PT

Today's American families come in all shapes and sizes. The cookie cutter mold of man + wife + 2.5 kids is a thing of the past, as it becomes quickly apparent in the bird's eye view of ABC's new half-hour comedy, Modern Family, which takes an honest and often hilarious look at the composition and complexity of family life in 2009.

Take for example Phil and Claire, two parents who want to have that open, healthy, honest relationship with their three kids. It's not always easy, especially when you have a teenage daughter who's growing up a little fast, a too-smart-for-her-own-good middle daughter and a rambunctious boy. On top of that, Phil wants to be the "cool dad," while Claire is just trying her best to run a tight ship, determined not to let her kids have the rebellious childhood she had.

Then there's Jay, a true guys' guy who is having a bit of mid-life crisis. Jay has found a much younger wife, Gloria, who has become the center of his world. She's a passionate and sassy divorcee who comes with an 11-year-old son, Manny. Already taking notice of girls and a hopeless romantic, Manny is as passionate as his mom and spends his time daydreaming and writing poetry. His new step-father isn't altogether comfortable with the sensitive stuff and would like to toughen Manny up. But that's only one of Jay's challenges. The biggest is that people often mistake him for Gloria's father, not her husband.

And lastly there's Mitchell and his partner of five years, Cameron. They've just taken that amazing 'next step' by adopting a child together from Vietnam. Cameron has a wonderfully big personality and maybe a flare for the dramatic, whereas Mitchell is the more serious of the two. But they balance each other out and are already doting fathers.

Life, it seems, is neither tidy, politically correct or in any way predictable. For these three families, it turns out, are not three but one... one big, blended family, with Jay the patriarch and Claire & Mitchell his grown kids. Yet it's just such surprises that make things so interesting in this window into the sometimes warm, sometimes twisted embrace of the modern family.


Cast Details:

* Ed O'Neill as Jay
* Sofia Vergara as Gloria
* Jesse Tyler Ferguson as Mitchell
* Eric Stonestreet as Cameron
* Ty Burrell as Phil
* Julie Bowen as Claire
* Sarah Hyland as Haley
* Rico Rodriguez as Manny
* Nolan Gould as Luke
* Ariel Winter as Alex

Ed O'Neill (Jay) is best known for his role as the main character, Al Bundy, on the long running sitcom, Married... with Children. Signed by the NFL's Pittsburgh Steelers, he was cut in training camp and worked as a social studies teacher before becoming an actor. He has appeared in a number of movies, including The Bone Collector, Little Giants, Dutch and the Wayne's World series. Besides his role on Married...with Children, O'Neill's television credits include the reincarnation of Sgt. Joe Friday on Dick Wolf's ABC remake of Dragnet, the recurring role of Baker (D-PA), a potential Vice Presidential candidate on the NBC drama The West Wing, the role of Detective Michael Mooney on David Milch's CBS series, Big Apple, and most recently that of a retired cop on HBO's John from Cincinnati. His other TV credits include a guest shot on ABC's 8 Simple Rules, which reunited him with Katey Sagal of Married...with Children.

Sofía Vergara (Gloria) was already one of the hottest Hispanic TV stars and one of the most beloved personalities of the Latino world when she decided to pursue her career in the U.S., becoming one of the few Hispanic stars to find crossover success. Most recently Vergara has appeared in Tyler Perry's Meet the Browns and Tyler Perry's Madea Goes to Jail films for Lionsgate, and recurring roles on ABC's Dirty Sexy Money and MEN IN TREES. Before that she played the sexy Colombian actress who stirred things up on Entourage, starred in Amas de Casa Desesperadas, the Latin-tailored version of Desperate Housewives, and in the comedy feature Chasing Papi. She was also a regular on ABC sitcoms Hot Properties and The Knights of Prosperity, while guest starring on ABC's My Wife & Kids and Rodney.

Jesse Tyler Ferguson (Mitchell) received rave reviews and was honored by The Hollywood Reporter in 2006 as one of Ten to Watch for his role on the CBS ensemble sitcom, The Class. Additional television credits include Do Not Disturb and Ugly Betty. Ferguson's film credits include Untraceable, directed by Gregory Hoblit and starring Diane Lane, and Griffin & Phoenix, with Amanda Peet and Dermot Mulroney. He will next appear opposite Matthew Broderick in Wonderful World, a 2009 Tribeca Film Festival selection that marks the feature directorial debut of Joshua Goldin.

Eric Stonestreet (Cameron) has an impressive resume of memorable characters on shows including Dharma & Greg, Malcolm in the Middle, Party of Five, Spin City, ER, The West Wing, American Dad, Providence, Close to Home, Crossing Jordan and Bones. His most notable character is from his recurring turn as Ronnie Litre, the questionable documents tech on the original CSI. Stonestreet was a series regular in the Fox pilot 13 Graves and has most recently guest starred in The Mentalist, N.C.I.S., Nip/Tuck and Pushing Daisies.

Ty Burrell (Phil) is quickly establishing himself as one of the most versatile actors of our time, taking on challenging roles and carving out a diverse career in movies, television and on stage. In film Burrell recently completed shooting Fair Game, opposite Sean Penn for Doug Liman. He is scheduled to start shooting Morning Glory, opposite Harrison Ford and Diane Keaton. He played Dr. Samson in Universal's The Incredible Hulk, with Edward Norton and Liv Tyler, and was in National Treasure 2, opposite Nicolas Cage. Burrell starred opposite Nicole Kidman and Robert Downey Jr. in Steven Shainberg's film Fur, about the life of Diane Arbus. On television Burrell starred in the Fox sitcom, Back to You, opposite Kelsey Grammer and Patricia Heaton. He also recently starred in the half-hour CBS sitcom Out of Practice, with Stockard Channing and Henry Winkler, and has been recurring on the FX series Damages.

Julie Bowen (Claire) spent two seasons on ABC's critically-acclaimed Boston Legal as attorney Denise Bauer. She plays the recurring role of Matthew Fox's wife on the hit ABC series Lost and, for three seasons, played Carol Vessey, the dream girl of former classmate-turned-lawyer Ed Stevens on the charming NBC series, Ed. Bowen was recently seen in a guest star arc on the darkly-comedic Showtime series Weeds as Lisa Ferris, a cheese shop owner who seduces a younger man, and she will soon be seen in Crazy on the Outside, a feature starring and directed by Tim Allen. Also on the big screen she starred as Adam Sandler's love interest in the comedy Happy Gilmore and appeared with Michael Keaton in Multiplicity. She also starred in An American Werewolf in Paris, performed with Lynn Redgrave in the independent romantic comedy Venus & Mars, and starred opposite Tim Allen in Joe Somebody. In the advertising world, Bowen has been both the face of Neutrogena and the voice of Pampers.

Sarah Hyland (Haley, oldest daughter of Phil & Claire) is a Native New Yorker, born to actors Edward James Hyland and Melissa Canaday. Trained in all areas of dance from the age of three and vocally trained since she was seven, Hyland is a true triple threat. She has been working in film, TV series, soaps and commercials since she was four years old. Hyland's first film was Howard Stern's Private Parts. At the age of eight she landed the role of Molly in ABC's Annie, and Young Audrey in The Audrey Hepburn Story. After filming Annie, she landed the role of Jess Pistone on Falcone. She's guest starred on episodes of Lipstick Jungle, Touched by an Angel, Law & Order and Law & Order: SVU.

Rico Rodriguez (Manny, Gloria's son) booked his first role in the video How the Grinch Stole Christmas. Next came the role of Chanchito in the film Epic Movie, a super fun role as the kid janitor in the soon to be released Opposite Day, and another great part -- including flying cake -- in the upcoming The No-Sit List. His Television credits include co-starring as Young Guillermo in Jimmy Kimmel Live!, Cory in the House, ER, 'Til Death, iCarly, Nip/Tuck, Surviving Suburbia and NCIS. He has also has been seen in commercials for Roundtable Pizza, Time Warner Cable, Dodge, Walmart, BlueCross, Chrysler and AT&T.

Nolan Gould (Luke, Phil & Claire's son) began his career at the tender age of three doing commercials and totally fell in love with acting. He has worked consistently since the day he first stepped on that commercial set. His most recent films include leads in the features Space Buddies and Montana. Current television credits include Eleventh Hour and the movie of the week, Sweet Nothing in My Ear.

Ariel Winter (Alex, Phil & Claire's younger daughter) had a recurring role on the final six episodes of ER as Lucy, a young girl whose mother is brought into the ER in need of a heart transplant. This year she will also appear in the thriller Duress, opposite Martin Donovan. Best known as Trixie in Warner Bros.' Speed Racer, Ariel's other recent credits include the film Opposite Day and Nic & Tristan Go Mega Dega. Ariel's past credits include guest-starring roles on the hit TV shows Criminal Minds, Crossing Jordan, Nip/Tuck and Bones. Feature credits include a lead role in the hit thriller One Missed Call, in which she plays the killer of the film. In addition, Ariel is the voice of Gretchen on Walt Disney's hit show Phineas and Ferb, voiced a supporting character in the hit animated film Horton Hears a Who and played Thumper's sister in Bambi II. She started her motion picture career at age seven in director Shane Black's hit cult film, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, starring Val Kilmer, Robert Downey Jr. and Michelle Monaghan.


Pilot Plot:

#1 "Pilot" (Airs September 23)
Today's families come in all shapes and sizes, and that is very evident in Jay Pritchett's very full and very blended family. Jay and his new gorgeous and much younger wife, Gloria, are happily married and getting accustomed to their new life together. But when her pre-teen son develops a crush on a 16-year-old girl, it becomes apparent that Jay and Gloria may have some generational and cultural gaps to bridge. Jay's grown daughter, Claire, has a family of her own -- three kids and a husband, Phil, who is practically a giant kid himself. Things get a little tense when their teenage daughter, Haley, brings a boy home and Phil tries to adopt the cool, hip dad approach. Then son Luke misuses of his BB gun, which results in Phil and Claire turning it right back on to him. Jay's other grown son, Mitchell, is in a committed relationship and has just adopted a baby girl from Vietnam with his life partner, Cameron. They're going through the joys and anxieties of bringing a baby home for the first time, but Mitchell still has the daunting task of introducing their new addition to the whole family.
Guest starring are Reid Ewing as Dylan, Hayley Erin as Brenda Feldman, Lillian Adams as passenger #1, Duane Shepard Sr. as passenger #2, Heather Lee as passenger #3, Jenica Bergere as soccer mom, Matt Corboy as Josh, aka soccer dad, and Marcus Brown as security guard.
"It Takes a Village Idiot" was written by Steven Levitan and Christopher Lloyd, and directed by Jason Winer.


Analysis:

I first saw the pilot back in May and it was hilarious! I just watched the final cut a few days back and it is STILL hilarious! This is clearly the best new sitcom of the new season. It is a single camera sitcom with lots of smart lines and is laugh out loud! It is in mockumentary form like The Office. This show is basically about three families who are part of a big family...which is the reveal at the end of the episode, as the ABC promos gave away already. Even though if you know that, you'll still laugh and enjoy the episode. The first family is Jay and Gloria with Gloria's son Manny. Jay is an older man who married a much younger woman, who has a kid. The next family is the traditional family, husband and wife Phil & Claire and their three children. And finally the last family is Mitchell & Cameron, who are gay. These three families are all related. Jay is the father of Claire and Mitchell.

The pilot is very funny and so good. Basically each family have their own separate storylines in this episode until then end, which is the "reveal." Jay & Gloria are dealing with Manny's crush on an older girl. Phil & Claire are dealing with their kids, who each have a dilemma. And Mitchell & Cameron just adopted a baby, and they think Mitchell's family won't like it. There are hilarious scenes throughout this episode. I can't pick one scene in particular, since there are so many. Ty Burrell as Phil is a breakout star on this pilot. He is very good in the episode and has very funny lines and also even some physical comedy. He dances to High School Musical and also acts cool with teenage slang. And at the end of the episode I couldn't stop laughing when Gloria says, "Hi Phil" and what Phil does is brilliantly funny! You'll see! Even the children are funny. Phil & Claire's older daughter (who I think is 15) has a boy over for the first time and of course the parents, especially Claire, try to snoop in. This show is so real!

I liked everything about the pilot. I have no complaints whatsoever. I think the show will get even better now that the series is set-up and we know that these three families are all related. The Lion King song during the reveal of the adopted baby was classic and came out of nowhere, which is always a positive in comedy to be surprised rather than to expect something. No cliches here at all!


Conclusion:

Every critic out there is saying that this is the best comedy or best new show even of the fall. I agree and I'm not saying that just because they are. I saw the show back in May during ABC upfront before all the critics were raving about it and I mentioned back then that this was brilliant. The pilot will certainly be sampled as it will follow a special Dancing with the Stars: The Results on a special night and time. The question is will it continue after that? It better because the quality will be there and there will be great guest stars coming aboard such as Elizabeth Banks, Ed Norton, Shelley Long, and Krista Allen. If you like the pilot, which I'm sure everyone who watches will, stick around every week please! There are no family comedies currently on broadcast and we need a big hit in comedy that is a family comedy. This is not your average family comedy, so you'll see some new and unexpected stories. The pilot is so funny and real that it will make you look at your own family and wonder if you would do the same thing! Everything about this show is 5-star, which is very rare to find. Laugh with America on the new ABC Comedy Wednesday with Modern Family, the best new sitcom of the season! It's funny, seriously!


Final Numbers (out of 5 stars):

Watchability: 5/5
Funniness: 5/5
Overall: 5/5

-- Reviewed by pavanbadal on 09/22/09

Discuss the show after you watch it on Wednesday, September 23 on our message board.

Related Links:

ABC.com Official Site

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Internet Movie Database

Wikipedia

Modern Family Photo Gallery

Preview:





Stay tuned tomorrow for our pilot review of Cougar Town, which follows Modern Family on ABC Comedy Wednesday at 9:30pm ET/PT.

Yesterday Nick at Nite made a very last minute schedule change. They switched George Lopez and Everybody Hates Chris' timeslots. George Lopez is now back to its old 10pm hour every night, while Everybody Hates Chris is now in the 9pm hour from Sun-Thurs. So this means Chris on Fridays and Saturdays won't be seen until 2-3am, since Nick at Nite doesn't start until 10pm on Friday and Saturday nights. Chris will continue to air 2-3am every night, while George Lopez airs 1-2am Mon-Fri nights. Malcolm in the Middle will air 1-2am on weekends leading into Chris. Malcolm will also lead into Chris now in the Sun-Thurs 9pm hour. I think Malcolm and Chris will be a good combo and a good fit, while George is back to its powerhouse time of 10pm.

CBS Fall Pilot Review - Accidentally on Purpose - Premieres September 21; Our Emmy Picks for 61st Annual Event

Accidentally on Purpose - Mondays 8:30PM ET/PT on CBS
Premieres Monday, September 21, 2009 at 8:30PM ET/PT

ACCIDENTALLY ON PURPOSE, based on the bestselling memoir by Mary F. Pols, is a comedy about a single woman, Billie, who finds herself "accidentally" pregnant after a one-night stand with a much younger guy, and decides to keep the baby...and the guy. A newspaper film critic, Billie is barely surviving a humiliating breakup with her charming boss, James, who's still trying to resume their relationship. Pregnant, after a brief fling with her "boy toy" Zack, Billie and Zack make an arrangement to live together platonically. Billie's party girl best friend Olivia, and Abby, her conventional, younger married sister, eagerly look forward to the new addition and offer their own brands of advice and encouragement. But when Zack and his freeloading friends, including Davis, start to turn her place into a frat house, Billie isn't sure if she's living with a boyfriend, a roommate, or if she just has another child to raise.

Cast Details:

* Jenna Elfman as Billie
* Jon Foster as Zazk
* Ashley Jensen as Olivia
* Lennon Parham as Abby
* Grant Show as James
* Nicolas Wright as Davis

Jenna Elfman (Billie) is best known for her role as Dharma in the hit series Dharma & Greg for which she garnered a Golden Globe Award, three Emmy Award nominations and two TV Guide Awards. Elfman's other television credits include Courting Alex, and guest appearances in the series Two and a Half Men, both on CBS, and guest-starring roles on My Name is Earl and Brothers & Sisters. Elfman also has an impressive feature film resume, starring opposite Ben Stiller and Edward Norton in Keeping the Faith and Ron Howard's Edtv opposite Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson. Recently, she starred opposite Elisha Cuthbert and Tim Allen in The Six Wives of Henry LeFay, and in the independent comedy Love Hurts opposite Richard E. Grant and Carrie-Anne Moss. Elfman also starred in the half-animated feature film Looney Tunes: Back in Action.

Jon Foster's (Zack) 11 feature film credits include the leading role as Eddie in The Door in the Floor starring opposite Jeff Bridges and Kim Basinger, Tenderness opposite Russell Crowe and The Informers opposite Billy Bob Thornton, among others. Foster's television credits include series regular roles in Windfall and Life As We Know It, and guest-starring roles in Judging Amy, on CBS and Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. He also starred in the television movie Murder in Greenwich.

Ashley Jensen (Olivia) appeared on the first three seasons of Ugly Betty playing Christina, the seamstress for the fictional "Mode" magazine and Betty's one true ally in the office. Jensen also recently starred in the BBC America series Eleventh Hour, where she co-starred opposite Patrick Stewart. Jensen's other television credits include Rebus, Clocking Off, City Central, Sweet Medicine, Two Thousand Acres of Sky, Outside the Rules and films such as A Cock and Bull Story and Topsy-Turvy. For two seasons Jensen starred opposite Ricky Gervais on the Golden Globe winning-series Extras, which originally aired on BBC 2 in the United Kingdom. Jensen reprised her role in the special Extras: The Extra Special Series Finale, for which she was nominated for an Emmy (Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Miniseries or Movie).

Lennon Parham (Abby) began her comedy career at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theater in N.Y. She graduated with a B.S. in Theatre from the University of Evansville in Indiana and taught French for two years with Teach for America at TL Weston High School in Greenville, Miss., before moving to N.Y. After graduating from the Second City New York program, she began attending classes at U.C.B. Eventually, she became involved in the comedy Improv shows Asssscat 3000 and Reuben Williams as well as becoming a member of the UCBT Touring Company. She has been teaching at the U.C.B. training center for two years, including a special class for improvising in character. Last year, she gained critical acclaim for her one-woman show based on a collection of comedic characters titled She Tried to be Normal.

Best known for his role as Jake Hanson on Melrose Place, Grant Show (James) recently starred in Swingtown on CBS. Show also had regular roles in Point Pleasant and the daytime drama Ryan's Hope, as well as recurring roles on Private Practice, Six Feet Under Dirt Strong Medicine and Beautiful People. Show has also starred in numerous television movies including The Natalee Holloway Story and Sex and the Single Mom. Among Show's theater credits are productions of On the Waterfront, The Glass Menagerie and the Off-Broadway hit Wit, with Judith Light.

Nicolas Wright (Davis) began his career on the stage as one of the founding members of the multi-award-winning theater company Gravy Bath Productions. In 2003, his portrayal of the title role in The Portrait of Dorian Gray at the Saidye Bronfman Centre earned him a nomination for Best Actor by the Montreal Critic's Circle. He continues his work on stage with the Montreal Based Improv/Sketch troupe Uncalled For, whose last show won several awards including 'Best of the Fest' at the Toronto Sketch Fest and the 'Just For Laughs Award' at the Montreal Fringe. Over the last few years, Wright has appeared in numerous feature films including The Greatest Game Ever Played and the thriller Whiteout. He has played leading roles in several award-winning Canadian productions including the animated series Delta State, Hatley High, which received the Best Director/Best Screenplay, Aspen Comedy Festival, Best Actor Nomination, ACTRA Awards (2006) and End of the Line (Official Selection, Toronto International Film Festival).

Pilot Plot:

#1 "Pilot" (Airs September 21)
Billie, a newspaper film critic, just went through an ugly breakup with her boss, who still wishes to mend their relationship. After a fling with a much younger guy, Billie ends up pregnant and decides that she really wants to keep the baby -- and the guy she hooked up with.
Directed by Pamela Fryman
Written by Claudia Lonow
Guest Stars: Larry Wilmore as Dr. Roland, Pooch Hall as Ryan, Andrew Caldwell as Shane, Melinda Y. Cohen as Another Woman, Nadege Auguste as Beautiful Woman, Olympia Lettry as Cosmetic Counter Girl

Analysis:

Jenna Elfman returns for her second starring role on a CBS sitcom. Her short-lived Courting Alex aired from January-March 2006 for 8 episodes (12 produced). Despite some respectable ratings when it began on Monday nights, the show suffered when it was briefly moved to Wednesdays before it was pulled from the schedule with 4 episodes unaired. It was not picked up for a second season. CBS then inked her to a new development deal to create another comedy vehicle. She has spent the last four years making pilots trying to find the right show.

The pilot was pretty decent. It begins with Billie talking to Olivia at an office party. Then we see a flashback to a month earlier when she's at the Eiffel Tower with her boss and boyfriend, James. We later meet her sister Abby at a bar and Billie goes to talk to three younger guys. Billie decides to go home with Zack to his apartment and they have a one night stand. 5 weeks later, she takes a pregnancy test and discovers that she is pregnant. Zack takes her in his van to see the doctor. Billie later invites him to move in with her.

I think this show has the potential to be a slight upgrade over her previous show, Courting Alex. I've always been an Elfman fan. She's a gifted comedic actress who had some success on Dharma & Greg for 5 seasons. She recently announced that she is pregnant in real life with her second child. I guess she will start showing by the 3rd or 4th episode.

The rest of the supporting cast is pretty good but maybe lacks some sitcom experience. Jon Foster's only major sitcom experience was on the short-lived CBS sitcom Danny in 2001. He's pretty funny and likeable in the pilot, but we'll see how his chemistry with Elfman develops in future episodes. Ashley Jensen was excellent in Ugly Betty for 3 seasons. I would expect her role to expand a bit more from the pilot. I love her Scottish accent. Lennon Parham plays Billie's sister, Abby. We will probably be seeing her husband in future episodes. Zack's freeloading friends, led by Davis, have a few funny one-liners. Since the pilot mostly focused on Billie and Zack, I would expect their roles to expand.

San Francisco is the setting for the show. There are a couple of exterior shots of trolley cars. Billie plays a movie critic, so there are a number of movie references. She also has some movie posters, including one for An American Werewolf in London, in her apartment. The sets look a little cramped and cluttered, but I guess that was the look they were going for. The newspaper office set looks similar to the Winfred-Louder Department Store set used by The Drew Carey Show I remember they also used this stage for Courting Alex.
There were several songs in the pilot and the music score is composed by John Swihart. This is a multi-camera comedy that is filmed in front of a studio audience.

Conclusion:

This must be the year of the cougar with Accidentally on Purpose and Cougar Town. Will the second time be the charm for Jenna Elfman on CBS? They have been trying to find the right comedy vehicle for her for the last several years. Courting Alex had some decent ratings but was canceled after only 8 episodes aired. I think the pilot for Accidentally on Purpose is a slight upgrade over that. The pilot follows the basic premise of the movie Knocked Up but lacks the amount of funny scenes and lines. I just wonder which direction the show will take. Upcoming episode descriptions seem to indicate that Billie and Zack will be dating other people. What will they do once she has the baby at the end of the season and possibly marries Zack? This shows seems like it is set up to air for one season and then be done.

This show has a comfortable time slot between the established How I Met Your Mother and Two and a Half Men. It will be important to find an audience early because Rules of Engagement is waiting in the wings. If you are a fan of the adorable and witty Jenna Elfman or any of the other actors, the show is definitely worth checking out. It's hard to judge a show just by the pilot, which sets up the whole premise of the show and gives the necessary background details on the characters. It probably would be best to give this show a try for at least 3-4 episodes to see how it develops.

Final Numbers (out of 5 stars):

Watchability: 4/5
Funniness: 4/5
Overall: 4/5

-- Reviewed by Todd Fuller on 09/18/09

Discuss the show after you watch it on Monday, September 21 on our message board.

Related Links:

CBS.com Official Site

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Internet Movie Database

Wikipedia

Accidentally on Purpose Photo Gallery

Preview:



It's time for our annual Emmy picks!

OUTSTANDING COMEDY SERIES
Weeds (Showtime)
The Office (NBC)
How I Met Your Mother (CBS)
30 Rock (NBC)
Entourage (HBO)
Family Guy (Fox)
Flight of the Conchords (HBO)
OUR PICK: 30 Rock. It's the favorite, but I wish something else would win.

OUTSTANDING LEAD COMEDY ACTOR
Alec Baldwin, 30 Rock (NBC)
Tony Shalhoub, Monk (USA Network)
Charlie Sheen, Two and a Half Men (CBS)
Steve Carell, The Office (NBC)
Jermaine Clement, Flight of the Conchords (HBO)
Jim Parsons, The Big Bang Theory (CBS)
OUR PICK: Jim Parsons. He is very deserving and his character of Sheldon is funny with a straight face! Sheldon never smiles or laughs!

OUTSTANDING LEAD COMEDY ACTRESS
Sarah Silverman, The Sarah Silverman Program (Comedy Central)
Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Old Christine (CBS)
Christina Applegate, Samantha Who? (ABC)
Mary-Louise Parker, Weeds (Showtime)
Tina Fey, 30 Rock (NBC)
Toni Collette, United States of Tara (Showtime)
OUR PICK: Tina Fey will win likely, but I would give it to Christina Applegate who was outstanding.

OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING COMEDY ACTOR
Kevin Dillion, Entourage (HBO)
Jon Cryer, Two and a Half Men (CBS)
Rainn Wilson, The Office (NBC)
Neil Patrick Harris, How I Met Your Mother (CBS)
Jack McBrayer, 30 Rock (NBC)
Tracy Morgan, 30 Rock (NBC)
OUR PICK: Neil Patrick Harris. He is hosting...so I bet he wins. If not maybe another 30 Rock winner.

OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING COMEDY ACTRESS
Vanessa Williams, Ugly Betty (ABC)
Kristin Chenoweth, Pushing Daisies (ABC)
Jane Krakowski, 30 Rock (NBC)
Amy Poehler, SNL (NBC)
Kristin Wiig, SNL (NBC)
Elizabeth Perkins, Weeds (Showtime)
OUR PICK: Vanessa Williams. She is hilarious as the evil character she plays.

OUTSTANDING DRAMA SERIES
Lost (ABC)
House (Fox)
Damages (FX)
Big Love (HBO)
Mad Men (AMC)
Dexter (Showtime)
Breaking Bad (AMC)
OUR PICK: Lost. An outstanding year for the fifth season! But I think Mad Men will take it.

OUTSTANDING LEAD DRAMA ACTOR
Hugh Laurie, House (Fox)
Simon Baker, The Mentalist (CBS)
Bryan Cranston, Breaking Bad (AMC)
Gabriel Bryne, In Treatment (HBO)
Michael C. Hall, Dexter (Showtime)
Jon Hamm, Mad Men (AMC)
OUR PICK: Bryan Cranston. Could he repeat?

OUTSTANDING LEAD DRAMA ACTRESS
Glenn Close, Damages (FX)
Sally Field, Brothers & Sisters (ABC)
Kyra Sedgwick, The Closer (TNT)
Mariska Hargitay, Law & Order: SVU (NBC)
Holly Hunter, Saving Grace (TNT)
Elisabeth Moss, Mad Men (AMC)
OUR PICK: Sally Field. Nora Walker is funny, real and America's mom!

OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING DRAMA ACTOR
Christian Clemenson, Boston Legal (ABC)
William Shatner, Boston Legal (ABC)
William Hurt, Damages (FX)
John Slattery, Mad Men (AMC)
Aaron Paul, Breaking Bad (AMC)
Michael Emerson, Lost (ABC)
OUR PICK: William Shatner. One last hurrah, maybe? If not Emerson, please!

OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING DRAMA ACTRESS
Cherry Jones, 24 (Fox)
Ross Byrne, Damages (FX)
Sandra Oh, Grey's Anatomy (ABC)
Hope Davis, In Treatment (HBO)
Chandra Wilson, Grey's Anatomy (ABC)
Diane Wiest, In Treatment (HBO)
OUR PICK: Chandra Wilson. Please give it to her!!


View the full list of nominations. The 61st Annual Emmy Awards air this Sunday (September 20 at 8pm on CBS).

NBC Fall Pilot Review: Community - Premieres September 17; TeenNick Premiere Week

Community - Thursdays 9:30PM ET/PT on NBC (Moves to 8:00PM on Oct. 8)
Premieres Thursday, September 17, 2009 at 9:30PM ET/PT

From Dan Harmon (The Sarah Silverman Program) and Emmy Award-winning directors Joe and Anthony Russo (Arrested Development) comes Community, a smart comedy series about a band of misfits who attend Greendale Community College. At the center of the group is Jeff Winger (Joel McHale, E! TV's The Soup), a fast-talkin' lawyer whose degree has been revoked. With some help from his fellow classmates, Winger forms a study group who eventually learn more about themselves than their course work.
Also among the series stars who comprise the group are comedy legend Chevy Chase as Pierce, a man whose life experience has brought him infinite wisdom; Gillian Jacobs as Britta, the 28-year old drop out with something to prove; Yvette Nicole Brown as Shirley, a sassy middle-aged divorcée; Danny Pudi as Abed, a pop culture junkie; Alison Brie as Annie, a high-strung perfectionist; Donald Glover as Troy, a former high school football star trying to find his way and Ken Jeong as Spanish professor, Señor Chang.


Cast Details:

* Joel McHale as Jeff Winger
* Gillian Jacobs as Britta
* Yvette Nicole Brown as Shirley
* Danny Pudi as Abed
* Alison Brie as Annie
* Donald Glover as Troy
* Ken Jeong as Señor Chang
* Chevy Chase as Pierce

Joel McHale (Jeff Winger) is poised to make 2009 a breakout year. In addition to his starring role in Community, he recently wrapped production on the Steven Soderbergh directed, Warner Independent dark, comedic thriller The Informant opposite Matt Damon. McHale is best known as the star of The Soup, a weekly entertainment show that satirizes pop culture and current events. He also serves as a writer and producer on the show. McHale's quick wit and sharp comedic timing have made The Soup a pop culture phenomenon and led to the success of The Soup Presents specials. McHale recently began touring the country to sold-out audiences with his stand-up act. McHale's guest starring roles include Will & Grace, CSI: Miami and, most recently, Pushing Daisies. He also jumped onto the big screen with roles in Spider-Man 2 and Lords of Dogtown.

Gillian Jacobs (Britta) was most recently seen in Richard Kelly's film The Box, starring Cameron Diaz and Frank Langella. Jacobs can also be seen in the upcoming films Coach directed by Will Frears, Watching TV With the Red Chinese, NoNames and Helena From the Wedding.
On the small screen, she has appeared in Fringe, Law and Order: Criminal Intent and Royal Pains. Jacobs will also be seen in the upcoming drama series The Good Wife and had a recurring role in The Book of Daniel.

Yvette Nicole Brown (Shirley) dreamed of a career on stage and screen as a young girl. She began her entertainment career as a vocalist while still in her teens, when after an impromptu audition for Michael Bivins (New Edition; Bell Biv DeVoe) she was signed to Motown Records as a part of the East Coast Family, a group of new talents that included Boyz II Men. In just a short time, Brown has emerged as one of the most sought-after character actresses in Hollywood, highlighted by memorable appearances on numerous hit TV shows, including: House, Entourage, The Office, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Two and a Half Men, Malcolm in the Middle, 7th Heaven, Fat Actress, 'Til Death, That's So Raven, Rules of Engagement, Privileged and That '70s Show among others. In addition, she has had recurring roles on Boston Legal, Girlfriends, Sleeper Cell, Half & Half and Drake & Josh. She also was a series regular on the short lived sitcom The Big House.

Danny Pudi (Abed) is an actor and comedian originally from Chicago. On the small screen, Pudi's credits include NBC's ER and TBS's The Bill Engvall Show, as well as recurring roles on Greek and Gilmore Girls. He can also be seen in the upcoming films Road Trip 2: Beerpong and the independent film Thunder Geniuses directed by Michael Clancy.

Alison Brie (Annie) can currently be seen as Trudy Campbell on the award-winning drama series Mad Men, which returns in August 2009. She will also appear in a film titled Montana Amazon with Olympia Dukakis and Haley Joel Osment, slated for release later this year. Brie guest-starred on Comedy Central and Disney's Hannah Montana and landed leading roles in some independent films before her current role in Community.

Donald Glover (Troy) is a talented actor, comedian and writer. He studied improvisation and comedy writing with the Upright Citizen's Brigade Theatre in New York and had the pleasure of improvising with the likes of Amy Poehler and Horatio Sanz. Glover also performed on Late Night with Conan O'Brien multiple times. He was hired as a staff writer on the show 30 Rock while he was still a resident assistant at NYU. During his time at 30 Rock, the show has won two Emmys for best comedy, as well as a Writers Guild Award for best comedy.

Ken Jeong (Señor Chang) is known as the "scene stealer" and is quickly establishing himself as the go-to character actor for today's hit comedies. In the summer of 2009, Jeong appeared as the Asian-mobster "Mr. Chow" in the sleeper-hit comedy The Hangover, also starring Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms and Zach Galifianakis. Since his feature-film debut as the doctor in Knocked Up in 2007, Jeong has gone on to a number of memorable roles in a series of successful comedies. Directed, written and produced by Judd Apatow. In 2008 Jeong starred in his first major role as the villain, King Argotron, in Role Models, opposite Paul Rudd, Seann William Scott and Christopher Mintz-Plasse. The same year, Jeong had supporting roles in two other major comedies, Pineapple Express and Step Brothers. On the TV side, he has appeared on The Office, Entourage, and MADtv.

Chevy Chase (Pierce) is one of the most honored and beloved actors of his generation, Chase first came to national prominence as a writer and performer with the original cast of NBC's Saturday Night Live, for which he won two Emmy Awards. Soon after he had endeared himself to television audiences, Hollywood beckoned and Chase made his feature film debut in the comedy-thriller Foul Play with Goldie Hawn. His many memorable films include: Caddy Shack, Seems Like Old Times, National Lampoon's Vacation, Fletch, National Lampoon's European Vacation, Spies Like Us, The Three Amigos, Funny Farm, Caddyshack I, Fletch Lives, National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation, Memoirs of an Invisible Man, Cops and Robbersons, Man of the House, Vegas Vacation, Snow Day, Ellie Parker, and last year's Funny Money. In 2007, Chase received critical acclaim for his guest-starring role on NBC's award-winning series Law and Order. He followed that return to the small screen with a two-episode guest-appearance on the ABC drama series Brothers and Sisters. Most recently, Chase guest starred on the NBC series Chuck.

Pilot Plot:

#1 "Pilot" (Airs September 17)
A band of misfits attend Greendale Community College. At the center of the group is Jeff Winger, a fast-talking lawyer whose degree has been revoked. With some help from his fellow classmates, Winger forms a study group who eventually learn more about themselves than their course work. The study group consists of Pierce a man whose life experience has brought him infinite wisdom; Britta a 28-year old drop out with something to prove; Shirley a sassy middle-aged divorcée; Abed a pop culture junkie; Annie a high-strung perfectionist; Troy a former high school football star and Spanish professor, Señor Chang.
Directed By Joe Russo and Anthony Russo.

Analysis:

"The funny thing about being smart is that you can get through most of life without having to do any work."

To be perfectly frank, when re-typing the above line I wasn't sure if I was quoting a line of my favorite of the fall pilots, or writing the first sentence of my autobiography. Writing this review you have a reviewer who perhaps above all else ultimately wants people on his agenda. And the lead character in the new show Community is extremely similar. Joel McHale plays Jeff, a lawyer who was suspended by the state bar after it was discovered that his Bachelor's degree was in fact from Colombia (the nation) and not Columbia (the school). He turns to the local community college in part because one of the psychology professors (portrayed by John Oliver) is one of his frequent clients and he hopes to take advantage of their friendship. Not to spoil a little twist in the final episode, but the professor isn't a doormat.

Jeff is already enrolled when the pilot begins, and it's through his actions one day that we meet his co-stars. McHale's character met a girl (Britta, played by Gillian Jacobs) in Spanish class that he likes (aww). To learn more about her, he consults with Abed (Danny Pudi) who recites a whole list of things he learned about her just through the hunt for a pencil. This leads to Jeff creating a study group for the class, where the rest of the main and recurring characters really begin to come into their own. You have Chevy Chase as Pierce, a senior who was married seven times. Chevy also provides one of my favorite bits of physical humor in the show when trying to figure out what to do with a disgusting cafeteria hot dog. (No, no, nothing obscene. He stuck it in with the hot dog buns in their drawer after some debate). Other cast members include Donald Glover as Troy, Yvette Nicole Brown as Shirley and Alison Brie as Anne.

I'm really going to like this show, and might even have a message delivered home to me, for a reason I strongly hint at in the beginning of this review. Jeff's character, through coincidence, has a personally not entirely unlike mine. We've both spent a very, very long time being able to BS our way through virtually any situation -- but as the grand culmination of that BS we both have recently found ourselves in situations where, like it or not we each might have to actually do a little work. Though there's no way to know what direction the character will proceed from here, the fact is that the rendition of Jeff in the pilot is probably the character on TV I'm empathized with the most in a very long time.

And through both my own twisted narcissism and a desire to see quality stories told on television, the end result of the 25 minutes of the pilot is a comedy that I truly enjoy. It doesn't have the wacky hijinks of 30 Rock or the random fantasy sequences of Scrubs or, well, Dwight from The Office. What you see here is one of the most genuine comedies I've seen on TV in a long time. Will you, the reader, like this though? If you've never seen a single-camera comedy you've liked? Your opinion probably isn't going to change. But quality pieces of entertainment like The Office, 30 Rock, and yes now Community are all wonderful shows in their own, wildly different, rights when you give them a chance.

Conclusion:

I'm supposed to score this show on "Funniness" and "Watchability." It is definitely 5 stars in watchability. But it took a lot of gnashing of the teeth to score it on the funniness. It's funny, but there are different types of humor. For someone like me, the show is hysterical yet poignant. For someone else, they might have a different reaction. I know at least one person who refused to even discuss the show after hearing Chevy Chase was in it. While they have a right to their opinion, I think that's a silly opinion. Even if you don't like one component there is a LOT of FUNNY stuff here to watch even if you're not a fan of one of the actors. There's something to laugh at for (nearly) everyone.

This is a five star show, airing amongst a couple of other five star shows (The Office, 30 Rock). NBC has possibly their strongest lineup of comedies on Thursday in over a decade, and I personally think it's a wonderful replacement for My Name is Earl. Given that they finally wrote a sitcom about me, I obviously can't recommend this one enough. In all sincerity though, and with all self-indulgence removed: this sitcom is hilarious, two huge reasons being McHale and Chase. Joel and Chevy deliver the laughs, and you're in for a great show.

Final Numbers (out of 5 stars):

Watchability: 5/5
Funniness: 4.5/5
Overall: 5/5

-- Reviewed by Seth Thrasher on 09/16/09

Discuss the show after you watch it on Thursday, September 17 on our message board.

Related Links:

NBC.com Official Site

TV.com

epguides.com

Internet Movie Database

Wikipedia

Community Photo Gallery

The N will change its name to TeenNick on Monday, September 28, as you all know. So from now on our labels (the links on the bottom of every story) for the network will be TeenNick. So bookmark that if you follow all The N's schedules in one shot. This will be our last label for The N. Anyway, TeenNick will not have any changes for premiere week. So the same schedule, that we mentioned, that started this week and that will be for week of Sept. 21, will continue when The N changes its name to TeenNick on Sept. 28. You'll still have Full House in primetime from 8-10pm for example.
However, there will be a huge Degrassi: The Next Generation marathon starting Oct. 1 at 2am (technically Oct. 2) running all day on Friday, Saturday and Sunday (Oct. 2-4). The only stoppage on those three days is for That '70s Show from 12-2am.

ABC Summer Pilot Review: The Goode Family - Premieres May 27; TV's 50 Funniest Phrases Airs Tonight

The Goode Family - Wednesdays 9:00PM ET/PT on ABC
Premieres Wednesday, May 27, 2009 at 9:00PM ET/PT

The Goode Family is a new animated series from Mike Judge (King of the Hill, Beavis and Butt-head), John Altschuler & Dave Krinsky (King of the Hill, Blades of Glory).
With standards always changing, no matter how hard you try to be good, it's virtually impossible these days... especially for the Goode family.
Meet Gerald and Helen Goode, a couple who live by the motto WWAGD ("What Would Al Gore Do?"). Gerald, a college administrator, and Helen, a community activist, are determined to obliterate their carbon footprint on the planet: They're zealous vegans, they drive a hybrid, and they recycle everything possible. Even the family dog, Che, is vegan. In the words of Helen, all the Goodes want to do is buy organic apples and call minorities by their right names. But despite their best efforts, something always goes haywire with their politically correct plans.
Like adopted son Ubuntu - Gerald and Helen thought they were doing the right thing by adopting a baby from Africa, only to learn that Ubuntu was South African... and white. Now a teenager, he eagerly tries to embrace the Goodes' love of things like crafts and organic gardening, even though deep in his gene pool is a drive towards more blue collar pursuits like driving fast, using tools and violent sports. Teenage daughter Bliss is constantly mortified by her parents (especially her mom's efforts to talk openly, girlfriend-to-girlfriend, about sex). Even Che is rebelling against his owners - he's secretly depopulating the neighborhood of every stray squirrel, cat, rabbit and bird in search of a square meal.
Their kids and dog aren't the only ones who find the Goodes hard to understand. Helen's SUV-driving, meat eating dad, Charlie, thinks her efforts to save the planet are just a waste of time. Neighbor Ray Johnson (recurring star Gary Anthony Williams) is bemused at the Goodes' attempts to refer to him by the right ethnic catch phrase ("African American?" "Person of Color?") and the constant drama unfolding right next door.


Cast Details:

* Mike Judge as Gerald Goode
* Nancy Carell as Helen Goode
* David Herman as Ubuntu Goode
* Linda Cardellini as Bliss Goode
* Brian Doyle Murray as Charlie
* Gary Anthony Williams as Ray

The Goode Family is voiced by Mike Judge as Gerald, Nancy Carell as Helen, Dave Herman as Ubuntu, Linda Cardellini as Bliss and Brian Doyle Murray as Charlie. Gary Anthony Williams is recurring as their black neighbor Ray.

Mike Judge (Gerald Goode) considered cartooning a hobby while he toiled as bassist for Anson Funderburgh and Doyle Bramhall, but when MTV picked up his 1992 short, Frog Baseball, animation history was made. The network simultaneously decided to spin-off Beavis and Butt-Head into a show of its own, making him the premier animator of the 1990s. The creation of these two teenage icons led to his next equally successful project, Fox TV's King of the Hill. Judge expanded his artistic endeavors into directing films such as 1999's cult classic, Office Space, featuring Jennifer Aniston, and his underrated Idiocracy, with Luke Wilson, as well as doing voices for South Park: Bigger, Longer, Uncut and acting in Robert Rodriguez' Spy Kids series. Writer, actor, producer, director, composer, animator, musician... Mike Judge is many things, but nothing beats making it okay for grownups to hold up their hands and proclaim, "I am Cornholio!"

Nancy Carell (Helen Goode) got her start in comedy at The Second City, and from there went on to join the cast of Saturday Night Live. She appeared for three years as a correspondent and guest host on The Daily Show. Carell has been a recurring character on the comedy series The Office as Carol Stills, the real estate agent and former girlfriend of Michael Scott. Her feature film work includes The 40 Year Old Virgin and Anger Management. She and her husband, Steve Carell (The Office), have two children.

David Herman (Ubuntu Goode) was one of the eight original cast members of Fox's late night sketch comedy show, Mad TV. In 1997 he began doing voice work on the Fox animated sitcom King of the Hill" where he met writer/director/actor Mike Judge. He was so impressed with Herman that he cast him as Michael Bolton in his critically acclaimed cult hit, Office Space. He also began doing voices for the Fox animated sitcom Futurama.

Linda Cardellini (Bliss Goode) is well known for her portrayal of Nurse Samantha Taggart on the NBC series ER. She has reprised her role, which she originated in 2003, in its 15th and final season. Cardellini first came to prominence starring as academic decathlete Lindsay Weir on the Emmy Award-winning series Freaks and Geeks, which has recently enjoyed a renaissance on DVD. In 2005 Cardellini delivered a heartfelt performance as a jilted lover in Ang Lee's highly acclaimed, award-winning drama, Brokeback Mountain. Last year she starred with Val Kilmer and Steve Zahn in the epic CBS miniseries Comanche Moon. Cardellini captured the hearts of young girls, boys and teenagers worldwide for her portrayal of Velma in Warner Bros.' popular Scooby-Doo and Legally Blonde, as well as in the Adam Sandler produced comedy, Grandma's Boy.

Brian Doyle Murray (Charlie, Helen's father) has appeared in such films as Daddy Day Camp, Nearing Grace, Snowdogs, Bedazzled, Drowning Mona, Stuart Little, As Good As It Gets, Waiting for Guffman, Jury Duty, Cabin Boy, Coneheads, Groundhog Day, Wayne's World, JFK, Nothing But Trouble, Christmas Vacation, How I Got Into College, Ghostbusters II, The Experts, Scrooged, Club Paradise, Legal Eagles, The Razor's Edge, Sixteen Candles and National Lampoon's Vacation. His television work includes Yes, Dear, Lucky, Family Guy, King of The Hill, Seinfield, Ellen, The Martin Short Show, Married with Children, Roseanne, Bakersfield PD and many others. In addition he appeared in over 50 episodes of Saturday Night Live and was nominated for three Emmy Awards for writing for the series. As a writer, he also co-wrote the hit comedy film, Caddyshack.


Pilot Plot:

We have received the first three episodes for air for review!

#1 (PROD #101) "Pilot" (Airs Wednedsay, May 27, 2009)
In the premiere episode, "Pilot," Helen is distraught when Bliss, fed up with her mom's trying to talk to her about sex, joins an abstinence group. Things go from bad to worse when Bliss asks her father, Gerald, to take her to the group's purity ball. Meanwhile Ubuntu turns 16 and wants to learn how to get his driver's license.
Guest voice cast: Gary Anthony Williams as Ray/the DMV Person/Ted, Mo Collins as the Checker/Lucy, Dee Bradley Baker as Che, and Julia Sweeney as Margo.
"Pilot" was written by John Altschuler, Mike Judge and Dave Krinsky, and directed by Wes Archer.

#2 (PROD #106) "Pleatherheads" (Airs Wednesday, June 3, 2009)
Gerald and Helen have a tough time adjusting to the demands of being a football family after Ubuntu unexpectedly becomes a star on high school football team. Meanwhile, Bliss tries some unorthodox ways to improve her college prospects.
Special Guest Voice: Adam Carolla. Guest voice cast: Bob Odenkirk as Brian Kennedy, Gary Anthony Williams as Ray/Coach/Mr. Alvarez, Amy Hill as Jacki/Kiki, Phil Lamarr as Mr. Whitmore/Solosolo and Laraine Newman as Mo/Nice Old Lady.
"Pleatherheads" was written by Dave Jeser & Matt Silverstein and directed by John Rice.

#3 (PROD #102) "Goodes Gone Wild" (Airs Wednesday, June 10, 2009)
Helen sees a way to win her father's approval when he takes a shine to one of the rescues at her pet adoption. Unfortunately, it's a disgusting animal of unknown origin named Gutterball who has to stay with the Goodes because Charlie's "home" doesn't allow pets. While Helen copes with Gutterball, their dog Che gives Gerald a hand with the college's squirrel problem.
Guest voice cast: Gary Anthony Williams as Ray/the Animals First Leader, Dee Bradley Baker as the Animals First Leader/Che/Gutterball, Lori Nasso as Penny and Julia Sweeney as Margo.
"Goodes Gone Wild" was written by Jordana Arkin and directed by John Rice.


Analysis:

I received for review the first three episodes airing. This animated comedy is produced by Media Rights Capital (MRC). It is about a family who wants to do good for the world, but they just can't get it right. They are learning on the way, though. This family is certainly a 21st century family, as they are vegans and an energy saving family. The father and mother (Gerald and Helen) are trying their very best to practice what they believe in, but you'll see not always what they believe is what they actually believe in.
The family is pretty likable. If you like current animated comedies like The Simpsons and King of the Hill, and animation styles of King of the Hill and Beavis & Butt-head then you'll certainly will want to watch this show. Mike Judge has created a show about a family that we can all relate with. It honestly reminds me of a live-action comedy. It is a great family comedy that you'll enjoy. This show has a lot of pop-culture related jokes to make it even more hip.
The characters are pretty interesting. The father, Gerald is probably the one who wants to do the most "good." He works for the local college as an administrator. His wife, Helen also believes in "good" but sometimes her inner bad comes out, as you'll see in many episodes. They have a teenaged daughter, Bliss, that is pretty smart and attractive as well (she reminds me of the type of girl on Beavis & Butt-head). She doesn't really like the "good" way, but still does it. They also have an adopted son named Ubuntu. He was adopted from South Africa, but he is white. He dresses like an African as well. He is a bit eccentric and likes to do good, but as you'll see even he tries to be wild at times. The family also has a dog named Che. He is a vegan dog, but hates it. Gerlad and Helen have no idea that he eats wildlife when they are not looking. Rounding out the characters are Helen's father Charlie, who does not like at all what this family practices and their neighbor Ray, who is black and the family tries to be "politically correct" with him.
In the first episode, it is basically about Helen and Bliss, as Bliss is fed up with her mom's trying to talk to her about sex so she joins an abstinence group. She even goes to a purity ball, but it doesn't work out. Also in the episode Ubuntu turns 16 and wants to learn how to get his driver's license.
In the second episode airing, Ubuntu joins the high school football team, but his parents sees the demands of being a football family are not good and they do some not so "good" things. Also in the episode Bliss tries ways to get into college.
In the third episode airing, Helen never has had her father's approval, but when he takes a shine to one of the rescues at her pet adoption...she tries to take advantage. The catch is it's a disgusting animal of unknown origin named Gutterball who has to stay with the Goodes because Charlie's "home" doesn't allow pets. Also in the episode their dog Che gives Gerald a hand with the college's squirrel problem as he goes wild without them knowing again. The episodes get better and better...maybe because we are now engulfed with the family.


Conclusion:

This show is pretty funny. It is a show about the family itself and not a show about to be a vegan or drive hybrid cars. So don't get freaked out by them saying "What Would Al Gore Do?" This family wants to do "good," but it is so hard to do that, as you'll see with every episode. The show premieres after last summer's biggest hit Wipeout, so the premiere should be sampled in the ratings. Promos have been airing a lot over the past few months, so this is not just a summer burn-off. ABC has ordered 13 episodes, but only 6 are airing this summer (and wow, I've seen 3 of them already). I'm thinking if this show does well, you could see it in the regular season perhaps in the winter on Tuesday nights with Scrubs and Better Off Ted? I've never really watched much of King of the Hill, but I do like The Simpsons and the family element of that show makes it so likeable and it is shown here as well. I did like Judge's other show Beavis & Butt-head, though the only thing similar about that show with The Goode Family is the animation style.
I think if you're going to give this a try, give it a few episodes. I think I liked it more and more because I saw more than one episode. Think about it, sampling something with just one episode is not a good sample. This is the summer, so there won't be much new scripted programming anyway...so stick with it! The episodes get better and better. We need a good animated comedy that is not on Fox. It is very watchable and the laughs are also there. The Goode Family is a "goode" show and I was surprised!


Final Numbers (out of 5 stars):

Watchability: 4.5/5
Funniness: 4/5
Overall: 4/5

-- Reviewed by pavanbadal on 05/26/09

Discuss the show after you watch it on Wednesday, May 27 on our message board.

Related Links:

ABC.com Official Site

TV.com

epguides.com

Internet Movie Database

Wikipedia

The Goode Family Photo Gallery


Tonight on NBC from 8-10pm ET, get ready to laugh your way down memory lane with an array of amazing stars both past and present.
From "No soup for you" to "We are two wild and crazy guys" to "Hug it out," catch phrases are instantly recognizable and become part of popular culture. Actress, dancer, singer and Tony Award-winner Jane Krakowski (30 Rock) hosts. Jeremy Piven, Regis Philbin, Gabe Kaplan, Dana Carvey, Neil Patrick Harris, Jean Stapleton, Ron Howard, Andy Griffith, Keenan Ivory Wayans, Jackie Gleason, Bob Newhart, Penny Marshall, Polly Holliday, and Redd Foxx are among some of the legendary stars featured when The Paley Center for Media and NBC count down fifty of the all-time funniest catchphrases said on television in a two-hour special. With great scenes from the shows and interviews with the stars who brought the lines to life, this program will celebrate the history and humor of catchphrases. The Paley Center for Media's TV's 50 Funniest Phrases airs tonight from 8-10pm ET on NBC. See who made it to the top 10 and what phrase is #1.

Fox Mid-Season Pilot Review: Sit Down, Shut Up - Premieres April 19; ABC Family Change; GSN Awards

Sit Down, Shut Up - Sundays 8:30PM ET/PT on Fox
Premieres Sunday, April 19, 2009 at 8:30PM ET/PT

There is a new kid on the block on Fox's Sunday night animation lineup, and this time it comes from Emmy Award-winning writer Michael Hurwitz of the series Arrest Development. Sit Down, Shut Up is an animated comedy about the staff of Knob Creek High School, a high school in a small Florida town, and much like in the drama series Boston Public, we find that the teachers can have as many (if not more) problems than their students. There is the acting principal Sue Sezno, and as the name suggests, she always says no. Of course, the upbeat vice principal Stuart Prozakian is always there to counter-balance her at all times. And there is an entire ensemble cast of teachers with their own respective problems.


Cast Details:

* Will Arnett as Ennis Hofftard
* Jason Bateman as Larry Littlejunk
* Kristen Chenoweth as Miracle Grohe
* Will Forte as Stuart Proszackian
* Tom Kenny as Happy
* Nick Kroll as Andrew LeGustambos
* Cheri Oteri as Helen Klench
* Kenan Thompson as Sue Sezno
* Henry Winkler as Willard Deutschebog


Will Arnett (Ennis) is best known to sitcom fans in his role as Gob Bluth on the series Arrested Development, but has also had many film roles including roles in Ice Age: The Meltdown, RV, and Monster-in-Law. He has also recently completed filming two upcoming films, G-Force and When in Rome.

Jason Bateman (Larry) is known to sitcom fans from the series Arrested Development and the 80s sitcoms Silver Spoons and The Hogan Family. He has also played roles in the films The Ex, Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story, and Starsky & Hutch. He has recently signed a deal to develop, direct, and write original content for 20th Century Fox Television.

Kristen Chenoweth (Miracle) was recently nominated for an Emmy Award for her role in the series Pushing Daises and also has credits from the series Ugly Betty and The West Wing. She will soon be in the upcoming David E. Kelly legal drama Legally Mad.

Will Forte (Stuart) has spent several years on the series Saturday Night Live, and is considered to be a rising comedy star by many critics. He has also been in the films Baby Mama and Beerfest.

Tom Kenny (Happy) is no stranger to fans of animated series, as he is the voice of the very popular character SpongeBob SquarePants. He has also played roles in the Nickelodeon series CatDog and Rocko's Modern Life, and countless other animated series. In addition, he has made appearances at comedy clubs across the country and on the late night talk shows.

Nick Kroll (Andrew) is an up-and-coming actor that has starred in Cavemen, Best Week Ever, Worst Week, The Life and Times of Tim, and Reno 911. He is also a writer that co-authored the book "Bar Mitzvah Disco" and was a contributing writer on Chappelle's Show. He has also done some standup comedy at the Montreal Just for Laughs Festival as well as the Bonnaroo Festival.

Cheri Oteri (Helen) is known for her years on Saturday Night Live, and has also appeared in many films including Scary Movie, Inspector Gadget, Liar Liar, and Shrek the Third, among many others. She has had several guest appearances on series such as Just Shoot Me, Strangers with Candy, and Boston Legal.

Kenan Thompson (Sue) is another Saturday Night Live actor (currently in his fifth season) that is also known to a generation of youth that grew up on Nickelodeon in the 90s from the series Kenan and Kel as well as All That. He also starred with Kel Mitchell on the feature film Good Burger. Other major film credits for Thompson include Snakes on a Plane, Fat Albert, D2: The Mighty Ducks, and Rocky & Bullwinkle.

Henry Winkler (Williard) is the true "veteran" of the cast, known to fans all around the world as "The Fonz" from the hit sitcom Happy Days. He has also served as a producer for series including MacGyver, Hollywood Squares, Sightings, So Weird, among others. In 2003, he began writing a series of children's novels entitled "Hank Zipzer: The World's Most Amazing Underachiever," which are inspired by his struggle with learning challenges. He has also appeared on Arrested Development.


Pilot Plot:

For the review, we had the first and second episode of the series. The series is scheduled to air 5 of its 13 produced episodes for now, all in five consecutive weeks.

#1 "Pilot" (Airs April 19) - Knob Haven High School is facing some serious budget problems, and Sue Sezno knows the way to repair the budget problems: by soliciting donations from alumni. But the alumni will only be willing to do that if they can win the upcoming football game.

#2 "Miracle's Are Real" (Airs April 26) - Miracle Grohe decides to spread some spring cheer by giving her fellow colleagues some flowers (which actually turn out to be hemlock), placing the school into another financial crisis. The school carnival is the way to make this money, but this causes a bit of trouble between Sue Sezno and Helen Klench.


Analysis:

Catchphrases, stereotypes, and clichés. That is all that I saw in the two episodes that I received to review. The series lacks substance, and without that substance, it can't go very far. Over and over again, we are reminded in both of these episodes that Sue Sezno always says no, that Stuart Proszakian used to be a prison clown, that Ennis Hofftard is a womanizing jock, that Miracle Grohe has a baby that she carries with her at all times, that Willard Deutschbog is having a miserable life... I think that pretty much drives home my point. But where does the series go from that point? I can't see any real direction for the series in these two episodes.

It doesn't help either that the ensemble cast on the series is big--way too big in fact. There are basically nine different characters that make up the core cast of the series, and the writers have attempted to place every single one of these characters in a plotline in each episode. It would have been better to have had each episode focus on one major plot with just a few of the characters, but instead, with the series as it is, all we really have time for is several mini-plots that just reinforce the catchphrases, stereotypes, and clichés.

Both of the first two episodes basically focus on the same thing: budgetary problems at the school and how to fix those financial issues. One has to wonder if this is pretty much the direction that many or most episodes will go in. So far, it doesn't appear that there is much variety in the plots of the episodes, which doesn't matter anyway because the series doesn't have time to develop much of a plot with all of the characters and the catchphrases, stereotypes, and clichés. There were a few "chuckle" moments in the episodes, but there really wasn't anything that caused me to burst out into laughter. It is a shame, really, because I can see that with the characters and background of the series, that this could have the potential to be that kind of series.

However, one thing that I did think was a little nice and creative was the use of live action backgrounds for some of the scenes in the series. It reminded me a lot of the film Who Framed Roger Rabbit, and it is surprising that this style hasn't been used that much in other animated sitcoms.


Conclusion:

I honestly believe that this will be another one of the many Fox series that doesn't make it, although I could be wrong about that. Unlike the other animated series on Fox, this series is just too full of catchphrases and stereotypes to a point where it becomes outright obnoxious. The series really sounded good when I read about it, but there is some disconnect between the concept and what we actually have here. Not only is the series inconsistent with the other animated series on the Fox Sunday night lineup, but matters are only made worse by the fact that the series isn't that funny.

Still, I feel like the series could have the potential to be a good series under the right circumstances, but there is no way this show could go on for years--or even more than a handful of episodes for that matter--by repeating catchphrases, clichés, and stereotypes all the time. The series could work well if it had well-written storylines that were funny or even outright absurd (such as the ones on Family Guy), but the series just isn't meant to make it in the form that it is seen on the premiere episodes. I've been wrong about these things before, but I have a feeling that the series will be off the air before many episodes are even aired.


Final Numbers (out of 5 stars):

Watchability: 3/5
Funniness: 2/5
Overall: 3/5

-- Reviewed by skees53 on 04/17/09

Discuss the show after you watch it on Sunday, April 19 on our message board.

Related Links:

Fox.com Official Site

TV.com

epguides.com

Internet Movie Database

Wikipedia

Sit Down, Shut Up Photo Gallery

Now back to the news. ABC Family's original sitcoms Roommates and Sophie are not doing that well in the ratings. They air Mondays back-to-back starting at 9:00PM ET/PT. Now ABC Family is removing the encore airings that air late Tuesday nights at 12:00am & 12:30am, and replacing them with Whose Line Is It Anyway? starting this Tuesday (April 21). So if you watch these shows and like them, watch them live on Monday nights because now there will be no encore airings.

GSN announced that it will make television history with The Game Show Awards - the very first awards show exclusively aimed at celebrating excellence in the genre of games. The two and a half-hour, star-studded extravaganza will premiere on June 6, 2009 starting at 8PM ET/7PM CT only on GSN, and will honor classic and contemporary game shows, with special tributes to pioneers Bob Barker (The Price is Right), legendary game show producer Mark Goodson, and host Monty Hall (Let's Make a Deal). In keeping with the participatory nature of game shows and GSN's programming, fans will be able to vote for their favorite nominees online at GSN.com in several categories, including best/favorite host, model, announcer, contestant, catch phrase, sound effect and others.
View the full details an categories for the first annual Game Show Awards.

Stay tuned next week as we give you some classic TV sitcom appearances on game shows on GSN, in case you never saw them...and a sitcom is coming to CMT for a special weekend.

NBC Mid-Season Preview: Parks and Recreation - Premieres April 9; NBC Pulls Kings; TV Land Renews High School Reunion

Parks and Recreation - Thursdays 8:30PM ET/PT on NBC
Premieres Thursday, April 9, 2009 at 8:30PM ET/PT

From Emmy Award-winning executive producers Greg Daniels (NBC's The Office, King of the Hill) and Michael Schur (NBC's The Office, Saturday Night Live) comes a new mockumentary that looks at the exciting world of local government. The new half-hour comedy will examine the mundane but necessary ways that people interact with their government, and ask why it's frequently so complicated -- as everyone knows from standing in line at the DMV, applying for home construction permits, or trying to get the city to fix a pothole.
The documentary cameras follow Leslie Knope (Amy Poehler, NBC's Saturday Night Live, Baby Mama) a mid-level bureaucrat in the Parks and Recreation Department of Pawnee, Indiana. In an attempt to beautify her town -- and advance her career -- Leslie takes on what should be a fairly simple project: help local nurse Ann Perkins (Rashida Jones, NBC's The Office, Unhitched) turn an abandoned construction pit into a community park. Opposing them are defensive bureaucrats, selfish neighbors, real estate developers, and single-issue fanatics -- whose weapons are lawsuits, the jumble of city codes, and the very democratic process that Leslie loves so much.
Leslie is alternately helped and undermined by her colleague, Tom Haverford (Aziz Ansari, Human Giant, Scrubs), who cheerfully exploits his government position for personal gain. She is also thwarted by her boss Ron Swanson, who is philosophically opposed to government in any form.
Helping Leslie and Ann navigate the Pawnee bureaucracy is charismatic city planner Mark Brendanawicz, whose outlook has been soured by 15 years of public service.
If they can pull it off, Leslie hopes that she also will have inspired her uninterested college intern April (Aubrey Plaza, Mayne Street) and April's whole generation - all the while moving one step closer to her ultimate goal: becoming the first female president of the United States.
Parks and Recreation is a production of Deedle-Dee Productions and Universal Media Studios. Along with Daniels and Schur, Howard Klein also serves as executive producer for the series.

Cast Details:

* Amy Poehler as Leslie Knope
* Aziz Ansari as Tom Haverford
* Rashida Jones as Ann Perkins
* Nick Offerman as Ron Swanson
* Aubrey Plaza as April Ludgate
* Paul Schneider as Mark Brendanawicz

Emmy Award nominee Amy Poehler stars as mid-level bureaucrat Leslie Knope on the new NBC comedy Parks and Recreation. The new series is a half-hour mockumentary that looks at the exciting world of local government.
The year 2008 was a very busy year for Poehler. Between her seventh season of NBC's Saturday Night Live (and her fourth as the co-anchor of Weekend Update), a trio of films and a new animated project for Nickelodeon, she was very active. Poehler received her first Emmy nomination in 2008 for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series for her work on Saturday Night Live. Due to a change in eligibility, this is an unprecedented nomination, making her the first performer in SNL history to land a spot in this category.
Poehler could be seen starring opposite Tina Fey in Universal Pictures' hit comedy film Baby Mama and also lent her voice to the animated film Horton Hears a Who! with Jim Carrey and Steve Carell. Poehler had a starring role in the ice-skating comedy Blades of Glory, alongside Will Ferrell, Will Arnett and Jon Heder, and she also provided the voice to the boxoffice smash hit Shrek the Third as Snow White. Her other feature credits include the hit comedy Mean Girls, Mr. Woodcock, Southland Tales, Tenacious D in the Pick of Destiny, The Ex, Wet Hot American Summer and Envy.
Poehler has made memorable appearances on television ranging from NBC's Late Night with Conan O'Brien (as recurring character Stacey, Andy Richter's little sister), Arrested Development, Wonder Showzen and Undeclared. She also was a voice on O'Grady and The Simpsons.

Aziz Ansari (Tom Haverford) is poised for 2009 to be his breakout year with a new television series, a trio of films, and a headlining comedy tour. Before the new series premieres, Ansari will appear in a handful of features. He recently began production on Judd Apatow's upcoming comedy Funny People, opposite Adam Sandler, Seth Rogen and Jonah Hill, and also has roles in I Love You, Man with Paul Rudd, and opposite Rogen and Anna Faris in Observe and Report.
Ansari is best known for his role on MTV's hit sketch comedy series, Human Giant. The series is based around comedy sketches performed by Ansari, along with Rob Huebel and Paul Scheer. Many of their sketches have become Internet sensations and have popularized the trio with young people all across the U.S. Last year, Ansari also had a memorable guest-starring role on Flight of the Conchords, in which he portrayed a racist fruit vendor. He can also be seen in a multi-episode arc on Scrubs.

Rashida Jones (Ann Perkins) can be seen in the feature film I Love You, Man for writer-director John Hamburg, starring opposite Paul Rudd and Jason Segal. She recently completed her starring roles in the independent features Life in Flight (with Patrick Wilson and Amy Smart), and Brief Interviews with Hideous Men (with Max Minghella) -- both set for release later this year. Her past film credits include Little Black Book, opposite Holly Hunter, Kathy Bates and Brittany Murphy.
Jones caught attention of audiences and the industry alike when she portrayed the ambitious saleswoman, Karen Filippelli, in NBC's Emmy Award-winning comedy NBC's The Office, opposite Steve Carell. She also starred as Kate on Unhitched a half-hour comedy from the Farrelly brothers. Her previous television credits include David E. Kelley's Boston Public as Louisa Fenn and Jorge Zamacoma's Wanted as Detective Carla Merced. She also appeared in Judd Apatow's Freaks and Geeks, If These Walls Could Talk II, The Chappelle Show and the British television series NY-LON. Jones was also a weekly correspondent on the talk show Vibe TV.

Nick Offerman (Ron Swanson) received his B.F.A. in theater from the University of Illinois and has performed at Chicago’s famed Goodman and Steppenwolf theaters. He was a series regular on American Body Shop and has appeared on 24, Deadwood, Will & Grace, Monk, The West Wing, CSI: NY and NYPD Blue. He recurred on George Lopez as Randy.
His feature credits include Wristcutters, Patriotville, The Go Getter, Sin City, and Miss Congeniality 2. Nick can next be seen in the feature films Men Who Stare at Goats with George Clooney and Ewan McGregor and All Good Things with Ryan Gosling and Kirsten Dunst.

Aubrey Plaza (April Ludgate) is originally from Wilmington, Del., and is a graduate of New York University's Tisch School of the Arts. She is an actor, writer and comedian. She has been performing improv and sketch comedy at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theater since 2004. She also recently began performing stand-up and has appeared at the Laugh Factory and The Improv.
Plaza stars in the upcoming comedy features Funny People, directed by Judd Apatow, and Derrick Comedy's Mystery Team which debuted at Sundance. She can also be seen in the hit online series The Jeanne Tate Show, and ESPN's Mayne Street. Plaza will next star in the Universal feature Scott Pilgrim’s Precious Little Life, directed by Edgar Wright.

Paul Schneider (Mark Brendanawicz) will next be seen in Bright Star directed by Jane Campion as well as Sam Mendes Away We Go opposite John Krasinski and Maya Rudolph. Schneider was lauded for his performance in Lars and the Real Girl opposite Ryan Gosling as well as The Assassination of Jesse James with Brad Pitt and Casey Affleck. His directorial debut Pretty Bird starred Billy Crudup and Paul Giamatti and screened in competition in Sundance in 2008. He has also received critical acclaim for his work in Cameron Crowe's Elizabethtown, All the Real Girls and The Family Stone.


Pilot Plot:

#1 - SERIES PREMIERE--MAKE MY PIT A PARK - From Emmy Award-winning executive producers of The Office comes a new mockumentary that looks at the exciting world of local government. The documentary cameras follow Leslie Knope (Amy Poehler) a mid-level bureaucrat in the Parks and Recreation Department of Pawnee, Indiana. In an attempt to beautify her town Leslie takes on what should be a fairly simple project: help local nurse Ann Perkins (Rashida Jones) turn an abandoned construction pit into a community park. Leslie is alternately helped and undermined by her colleague, Tom Haverford (Aziz Ansari), who cheerfully exploits his government position for personal gain. She is also thwarted by her boss Ron Swanson (Nick Offerman) who is philosophically opposed to government in any form. Helping Leslie and Ann navigate the Pawnee bureaucracy is charismatic city planner Mark Brendanawicz (Paul Schneider), whose outlook has been soured by 15 years of public service. If they can pull it off, Leslie hopes that she also will have inspired her uninterested college intern April (Aubrey Plaza) and April’s whole generation – all the while moving one step closer to her ultimate goal: becoming the first female president of the United States.

#2 - REPORTER - LESLIE HAS TROUBLE WITH A REPORTER - When Leslie (Amy Poehler) invites a reporter to do a story on her park project, she and her committee have trouble staying on message. Leslie calls in Mark (Paul Schneider) to help save the story, but he only makes the situation worse. Meanwhile, Tom (Aziz Ansari) kisses up to his boss (Nick Offerman). Rashida Jones and Aubrey Plaza also star.

Analysis:

Unfortunately, we were unable to obtain any screener copies in time for review. The show looks pretty funny from the promos and 5-minute preview they've posted online. I've always liked Amy Poehler and Rashida Jones, so I will be tuning in to watch the premiere. I'm not too familiar with the rest of the cast. NBC is set to air 6 episodes.

Here are some external reviews:

The Hollywood Reporter
Entertainment Weekly
Variety
Newsday
San Francisco Chronicle
Zap2it

More on Google News

Discuss the show after you watch it on Thursday, April 9 on our message board.

Related Links:

NBC.com Official Site

Knope Knows - A Parks and Recreation fansite

TV.com

epguides.com

Internet Movie Database

Wikipedia

Parks and Recreation Photo Gallery


Sorry we couldn't give you our take on the pilot. If we somehow get the pilot before airing, we will edit it in and let you know. Thanks for the preview, Todd! Anyway, back to the news...NBC has pulled Kings from the Sunday line-up. NBC will dethrone to Kings to Saturdays at 8PM effective Saturday, April 18. Kings will not air this week. NBC will replace Kings' Sundays at 8PM airings with an expanded Dateline from 7-9PM. Kings is just the latest NBC bomb. NBC says they will air all the episodes, so that should last it into June. Kings lasted only 4 weeks on Sundays.

TV Land announced that it has picked up its successful reality series High School Reunion for a third season. Over 1 million people have been watching the current season, which airs its final episode tonight (April 8) at 10pm ET/PT. Now viewers can tune in as Las Vegas' Chaparral High School's Class of 1989 will experience a reunion like no other. Set on the garden isle of Kauai, the classmates of Chaparral -- some of whom haven't seen each other in over twenty years -- will have the unique opportunity to finally settle a score, find new love or rekindle an old flame and reconnect during this luxurious getaway. High School Reunion is produced for TV Land by Mike Fleiss through his NEXT Entertainment production company in association with Warner Horizon Television. High School Reunion is set to debut its third season on TV Land, with eight episodes, in the third quarter of 2009, on TV Land during TV Land PRIME, the network's primetime destination block.
Season two of High School Reunion has been averaging 883,000 total viewers with a median age of 45. Among A25-54, it has been posting a 0.5 rating and 554,000viewers 25-54 and among A40-54 a 0.6 rating and 343,000 viewers among 40-54.

ABC Mid-Season Pilot Review: Surviving Suburbia - Premieres April 6; Lifetime TV Acquires Cybill

Surviving Suburbia - Mondays 9:30PM ET/PT on ABC
Premieres Monday, April 6, 2009 at 9:30PM ET/PT

In the family-centered tradition of Roseanne and Home Improvement, Surviving Suburbia opens the curtain to follow Bob Saget (How I Met Your Mother, Full House) and Cynthia Stevenson (Men in Trees, Dead Like Me) as Steve and Anne Patterson, a seemingly normal couple who have been married for 20 years, have two children and a cookie cutter house in the idyllic suburbs. But Steve maintains a rather cynical point of view on family, friends, neighbors, society -- pretty much everyone and everything -- as he tries to survive suburban life.
Surviving Suburbia takes a contemporary look at family life and the reasons one might have to question the system -- How does exchanging keys with a neighbor for emergencies result in house sitting? Why do kids' classroom projects inevitably become the parents' responsibility? When did we start needing mediators to handle disagreements between adults? - all of which goes to prove that it's never just another sunny day in the suburbs.
Also starring in the half-hour comedy series are Jared Kusnitz and G Hannelius as the Patterson kids, Henry and Courtney, plus Jere Burns (Good Morning Miami, Something So Right) as Dr. Jim. Dan Cortese (What I Like About You) and Lorna Scott (Criminal Minds, The OC) are recurring guest stars as Onno and Monica, respectively.


Cast Details:

* Bob Saget as Steve Patterson
* Cynthia Stevenson as Anne Patterson
* Jere Burns as Dr. Jim
* G. Hannelius as Courtney Patterson
* Jared Kusnitz as Henry Patterson
* Dan Cortese as Onno
* Lorna Scott as Monica

Bob Saget (Steve Patterson) is known worldwide for his many television roles and for setting a precedent by simultaneously starring in two Top 10 primetime series, the long-running sitcom Full House and as host of ABC's America's Funniest Home Videos for eight years. He's also familiar to a more 'adult' audience through his edgy standup comedy, theater and film work. In August 2008 Saget was honored with The Comedy Central Roast of Bob Saget, one of the highest rated shows for all of 2008 on Comedy Central. In the past two years, Saget has made his Broadway debut in the Tony Award winning play, The Drowsy Chaperone, hosted the quiz show 1 vs. 100, starred in his own HBO special, That Ain't Right, and kicked off a national theater tour. In the past few years he has also played a murderer on Law & Order: SVU, poked fun at his own image on Entourage, guest-starred on Huff, and had a hit music video from MTV, "Rollin' With Saget," in which he starred with friends Jamie Kennedy and Stu Stone.

Cynthia Stevenson (Anne Patterson) was born in Piedmont, CA but grew up in Bellevue, WA and Vancouver, BC. After attending American Conservatory Theatre in San Francisco, followed by Drama Studio London at Berkley, she moved to Los Angeles to pursue an acting career. Her work in improv and in theatre landed her an agent and an immediate job doing 26 episodes of a sketch comedy TV show entitled Off The Wall. After doing guest parts on the sitcoms The Famous Teddy Z, Newhart and Cheers, Stevenson was cast as the lead in the sitcom talk show My Talk Show. That proved to be her big break, as director Robert Altman noticed and cast her in his Oscar nominated film The Player. Series regular roles on such shows as Bob and Hope & Gloria followed. Additionally Stevenson played the lead on the cable series Oh Baby, then she moved to Vancouver and starred in Dead Like Me. Her feature roster also includes such films as Agent Cody Banks, Agent Cody Banks 2, Neverwas, Case 39 and the Disney Air Bud comedies. She was a series regular on ABC's series MEN IN TREES, had a recurring role on According to Jim and starred in the TV Christmas movie, Will You Merry Me. She can also be seen in the recent and upcoming films Dead Like Me: The Movie, Reunion, I Love You Beth Cooper and Jennifer's Body.

Jared Kusnitz (Henry Patterson) teams him once again with Jere Burns, with whom Kusnitz starred in the indie film Otis, also starring Illeana Douglas and Daniel Stern and written by Emmy Award winning writer Erik Jendresen (Band of Brothers). In February 2009, Kusnitz was nominated for a Zombie Dead Letter Award in the category of Best Actor for his performance as Jimmy Dunn in the film Dance of the Dead, which also garnered eight nods in other categories, including Best Movie. Kusnitz's skill and comedic timing inspired writer Joe Ballarini to rewrite the script with the unlikely hero, Dunn, as the lead.

G Hannelius (Courtney Patterson) was born in Boston, MA but moved with her parents to southern Maine when she was still very young. At the age of seven she landed the title role in Madeline's Rescue at The Children's Theatre of Maine. When the family relocated to Los Angeles in 2008, Hannelius promptly booked commercials for Orville Redenbacher's Popcorn, Little Caesar's Pizza, Dairy Queen and a regional spot as the spokeskid for The Aquarium of the Pacific, which caught the attention of a more than a few casting directors. A notice seeking "the representative for the little girl in the Aquarium commercial" led to an opportunity to read for the lead role in ABC's new sitcom, Surviving Suburbia, with co-stars Bob Saget and Cynthia Stevenson. Hannelius recently worked a guest lead role in an episode of the Disney Channel comedy, Sonny with a Chance, and fulfilled her cherished dream to work with Miley Cyrus when she booked a role as a zealous fan on the hit Disney Channel series Hannah Montana. She is also part of the promotional campaign for Leo Little's Big Show, co-hosting spots on the Disney Channel.

Jere Burns (Dr. Jim) was born and raised in Cambridge, MA. He graduated from UMass, Amherst and attended the MFA program at NYU's Tisch School of the Arts. His New York theatre credits include The New York Shakespeare Festival, The Public Theatre, Manhattan Theatre Club, The Culture Project and, most recently, Hairspray at The Neil Simon. On television Burns is a veteran of eight series, including Dear John, Something So Right, Help Me Help You, and Good Morning Miami. He has also appeared in numerous made for television movies and independent and feature films.

Dan Cortese (Onno) has both acting and hosting credits in television. He burst onto the small screen hosting MTV Sports, then hosted My Dad Is Better Than Your Dad. His acting credits include such sitcoms as Joey, Veronica's Closet, What I Like About You, Seinfeld and Rock Me Baby.


Pilot Plot:

#1 (PROD #106) "Hero" (Airs Monday, April 6, 2009)
Steve reluctantly agrees to house sit for Onno (recurring guest star Dan Cortese) and ends up starting a fire that he later claims to have stopped. Steve gets caught up in being praised as a hero by his daughter and his neighbors, until his conscience gets the better of him.
Special Guest Star: Dan Cortese as Onno. Guest Cast: Paul Nobrega as Guy and Michael Christian Alexander as paramedic.
"Hero" was written by Don Beck and directed by Emile Levisetti.


Analysis:

I received for review the first episode airing, which is titled "Hero." This is actually the sixth episode produced. Originally this sitcom was supposed to be for The CW's Sunday night block, which was produced by Media Rights Capital. But due to low ratings, The CW canceled that block in the fall, thus giving this series no home as it was set to launch in January. But fortunately for Surviving Suburbia, ABC picked up the show in February and announced it would air it after Dancing with the Stars starting in April! 13 episodes have already been taped, but likely only 6 will air for now on ABC as they won't have room for all 13 this season. So there you have it, the history of the show in a nutshell.
Now to the actual analysis...Bob Saget returns to ABC! The first episode they are airing has some very funny moments and I could certainly see this being a promising series with many laughs. This is for sure a throwback to traditional family sitcoms such as Home Improvement. Bob Saget plays Steve Patterson, a husband and father. He is certainly not squeaky clean and perfect like he was on Full House. On this show, he gets into a lot of messes. This show is certainly his vehicle, as on Full House it was more of an ensemble and later turned into "the Olsen twins show with John Stamos." Bob does get to play a father once again to a little girl. This time the little girl is not as annoying as Michelle on Full House (sorry I know there are MANY fans of that show, but it clearly was very sappy to me). The daughter (Courtney) on this show is very adorable (yes, so was Michelle) and pretty smart. She is funny, too. Bob's character, Steve, connects with her very well.
In the first episode airing, Courtney announces for her project she is writing that Zach Efron is her "hero." Later Steve's neighbor Onno comes by as he is going on a trip, so he asks Steve to take care of his house and gives him the key to the house. Steve and his friend Dr. Jim go to the house and accidentally set the curtain on fire! Steve puts out the fire and is credited as a hero, yet no one knows he was the one that started the fire! Anyway, then daughter Courtney changes her hero project to her dad. Steve now feels bad because he didn't deserve it. What will happen? You'll have to tune in.
So what works and doesn't? Obviously the connection between Steve and daughter Courtney is very much there. Right now there is not much connection between Steve and his son Henry, but I see potential as we go on. Henry seems to be 17 or so, while the daughter has to be 10 or less. The chemistry between Steve and Anne is somewhat there, but I need to see more episodes. It gets better between them as the episode goes on, though. Dr. Jim is going to be a classic character. He is the classic sitcom "buddy." He could be on the same page as Larry from Three's Company and more recently Andy on According to Jim. He is just a fun character that gives many laughs. Dan Cortese's character Onno, didn't have much to do in this episode and I didn't see Lorna Scott's character Monica in this episode. And finally, Bob Saget shines in this. He is very funny and better like this than Danny Tanner. The only gripe I have about him here is that it seems Bob is not standing straight at any time. He looks like Big Bird as he is 6'4". Maybe he has a neck or a back problem?


Conclusion:

Well this is certainly a traditional comedy. Comedies of this type are what we need right now. This is ABC's first stab at launching a traditional comedy since believe it or not Crumbs back in January 2006. In the fall of that season (fall 2005) they launched Freddie and Hot Properties, while airing returning series such as According to Jim, Rodney, George Lopez, and Less than Perfect. After that season only Jim and George remained, and then after that just Jim. So the timing seems to be very right for Surviving Suburbia to launch and succeed, as viewers like these types of comedies. CBS's Monday comedies have seen ratings climb this season, as they are the only traditional comedies airing on network TV right now. You won't see this show win any awards like Samantha Who or 30 Rock, but I'm sure this show will outright do much better than single camera sitcoms in the ratings.

The premiere episode is decent. It is not perfect at all, but Bob is good in it. Many fans and TV fans will be tuning in for sure to see Bob return to TV comedy. The promos for the show have been hilarious and most of the stuff in the promos are not for this first episode that is airing. So that is promising that the show will deliver laughs in future episodes. The first one they are airing is not the greatest episode probably of this show, but I see lots of potential and viewers should stick around to see them all. ABC says they have added a new into to this episode with the family watching and talking about Dancing with the Stars. That was not in the version I saw, but can't wait to see that. Hopefully they don't edit anything out, because the version I saw starts with Steve talking to his daughter. Tune in Monday at 9:30pm on ABC because we need the traditional sitcom to come back!


Final Numbers (out of 5 stars):

Watchability: 4/5
Funniness: 4/5
Overall: 3.5/5

-- Reviewed by pavanbadal on 04/03/09

Discuss the show after you watch it on Monday, April 6 on our message board.

Related Links:

ABC.com Official Site

TV.com

epguides.com

Internet Movie Database

Wikipedia

Surviving Suburbia Photo Gallery

Finally, we end today with some news! As promised, I will reveal what sitcom Lifetime TV has acquired! They have acquired the Cybill Shepherd '90s sitcom Cybill! The show will launch on Monday, May 4, airing weekdays at 8am & 8:30am and 2am ET/PT. The morning airings will replace Still Standing, which will still remain in the 6pm hour, and the late night airing will replace encores of original sitcom Rita Rocks. Cybill aired for four seasons from 1995-1998 on CBS.
Cybill was last seen on cable on Oxygen earlier this decade for a few years. Cybill Shepherd is starring on the Lifetime sitcom pilot Alligator Point, a comedy about an eccentric group of Floridians who find refuge in the southern hospitality of Mae's Oyster Bar. So with the pick-up of Cybill, maybe that sitcom will be ordered to series? Kelsey Grammer is producing the pilot. We will let you know if it gets picked-up.
Other schedule changes for Lifetime in May 2009 is original series Cook Yourself Thin replacing the third Wife Swap airing. That will air weekdays at 5:00pm & 5:30pm starting Monday, May 4. 20 episodes have been ordered. Based on the hit British series and popular cookbook, Cook Yourself Thin encourages women to lose weight by changing their eating habits. So after that series concludes, Cybill will also air in the early evenings, airing at 5:00pm & 5:30pm starting Tuesday, May 26. It will also air in its other timeslots as well.
Rita Rocks will return with new episodes sometime this summer, while new episodes of Army Wives begins Sunday, June 7 at 10pm for its third season (18 episodes).

ABC Mid-Season Pilot Review: In the Motherhood - Premieres March 26; Short-Lived Dramas Comes to DIRECTV; Fox Note

In the Motherhood - Thursdays 8:00PM ET/PT on ABC
Premieres Thursday, March 26, 2009 at 8:00PM ET/PT

Megan Mullally (Will & Grace) and Cheryl Hines (Curb Your Enthusiasm) come to ABC in the new comedy In the Motherhood, which takes a look at the importance of family and friends while trying to juggle motherhood, work and love lives in an overly complicated modern world.
The story focuses on Rosemary (Mullally), Jane (Hines) and Emily (Jessica St. Clair), who represent mothers we all know. Rosemary is a free-wheeling mom who plays it fast and loose when it comes to parenting her teenaged son, Syd. Married numerous times, but currently single, Rosemary lives by her own rules. Much to the amazement of the other moms, her nontraditional parenting style has yielded a son much more responsible than she. Rosemary's best friend, Jane, is a recently divorced working mother of a pre-teen, Annie, and a baby girl, Sophie, who is just trying to keep her career and home afloat. Having just returned to work after giving birth eight months ago, Jane struggles to find a happy balance - lucky for her she has her "manny," Horatio (Horatio Sanz, Saturday Night Live), to help out. Jane's younger sister, Emily, sees herself as the model stay-at-home-super-mom for her two young children, Esther and Bill. Emily's home is a work of art, and her kids are polite and sweet-everything has its place in her world. Married to Jason (RonReaco Lee), Emily takes parenting as seriously as any mother could.
As for the men in their lives, Horatio, Jane's "manny," communicates with Jane's infant daughter through sign language and believes the baby is the only person who really "gets" him. He's a good-hearted lug who is also much more than a babysitter to the three ladies. Then there's Jason, Emily's husband, who is the uptight breadwinner, ready at any given moment to open a vein for his family. He likes his food to be organic and his wife, home and children at the top of their class. Basically he's an ulcer waiting to happen.


Cast Details:

* Cheryl Hines as Jane
* Jessica St. Clair as Emily
* Horatio Sanz as Horatio
* RonReaco Lee as Jason
* Megan Mullally as Rosemary

Cheryl Hines (Jane) is a two-time Emmy nominee for her role as Cheryl David on HBO's Golden Globe Award-winning series, Curb Your Enthusiasm. She is also establishing herself as one of Hollywood's most sought after film actresses with starring roles in a number of critically acclaimed feature films and box office hits. This past summer she was the female lead in the animated comedy Space Chimps, with Saturday Night Live's Andy Samberg, and she co-starred in the Sundance hit, Henry Poole Was Here, opposite Luke Wilson, Adriana Barraza and Radha Mitchell. Hines has a number of feature films scheduled for release in 2009, including the the romantic comedy Labor Pains, directed by Lara Shapiro and co-starring Lindsay Lohan, Chris Parnell, Luke Kirby and Connie Britton and The Ugly Truth, directed by Robert Luketic and co-starring opposite Katherine Heigl and Gerard Butler. She recently completed production on her feature film directorial debut with the indie, Serious Moonlight, with Meg Ryan and Timothy Hutton, from a screenplay written by the late Adrienne Shelly.

Jessica St. Clair (Emily) got her start as a comedian and writer at New York's Upright Citizens Brigade Theater, where she performed in several critically acclaimed stage shows co-written with Jason Mantzoukas. Called "the next Nichols and May" by Daily Variety in their "Ten to Watch" list in 2003, their shows were a hit at HBO's Aspen Comedy Festival and were later developed into pilots for both HBO and Comedy Central. St. Clair is currently developing a pilot for HBO with fellow UCB alum Lennon Parham. St. Clair had a recurring role on the comedy Worst Week and can be seen later this spring in the new Showtime series The United States of Tara. She will also be featured in the upcoming feature film She's Out of My League. Other credits include Christopher Guest's For Your Consideration, guest starring roles on ABC's Samantha Who? and Notes from the Underbelly, and Comedy Central's The Showbiz Show with David Spade. She is also a regular panelist on VH1's Best Week Ever.

Horatio Sanz (Horatio the "Manny") was born in Santiago, Chile, and raised in Chicago, Illinois, he honed his craft in his hometown both as a founding member of the Upright Citizens Brigade and company member of Chicago's legendary Second City. When he joined the cast of Saturday Night Live at the beginning of the 24th season, Sanz became the long-running sketch comedy show's first Latino cast member. After only one season, he was promoted from featured player to full cast member. On the show, he made his mark with original characters ranging from pothead Gobi in "Jarret's Room" to A/V teacher Mr. Banglian on "Wake Up, Wakefield" and "Uncle Rick" to Amy Poehler's "Kaitlin." Popular celebrity impersonations ranged from Aaron Neville and Ozzy Osbourne to the Axis of Evil's Saddam Hussein and Kim Jong Il.

RonReaco Lee (Jason, Emily's husband) is best-known for his role as mechanic Tyreke "Ty" Scott on the popular television series, Sister, Sister. He has also had recurring roles followed on The Shield, ER, Girlfriends, Committed and All About the Andersons. Guest starring roles include Monk, Boston Public, Moesha and Home Improvement. He most recently had a recurring role on the comedy Worst Week.

Megan Mullally (Rosemary) is best known for her two-time Emmy and four-time SAG Award-winning role as Karen Walker on Will & Grace. Making her television series debut in 1986 with Elaine Stritch and Ellen Burstyn on The Ellen Burstyn Show, she has since appeared as Stanley Tucci's wife in Paul Mazursky's award-winning HBO bio-pic, Winchell, starred opposite Juliet Stevenson in Lifetime's The Pact, and recently guest starred on the 2008-09 season premiere of 30 Rock, episodes of The New Adventures of Old Christine and Boston Legal. She has also hosted her own syndicated daytime talk show, The Megan Mullally Show. On the big screen, Mullally appeared in Anywhere But Here, with Susan Sarandon, and starred in Marc Forster's Everything Put Together -- an entry in the 2000 Sundance Film Festival's main competition. She recently completed production on a remake of the 1980 film, Fame. Other feature film credits include Stealing Harvard, Speaking of Sex and Rebound.


Pilot Plot:

I received the first two episodes airing for review. So, I will base my thoughts on the show on these two.

#1 (Prod #101) "It Takes a Village Idiot" (Airs March 26)
Jane is finally back in the dating pool after a long, dry spell but afraid that she won't remember all of the romantic basics of courtship. Meanwhile, Rosemary discovers the special attention and perks that pregnant ladies are afforded and passes herself off as one -- with Horatio in on the ruse -- and Emily finds that honesty is not always the best policy when she decides to share the truth about certain childhood myths with her preschooler son.
Guest starring are Charlotte Foley as Annie, Sayeed Shahidi as Bill, Yara Shahidi as Esther, Tiffany Haddish as Teddy, Ken Marino as Shep, Tig Notaro as Rhoda, Rachel Harris as Blair, Annie Mumolo as person no. 1 in coffee place, Bob Rumnock as man from another table, June Diane Raphael as Liz, Keri Shahidi as Alexis, Meredith Roberts as Hadley, Sacheen Padilla as BJ, Jeff Snyder as person no. 2 in coffee line and Steve Little as guard one.
"It Takes a Village Idiot" was written by Jennifer Konner & Alexandra Rushfield and directed by Richard Shepard.

#2 (Prod #103) "Vacation" (Airs April 2)
Jane's vacation week alone with baby Sophie turns out to be anything but relaxing, Rosemary tries to unionize Horatio's fellow nannies to help them get the perks they deserve, and Emily and Jason's "stay-cation" at home gets a thumbs-down from their kids.
Guest starring are Charlotte Foley as Annie, Sayeed Shahidi as Bill, Yari Shahidi as Esther, Rachael Harris as Blair, Leslie Grossman as Maggie, Soledad St. Hilaire as Eugenia, Sarah Baker as Doris and Abby Miller as Abby.
"Vacation" was written by Paul Corrigan & Brad Walsh and directed by Beth McCarthy-Miller.


Analysis:

Decent start for the show. It is clearly more mainstream than quirky & niche, so that should help this show. It certainly is not funnier than Better Off Ted in its lines, but the show is still funny in a more traditional way, even though this is single camera. ABC originally had the episode "Vacation" set-up to air first, but after Obama announced he was having a news conference on Tuesday, that forced Fox to move American Idol from Tues-Wed of this week to Wed-Thurs this week, now going head-to-head with In the Motherhood's premiere. So then ABC switched episodes. This series doesn't rely on previous storlylines from previous episodes, so it works and any episode can air first really. Both episodes I saw set up the characters well and you'll know who is who. The second one airing is clearly the better episode, I think. Maybe that is why ABC moved it to the second week, so it doesn't have to face Idol? Hopefully the premiere tomorrow gets a good sampling and does even better the following week because viewers need to give it more than just one episode.

As for the show itself, it isn't quite there yet for me...but it has great potential. It really fits Samantha Who's style, so they should work well with each other. As I said, the second episode airing is the better episode...so please stick around. Quick recap, we have three main stars. Jane is the main character. She has a sister named Emily. And a best friend named Rosemary. They are all mothers. Jane is divorced and has a preteen daughter and a baby. Emily is happily married (to a black man) and has two young children. And Rosemary has been divorced many times and has a teenaged son...who I have not seen yet in these episodes. To help Jane with the baby, she has a "manny" named Horatio. He seems to be friends (or a lover?) to Rosemary. That isn't really explained yet. All the characters are likeable and in the first two episodes they all have their own subplots but appear with each other as well. Rosemary has the craziest plots. In the first one airing, she fakes being pregnant to get free stuff. And in the second episode she brings all nannies together to go on strike. She certainly is the funniest, but she isn't being a "mother" per say here. Maybe in future episodes we will see that, as we haven't seen her teenaged son yet. Emily has the most traditional family, even though she has an interracial marriage. She certainly is the youngest of the three mothers, and the hottest, but she starts off very slow in her delivery...but gets better by episode two.

Jane and the "manny" have good chemistry, but perhaps not better than Rosemary and the "manny." There was a great Who's the Boss? joke with Jane and the "manny." It's been playing in clips on promos, so it has been seen. The supporting players are all good. The "manny," Emily's husband, the kids, and Jane's boss played by the great Rachel Harris. She is always hilarious in anything. She probably was the best thing about the sitcom Notes from the Underbelly.


Conclusion:

This series is based on the internet series of the same name (and that starred Leah Remini, Jenny McCarthy and Chelsea Handler). I've never watched those, but they have been higly touted. So I think this will work. I'm sure all mothers or parents can relate to this and will tune in. I'm neither and even I liked it. There is just something missing for me, but I do see great future potential here. It is said that real-life stories are put into this. So that is very good to hear and parents may want to watch. There is something here for all kinds of moms/parents: a divorced mom looking for love, interracial marriage, raising children, raising a teenager, raising a baby, and an entire family. I'm sure I'm missing something, too. In future episodes, you'll see Stacy Keibler on a TV show the moms watch. Cannot wait for that!

So if you're a parent/mom, check this show out. Don't just watch the premiere and that's it...give it a chance. I didn't think the first one airing was that good, but the second one is better and future plotlines sound even better. Fans need to be more patient with TV shows these days, especially sitcoms. So stick around for a few episodes, you might like it. As of now, only 6 of the 13 produced are airing...so give it a fair chance. If you've watched the internet series, then for sure tune in here to compare. So have you ever locked yourself outside the house with the baby inside? Or have gone on a vacation at home and called it a "staycation?" Then you'll want to tune in here! They're glamourous...but their moms!


Final Numbers (out of 5 stars):

Watchability: 4/5
Funniness: 4/5
Overall: 3.5/5

-- Reviewed by pavanbadal on 03/25/09

Discuss the show after you watch it on Thursday, March 26 on our message board.

Related Links:

ABC.com Official Site

TV.com

epguides.com

Internet Movie Database

Wikipedia

In the Motherhood Photo Gallery


DIRECTV champions quality television programming once again and inks a rare deal with Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution to bring three critically acclaimed drama series back to television via DIRECTV's 101 Network Wednesday lineup.
Smith, The Nine and Eyes will return to primetime with never-before-seen episodes, commercial-free and in HD, only on DIRECTV's 101 Network and DIRECTV on DEMAND.
Beginning Wednesday, April 8 (10 p.m. ET/PT), Smith the action-adventure crime drama starring Emmy winner Ray Liotta, Academy Award nominee Virginia Madsen, Golden Globe nominee Simon Baker, Jonny Lee Miller, Amy Smart, Franky G., Chris Bauer and Academy Award nominee Shohreh Aghdashloo will return with seven episodes, including four never-before-seen episodes.
The Nine will premiere on Wednesday, May 27 (10 p.m. ET/PT), a week after the season finale of Smith. The Nine is the compelling drama series that delves into the lives of nine people who forge a common bond when they live through a 52-hour hostage standoff during a bank robbery. The series will return with 13 episodes, including four that were never broadcast. The Nine stars Lourdes Benedicto, John Billingsley, Jessica Collins, Emmy nominee Tim Daly, Dana Davis, Camille Guaty, Chi McBride, Kim Raver, Scott Wolf and Owain Yeoman.
Eyes will join The 101's Wednesday summer lineup as the lead-in to The Nine, beginning in July (9 p.m. ET/PT). The one-hour detective drama stars Tim Daly as Harlan Judd, owner of Judd Risk Management, a 21st century private investigation firm that makes clients' problems go away quickly and quietly while operating at the absolute fringe of the law. So that means two Tim Daly shows will air back-to-back! Created and executive produced by John McNamara, the series will return with 12 episodes, including seven that have never been seen before. Eyes also stars Garcelle Beauvais-Nilon, A.J. Langer, Laura Leighton, Ugly Betty's Eric Mabius, Rick Worthy and Natalie Zea. Smith and The Nine originally aired in fall 2006 on CBS and ABC, respectively. Eyes originally aired on ABC in spring 2005. DIRECTV's 101 Network is the only place viewers will be able to catch these shows in their entiretycommercial-free and in HD.

Fox adds a second season of Kitchen Nightmares to its menu of unscripted series starring famed chef Gordon Ramsay. In Kitchen Nightmares, Ramsay steps out of his own five-star establishments and into some of the country's most unsuccessful restaurants to help turn them around or close their doors forever. It aired until this January on Thursdays on Fox, and is expected to return sometime this summer for more episodes.

ABC Mid-Season Pilot Review: Better Off Ted - Premieres March 18; Lifetime Schedule Change

Better Off Ted - Wednesdays 8:30PM ET/PT on ABC
Premieres Wednesday, March 18, 2009 at 8:30PM ET/PT

Better Off Ted is a satirical office comedy about successful good guy, Ted, who runs research and development at the morally questionable Veridian Dynamics. No achievement is too far-fetched and no invention too unorthodox for Veridian. Need cow-less meat grown in a test tube? Done. Need pumpkins that also double as weapons of mass destruction? No problem. Ted's a single dad to a seven-year-old girl, and he loves his job, but he's starting to take a closer look at the company's extremely dubious practices. Do you manufacture the best teeth whitener ever if it could also kill off all of the planet's fish? Probably not, but...
Ted's also fighting an attraction to co-worker Linda, who enjoys small acts of rebellion against Veridian (she's secretly stealing and hoarding all the company's creamer packets). But he holds back about his true feelings. He's already had his self imposed "one office affair" with überboss Veronica. Incredibly beautiful (if seemingly devoid of conscience and also emotion-free), Veronica lets nothing get in her way when it comes to serving Veridian's needs... even if it means doing something like cryogenically freezing an employee for testing purposes. And after all, the employee, research scientist Phil, survived (after he thawed out). So what if he screams like an eagle at the slightest provocation? He and his best friend, fellow research scientist Lem, are both geniuses and when they're not bickering, they're responsible for many of Veridian's miracles of weird science.

Cast Details:

* Jay Harrington as Ted Crisp
* Portia de Rossi as Veronica Palmer
* Andrea Anders as Linda Zwordling
* Jonathan Slavin as Phil Mymen
* Malcolm Barrett as Lem Hewitt
* Isabella Acres as Rose Crisp

Jay Harrington (Ted) has a recurring role on Private Practice as Dr. Wyatt Lockhart and has appeared on The Inside and Coupling. Other television credits include Teri Hatcher's doctor-turned boyfiend Dr. Ron on Desperate Housewives, Ghost Whisperer, Las Vegas, The Division, The Shield, Without a Trace and the Lifetime movie Why I Wore Lipstick to My Mastectomy. His feature film credits include Partners, Whatever It Takes and Anywhere But Here. Jay is also an avid sports fan. He plays in the NBA Entertainment League and dons skates for a local hockey team.

Portia de Rossi (Veronica) has had a widely varied career, captivating audiences in both television and film. She recently starred as a fifth-season series regular on the FX popular original drama Nip/Tuck as Olivia Lord, a holistic medicine practitioner who has problematic relationships with both her girlfriend, Julia, and her out-of-control daughter. She also starred as Lindsay Bluth Funke in the critically acclaimed Fox comedy Arrested Development. The show won a Primetime Emmy Award in 2004 for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble and was nominated for an Emmy Award in 2006 and a SAG Award in 2005. De Rossi is perhaps best known for her portrayal of enigmatic lawyer Nelle Porter on Fox's hugely successful Ally McBeal. On the big screen, she starred in Wes Craven's Cursed, opposite Christina Ricci, Chris Ver Wiel's Who is Cletis Tout?, opposite Richard Dreyfuss and Tim Allen, Paul Goldman's The Night We Called It a Day, opposite Dennis Hopper and Melanie Griffith, Wes Craven's Scream 2, Rupert Wainwright's Stigmata, Bruce Wagner's Women in Film, Noah Stern's The Invisibles and Michael Goorjians Ambition to Meaning, with Wayne Dyer.

Andrea Anders (Linda) is best known to television audiences for her roles as Nicole Allen on the sitcom The Class and as Alex Garrett in the comedy Joey. Additional television credits include Law & Order, Tru Calling, Oz and Numb3rs. Her feature film credits include the road comedy Sex Drive and The Stepford Wives.

Jonathan Slavin (Phil) has been acting steadily in recent years. After a string of "insert occupation here" guy TV roles (Flower Delivery Guy, Fish and Chips Guy, Computer Tech Guy, etc.), Slavin landed a memorable turn as "Ice Cream Guy" on Caroline in the City, and has worked in television ever since. He has appeared as a series regular on Andy Richter Controls the Universe and Union Square, and had recurring roles on My Name is Earl, Summerland, Inconceivable and Wings. Recent guest starring roles include Life, Grey's Anatomy, CSI, Ugly Betty, Friends and Bones. He has also appeared in the feature films Hard Pill, A Cinderella Story, Grand Theft Parsons, Race to Witch Mountain and My Mother's Hairdo.

Malcolm Barrett (Lem) has appeared on a number of series as either a regular or guest star, including The Bonnie Hunt Show, Kelsey Grammar Presents: The Sketch Show, Monk, Psych, Ghost Whisperer, It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Law & Order, Law & Order: Criminal Intent and The Sopranos. Feature film credits include My Best Friend's Girl, Hurt Locker, American Violet, The Rhythm of the Saints, King of the Jungle and Swimfan.

Isabella Acres (Rose) was born in Atlanta, where she discovered her love for acting in children's theater. Since relocating to Los Angeles she has appeared on such TV series as Monk, Hannah Montana and Jimmy Kimmel Live. She has also appeared in the recurring role of Jane's daughter on The Mentalist. Isabella has extensive voiceover credits, including the feature films Horton Hears a Who, Four Christmases, The Women and Fred Claus, and has voiced characters in the animated series Phineas and Ferb and Special Agent Oso.


Pilot Plot:

I received two episodes for review. So, I will base my thoughts on the show on these two.

#1 Pilot (Airs March 18)
Ted finds out just how far Veronica's willing to go for Veridian's greater good when she charges him with convincing brilliant research scientist Phil to be cryogenically frozen for a test experiment. Phil is excited, even if best friend and research partner, Lem, is a little jealous...and Ted is more than a little worried about the long-term effects if the experiment actually goes ahead.
Guest starring are Maz Jobrani (The Knights of Prosperity) as Dr. Bhamba and Jim Lau as the screaming office worker. "Pilot" was written by Victor Fresco and directed by Mike Fresco.

#2 "Through Rose Colored HAZMAT Suits" (Airs April 1)
When the nanny calls in sick, Ted reluctantly takes daughter Rose to work, where Veronica forms a surprising (if frightening) bond with the little girl. Rose's visit to Veridian also stirs up trouble when a casual remark she makes sends Phil and Lem into a tailspin about just who has the upper hand in their work relationship. Meanwhile, Ted finds out where he stands with Linda when her ex-boyfriend comes back to town.
Guest starring are Julian Bailey as Hal, Martha Boles as Lisa, Mason Lauderdale as the little boy, Sean Christopher Davis as Jerry and Richard Fancy as Mr. Campbell. "Through Rose Colored HAZMAT Suits" was written by Justin Adler and directed by Michael Fresco.


Analysis:

After watching two episodes, I am pleased. The show is very smartly written and has some laugh-out-loud moments. Both Jay Harrington and Portia de Rossi as Ted and Veronica are strong leads and likable, yet de Rossi's character is a bit weird and wacky, but at the same time hilarious. Some of the stuff she says is priceless! The supporting cast includes scientists Phil and Lem, who are an excellent comedic duo. They are very funny. Also, we have co-worker Linda, who has instant chemistry with Ted...but will they get together? Or will Veronica beat Linda to it? And finally we have Rose, who is Ted's little daughter. She is smart and blends in well with Veronica, as you'll see on episode three (the second one I saw).

As for the plot of the show, it is all centered around the workplace. Both episodes I saw starts off with a one-minute presentation for Veridian Dynamics. Very cool and hilarious to start like that. Veridian Dynamics is certainly a future company. We can see that as they develop quite outrageous stuff, but it is funny. Some of the hilarious and wacky stuff they want to do are...to freeze Phil, just to see if it is possible; itchy chairs to have better production at work; and exploding pumpkins with Dr. Bhamba! If you like The Office, you'll certainly like this show. I hate that show, yet I liked this show, though. Why? There is no weird camera zooming to make this look documentary style or cheap. Plus this actually has music and background sound, unlike that show. The similarities for that show with this show so far is that this really is a good cast and ensemble. Everyone plays well off each other and Veridian Dynamics is a very fun place to work, even though they have weird ideas! It just makes it funny!

Will this series work for ABC? It will be following new episodes of Scrubs, so the young audience ABC is hoping for will certainly be there. It will air in a rather weak timeslot with the only competition really from Fox's Lie to Me and CBS's Gary Unmarried, the latter is also a comedy and ABC should have no problem beating it in 18-49. Hopefully this show surprises and at least becomes a cult hit like The Office that skews very young.


Conclusion:

This show is very funny. It is not as crazy as say Worst Week, but is much better written and relies more on dialog. Though this show has its fair share of physical comedy as well. Having both funny dialog and physical comedy, along with a great ensemble make a recipe for a great comedy. This show has so much potential. The promos have been showcasing scenes from later episodes, so I cannot wait to see a worker jumping out of a window, and the human resources lady saying "that's gonna be some paperwork," Ted staring at Linda's butt, and Veronica making fun of the balding guy. So there are going to more fun stuff coming soon, and I cannot wait! I hope to see more of Dr. Bhamba, too. He was only in the pilot episode but will make more appearances this season. He is played by Maz Jabrini, who was on The Knights of Prosperity, which is the funniest sitcom to air in the last few years. Too bad it didn't last...but I hope and think this will. There are stuff I didn't like, such as sitcom cliches (smart daughter, sitcom romance), but who cares. We need bread and butter sitcoms to get an audience, even though this is not a traditional sitcom.

Freezing Phil, training children of Veridian Dynamics "life skills," and so much more makes this show top-notch and a must watch. Watch the premiere, and if you like it...please tune in every week as we need a new sitcom hit. And if you like the premiere but are on the fence, don't give up because episode two is even better! Portia de Rossi deserves an Emmy nomination for her work here!


Final Numbers (out of 5 stars):

Watchability: 4/5
Funniness: 4.5/5
Overall: 4/5

-- Reviewed by pavanbadal on 03/16/09

Discuss the show after you watch it on Wednesday, March 18 on our message board.

Related Links:

ABC.com Official Site

TV.com

epguides.com

Internet Movie Database

Wikipedia

Better Off Ted Photo Gallery

Finally, if you didn't see this posted on our message board over the weekend, Lifetime made a schedule change effective today. They are replacing the afternoon movie with an extra Desperate Housewives and Wife Swap, so both of those shows will now air three in a row...12-3pm and 3-6pm. Also, in primetime, Will & Grace will be airing in the 8pm hour, while the primetime Wife Swap moves from Mondays to Fridays, 9-11pm. A movie will still air in primetime the other nights. Late nights, we now have a Reba hour at 1am replacing the late Desperate Housewives airing, followed by a Rita Rocks half-hour at 2am, five days a week. Rita Rocks won't be airing in primetime until it returns with new episodes now. No other changes are being made.

NBC Fall Pilot Review: Kath & Kim - Premieres October 9; NBC Schedule Changes; Home Makeover Also Airing on CMT

Kath & Kim - Thursdays 8:30PM ET/PT on NBC
Premieres Thursday, October 9, 2008 at 8:30PM ET/PT

NBC's Kath & Kim is an American version of a series of the same name that is already a proven hit in the land down under, Australia. Molly Shannon and Selma Blair star as a mother-daughter duo that find themselves living together after finding that happiness cannot be found in their respective marriages. But that could quite possibly be where the similarities end, because this duo is driving each other nuts. Can they take it anymore? Well, obviously the answer is that they're going to have to, thus we have the premise of a series.

The series is developed by Ben Silverman, who also serves as the executive producer of the ever-popular series The Office (which airs on the same night as Kath & Kim). Michelle Nader serves as the executive producer and writer of the series. The stars and producers of the Australian version, Jane Turner and Gina Riley, serve as the consultants for the NBC version.


Cast Details:

* Selma Blair as Kim Day
* Molly Shannon as Kim Day
* John Michael Higgins as Phil Knight
* Mikey Day as Craig Barker

The series keeps the core cast small, focusing primarily on stars Molly Shannon (as mother Kath) and Selma Blair (as daughter Kim). Mikey Day portrays Craig, Kim's husband that she has separated from, who has a job in the exciting field of electronics, which happens to mean that he works at Best Buy. John Michael Higgins plays Phil, Kath's boyfriend that just doesn't quite get along with Kim, but may somehow have to learn to do so.

Molly Shannon is, of course, known from her years of work on the series Saturday Night Live. Selma Blair, while not necessarily known as a TV actress, has found success in films such as Cruel Intentions, Legally Blonde, Hellboy, and others. Mikey Day is relatively new to the small screen, although he has had minor roles here and there. John Michael Higgins is known for his recurring roles on series such as Ally McBeal, Boston Legal, and Arrested Development, as well as a few big screen roles.


Pilot Plot:

We received two episodes for review--the first episode and the second episode airing October 9 and 16.

In the premiere episode, "Love," romance is in the air for divorcee Kath, when she discovers a sandwich shop owner named Phil. But daughter Kim, who has decided to part from her husband that she married mere weeks ago, is determined to not see this trainwreck of a man (as she sees him) steal her mother's heart. So what other choice does she have than to do than to move back home?

The second episode of the series, "Old," finds Kath planning the perfect wedding with Phil, the perfect wedding that she missed out on before... but will Kim allow that to happen? Of course not! So what better way to talk her mother out of marriage than to convince her that she is too old? The wedding bells get silenced even further when Kath starts believing it, after she sees Phil with a younger woman. Justina Machado guest stars.


Analysis:

This is a decent and well-written series, with many funny moments, but there is one major issue. To me, the series feels like much more of a niche series that would cater to a very specific audience. It doesn't feel like a series that should be airing on a national broadcast network such as NBC, but rather on a cable network. The show appears to want to break a lot of barriers, which would make it appropriate for a premium cable network, where it could truly let loose.

Still, going back to the writing and casting, it must be said that a great job was done in respect to these. The cast is very impressive, particularly in regards to the "unknown" actors that appear on the series. Shannon and Blair play a very convincing mother-daughter duo (even if they are only a few years apart age-wise) and I really thought that the Higgins portrayal of the character Phil was great. Hopefully he'll play a large role throughout the series.


Conclusion:

When the dust settles, this is a decent series that has some hope, but not if it remains on the NBC Thursday night lineup. While it is a sitcom that is done in a style similar to the other NBC Thursday night programs, the substance isn't quite the same, and it feels like it would work better on another night or even another network (which probably won't happen). The series doesn't need to be "retooled" or anything, but it does need to find a better place to air if it wants to survive (airing after the slumping My Name is Earl isn't it).


Final Numbers (out of 5 stars):

Watchability: 4/5
Funniness: 4/5
Overall: 3.5/5

-- Reviewed by skees53 on 10/03/08

Discuss the show after you watch it on Thursday, October 9 on our message board.

Related Links:

NBC.com Official Site

TV.com

epguides.com

Internet Movie Database

Wikipedia

Kath & Kim Photo Gallery

It looks like NBC is pulling America's Toughest Jobs from Friday at 8 after tonight and next week. 8 episodes would have aired after its October 10 airing. The series was ordered for 10 episodes and the final two episodes will air on Saturdays at 8pm (Oct. 18 and 25). Ouch...but at least it will air, but it will be painful to see if it can even get 3 million on that slot. The series doesn't even get 4 million on Fridays. Deal or No Deal will move from 9pm to 8pm starting Friday, October 24. On Friday, October 17, NBC will launch the two-hour series premiere of new drama Crusoe. Crusoe will then air Fridays at 9pm following Deal or No Deal starting Friday, October 24.
In other NBC news, NBC is adding new reality series Mommas Boys, the mother of all reality dating shows -- from multimedia talent-producer, Ryan Seacrest. It will debut on Wednesday, October 29 from 9-10 p.m. ET/PT, replacing the previously scheduled Deal or No Deal, which will still remain on Fridays. The series centers on three possessive, yet loving mothers who must help their complacent sons choose the perfect woman -- and ultimately poses the question: "Who is really the most important woman in every man's life?"

TV Land is not the only cable network getting into the Extreme Makeover: Home Edition game, now sister station CMT will also air the show. CMT will start airing the home building ABC show tomorrow with a marathon of three two-hour episodes from 2-8pm. Then CMT will air the show weeknights in the 5pm hour and 8pm hour starting Monday (October 6). On TV Land it will air weekdays at 7PM and 11PM ET, among other times (see our TV Land October thread).
Remember new episodes of Extreme Makeover: Home Edition still airs on Sundays at 8/7 Central on ABC.

CBS Fall Pilot Review: Gary Unmarried - Premieres September 24; Our 2008 Emmy Awards Picks

Gary Unmarried - Wednesdays 8:30PM ET/PT on CBS
Premieres Wednesday, September 24, 2008 at 8:30PM ET/PT

Gary Unmarried stars Jay Mohr and Paula Marshall in a comedy about Gary Barnes, a recently single painting contractor, and his controlling ex-wife, Allison, who face post-divorce mayhem after 15 years of marriage as they each embark on new relationships. He's the fun parent and she's the strict one. Together, they share custody of their two children - Louise, a politically correct and environmentally conscious 11-year-old, and Tom, their socially awkward 14-year-old son who is nervous around girls.

Charming and acerbic, Gary hasn't dated since the split, but finally connects with Vanessa, a single mother whose condo he was hired to paint. He dreads telling Allison about Vanessa because it doesn't adhere to her belief in their marriage counselor's book, "Rules for the Perfect Divorce." However, when Allison tells him that she's engaged to their shrink, all bets are off and Gary decides it's time to move forward. Now, in pursuit of post-marriage happiness, Gary must juggle his eclectic world of an ex-wife, their two kids, their shrink and his gorgeous new girlfriend.

Cast Details:

* Jay Mohr as Gary Brooks
* Paula Marshall as Allison Brooks
* Jaime King as Vanessa Flood
* Ryan Malgarini as Tom Brooks
* Ed Begley Jr. as Dr. Walter Crandall
* Al Madrigal as Dennis Lopez
* Kathryn Newton as Louise Brooks

The multi-talented Jay Mohr's career has spanned over a decade. He first received audience notice with his dead-on impressions of Christopher Walken, Dick Vitale and Sean Penn on "Saturday Night Live." Soon after that, he landed his breakthrough film role as a rival sports agent in the blockbuster hit "Jerry Maguire," and followed that up in a touching good-guy turn in "Picture Perfect." Other film credits include "Playing By Heart," "Suicide Kings," "Seeing Other People," "Even Money," "The Groomsmen," "Pay it Forward," "Street Kings" and "Go," as well as comedic leads in "King's Ransom" and "Are We There Yet?" On television, Mohr created, executive produced and hosted "Last Comic Standing," now in its sixth season. Other credits include "Action" and his most recent role as Professor Rick Payne on the CBS series "Ghost Whisperer."

A native of Rockville, Maryland, Paula Marshall's big break came when she landed a guest-starring role on "Seinfeld." Marshall is an extremely busy actress with a recurring role on the current television series "Californication." Her other television credits include co-starring roles in the CBS comedy "Out of Practice," "Snoops," "Cupid," "Spin City," "Nip/Tuck" and "Veronica Mars." Paula starred in the feature films "Cheaper by the Dozen," "That Old Feeling," "A Family Thing" and "The New Age," among others.

Jaime King broke into television when she was selected to host MTV's "House of Style." Following a guest-star appearance on "The O.C.," King landed a role on "Kitchen Confidential" and was later cast in a recurring role on the CBS comedy, "The Class." King's feature film roles include "Pearl Harbor," "Blow," "Slackers," "Two for the Money," "White Chicks," "Sin City," "Cheaper By the Dozen 2," as well as the independent features "Pretty Persuasion," "The Tripper," "They Wait," "A Fork in the Road" and "The Pardon." She will be seen next on the big screen in the upcoming films "The Spirit," "My Bloody Valentine" and "Fanboys."

Ryan Malgarini caught the acting bug observing his grandmother's involvement in show biz. Tagging along one day to be an extra in one of her commercials, he was pulled out of the crowd by the director and wound up featured in the ad. Other commercials followed, including spots for McDonald's and Washington Mutual Savings Bank. Malgarini made his feature film debut in "The United States of Leland" starring opposite Academy Award winner Kevin Spacey. Shortly after, other offers kept rolling in and he got to work with another Oscar recipient, Tom Hanks, in "The Polar Express." Other film credits include "Freaky Friday" and "How to Eat Fried Worms."

Ed Begley Jr. was inspired by his father to become an actor. His father won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor in the 1962 film "Sweet Bird of Youth." The big break for Ed Begly Jr. came when he was cast as Dr. Victor Ehrlich on the long-running television series "St. Elsewhere," for which he received six Emmy nominations and a Golden Globe nomination. Begley's feature film credits include "Pineapple Express," "A Mighty Wind," "Best In Show," "For Your Consideration," "Batman Forever," "The Accidental Tourist," "The In-Laws," and many others. On television, Begley had recurring roles on "The New Adventures of Old Christine" and "CSI: Miami," for the Network. Additional television credits include "Six Feet Under," "Veronica Mars," "7th Heaven," "Arrested Development" and "Boston Legal."

Called "dynamic" by the New York Times, San Francisco native Al Madrigal's flair for storytelling has established him as one of the nation's premiere stand-up comedians. He won the "Jury Award for Best Stand-up Comedian" at the 2004 HBO Comedy Festival. He was a regular cast member on the CBS comedy "Welcome to the Captain," and can be seen regularly on television in his own half-hour "Comedy Central Presents" special, as well as frequent guest spots on "The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson."

Kathryn Newton's entrance into show business began at the age of four when she was cast as Colby Chandler on the popular soap opera, "All My Children." It was a recurring role she would end up playing for five years. Newton's other acting credits include the independent films "Bun-Bun" and "Abbie Down East." In addition to television and movies, she has accumulated a long list of commercial and print jobs to add to her resume.

Pilot Plot:

#1 Pilot
Gary's ex-wife has got engaged and he finds himself trying to navigate fatherhood and his own new love interest. The series opens with a scene of Gary and Vanessa in bed. She shows him one of her tattoos. We learn that Gary owns his own painting business and has 2 kids. Allison comes to the house to talk to Gary and the kids. Gary goes to his son's room and has a few funny lines about computers. Gary talks to one of his employees, Dennis, and Vanessa at a job. Back at the house, he talks to Allison and his daughter, Louise. His son, Tommy, has a girl in his room. Dr. Walter Crandall, Gary's former marriage counselor and Allison's new fiancé, has a few words with Gary and Allison. Vanessa visits with her son, Parker. The episode closes with a scene with Gary and Vanessa where they discuss their future plans.

Written by Ed Yeager
Directed by James Burrows
Guest Stars: Ashley Farley as Danielle, Charles Henry Wyson (or Jackson Fox) as Parker

Analysis:

Gary Unmarried was originally titled Project Gary. The multi-camera sitcom is filmed in front of a studio audience. The pilot gives us a good introduction to all of the characters and has some funny lines. Jay Mohr returns to a sitcom. You may remember him from the critics' favorite, Action, on Fox about a decade ago. Here he plays your typical sitcom dad. He's in virtually every scene and has the funniest lines in the pilot. One of the best is when his son is talking about a computer game and he says that when he was a kid that they didn't have anything like that and they had outside. Paula Marshall plays his ex-wife, Allison, and appears frequently in the pilot. The chemistry between Jay Mohr and Paula Marshall is evident from the very beginning. Paula Marshall has often been referred to as the female version of Ted McGinley with the shows she has been on not lasting very long. Maybe this will be the right role for her. Jaime King plays Gary's new girlfriend named Vanessa. I enjoyed her on another CBS sitcom, The Class. Larry Miller was originally cast as Allison's new fiancé, but he was replaced by Ed Begley Jr. in the pilot. Larry would have been funny in the part, but maybe they were looking for somebody that looked older and Ed does have the look of a doctor. He's not given a lot in the pilot, but I expect his role to expand in future episodes. He was hilarious on Arrested Development. Ryan Malgarini does a good job as the son who is nervous around girls. Laura Marano was originally cast as the daughter, but she was replaced by Kathryn Newton and they re-taped the scenes. Poor girl was also replaced on Back to You last season. She just has had bad luck and hopefully can find the right role in the future. The pilot I was sent had Laura Marano in it, so I've not seen the reshot scenes with Kathryn Newton.

Conclusion:

This sitcom has a lot of promise. It was cast well and the pilot was funny. I also saw the pilot of Worst Week and would give a slight edge to that one because of the physical comedy and sheer wildness of it. Gary Unmarried is the more traditional, multi-camera sitcom. One of the producers also worked on Still Standing, and I can see the similarities between the two. The setup is also similar to the show that is airing right before it, The New Adventures of Old Christine. Will they be a good match? Old Christine has a large female audience, but it will be interesting to see how many stick around for it.

CBS has tried unsuccessfully to launch a second night of comedy on Wednesdays. The competition will be tough with ABC's Pushing Daisies, NBC's Knight Rider and Fox's Bones. The New Adventures of Old Christine and Gary Unmarried should greatly improve on the ratings of last season's Kid's Nation. The pilot is worth checking out. I wasn't sure how Jay Mohr would play a blue-collar guy with kids, but he manages to pull it off. It will be interesting to see how the character's relationships will play out in future episodes. Ed Begley Jr. was underutilized in the pilot, so I expect to see him more in upcoming episodes. Tune in for the pilot on September 24 and see if you crave "mohr" episodes on Wednesdays at 8:30 ET/PT on CBS.

Final Numbers (out of 5 stars):

Watchability: 4/5
Funniness: 3.5/5
Overall: 3.5/5

-- Reviewed by Todd on 09/19/08

Discuss the show after you watch it on Wednesday, September 24 on our message board.

Related Links:

CBS.com Official Site

Gary Unmarried Fan Site

TV.com

epguides.com

Internet Movie Database

Wikipedia

Gary Unmarried Photo Gallery

---

Here are our Emmy Awards picks for The 60th Primetime Emmy Awards, which will air Sunday (Sept. 21) at 8/7 central on ABC. It will be a night to remember memorable TV moments as the Emmys turn the big 6-0!

COMEDY SERIES
Curb Your Enthusiasm (HBO)
The Office (NBC)
Two and a Half Men (CBS)
30 Rock (NBC)
Entourage (HBO)
OUR PICK: 30 Rock. I'm pissed no Pushing Daisies.

DRAMA SERIES
Lost (ABC)
House (Fox)
Damages (FX)
Boston Legal (ABC)
Mad Men (AMC)
Dexter (Showtime)
OUR PICK: Lost. It so deserves it (sorry Mad Men).

LEAD ACTOR, COMEDY SERIES
Tony Shalhoub, Monk (USA Network)
Steve Carell, The Office (NBC)
Alec Baldwin, 30 Rock (NBC)
Charlie Sheen, Two and a Half Men (CBS)
Lee Pace, Pushing Daisies (ABC)

OUR PICK: Lee Pace, Pushing Daisies. Really anyone can win here but Sheen...one of the toughest calls.

LEAD ACTRESS, COMEDY SERIES
America Ferrera, Ugly Betty (ABC)
Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Old Christine (CBS)
Christina Applegate, Samantha Who? (ABC)
Mary-Louise Parker, Weeds (Showtime)
Tina Fey, 30 Rock (NBC)
OUR PICK: Christina Applegate, Samantha Who? I've got a hunch. It could be Fey or Ferrera though.

LEAD ACTOR, DRAMA SERIES
Hugh Laurie, House (FOX)
James Spader, Boston Legal (ABC)
Bryan Cranston, Breaking Bad (AMC)
Gabriel Bryne, In Treatment (HBO)
Michael C. Hall, Dexter (Showtime)
Jon Hamm, Mad Men (AMC)
OUR PICK: James Spader, Boston Legal. He wins it every year, but maybe Hamm can win it.

LEAD ACTRESS, DRAMA SERIES
Glenn Close, Damages (FX)
Sally Field, Brothers & Sisters (ABC)
Kyra Sedgwick, The Closer (TNT)
Mariska Hargitay, Law & Order: SVU (NBC)
Holly Hunter, Saving Grace (TNT)
OUR PICK: Sally Field, Brothers & Sisters. Going for the two-peat, but can Sedgwick win it?

SUPPORTING ACTOR, COMEDY SERIES
Kevin Dillion, Entourage (HBO)
John Cryer, Two and a Half Men (CBS)
Rainn Wilson, The Office (NBC)
Neil Patrick Harris, How I Met Your Mother (CBS)
Jeremy Piven, Entourage (HBO)
OUR PICK: Jeremy Piven, Entourage.

SUPPORTING ACTRESS, COMEDY SERIES
Vanessa Williams, Ugly Betty (ABC)
Amy Poehler, SNL (NBC)
Jean Smart, Samantha Who? (ABC)
Kristin Chenoweth, Pushing Daisies (ABC)
Holland Taylor, Two and a Half Men (CBS)
OUR PICK: Kristin Chenoweth, Pushing Daisies. Olive is hysterical!

SUPPORTING ACTOR, DRAMA SERIES
Zeljko Ivanek, Damages (FX)
William Shatner, Boston Legal (ABC)
John Slattery, Mad Men (AMC)
Ted Danson, Damages (FX)
Michael Emerson, Lost (ABC)
OUR PICK: Ted Danson, Damages. Wouldn't be surprised if Shatner won it.

SUPPORTING ACTRESS, DRAMA SERIES
Rachel Griffiths, Brothers & Sisters (ABC)
Sandra Oh, Grey's Anatomy (ABC)
Candice Bergen, Boston Legal (ABC)
Chandra Wilson, Grey's Anatomy (ABC)
Diane Wiest, In Treatment (HBO
OUR PICK: Chandra Wilson, Grey's Anatomy. She was fantastic this year and so deserves it.

CBS Fall Pilot Review: Worst Week - Premieres September 22; Five Year Anniversary for John Ritter's Passing

Worst Week - Mondays 9:30PM ET/PT on CBS
Premieres Monday, September 22, 2008 at 9:30PM ET/PT

Worst Week is a comedy about Sam Briggs, an entertainment magazine editor who will do anything to please his girlfriend's parents ... but instead becomes a one-man wrecking crew whenever he's around them. Sam and his girlfriend, Melanie Clayton, have only one hurdle left to clear as they start their life together: breaking the news to Mel's conservative parents that they have a wedding in the works and a baby on the way. Dick, a stern Judge, and his wife, Angela, are protective of their daughter, and are really trying to let go of the anger they feel toward Sam ... after all, disaster follows whenever he visits their house. But despite his best efforts, every time Sam takes one positive step forward in winning over his future in-laws, he inevitably takes two crushing steps back. But with support and love from Melanie who stands up for him despite his knack for making himself look bad, Sam will hopefully charm his way into her family. It's all a funny week but it is the worst week for Sam! From Universal Media Studios and CBS Paramount Network Television comes Worst Week, a single-camera sitcom based on the BBC series The Worst Week of My Life, airing Mondays at 9:30PM on CBS!

Cast Details:

* Kyle Bornheimer as Sam Briggs
* Erinn Hayes as Melanie Clayton
* Nancy Lenehan as Angela Clayton
* Kurtwood Smith as Dick Clayton

Kyle Bornheimer's (Sam) television credits include guest starring roles on How I Met Your Mother, The Unit and Jericho, all on CBS, as well as the series The Office, Will & Grace, Medium, Monk and Breaking Bad. Movie wise, he appeared on Blades of Glory.

Erinn Hayes' (Melanie) first series regular role was in On The Spot opposite comedy legend Tim Conway. More recently, Hayes appeared as the female lead in the short-lived sitcom The Winner. Her other television credits include Kitchen Confidential, Unhitched, Notes From the Underbelly, Will & Grace and Shark, which was on CBS In addition, Hayes starred as "Pam Dawber aka Mindy" in the television movie Behind the Camera: The Unauthorized Story of Mork and Mindy.

Nancy Lenehan's (Angela) television credits include My Name is Earl, Malcolm in the Middle, Grace Under Fire and Ellen. Recently, she appeared as a series regular on Married to the Kellys. Her feature film credits include Catch Me If You Can and Door To Door.

Kurtwood Smith (Dick) is most recognizable to television audiences for his eight seasons playing Red Forman on That '70s Show. His other television credits include appearances in Medium, House, Malcolm In The Middle, The X-Files, 3rd Rock From the Sun, Star Trek: Voyager and Picket Fences, which was on CBS. His television movie credits include A Bright Shining Lie, The Magnificent Seven, While Justice Sleeps, Doorways, The Christmas Gift and The Nightmare Years, for which he received a Cable Ace Award nomination for best supporting actor. Smith's feature film credits include the Academy Award winners Dead Poets Society and Girl, Interrupted, as well as Broken Arrow, Citizen Ruth, A Time to Kill, To Die For, The Crush, True Believer, and in the memorable role of Clarence Boddicker in Robocop. Smith also starred in a short film, 12:01 P.M., about a man caught in a time warp, which was nominated for an Oscar in the "Best Short Film" category.


Pilot Plot:

#1 Pilot
When Sam and Melanie decide to break their life-changing news to her conservative parents, Sam's disastrous antics delay their plans. A lot of very bad things (but funny!) happen! For instance, Sam misses the train when he decides to help a drunk woman go home and so many bad (and pretty wild and funny) things happen after that. Let's just say, at the end he ends up at Mel's house naked. Find out how when you watch the pilot yourself. To top it all off, Dick, who had a concussion earlier from slipping on Sam's urine, collapses on the sidewalk near a funeral home and the undertaker makes him rest inside the funeral home. Sam of course misunderstands the undertaker's phone call and thinks Dick died. All this and more wild and funny stuff on the pilot!


Analysis:

The pilot is for sure funny. I think just about everyone who saw it so far will tell you that. But will people like this type of comedy for the rest of the season? The pilot is very wild and outrageous things happen. Some of these things would never happen in real life, but this is a TV show and things are made for entertainment...and you'll certainly be entertained by this pilot. I laughed out loud a few times actually. When I finished watching the pilot, I thought to myself this is a crazy show. So many wild things happen that that is what this pilot is about. It's like Meet the Parents: The Sitcom. If you like that movie, then you might find some similarities here. It's a simple story: Sam is in love with Mel, but her parents don't know. They want to get married and they also have a child on the way already. And Sam has bad luck. It's as simple is that! So, the plot revolves around Sam's luck.

Will this series work for CBS? Originally Fox was developing this series in 2006 but it was passed on. The Fox pilot had a completely different cast (Zachary Levi, Jamie King, JoBeth Williams and David Odgen Stiers). This sitcom is based on the hilarious British sitcom The Worst Week of My Life, which aired on BBC for two seasons. This series is a single-camera sitcom, something CBS is not known for at all. They didn't have success this past season in Welcome to The Captain, but in all fairness that was fed to the writers' strike and aired after repeats of their multi-camera sitcoms.


Conclusion:

Honestly, I did enjoy the show despite the wildness. It might be too wild even. I just don't understand how this sitcom can last for a number of years with the title Worst Week? Will they still be on that week in season 4? I guess they'll worry about that when that happens. The BBC series lasted only two seasons and three specials. And their seasons are very short, while our sitcoms get 22 episodes a season usually. So if this show gets 22 episodes this season, it'll pass the BBC episodes already. Also, this sitcom will probably be a bit serialized, something CBS shows are not known for.

The series will air after the highest rated sitcom on television right now...Two and a Half Men. But that is a multi-camera sitcom. I think it will get sampled for sure, though...it's on opposite Dancing with the Stars/Samantha Who, Heroes, Prison Break, and One Tree Hill, so the competition is there but it should be able to beat everything in viewers if it can hold a good portion of the Men audience but Dancing and maybe Heroes. It won't face Samantha Who until the fourth week of the season (Oct. 13), so by then the show should be finding itself and start to have consistent numbers...either good or bad. Can CBS break the mold and find success with a single-camera sitcom and join the other networks in airing these type of sitcoms? We shall see. Give the pilot a try on Sept. 22...if you find yourself liking all this wild stuff, then stick around for more!


Final Numbers (out of 5 stars):

Watchability: 4/5
Funniness: 4/5
Overall: 3.5/5

-- Reviewed by pavanbadal on 09/12/08

Discuss the show after you watch it on Monday, September 22 on our message board.

Related Links:

CBS.com Official Site

TV.com

epguides.com

Internet Movie Database

Wikipedia

Worst Week Photo Gallery

Yesterday was of course the fifth anniversary of John Ritter's passing and we will pay tribute to one of the best ever today. Actually, everyone heard about John's passing on this day (Friday, Sept. 12, 2003), so it makes more sense to pay tribute to him today. John passed away Thursday, September 11, 2003 at 10:30pm PT or so, so that would make it 1:30am ET on Friday, September 12 anyway. And even more, this is the first time that John's passing will be remembered the same day he passed away. That makes it more special this year.
John was my all-time favorite because he was not only a wonderful actor but a good human being. I admired his work of course but I even admired him more as a person. He genuinely was a real person and didn't have the typical celebrity written on him. He was a huge star and a legend but he thought about others first and made everyone feel special...whether it be a homeless guy or George Clooney.
I will never forget that morning when I found out. I was in utter shock and in denial, thinking how could this of happened? I never want to go through something like that again. Unfortunately, I never got to meet John in person but I have written to him (and of course he responded with a wonderful autographed personal photo) and spoke indirectly to him through his press assistant (the very nice Susan Wilcox). I had the chance to go to his Broadway show in 2000, but I never got around to it. Fortunately, many fans got to meet him and told me the stories and they were ALL positive and John made them feel like they knew him personally for over 20 years. An amazing man. An amazing actor. And the best. His wife actress Amy Yasbeck plans to write a book about John for Simon & Schuster. A month after he passed away, Amy started the John Ritter Foundation for Aortic Health (http://www.johnritterfoundation.org/). "Through the foundation, people are literally getting their lives saved," she told the Sept. 8-14 TV Guide. I urge you all to visit the website to learn more about aortic health and to view some moving stories about how John's story saved others. Chris Mann, author of the Three's Company book, Come and Knock on Our Door, is also planning on writing a book about John. So two books for John. We will keep you up to date on both projects.
So, today's blog is for John. We miss you and we wish you were still here making us laugh and cry. John would have been 60 next Wednesday (Sept. 17).
Share your memories and stories of John.

Fox Fall Pilot Review: Do Not Disturb - Premieres September 10; RTN Coming to Knoxville

Do Not Disturb - Wednesdays 9:30PM ET/PT on Fox
Premieres Wednesday, September 10, 2008 at 9:30PM ET/PT

Do Not Disturb is a workplace comedy set at one of New York City's hottest and hippest hotels: The Inn. Named one of the Big Apple's "10 Best Places to Stay," The Inn is just that -- the "in" place to be, with its chic décor, stylish staff and celebrity clientele. Behind the scenes, however, the upstairs/downstairs dynamic tells quite a different story.

The hotel's top-notch reputation and sophisticated look is due in large part to NEAL (Jerry O'Connell) -- at least in his opinion. Neal is the egotistical, womanizing general manager who will do whatever it takes to make sure the hotel is considered the best party in town. RHONDA (Niecy Nash) is the head of Human Resources who also keeps Neal's demands in check. She's brash, fabulous and brutally honest and runs the HR department from her bullpen downstairs with a set of rules that are all her own. Rhonda does her best to keep the back of the house in line and the front of the house out of trouble.

At the front desk handling check-in while wearing 6-inch Manolos is NICOLE (Molly Stanton), an aging model who is svelte, cynical and slightly starving. The downstairs staff includes MOLLY (Jolene Purdy), a reservations clerk who dreams of pop-singer stardom as much as she craves to be part of the action upstairs; LARRY (Jesse Tyler Ferguson), the head of housekeeping, who spends more time on the phone cleaning up his messes at home than he does cleaning up after the guests upstairs; and bellman GUS (Dave Franco), a roadie for a rock band who was left behind when the band left town.

Cast Details:

Stars:
* Niecy Nash as Rhonda Peet
* Jerry O'Connell as Neal
* Molly Stanton as Nicole
* Jesse Tyler Ferguson as Larry
* Jolene Purdy as Molly Poleski
* Dave Franco as Gus
Recurring Stars:
* Brando Eaton as Jason
* Robert Wagner as R.J

I don't know who several of these people are, to be quite sincere. It's not meant to be an offense, but I just don't recognize a lot of the names. There are a few I DO recognize: Jerry O'Connell's TV credits include the series Crossing Jordan, Carpoolers and Sliders. Molly Stanton did the soap Passions and was on the short lived WB sitcom Twins, a generally poor show with a fairly good cast. Robert Wagner is a fairly recognizable name as he has appeared on stage and in screen in many productions (TV's Hart to Hart). Don't recognize anyone else in the cast list, including star Niecy Nash, which is a double-edged sword.

Pilot Plot:

Apparently, the episode I was sent (titled "Work Sex" running 21:54) isn't the pilot but rather the episode Fox is leading off with. The pilot must've really stunk. In "Work Sex," an article about the sexual exploits of the staff -- the staff meaning the Neal character -- appears in a local generic New York magazine. The Rhonda character chides Neal hard for his actions, causing Neal to try to fly the straight-and-narrow when presented with an attractive co-worker. Meanwhile, in typical cliché fashion, Rhonda gets caught up in some office romance herself. Meanwhile, the character Molly (not to be confused with Actress-Molly) helps Nicole (the actress Molly) with her stalled modeling career. Which is guffawingly ironic since character-Molly happens to be...you guessed it...plus-sized. Maybe South Park was on to something a few years ago when they talked about manatees and "idea balls." Actually, the Molly/Nicole stuff provided me some of the biggest chuckles of the episode -- though at no point did I outright laugh. Meanwhile, Gus helps Larry with his love live. And for those of you playing Sitcom Cliché Bingo, yep, Larry's gay.

Analysis:

I couldn't even make it to the analysis before throwing the show under the bus. Seriously, this is the episode they're leading off with? Was the supposed pilot actually WORSE? And they canceled Back to You in order to air this? Really, for goodness sakes? You know if something I see later in the season impresses me I'll be perfectly happy to admit to being wrong. And if the show catches ratings fire of course I'll backtrack since I like to look good. But really, the episode I saw here just wasn't very good. It was taking every played out cliché in the book and just throwing them at the wall. I always reserve the right to change my mind, but what I saw here actually managed to lower my opinion of the show drastically.

It's nothing personal against the folks on the show -- for the roles they're given, they do the best they can though the characters are your usual sitcom throwbacks. The real problem here is the paper-thin writing. It's nothing new. It's all material that we've seen before on a hundred different shows from where I sit. Here's the thing, though: It's still not the worst sitcom on the air. There are other shows on other networks that fit that bill well enough. But at best its background noise that once or twice in 21 minutes might get a chuckle out of you and at worst it's a half-hour jam packed with as many sitcom throwback plot devices and gimmicks as the writers could draw out of a hat.

Conclusion:

When the dirty work needs to be done, that's why I'm brought in. And in less than a thousand words, I hope I've explained exactly why this show just isn't very good. The only bright spot is that it's not very bad either. It is 21 minutes of filler to keep as background noise in between commercials. Which is the minimum you can ask of a TV show anyway. Who knows, if it stays on the air long enough, it might even figure out how to be genuinely funny.

I'll tune in midseason (if it's still on) and give it another look, assuming the show doesn't dive into the CW-inhabited ratings basement within the first three shows. And who knows, the show might catch ratings fire -- that aforementioned show on another network has managed to stay on the air a really long time despite being really bad. But if a great show like Back to You can die on the vine in a year and a thoroughly decent show like ‘Til Death is probably 13 episodes from oblivion, then this show is probably D.O.A. It should at least run for longer than Happy Hour did though -- which at least is a positive. I appreciate that some network is willing to still run multi-camera sitcoms, but come on, try making one of them good (And when you DO make a good one, don't cancel it after one season you fools).

Final Numbers (out of 5 stars):

Funniness: 1.5/5
Watchability: 1.5/5
Overall: 1.5/5

-- Reviewed by Seth on 09/05/08

Discuss the show after you watch it on Wednesday on our message board.

Related Links:

Fox.com Official Site

TV.com

epguides.com

Internet Movie Database

Wikipedia

Do Not Disturb Photo Gallery

On to some news...
Gold! Retro Television Network (RTN) announced today that WMAK-Knoxville, Channel 7, plans to add RTN programming to its lineup beginning Monday.
RTN is of course the first completely customizable, national television network to provide a 24/7 digital feed of hit shows to each of its affiliates. The network's unique design allows each affiliate to remain in complete control while RTN runs the local and national master control from its central hub. RTN also offers customizable news and weather for each market, hosted by network-provided talent.

ABC Mid-Season Pilot Review: Miss Guided - Premieres March 18; TV One April 2008

Miss Guided - Thursdays 8:00PM & 8:30PM ET/PT on ABC
Premieres Tuesday, March 18 on a special night and time of 10:30PM ET/PT following Dancing with the Stars

This new ABC half-hour comedy series Miss Guided stars Judy Greer and is from actor/producer Ashton Kutcher (he also guest stars on this show) and Emmy Award-winning director Todd Holland directs this series that takes on high school's annoying tendency to repeat itself.

Having finally conquered the awkward, traumatic world of high school, Becky Freeley (Judy Greer) returns to her alma mater as a guidance counselor with her insecurities and orthodontia a distant memory.

While Becky deftly navigates the uncertainties of troubled students and an often troubling faculty, she is certain of one thing - her desperate attraction to hot mechanic-turned-Spanish teacher Tim (Kristoffer Polaha). Now that it seems Becky might finally be getting the upper hand in life and love, she's shocked to discover that the newly hired English teacher is none other than her high school nemesis, Lisa Germain (Brooke Burns). Lisa is a smart, stunning beauty, and suddenly Becky is forced to relive her past and compete for Tim's affections.

Cast Details:

Judy Greer as Becky Freeley, Kristoffer Polaha as Tim O'Malley, Brooke Burns as Lisa Germain, Chris Parnell as Vice Principal Bruce Terry, Earl Billings as Principal Phil Huffy

Judy Greer (Becky Freeley) has been on various TV series in the past. She has guest starred on series such as Early Edition, Family Guy, Maggie Winters, Just Shoot Me, Two and a Half Men and My Name is Earl. She might be best remembered for her role in Arrested Development as Kitty Sanchez. Judy also co-starred on the short-lived sitcom Love & Money and the short-lived drama Love Monkey. On the big screen her various films include The Three Kings, The Village, 13 Going on 30, The Wedding Planner and 27 Dresses opposite Katherine Heigl.

Kristoffer Polaha (Tim O'Malley) has graced the small screen over the last decade in various TV work. He is best known for his co-starring role in North Shore. Among the series he has guest starred on are Angel, Roswell, Birds of Prey, House, Bones, Mad Men, , and C.S.I. Miami. His comedy works include guest starring on both It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia and short-lived ABC sitcom Hot Properties.

Brooke Burns (Lisa Germain) is best known for her role as Jessie Owens for three years on Baywatch. She has also co-starred on TV series such as North Shore (with co-star Kristoffer Polaha) and Pepper Dennis. She has also appeared on series such as Ally McBeal, Just Shoot Me, and She Spies. On the big screen, Burns starred in Shallow Hal, opposite Jack Black and Gwyneth Paltrow and in Smokejumpers, alongside Erin Karpluk and Rick Ravanello.

Chris Parnell (Vice Principal Bruce Terry) is an alumnus of Saturday Night Live, having made memorable contributions as a regular cast member off and on from 1998-2007 with his impersonations ranging from Eminem to Tom Brokaw. He has made numerous guest appearances on series such as 30 Rock, Seinfeld, The Jamie Foxx Show, Suddenly Susan, Murphy Brown, TV Funhouse, Friends and Ed, among others. On the big screen he made his debut in 1996 in Jingle All the Way and has since also appeared in The Ladies Man, Down with Love and Anchroman: The Ron Burgundy Story.

Earl Billings (Principal Phil Huffy) is a familiar face for sitcom and TV fans. He had a recurring role on the hit '70s sitcom What's Happening!! playing the character of Rob (the owner of Rob's Place). He has appeared on dozens of television series and made-for-television movies/mini-series including Roots: The Second Generation, Rockford Files, Perry Mason, Menendez: A Killing in Beverly Hills. Just a few of series television roles include Good Times, The Jeffersons, Home Improvement, South Central, Frank's Place, New Attitude, Family Matters, Roc, Wayans Bros, The Parkers, How I Met Your Mother, Without a Trace, ER and Ally McBeal, among others. His work on the big screen includes numerous film roles including Something New, American Splendor, Thank You for Smoking, Fat Albert, The Antwone Fisher Story, Con Air, Crimson Tide, Youngblood, Wired, among many others.

Pilot Plot:

#1 "Homecoming" (Airs Tuesday, March 18 at 10:30PM ET/PT).
Becky Freeley returns to her alma mater as a guidance counselor after having finally conquered the awkward, traumatic world of high school. With her orthodontia and teenage insecurities a distant memory, Becky deftly navigates the uncertainties of troubled students and an often troubling faculty, she is certain of one thing – her desperate attraction to hot mechanic-turned-Spanish-teacher, Tim. Now that Becky might finally get the upper hand in life and love, she is shocked to discover that the newly hired English teacher is none other than her high school nemesis Lisa Germain (Brooke Burns). Lisa is a smart, stunning beauty and, suddenly, Becky is forced to relive her past and compete for Tim's affection.

Guest starring in "Homecoming" are Jonathan Sadowski as Gary, Chad Broskey as Shane, Chelsea Harris as Allison, Daryl Sabara as Russell, Samantha Gray Hissong as Heidi, Vanessa Marano as Kelly, A.J. Noel as the whiny band geek, Christian Serratos as the weeping cheerleader, Jesse Fremont Allis as the angry delinquent, Tom Choi as Ed, Tim Bagley as Peter, Tiffany Hines as the pretty student, Juan Carlos Cantu as the janitor, Jane Galloway Heitz as the lunch lady and Lauren Gates as the thin girl.

"Homecoming" was written by Caroline Williams and directed by Todd Holland.

We also viewed the second episode airing, titled "The Hot Sub," which will air Thursday, March 20 at 8:00PM ET/PT, the show's regular night and time premiere. This episode was actually shot 6th, but is airing as the premiere episode in its normal time premiere.
Becky is over the moon when a hot Spanish substitute teacher (guest starring Ashton Kutcher as Beaux), chooses her over Lisa, but has second thoughts when his presence threatens Tim's job. Meanwhile, one of Becky's troubled students (guest starring Jamie Lynn Spears as Mandy Ferner), gets exciting news from college, but considers throwing it all away if it disrupts romantic life.

Guest starring in "Hot Sub" are Ashton Kutcher as Beaux, Jamie Lynn Spears as Mandy Ferner, Angel Laketa Moore as the staffer, Robin Krieger as the secretary, Mikey Reid as Roger, Travis Caldwell as Michael and Scotch Ellis Loring as Mr. Shoemaker.

"Hot Sub" was written by Kevin Etten and directed by Todd Holland.

Analysis:

After watching the first two episodes that are airing, I can say that this show is worth airing. The show completed 7 episodes before the writers' strike started and we will see all 7 episodes in 3 weeks. There was talk that it wouldn't even air at all because of the strike, but I'm glad it is airing! I think many people will be surprised that it is actually a good single-camera sitcom. If this hits, it could be paired with the hit sitcom Samantha Who? starring Christina Applegate next season.

The show is basically about Becky coming back to her old high school as a guidance counselor. Her high school nemesis Lisa Germain is also hired at the school as an English teacher. I can see a lot of battles between the two in future episodes. Becky's love interest seems to be the Spanish teacher Tim O'Malley. Tim doesn't realize however that Becky seems interested. Will Lisa beat her to him? Rounding out the great bunch is the Principal and Vice Principal. They both are very funny and have great chemistry together. Fans of What's Happening!! will like seeing Earl Billings again on a sitcom. He looks familiar still, but has gained some weight making him more like Bubba from Sanford & Son these days.

Basically the pilot revolves around the homecoming dance, hence the title of the episode. Will it be like high school all over again for Becky? There are some very funny scenes, especially when Becky is in the bushes looking on in the homecoming dance, because Tim and Lisa are there together.
The second episode is about a new substitute Spanish teacher, played by Ashton Kutcher. He uses an unorthodox way of teaching, but is it really a good method? He has everyone hooked, including the Principal, that Tim O'Malley has been demoted back to mechanics class instead of Spanish. When Ashton's character is walking in to the school for the first time, you see a girl in a blue shirt do something so hilarious. I won't ruin it, but a promo has shown a bit of it. Jamie Lynn Spears also guest stars in the episode as a confused teenager seeking about college. My has she grown up. She looks great and looks exactly like her sister when she was that age.

Conclusion:

I really hope this show hits and does well. It is pretty funny and charming. It should debut nicely after Dancing with the Stars but hopefully viewers follow it to Thursdays for the next three weeks. The mind of Ashton Kutcher is always innovative and his show are very young skewing (Punk'd, Beauty & the Geek). This show has gotten me thinking how it would be like to go back to high school and relive memories...both good and bad. Students currently in high school could also relate to this sitcom and have some fun with it. I would put this series so far up there with the best new sitcoms (The Big Bang Theory, Samantha Who). Maybe not better than those two yet, but it has a chance.

Maybe this show will be a hit rather than a "burn-off," since 7 episodes are being crammed into three weeks...but ABC has nothing to pair it with right now. With limited scripted programming currently, viewers will likely watch...I hope at least. What to look for in future episodes includes a guest appearance by Edie McClurg playing Mrs. Pool (ironically she played a character by that name on the hit '80s sitcom The Hogan Family). Will it be the same character? Tune in March 27 for that episode!
This is the best school-themed show currently, forget about High School Reunion, this is much better, funnier and more realer.

Final Numbers (out of 5 stars):

Watchability: 4/5
Funiness: 4/5
Overall: 4/5

-- Reviewed by pavanbadal on 03/14/08

Discuss the show after you watch it on Tuesday on our message board.

Related Links:

ABC.com Official Site

TV.com

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Internet Movie Database

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Miss Guided Photo Gallery

Moving on to some news...we will talk about TV One in April 2008. We broke the story first about The Hughleys coming to TV One in April, now the trades have finally reported it this week. We already reported that it will start with a weekend marathon on April 5 and 6, but now we have details on its regular timings and the rest of TV One April!
Beginning on Monday, April 7, comedian D.L. Hughley's family sitcom The Hughleys joins TV One's weekday lineup at 7:30 PM and 11:30 PM. Because of this, some programs will be shifted a bit on weekdays:
1:00PM – Good News (replaces Wanda at Large)
6:30PM – Parent'Hood replaces Hangin' With Mr. Cooper)
7:30PM – The Hughleys (replaces Parent'Hood)
11:30PM – The Hughleys (replaces Eve)
4:00AM – Eve (replaces Wanda at Large)
4:30AM – Good Times (replaces Hangin' with Mr. Cooper)
5:00AM – Divorce Court (replaces Parent'hood)
5:30AM – Divorce Court (replaces Good Times)

Some stunts for April include that Hughleys two-day marathon. Saturday, April 5 from 8pm-6am and Sunday, April 6 from 4-7pm with an encore late night. Then on Saturday, April 26 beginning at noon through 10pm, it's a "Cedric Weekend" on TV One as Cedric the Entertainer’s variety/sketch comedy series Cedric the Entertainer Presents hits the TV One airwaves in an all-day marathon to keep viewers in stitches watching the resident funnyman in a variety of sketches playing a host of wacky characters and lampooning national past-times, attitudes and situations. Then on Sunday, April 27 at 9PM, Cedric the Entertainer gets serious with host Cathy Hughes in the premiere of an all-new episode of the TV One original interview series TV One on One. Cedric opens up about career highs and lows as well as some personal demons that don't always have the famous funnyman laughing out loud. An encore airing is scheduled for midnight.

Yes, we promised ION April 2008, but as of now only April 1-6 has been released and it confirms that Baywatch is just Saturdays at 6PM starting March 29, while Drew Carey Show will air 9-11PM Mon-Thurs until at least April 3. We will know very soon if that will continue for the rest of April or not...hopefully sometime next week, so come on back. Also, early next week we have some BET minor schedule news and don't forget to come this weekend for our weekly mini-reviews, Solomon's Weekly Rant and the Weekly Ratings report!

Fox Mid-Season Pilot Review: The Return of Jezebel James - Premieres March 14

The Return of Jezebel James - Fridays at 8:30PM ET/PT on Fox
Premieres March 14 with a one-hour premiere from 8:00-9:00PM ET/PT

Imagine, if you would, that you have everything you ever wanted in life. But what if there is just one thing that is missing, like a child? And what if you were unable to have that child on your own because your doctor just isn't possible? Well, then you have to turn to your sister for a little help, and that is exactly what happens in The Return of Jezebel James.

This is a comedy that answers the question of whether polar-opposite sisters can live together when one agrees to carry the other’s baby. Bright, optimistic, successful children’s book editor Sarah turns to her estranged and free-spirited younger sister, Coco, when she learns she cannot conceive a child herself.

Cast Details:

Parker Posey as Sarah Tompkins, Lauren Ambrose as Coco, Scott Cohen as Marcus, Ron McLarty as Ron, Michael Arden as Buddy, Dianne Wiest as Talia

It seems uncommon to find sitcoms with star-studded casts these days, and this series is not an exception to that rule. There really aren't any well-known people in the series, aside from Parker Posey, who plays Sarah Tompkins (the starring role). She has played in several movies that, while not blockbuster hits, are pretty well known, such as Dazed and Confused and Scream 3. Additionally, she has been on the series Boston Legal.
Lauren Ambrose (of Six Feet Under fame) plays her sister Coco.
Ron McLarty, was a regular on Spenser: For Hire and has appeared more recently on The Practice, Law & Order and Sex and the City, he plays her father, who is named Ron.
Scott Cohen plays Marcus and is best known for his role as Wolf in the miniseries The 10th Kingdom and for his recurring role as Max Medina on Gilmore Girls.
Rounding out the cast are Michael Arden (he recently guest starred on Grey's Anatomy and NUMB3RS) as Buddy and Oscar-winning actress Dianne Wiest as Talia.

Pilot Plot:

The pilot doesn't really get into much of a plot, but instead gives us a general overview of the series. And it is pretty simple. Sarah wants to have a baby and discovers that she can't, and turns to her sister for help. Of course, like any normal person would do if they were asked to carry a baby, her sister was against the idea. But, like any sitcom idea requires, her sister figures that she will go ahead and give it a try and moves into her sister's house to get started.
Guest Cast: Dylan Blue as Aaron, Amy Hohn as Evelyn and Jasika Nicole as Dora.

The review copy that I received also included the episode "Paragraph Two, Section Three," which is currently scheduled to air about a month after the first episode. In this episode, Sarah and Coco struggle to work out a legal agreement for Coco's plan to carry Sarah's baby, as both have their own selfish (and sometimes ridiculous) ideas.

Analysis:

I'm REALLY not sure where they are planning to go with this series. The whole premise of the series is that the main character wants a baby, and can't have it, so she wants her sister to have it. Now, that would make for a typical (not necessarily GREAT) episode of a sitcom, but this is a series. Either her sister will or won't do this. So if she does, then what is the point of the whole series? And if she doesn't, how long can they keep coming up with story lines about Sarah wanting her sister to have a baby for her? Clearly, this is a half baked premise for a series, and I can not see any possible way of it making just on that idea. Perhaps, though, the creators have something up their sleeve and this isn't the whole concept behind it after all. But all of the press says that it basically IS the idea.

Even if the series could be a success as it is, there is one other important thing missing from the series. The laughs. I didn't really laugh one time while watching this, which is just not a good sign, particularly since this is a standard sitcom that even has a laugh track. All of the jokes seemed to be lame jokes.

Conclusion:

Yep, it is another typical sitcom from FOX... that could be either a compliment or insult depending upon what you think of FOX sitcoms. This reminds me of a sitcom that Lifetime aired about ten years ago called Oh Baby, where a woman wanted to have a baby by artificial insemination before her biological clock ran down. And she did just that... and the series was promptly canceled. I'm seeing the same thing happen with this series, except it'll be sooner rather than later.

Final Numbers (out of 5 stars):

Watchability: 3/5
Funiness: 1.5/5
Overall: 2.5/5

-- Reviewed by Skees53 on 03/12/08

Discuss the show after you watch it on Friday on our message board.

Related Links:

FOX.com Official Site

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Internet Movie Database

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The Return of Jezebel James Photo Gallery

Fox Mid-Season Pilot Review: Unhitched - Premieres March 2; Solomon's Weekly Rant

Today instead of our regular Saturday Mini-DVD Review we have a pilot review for a new sitcom premiering tomorrow on Fox! We still have Solomon's Weekly Rant right below the review, so not to fret!



Unhitched - Sundays at 9:30PM ET/PT on Fox
Premieres March 2 at 9:30PM ET/PT

Dating in your 20s is like going to the farmers’ market – if you get there early, there’s plenty of fruit, all ripe, juicy and yours for the taking. But dating in your 30s is like getting there at closing time. The remaining fruit has been sitting in the sun all day. It’s been dropped, squeezed and handled by a thousand different people.

From the creatively fruitful minds of the Farrelly Brothers (Something About Mary, Dumb & Dumber, Stuck on You), UNHITCHED follows a group of newly single friends living in Boston and learning the painful lessons of starting over in their 30s. They’d all love to get remarried, if they could just find their true loves.

JACK “GATOR” GATELY (Craig Bierko) is a charismatic, optimistic guy who never expected to be single again. But now that he is, he’s determined to make the best of it until he finds “the one.”

Joining Gator in bachelorhood redux are his best friends: thrice-divorced TOMMY (Johnny Sneed), the founder and brewmaster of an upstart microbrewery, who has a voracious appetite for food, beer and women; and DR. FREDDY SAHGAL (Shaun Majumder), a successful surgeon who can execute a triple bypass in his sleep, but is all thumbs when it comes to the opposite sex.

Rounding out the group is KATE (Rashida Jones), a smart, successful attorney who handled all three of the boys’ divorces. Having just turned 30, Kate finds herself dumped after a seven-year engagement and reluctantly joins the guys in negotiating the treacherous waters of dating. With Kate owning the brownstone next to Gator’s, this pair, over time, may find that “the one” is just a brick wall away.

UNHITCHED is a 20th Century Fox Television production in association with Conundrum Entertainment and Watson Pond Productions. Bobby and Peter Farrelly directed the pilot and serve as executive producers. Bradley Thomas, Brad Johnson and Mike Sikowitz are executive producers. Chris Pappas and Michael Bernier are co-executive producers.

Cast Details:

Craig Bierko as Jack "Gator" Gately, Rashida Jones as Kate, Johnny Sneed as Tommy, Shaun Majumder as Dr. Freddy Sahgal.

Craig Bierko (Jack "Gator" Gately) - A versatile performer in both comedy and drama on the stage and screen, Craig Bierko’s Broadway debut as Harold Hill in Meredith Willson’s legendary The Music Man garnered him critical acclaim and attention; he was nominated for the Tony Award, Drama Desk Award, Outer Critics Circle Award and Drama League Award, and received the Theater World Award. Bierko’s television credits include a recurring role on Boston Legal as well as memorable guest appearances on Nip/Tuck and Sex and the City. He also guest-starred on Ally McBeal and as Paul Reiser's prospective agent on Mad About You.

Rashida Jones (Kate) - Rashida Jones has quickly established herself as one of Hollywood’s bright young stars. Jones portrayed ambitious saleswoman “Karen Filippelli” in the Emmy Award-winning comedy The Office, opposite Steve Carell. Jones starred on FOX’s Boston Public as “Louisa Fenn” and in the cable drama Wanted as Detective Carla Merced. Her television credits also include Freaks and Geeks, If These Walls Could Talk 2, The Chappelle Show, Second Opinion and the British television series NY-LON. Jones also was a weekly correspondent on the talk show Vibe TV.

Johnny Sneed (Tommy) - A native of Gulfport, MS, Johnny Sneed left his home and his career as a lawyer in 2001 to pursue acting in Los Angeles, landing roles on both the big and small screens. Sneed was seen in the Farrelly brothers’ feature comedy The Heartbreak Kid, opposite Ben Stiller. Sneed also starred in The Farrelly Brothers’ film Fever Pitch. His television credits include House, CSI and CSI: NY, Boston Legal, ER and My Name is Earl.

Shaun Majumder (Dr. Freddy Sahgal) - Raised in Burlington, Newfoundland, Canada, Gemini Award-winning actor and comedian Shaun Majumder co-starred in the feature films Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle, The Ladies Man, Pushing Tin and Purpose. Majumder was a series regular on the Canadian comedy series This Hour has 22 Minutes. Additional television credits include roles on Season Six of 24, Cedric the Entertainer Presents, Relic Hunter and John Woo's Once a Thief.

Pilot Plot:

We have received the first two episodes of this sitcom, "Pilot" and "Woman Marries Horse."

"Pilot" - March 2, 2008
In the series premiere, Jack "Gator" Gately finds himself ill-prepared to re-enter the dating scene as a blind date goes bananas for him; his friend and neighbor Kate finds big things come in small packages when she dates a member of the Boston Celtics; and Indian-born Dr. Freddy learns that love isn't cheap with the woman of your dreams.
Writer: Kevin Barnett, Mike Bernier, Chris Pappas
Director: Peter Farrelly and Bobby Farrelly
Guest star: Paul Pierce (Himself), Ryan Gomes (Himself), Eliza Coupe (Julia), Lauren Bowles (Annie), Kate Hodge (Katherine), Erinn Bartlett (Nikki), Ben Giroux (Tim), Dan Murphy (Herb)

"Woman Marries Horse" - March 9, 2008
Gator is hung up on his new girlfriend's minor physical flaw, leading Tommy to take drastic measures. Freddy befriends a bouncer; Kate dates a musician whose talents are not what they seem.
Guest star: Christina Moore (Barbara), Reid Scott (Bobby), Daron Fordham (Alonzo)

Analysis:

Bobby Farrelly, Peter Farrelly and Mike Sikowitz serve as executive producers alongside Brad Johnson and Bradley Thomas, with Katy McCaffrey producing. The pilot was directed by Bobby and Peter Farrelly. They reportedly had a budget of $3 million to shoot the pilot. The show was originally titled "The Rules for Starting Over," but perhaps they thought that was too similar to CBS's "Rules of Engagement." Fox originally ordered 13 episodes, but due to the strike only 6 were shot and will air this season.

If you've seen some of the Farrelly brothers movies, you know they put a lot of sight gags into their films. There are some in the first two episodes, but not as many as I expected. Another trademark of their films is that they put a lot of heart into the stories. That is also evident here. The pilot episode begins with a funny scene between Gator and his date. If you saw Craig Bierko on Jimmy Kimmel Live, you saw this clip involving an orangutan. Talk about the show starting off with a bang... an oranguabang! The rest of the cast is also solid. I loved Rashida Jones on The Office. She plays a different type of character here. Her comedic timing is great. I'm not too familiar with Johnny Sneed or Shaun Majumder, but they do a decent job in the first couple of episodes. The cast appears to have developed some good chemistry. The characters they play are likable, realistic and relatable.

This is a single-camera comedy that is shot without a studio audience. There is no laugh track. The show features a catchy opening main title theme called "Hey" by Timothy Alan Pagotta and Ryan Gilmor. There are also several songs by various artists used in the first two episodes. Boston is the location for the show. In the pilot episode, Rashida Jones (Kate) goes to a Celtics game with her date. Paul Pierce and Ryan Gomes make cameo appearances. You can tell this pilot was shot last spring because Gomes is now a member of the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Conclusion:

I've always been a fan of the Farrelly brothers movies. Dumb and Dumber, Kingpin, There's Something About Mary and Fever Pitch are among my favorites. This is their first real attempt at television. These episodes feel more like mini movies than a traditional sitcom. There are some sight gags and montages. I wonder if this show could be improved a bit if they did some of the writing instead of just being executive producers. The show could use a little quicker pace and more funny jokes.

Fox will be airing 6 episodes on Sunday nights. I'm not sure how this live-action comedy will fit in with Fox's animated comedies. They've never really had a lot of success with them on Sunday nights in recent years. I think this show would have a better chance at developing an audience if it premiered after American Idol or if it was paired with another comedy such as Back to You or 'Til Death. This show may not be the next Seinfeld or Friends, but it could become a minor hit if it is given a chance to develop. With the way the show is set up, there should be a lot of guest stars. It will be interesting to see who appears in episodes 3-6. The first two episodes feature a bevy of beauties.

Final Numbers (out of 5 stars):

Watchability: 4/5
Funniness: 3.5/5
Overall: 3.5/5

-- Reviewed by Todd Fuller on 03/01/08

Discuss the show after you watch it on Sunday on our message board.

Related Links:

FOX.com Official Site

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Internet Movie Database

Wikipedia

Unhitched Photo Gallery

---

Solomon's Weekly Rant
Saturday, March 1, 2008
"ION Hits a New Low; Stop The Crying On Idol; Fox's Poor Handling of Back to You"
By Solomon Davis

Can you believe that ION has been airing episodes this past week with an unclear view? The picture looked like someone already recorded the episode from another TV station and mailed the tape to ION and they just put in the tape and hit play, at least on my ION affiliate. First it was the editing, then the strange TV show pickups of 2008, and now crappy picture quality, which is very unacceptable for viewers who pay a monthly cable bill. I just want to say, "great work once again" by the ION programming staff.

Why do the girls on American Idol get emotional every time someone gets eliminated off American Idol? You mean to tell me they didn't know that an elimination was every week? I just think it's so dumb to get emotional when you know that someone will be gone each week of the American Idol season. I have news for the remaining females on American Idol, "THERE WILL BE ANOTHER ELIMINATION NEXT THURSDAY SO GET OVER IT!!"

Why did Fox have to air the first new episode of Back to You on a Tuesday night? It threw me off because I missed Wednesday's episode because I'm only used to seeing one episode of Back to You during the week not two days in a row. Fox could have aired one new episode this past week and one next week or could have aired both episodes on the same night...why do they need two nights of 90-minute American Idol's? They don't have 90-minutes for next week! So on top of missing Wednesday's new episode of Back to You I now have to wait 7 weeks to see the next new episode, because Fox likes to play mind games...they should have held these two episodes until they start again in 7 weeks! Thanks a lot Fox!

Agree or disagree with Solomon? Discuss it here.

DISCLAIMER: Remember, Solomon is not the voice of SitcomsOnline. He is just stating his opinions and does not reflect what SitcomsOnline says or thinks. It is just his 'View' but it is always quite entertaining.

CBS Mid-Season Pilot Review: Welcome to The Captain - Premieres February 4; Solomon's Weekly Rant

Today instead of our regular Saturday Mini-DVD Review we have a pilot review for a new sitcom premiering Monday on CBS! We still have Solomon's Weekly Rant right below the review, so not to fret!



Welcome to The Captain - Mondays at 8:30PM ET/PT on CBS
Premieres February 4 at 8:30PM ET/PT

Welcome to The Captain is a comedy about a wildly eclectic group of people whose lives are intertwined through the place they all call home, a fabled Hollywood apartment building, El Capitan, which they've dubbed "The Captain." Josh (FRAN KRANZ, The TV Set), is a Hollywood whiz kid whose filmmaking career has hit a wall. Just when Josh is about to move back to New York, his accountant-to-the-stars best friend, Marty (CHRIS KLEIN, American Pie), convinces him to move into his legendary apartment building. Among the eccentric tenants are Uncle Saul (Emmy Award nominee JEFFREY TAMBOR, Arrested Development), a former Three's Company writer who is the building's self-proclaimed expert on anything and everything; Charlene (Golden Globe Award winner RAQUEL WELCH, The Three Musketeers), the femme fatale who welcomes Josh in her own seductive style; Jesus (comedian AL MADRIGAL), a gossipy doorman who knows all the residents' most tantalizing secrets, and Astrid (VALERIE AZLYNN, Two and a Half Men) a flighty, aspiring young actress. Josh is most taken with the earthy, beautiful Hope, (JOANNA GARCIA, Reba), an aspiring acupuncturist who enlists him as a practice patient. The folklore of this fabled apartment building always continues to grow and, as each dweller quickly learns, the walls never stop talking.
The single-camera comedy, shot in Los Angeles, premieres Monday, Feb. 4 (8:30-9:00 PM, ET/PT) on CBS. The series was created by John Hamburg and is executive produced by Hamburg, Andrew Reich and Ted Cohen for CBS Paramount Network Television.

Cast Details:

Fran Kranz as Josh Flum, Chris Klein as Marty Tanner, Jeffrey Tambor as Uncle Saul Fish, Joanne Garcia as Hope, Raquel Welch as Charlene Van Ness, Valerie Azlynn as Astrid, and Al Madrigal as Jesus.

Fran Kranz (Josh) is best known for his performance in the feature film The TV Set. A graduate of Yale University, Kranz has played a series of memorable roles in feature films. He also has extensive theatre credits. He is new to the television industry and impressively is the lead in this new sitcom.

Chris Klein (Marty) began his acting career in the critically acclaimed film Election. His performance garnered him a Chicago Film Critics nomination for Most Promising Newcomer and the film received a nomination for Best Picture at the Independent Spirit Awards. He went on to star as Chris 'Oz' Ostreicher in the raucous comedy American Pie and reprised his role in American Pie 2 the following year. Klein has featured roles in upcoming films and has done a lot of movies previously. This is Klein's first regular role in a television series.

Jeffrey Tambor (Saul) is a television veteran and has starred on television in the hit series The Larry Sanders Show and the critically-acclaimed and Emmy Award-winning Arrested Development, for which he received two Emmy Award nominations for Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy. Also, he had three guest roles on the sitcom Three's Company (for which his character on this show was a writer for), and he also had a co-starring role on the spin-off The Ropers. He also recently starred in the short-lived sitcom 20 Good Years opposite John Lithgow. Tambor just wrapped production on two films Hellboy 2 and Superhero, which will be released this year. His other feature film credits include How the Grinch Stole Christmas, Dr. Dolittle, There's Something About Mary, and many others.

Raquel Welch (Charlene) has millions of movie fans who first glimpsed her statuesque beauty in the science fiction classic One Million Years B.C., after which she secured a place for herself as the reigning sex symbol of the '60s and '70s. She has starred in over 45 films and won a Golden Globe for best actress in The Three Musketeers. She also acted on the stage with a remarkable performance in the hit Broadway musical Woman of the Year, which led her to a starring role in Victor/Victoria.

Joanna Garcia (Hope) was born and raised in Tampa, Fla. and first began performing at the age of 10 when she auditioned for a local theater production and earned the lead role. From there she was discovered by Nickelodeon, who cast her in the television series Are You Afraid of the Dark? Garcia attended the University of Florida, but after her freshman year she moved to Los Angeles and landed a role in the 1999 John Ritter CBS television movie Holy Joe on her first day in town. She went on to co-star the hit series Reba, playing Reba's daughter, Cheyenne Montgomery. Her other television credits include Party of Five, Freaks and Geeks and Boston Public. Her feature film credits include American Pie 2 (with co-star Chris Klein) and Not Another Teen Movie.

Valerie Azlynn (Asterid) was born and raised in New London, Conn. She moved to New York to pursue a career as an actress and built a resume performing in the theatre and singing with a reputable Opera Company in Manhattan. Her previous television credits include a recurring role in the CBS drama CSI: NY, as well as the CBS comedies Two And A Half Men and How I Met Your Mother. Her feature film credits include Poseidon, Bewitched and Constantine, and will be seen in the upcoming films Tropic Thunder and Hancock.

Al Madrigal (Jesus) has been called "dynamic" by the New York Times, and his flair for storytelling has established him as one of the nation's premiere stand-up comedians. He won the "Jury Award for Best Stand-up Comedian" at the 2004 HBO Comedy Festival. Madrigal can regularly be seen on television in his own half-hour Comedy Central Presents special, as well as his frequent guest spots on The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson. Madrigal continues to headline comedy clubs and theatres around the country.

Pilot Plot:

We have received the first two episodes of this sitcom, "Pilot" and "Weekend at Saul's."

In the premiere episode, "Pilot" (airing Feb. 4 at 8:30), Josh Flug, a one-time Hollywood hot shot, is persuaded by his friend, Marty, to move into the El Capitan apartment building, dubbed "The Captain" by its residents. With its eccentric group of tenants, he realizes this is the fresh start he needs.
Directed by: John Hamburg
Written by: Executive Producer John Hamburg

Episode 2: "Weekend at Saul's" (airing Feb. 11 at 8:30) - When Josh invites Hope to stay at his apartment for the weekend, Uncle Saul convinces him that it is a bad move, and persuades him to stay at his weekend retreat in order to make her jealous.
Directed by: Mark Mylod
Written by: Executive Producers Andrew Reich and Ted Cohen
Guest Stars: Michael Weston as Brad and Christine Woods as Claire

Analysis:

This sitcom is actually pretty interesting. It is basically about a one-time Hollywood writer named Josh moving into The Captain hotel that is filled with ex-Hollywood stars. He was persuaded by his friend Marty, who seems very crazy, to move in to the hotel. Marty himself lives in the hotel as well. We also have Saul Fish, who likes to be called "Uncle Saul," living here. He was once a writer for four seasons on Three's Company, which he likes to call "T. Co." There are a lot of Three's Company references (such as #1 in the Nielsen's, Suzie Somers and Mrs. Roper). Then we have the front-desk attendant/doorman Jesus (not pronounced Hesus), who eavesdrops a lot and gossips about everyone. He and Saul are a good comedy team. Then we have the sexy older woman Charlene, was on either Knots Landing or Falcon Crest, no one can remember which. She seduces Josh but it is Uncle Saul who has a crush on her. Then we have Josh's love interest, Hope, an aspiring acupuncturist who enlists him as a practice patient...and Josh falls in love, but he later finds out she has a boyfriend in New York. Then finally we have Astrid, a flighty, aspiring young actress, who Marty tried to set-up Josh with, but she is too dumb for Josh.

That's all the characters in a nutshell. It really is an interesting show and after two episodes, I'll continue to watch this show. The pilot has us all meeting the characters while episode two is more about Josh's pursuit of Hope. I really like all the pop culture references here...we get Three's Company, Falcon Crest, Knots Landing, Alice, Weekend at Bernie's, and more. It is so funny that Tambor's character Saul was a writer on Three's Company because Tambor guest starred on three episodes of that show and also starred in the spin-off, The Ropers. Very clever. Let's hope Joyce DeWitt or Suzanne Somers can guest star in the future. Saul and Jesus are clearly the funniest on the show. Marty is also not too shabby. Saul also says he had a thing going with Linda Lavin of Alice...funny stuff.
One of the funniest lines is in the pilot with Saul saying Charlene has a tush like a buttery chardonnay.

Conclusion:

This is certainly a watchable sitcom. With the strike, we don't have as many options as we would have before scripted wise, so it might get a decent sampling. What will hurt is that it will follow repeats of How I Met Your Mother. Another thing working against this show is that it is in a single-camera sitcom. CBS is not known for these at all. In fact, all of their sitcoms are traditional style. NBC or ABC is more known for these. Little is expected of this sitcom, so it could surprise. With the strike still going, there is a chance this could be picked-up in the fall for more than 6 episodes, since a pilot season could be washed away.

I liked the show. It is charming and has a romantic feel to it. Will Hope & Josh get together? With the help of Saul and Jesus, it could happen. Or will Marty ruin it by staying in Josh's apartment even more? Marty has his own apartment, but one of his girlfriends is now living there. He is certainly girl crazy, but more crazy in general, too. It is smartly written, which is not CBS's style. I'm not sure if it is funnier than The Big Bang Theory, which is probably CBS's smartest sitcom as of now, but this one is the smartest after two episodes. Maybe I am thinking that because it is single-camera. Fans of shows in a hotel, like Hotel, Faulty Towers, Over the Top, and so many others (wow this has been done a lot, hasn't it?), will like this show. Let's hope it gets laugh-out-loud funny!

Final Numbers (out of 5 stars):

Watchability: 4/5
Funniness: 3.5/5
Overall: 3.5/5

-- Reviewed by pavanbadal on 02/02/08

Discuss the show after you watch it on Monday on our message board.

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CBS.com Official Site

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Welcome to The Captain Photo Gallery


Solomon's Weekly Rant
Saturday, February 2, 2008
"Annoying Auditions on American Idol; Lifetime Original Gone Without Notice; Miami Heat Still on National TV?"
By Solomon Davis

Every season around this time American Idol fans have to watch all the auditions that are not funny anymore just so we can get to the real part of the show. When will the American Idol producers realize that 75% of these people who are auditioning only want to be seen on TV and have no intention of becoming the next American Idol? Seems like everyone these days wants to follow in the footsteps of that god awful William Hung from three years back and purposely try to make a fool of themselves so they can be discovered. It's time to cut these auditions down since most of these clowns only come on the show to act a fool not show they have singing talent which is what the show is supposed to be about.

The last time I checked there was a new show on Lifetime called Matched in Manhattan and now it's gone? It was airing right after the god awful show How to Look Good Naked and it just vanished off the schedule completely. Lifetime couldn't give the show at least a month? Why just yank the show off so quickly when most people were probably getting into the show? And to make things worse How to Look Good Naked is on for a FULL HOUR now while Matched in Manhattan is no longer on the schedule. How to Look Good Naked is nothing but a sneaky rip-off of TLC's What Not to Wear. I'm done with Lifetime original programming since this is the second time they did this to me.

I know the Miami Heat has Dwayne Wade and the team was expected to be a contender this season but they are not and it's no reason for their games to be on ESPN, ABC, or TNT. The Heat record is 8-38 and the NBA expects NBA fans to still be excited to watch a horrible team like that on their day off? The NFL doesn't have a problem canceling games if a certain team has a horrible record so why can't the NBA do the same? The last time I checked I thought networks were interested in HIGH RATINGS and not still airing the games of a losing team on national TV because they have a NBA All-Star.

Agree or disagree with Solomon? Discuss it here.

DISCLAIMER: Remember, Solomon is not the voice of SitcomsOnline. He is just stating his opinions and does not reflect what SitcomsOnline says or thinks. It is just his 'View' but it is always quite entertaining.

ABC Fall Pilot Review: Samantha Who? - Premieres October 15; Solomon's Weekly Rant: ABC's Tricky Promos

Samantha Who? - Mondays at 9:30PM ET/PT on ABC
Premieres October 15 at 9:30PM ET/PT


Christina Applegate (Married...with Children, Jessie) returns to network television in a comedy that offers a do-over in life.
What if you had the chance to start over, to do it all again? For Samantha Newly (Ms. Applegate), this fantasy becomes a reality after a hit-and-run accident leaves her in an eight-day coma. When she awakens in the hospital, she is surrounded by family and friends. The only problem is that she has no idea who they are - or who she is. In medical terms, Sam has retrograde amnesia, which allows her to fully function in the world but leaves her with no personal memories. Most people would deem this disorder a curse. But Sam may come to call it a miracle.

As she sets out to rediscover herself, Sam is forced to rely on the only people who can help her -- an eclectic bunch of friends and family. Although now strangers to Sam, it's not long before she begins to get an idea of who she was before the accident.

Sam will need to continue to piece together things from her past to guide her in discovering who she is... or was. After all, sometimes to get to the end of the story, the only place to start is the beginning.


Cast Details:

Christina Applegate as Samantha, Jean Smart as Regina, Jennifer Esposito as Andrea, Kevin Dunn as Howard, Barry Watson as Todd, Melissa McCarthy as Dena, Tim Russ as Frank

Christina Applegate (Samantha Newly) has garnered critical praise for her strength and versatility as an actress in theater, film and television. Applegate first gained widespread attention as the sexy and sarcastic Kelly Bundy on the long-running series Married... with Children. After a very successful 11-season run, she furthered her television success by starring in her own comedy series, Jesse. In 1999 the highly-rated show garnered Applegate a People's Choice Award as Favorite Female Performer in a New Television Series and a Golden Globe nomination in the category of Best Performance by an Actress in a TV Series, Comedy or Musical. In 2004 Applegate returned to television as a guest star on Friends, as Rachel's (Jennifer Aniston) younger sister, Amy. Her performance earned her an Emmy Award in the category of Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series for her role. She was nominated for an Emmy once again the following year for yet another witty performance.

Jennifer Esposito (Andrea) is one of the most sought out actresses in Hollywood, with an impressive body of work that encompasses theatre, television and film. Esposito most recently appeared as a guest star in five episodes of the critically acclaimed drama, Rescue Me. She also starred in Related, had a recurring role on New York Undercover and guest starred on Law & Order. In 1996 she gained favorable notice as Stacey Paterno, the spunky Brooklyn-born, Italian-American mayoral secretary on ABC's Spin City.
On this show, she plays Samantha's real best friend, Andrea.

Kevin Dunn (Howard Newly) has a vast resume that includes numerous motion picture and television roles. Dunn has made numerous guest appearances, including Prison Break, Law & Order, Law & Order: Criminal Intent, Lost and The Closer. He also starred in the ABC miniseries The Beach Boys: An American Family.
On this show, he plays Samantha's father, Howard.

Melissa McCarthy (Dena) first made her mark on the comedy stage, performing stand up in New York at The Improv and Stand Up New York. McCarthy was most recently seen as the clumsy culinary genius, Sookie St. James, in Gilmore Girls. She has also appeared on Curb Your Enthusiasm.
On this show, she plays her supposed best friend, Dena who is sincerely supportive since the accident.

Tim Russ (Frank, the doorman) has been working in the entertainment industry for the past 30 years. His talents encompass a wide spectrum of the performing arts, including composing, music (guitar & vocals), writing, directing, voice-over and producing. On television he had series regular roles on The Highwayman, The People Next Door and Star Trek: Voyager.
On this show, he plays Frank, the doorman at Todd's apartment building that Samantha talks to.

Barry Watson (Todd) has his first job in Hollywood come when he was only 15 for the daytime soap Days of Our Lives. He is best known for his role as Matt Camden on the successful television family drama 7th Heaven, for which he also directed a couple of episodes, and for two seasons he had the lead role on the addictive ABC series What About Brian.
On this show he plays Samantha's only seemingly trustworthy acquaintance as boyfriend Todd. But will that trust last when he discovers that she cheated on him?

Jean Smart (Regina Newly) continues to exhibit her extraordinary talents in theater, television and film. In January 2006, Smart received her fourth Emmy nomination for her role as the troubled and medicated First Lady Martha Logan on 24. That same year the show won the Emmy for Best Drama and received a Golden Globe nomination and a Screen Actors Guild nomination for Ensemble Cast. In 2001 Smart won her second Emmy Award for her guest-starring role on Frasier, and was nominated for Guest Actress in a Drama Series for her recurring role on The District. In the year 2000 she was awarded her first Emmy for her hilarious recurring role on Frasier. She starred in the HBO drama series Maximum Security, before starring in the popular sitcom Designing Women. Over the past few seasons she has starred on short lived sitcoms, In-Laws, opposite Dennis Farina, and Center of the Universe, opposite John Goodman.
On this show, she plays Samantha's mother, Regina, who she hasn't spoken to in 2 years.


Pilot Plot:

I have received the first two episodes of the series. The first episode, "Pilot," airing Oct. 15, Samantha awakens in the hospital and is surrounded by family and friends. The only problem is that she has no idea who they are - or who she is. Sam has retrograde amnesia, which allows her to fully function in the world but leaves her with no personal memories. Most people would deem this disorder a curse. But Sam may come to call it a miracle when she discovers what a horrible person she was before the accident.
"Pilot" was a story by by Cecelia Ahern and Donald Todd and directed by Robert Duncan McNeill.
Guest starring are William Abadie as Rene, Nakia R. Burrise as Dr. Kerry Hall, Jelynn Rodriguez as angry woman, Adam Jennings as barista and Brett Rickaby as AA leader.

The second episode I received is airing October 22 and is titled "The Job." In one quick morning, Samantha discovers a handful of surprising things about her old self -- not least of which is what she does for a living. When a board meeting offers a glimpse of her cutthroat and competitive workaholic former self, she ponders where new Sam should diverge from old Sam's path. Ultimately, she learns that having a clean slate doesn't necessarily mean you can ignore the past
"The Job" is written by Donald Todd and directed by Lee Shallat Chemel.
Guest starring are Joy Osmanski as Tracy, Rick Hoffman as Chase Chapman, Frank Maharajh as Dr. Kegoshian, B.J. Clinkscales as waiter, Dana Sorman as Jerri and Jamison Haase as Vic.


Analysis:

This show is very good. It is not as funny as a sitcom should be so far, but the storyline is very good despite being a cliche of sitcoms of the past. The amnesia storyline has been done so many times, but how about a whole series on it? I don't think that has been done, and right off the bat we are interested in this story. Christina Applegate shows her versatile skills on this show. She is in every scene! She is everywhere...from her parents house, boyfriend's house, a club, and an AA meeting?? She is wholesome, bad, sexy, and funny in the pilot. Her character has been in a coma for 8 days and when the pilot episode starts, she awakens. She has been in a coma due to a hit-and-run car accident. That is a storyline they can ponder in a later episode--who was the culprit? Anyway, the parents of Samantha are in the hospital room when she awakens from the coma. They are pretty funny and joke around even when she awakens. Her "supposed" best friend Dena is also there. Later we find out that she has not been friends with her in years but when she heard she was in a coma, she came to visit--everyday. And even better, she had amnesia so she can fake and say that she is her best friend. Her real best friend is Andrea, who is a slutty ditz. We meet her a bit later. But first we meet Todd, Samantha's boyfriend. It seems they had broken up before the accident, but her things are still at his apartment. The real best friend, Andrea calls Samantha to come to a club to celebrate her friend Rene's birthday. She goes and of course doesn't remember who Andrea is or Renee. Renee ends up being a guy...and her lover. So, we find out Samantha was a bad person before the amnesia. She later tells Todd about who Renee really is, as he thought it was a co-worker girlfriend. The pilot is really interesting and has a lot of twists. It is not that funny, but has some great lines that will make you chuckle. I really like Frank the doorman. He has some great lines.

The second episode is about Samantha finding out what she does for a living. I think it is a bit funnier than the pilot, but again it is the story that makes it interesting. Maybe they should have made this a one-hour comedy, a la Ugly Betty? But still this is one of the best half-hour shows out there, just not truly a sitcom per say. Anyway, we find out in this episode that Samantha worked for a big corporation and was all work. She was pretty mean, too to her secretary. She also is very scared of elevators. When the company has a big meeting, they expect Samantha to be there. Her co-workers all thought she was in rehab and don't know she has amnesia. Andrea also works at the company it seems. We see more of Dena in this, as she has really become a friend now.

Will Samantha ever regain her memory? She has brief flashes of her past in each episode so far, so maybe slowly she will remember? But does she really want to, as she was a very bad person. Now she is Good Sam. Maybe she can fix her mistakes of the past. It is fun to compare Good Sam vs. Bad Sam.

Conclusion:

All Christina Applegate fans will love this show. Her male fans will be extremely pleased as both the pilot and second episode has her in nice outfits. A nice gold outfit in one of the scenes in the pilot and just in her black bra in a scene in episode two. But, unfortunately she doesn't wear that dress you saw her holding in a promo, when she says, "oh my god, do I have a daughter?"
While the show is not downright funny yet, it is still watchable with an interesting story. With Applegate starring, we are assured we will get some laughs in future episodes. The show will be sampled for sure and it will have the highest ratings for a sitcom this season because it will get a 20 million lead-in from Dancing with the Stars each week. The question is, can it survive and build an audience when Dancing has its break from December-March? Let's hope so, because we need a breakout sitcom hit! So don't forget to tune in this Monday to watch this new series. Don't give me the excuse that you forgot to. You don't have amnesia like Samantha Newly does.

Final Numbers (out of 5 stars):

Watchability: 4.5/5
Funniness: 3.5/5
Overall: 4/5

-- Reviewed by pavanbadal on 10/12/07

Discuss the show after you watch it on Monday on our message board.

Related Links:

ABC.com Official Site

TV.com

epguides.com

Internet Movie Database

Wikipedia

Samantha Who Photo Gallery



Solomon's Weekly Rant
Saturday, October 13, 2007
"ABC's Tricky Promos"
By Solomon Davis

I have been watching ABC a lot lately and I have noticed the creativity in their promos for their new shows. The reason I say they are creative is because the network is not telling you the entire story, just part of the story. For example, I was watching the promo for Pushing Daisies and I heard the voice-over mention that 27 million viewers watched the first episode. Now part of that was true because 27 million did tune in at some point to sample the premiere episode but the average for the entire hour was 13 million. So obviously ABC has decided to be a little tricky in promoting their new shows to get more viewers. ABC did the same thing with Caveman and Carpoolers when it was mentioned during the promo the Tuesday night 8pm hour was the top new hour of comedy. Then I realized that it's the only full hour of new comedy on any network which means that ABC once again tried to trick viewers into watching those particular shows. So maybe this is something all networks do but I can only talk about ABC since most of the shows I watch is on that network. By having these tricky promos, ABC may have to explain to viewers if one of these shows were to be canceled if they were doing so well in the ratings.

My Weird TV Moments of the Week:
Thursday, October 11, 2007: The Today Show Segment on "Secret Mommy Crushes"
Friday, October 12, 2007: Kelly Ripa telling Janet Jackson on Live with Regis & Kelly, "I'm in love with you and want to marry you."

Agree or disagree with Solomon? Discuss it here.

DISCLAIMER: Remember, Solomon is not the voice of SitcomsOnline. He is just stating his opinions and does not reflect what SitcomsOnline says or thinks. It is just his 'View' but it is always quite entertaining.

ABC Fall Pilot Review: Carpoolers - Premieres October 2; Solomon's Weekly Rant: The Premiere Delay of New Fall Shows

Carpoolers - Tuesdays at 8:30PM ET/PT on ABC
Premieres October 2 at 8:30PM ET/PT

Four guys who carpool to work every day come to savor their commute as the only safe time to commiserate about jobs, families – and secrets. Even though "what happens in the carpool stays in the carpool," they'll go beyond the boundaries of this fast-moving commuter confessional to get involved in each other's lives and develop friendships.
The character details follow:

Gracen (Fred Goss, ABC's Sons & Daughters) is the unofficial leader of the carpool pack. As a professional mediator, he thinks he's a problem solver, but more often he's a causer. He seeks fairness in an unfair world, and so finds himself in the middle of situations because he’s compelled to be there. In the pilot, Gracen is stunned to learn that his wife makes more money than he does, which sets his resolve to assert his manly authority.

Laird (Jerry O'Connell, Crossing Jordan) is Gracen's playboy dentist neighbor and best friend. He thinks his life is an unending quest for stories – and women. In the middle of a messy divorce, he allows himself to live a little and taunts the other carpoolers with the freedom of his near-single status. He would never admit that he secretly misses marriage. Laird constantly leads the carpoolers into adventures, but once there, he isn't sure what to do.
Meet Laird, a dentist and recent divorce turned womanizer who was left with nothing intact but his libido. Laird's best friend, Gracen, is a mediator, a voice of reason, and the unofficial leader of the pack. Then there's self-sacrificing Aubrey, with a brood of kids and a stay-at-home couch-potato wife, and newlywed Dougie, the carpool neophyte who's willing to risk his life to save a coveted parking space for the team.

Aubrey (Jerry Minor, Arrested Development) is a sweet but intense pushover at the bottom of the family food chain. The daily ride has become the only peaceful time in his life. Forty-five minutes, two times a day – he needs the carpool the most. Always quick to come to the carpoolers' aid, he believes in the brotherhood almost to a fault. Only the carpoolers know he’s boiling inside, because "in the carpool lane, no one can hear you scream."

Dougie (Tim Peper, Guiding Light) is the eager newlywed. He doesn’t know all the rules of the Carpooler Society, often breaks them, and has to have the ways of the world explained to him by his tribal elders, the three other carpoolers. He and his wife, Cindy, are the perfect modern couple, but as you get to know them, you start to see their cracks. Dougie is the guy who seems to have it all together, yet he’s drawn to the carpoolers for a little excitement. The carpoolers will both instigate problems for Dougie and help him deal with the realities of life to come.

Cast Details:

Fred Goss as Gracen, Jerry O'Connell as Laird, Jerry Minor as Aubrey, Tim Peper as Dougie, Allison Munn as Cindy, with Faith Ford as Leila, and T.J. Baker as Marmaduke

Fred Goss (Gracen Brooker) is steeped in the entertainment business, as an actor, director, writer, producer and editor. As an actor, Goss starred in ABC's critically acclaimed Sons & Daughters. Along with his writing partner, he also created, wrote and served as executive producer and show runner on the series. In addition he directed the pilot, as well as four other episodes. Goss starred in Bravo's cult classic, Significant Others, and has also appeared in The Man Show and South Park. His first appearance in a TV comedy was on the hit series ALF.

Faith Ford (Leila Brooker) has five Emmy nominations and two Golden Globe nominations for her ten-year portrayal of reporter Corky Sherwood on Murphy Brown. More recently she starred for three seasons in the ABC hit comedy series Hope & Faith, with Kelly Ripa, and co-starred opposite Vin Diesel in Touchstone Pictures' The Pacifier. She also starred for two seasons as Shelly Kilmartin, a probation officer who is the object of Norm MacDonald's affection on the ABC series Norm. Between Murphy Brown and Norm, Ford headlined her own series, Maggie Winters. She was a regular on the series Popcorn Kid and a recurring character on thirtysomething, before meeting Murphy Brown executive producer Diane English.

Jerry O'Connell (Laird) starred as Detective Woody Hoyt on Crossing Jordan. Other television credits include starring in Sliders, the movie What the Deaf Man Heard and the miniseries The '60s. Jerry O'Connell is quickly emerging as one of Hollywood's most versatile and sought after talents, especially in the movies.

Jerry Minor (Aubrey) is a former cast member of Saturday Night Live and HBO's Mr. Show with Bob and David, Minor was also in the cast of the groundbreaking but short-lived 4-camera sitcom for HBO, Lucky Louie, as Louis CK's African-American neighbor who suffered Louie's clumsy attempts at friendship. Minor has appeared on such television shows as Arrested Development, The Awful Truth with Michael Moore, and on Comedy Central's The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, Trigger Happy TV and Crank Yankers. He also makes regular guest appearances on Jimmy Kimmel Live.

Tim Pepper's (Dougie) television credits include a recurring role on Conviction, plus guest starring on Law & Order, Guiding Light and As the World Turns.

Alison Munn (Cindy) was most recently a series regular on What I Like About You, and is also known for her recurring role as Crazy Caroline on That '70s Show. She had recurring roles on St. Sass and Now and Again, with additional TV credits in Charmed, JAG, Boston Public, Inside Schwartz and Law & Order: SVU.

T.J. Miller (Marmaduke Brooker) performs improvisation, sketch and stand-up comedy and is currently a member of Green Company of the Second City National Touring Companies. He performs improvisation with the house team Bullet Lounge at IO, stand-up at numerous comedy venues in Chicago, as well as sketch comedy with the group Heavy Weight. He even eats most of meals standing up.


Pilot Plot:

I have received the first two episodes of the series. The first episode, "Pilot," airing Oct. 2, Gracen wonders aloud how his lovely "house flipper" wife, Leila, can afford to buy a $200 designer toaster and how his deadbeat son, Marmaduke, who struts around the house in nothing but his jockeys and a smile, suddenly lands an internet job making more than his dad. By the end of the day, the guys have their mission: to steal back the respect Gracen deserves by any means necessary.
"Pilot" was written by Bruce McCulloch and directed by Anthony and Joe Russo.
Guest starring are Troy Evans as Mr. Heggie, Taylor Parks as Aubrey's daughter, Drew Matthews as Aubrey's son, Stephanie Reibel as woman, Scott Thompson as rich carpooler #1, Eddie Goins as rich carpooler #2, Irene White as Sue, Stephen T. Brophy as Ted and Andrew Cherry as Rikki.

The second episode I received is airing October 9 and is titled "Laird of the Ring." Laird pretends to be married to impress a girl who's into married men, Dougie believes Aubrey is having an affair when he sees him sneaking into a motel, and Marmaduke suspects that Laird is his father.
"Laird of the Ring" is written by Bruce McCulloch and directed by Joe Russo.
Guest starring are Sasha Barrese as Holly, Irene White as Sue Henzel, Stephen T. Brophy as Ted Henzel, Byron Field as brokeback guy, Vince Pavia as delivery guy, Jordan Robinson as Aubrey's kid #1, Khamani Griffin as Aubrey's kid #2 and Jay Jay Ellis as Aubrey's kid #3.


Analysis:

This show is surprisingly funny. I was shocked when ABC had picked-up this show, but after seeing the pilot, I am not surprised. It is a hoot and the cast is great. The pilot has a lot of laughs. The singing in the car while going to work is hilarious. Aubrey especially. Both episodes I have seen, start off with singing in the car. It might sound corny, but it is a riot. Another ongoing joke is, while driving, they are on a highway for "Carpoolers Only," and we see they are the only ones in that lane. While that is unrealistic, but it is supposed to be funny, as it is a joke. The plot of the pilot basically is to introduce us to the characters. Gracen, Laird, and Aubrey are about to get a new member of the Carpooler team in Dougie. He is their new guy and he has to sacrifice for the team in finding parking spots. He gets hit by cars so much. Even in episode two, he gets hit by cars, but in that episode he wasn't saving a parking spot. The other plots of the first episode is Gracen thinking his wife makes more money than him, and his son getting a new job. His son is a very oddball character. He is always in his underwear...even for an online job interview. I love the Aubrey character. He is hilarious. He sounds girly. He has like a 1,000 kids and his wife is now a fat couch potato who doesn't do anything but sit in front of the TV. We never see her face. She is like the new Nanny from the Muppet Babies! Except on this show, instead of seeing the Nanny's legs, we just see her stomach side. Aubrey does all the housework from doing the laundry to making cookies, while his wife watches her favorite TV shows.

I'm sure there are a lot of people out there who carpool to go to work. So they could probably understand what these characters go through. The second episode is not as funny to me as the pilot. While it is interesting, it doesn't have as many laughs. Basically Laird borrows Gracen's wedding ring for a girl who is into only married men. Gracen's wife of course finds out right away that Gracen's wedding ring is missing. There are two sub-plots a well. Dougie sees Aubrey going into a motel for two days in a row right after coming to work. He thinks he is cheating on his overweight lazy wife. Is he? And Gracen's son Marmaduke, the dummy he is, thinks Laird is actually his father.


Conclusion:

As I said, this is surprisingly funny. The show will be following Cavemen on Tuesday nights on ABC. Cavemen has a lot of buzz and the premiere will certainly be sampled. So, let's hope they stick around for this show's premiere, too.

All the characters are developed by the first two episodes. We know nearly all of them by the end of the pilot. Cindy, Dougie's wife, is the only character that is not really needed yet. Everyone has a big role for the show. Both men and women will like this show, especially the men who carpool to work. Fred Goss was so great on the single camera comedy Sons & Daughters. He is great in this single camera comedy, too. The difference is, this sitcom would appeal to everyone, as Sons & Daughters was way too smart for some people. Faith Ford is always good in a sitcom, Jerry O'Connell is pretty funny as the sex-craved Laird and I just love Aubrey as the girly heterosexual man with millions of kids and the fat lazy wife. The funny thing is, Aubrey's kids are all different on each episode so far. As for improving the show, they should continue to make it silly and funny. I know it might be hard to top the pilot, but with this cast, it can be done. Episode 2 was not as good as the pilot. Future episodes better be good, as the show is an underdog to succeed in the ratings. Rebecca Romijn will guest star as Laird's wildly sexy and free-spirited ex-wife, "Joannifer," who returns to his life determined to get him back in upcoming episodes. I can't wait to see that! But before that, watch the pilot...and you'll be surprised how funny it really is!


Final Numbers (out of 5 stars):

Watchability: 4/5
Funniness: 4/5
Overall: 4/5

-- Reviewed by pavanbadal on 09/29/07

Discuss the show after you watch it on Tuesday on our message board.

Related Links:

ABC.com Official Site

TV.com

epguides.com

Internet Movie Database

Wikipedia

Carpoolers Photo Gallery


No publication or website will be reviewing the new and updated pilot of Cavemen. ABC has not and will not send the pilot out before it premieres. So we will all have to watch on Tuesday and find out how it is.
I saw the unaired pilot this summer, but they completely redid it and changed some characters even. So reviewing that would be pointless. That pilot was not that good, just average. Here's hoping the new pilot is much much better.


Solomon's Weekly Rant
Saturday, September 29, 2007
"The Premiere Delay of New Fall Shows"
By Solomon Davis

I will never understand why certain networks choose to air the series premiere of their new shows close to or in the month October.. There shouldn't even be a delay if the new show was already summarized in the Fall Preview edition of TV Guide in early September. The Big Bang Theory just premiered on this past Monday (Sept. 24) on CBS after the show was previewed in TV Guide in early September. So why does there need to be a gap in between the summary of the new show in TV Guide and the premiere date of the show? If the show was previewed in TV Guide it should be premiering the following week. The new show called, Samantha Who? won't air on ABC until October 15 which is actually two weeks before November. So that's almost 8 weeks of waiting after reading about the show in TV Guide during early September. So should we be more annoyed with TV Guide for its early reviews of new shows or the networks for their future fall premiere dates?

The Fall Preview edition of TV Guide always comes out the week after Labor Day which previews the news shows are on the network schedule for the new TV season. So if the TV Guide fall preview comes out in the 2nd week of September, why are they including the preview for new shows that premiere in October? I mean couldn't they just wait until the last week of September to preview new shows like Carpoolers, Pushing Daises, and Caveman? No they would rather have us enjoy the summary of a new show starting in October and wait days to see whether we will like the show. So TV Guide definitely plays a bigger role in the premiere delay of new shows. Which means it's time for someone at TV Guide to use their brain and come out with a preview for new shows a week before they premiere. It really makes more sense to have a TV Guide edition with previews of certain new shows closer to the premiere date instead of summarizing all the shows in one issue. The way TV Guide introduces these new TV shows is like a newspaper in the month of July including back to school clothes advertisements with school starting 7 weeks after the date of the paper.

My TV Highlight of the Week: Tuesday, September 25, 2007 - Joy Behar asking Barbara Walters on The View, "did you sleep with Fidel Castro?" Walters replied, "are you nuts? I wonder if she asked Joy was she nuts because she asked her about Castro or because she asked her on the air?
My TV Lowlight of the Week: Tuesday, September 25, 2007 - Tiki Barber almost dropping a salsa dancer on the boring fourth hour of the Today Show.

Agree or disagree with Solomon? Discuss it here.

DISCLAIMER: Remember, Solomon is not the voice of SitcomsOnline. He is just stating his opinions and does not reflect what SitcomsOnline says or thinks. It is just his 'View' but it is always quite entertaining.

The CW Fall Pilot Review: Aliens in America - Premieres October 1; TV Land Keeps The Brady Bunch

Aliens in America - Mondays at 8:30PM ET/PT on The CW
Premieres October 1 at 8:30PM ET/PT

Aliens in America is the story of Justin Tolchuk, a 16-year-old that is all alone in the world, that has a mother that gives him the perfect present to get out of his loner rut--an exchange student. The only problem is that his mother doesn't realize that the Nordic exchange student that they are getting is a Pakistani kid named Raja, who is going to be a true "alien in America." The series explores how this relationship will (and sometimes won't) work out for the Tolchuk family, with mother Franny fearing Muslims, father Gary just being happy because they get paid for having an exchange student living in the house, sister Claire who is just kind of there, and Justin and Raja, who may have a friendship to gain from this experience.

Cast Details:

Adhir Kalyan as Raja Musharaff, Dan Byrd as Justin Tolchuk, Amy Pietz as Franny Tolchuk, Lindsey Shaw as Claire Tolchuk, Scott Patterson as Gary Tolchuk

Essentially, the show has been cast with a bunch of unknowns--but then again, how many truly great sitcoms have had stars that were well-known BEFORE the series started? The series stars Dan Byrd as Justin and Adhir Kalyan as Raja, both of whom are relatively unknown. Amy Pietz, who had a role on Caroline in the City (does anybody even remember this series?) in the 90s plays mother Franny, while Scott Patterson, formerly of Gilmore Girls, plays father Gary. Lindsey Shaw plays the role of Claire; Shaw previously had a role on the Nickelodeon series Ned's Declassified School Survival Guide.


Pilot Plot:

I have received the first two episodes. The first episode introduces us to the series and what it is all about--which is basically the family getting Raja as their Nordic exchange student (Nordic because he came from Pakistan through a Nordic country before he got into the United States). The family is basically in shock about who their exchange student is, particularly since they live in a small Wisconsin town where people that are different are automatically assumed to be terrorists, but when Gary sees the dollars that he gets for having Raja in the house and Franny sees how Justin is making his first true friend, these stereotypes fly out the window.

In the second episode, "No Man is an Island," Raja tells the entire class that if he was stuck on a desert island with only one thing, it would be his best friend Justin--which of course leads the whole class to think that they are a homosexual couple. But things backfire when Justin turns to Claire for advice on how to make Raja stop embarassing him... but you'll have to watch the show to see how that turns out.


Analysis:

The show isn't laugh out loud funny, but it isn't intended to be that type of sitcom anyway. Actually, it reminds me a LOT of The Wonder Years in the style that it is done, with the show having Justin narrating just about everything that happens within the episode as if he was telling the story about what is happening. It is obvious that the producers here are trying to create a well-written series here that has funny moments along the way. But if the series wants to last, they need to create some good scripts, and I'm not sure how far they'll be able to go with that in a series with a premise like this. Many of the "fish out of water" sitcoms of the past (think of Perfect Strangers, ALF, and others) used quite a few funny moments, and even though they did have decent scripts, they may not have always (though sometimes could have) been scripts that could stand alone without many funny moments and a laugh track (something that this series does NOT have).

The show uses a lot of stereotypes about Muslims (as well as other groups) too, which makes it a bit politically incorrect, and honestly most people would not say actually say (and hopefully not believe, but certainly some will) a lot of the stuff that is said in the show. But of course, it is just a sitcom and you can't take it all that seriously. Besides, despite all of the stereotypes, it shows how incorrect a lot of the stereotypes are, and that is what many sitcoms about stereotypes often do. Plus, the point of the show is just to enjoy it and not make anything of the stereotypes, which makes me wonder why I just wasted away this paragraph talking about it.


Conclusion:

Really, this isn't a bad show, and it seems like the perfect fit for a younger audience, which is exactly what The CW is after. In fact, if it weren't for the political incorrectness that the show exhibits a LITTLE bit (which isn't too much), this show could almost fit in on a network such as Nickelodeon, as it reminds me of some of the early '90s sitcoms that the network aired (and the style that they appear to be trying to return to). I'd give this show about two weeks to last on any other network, not because it is a bad show (it is actually decent), but because it will be hard for the right audience to find it. But given that this will air on The CW and right after Everybody Hates Chris, I'd give this show a fighting chance.


Final Numbers (out of 5 stars):

Watchability: 4/5
Funniness: 2.5/5
Overall: 3.5/5

-- Reviewed by Skees53 on 09/28/07

Discuss the show after you watch it on Monday on our message board.

Related Links:

The CW Official Site

TV.com

epguides.com

Internet Movie Database

Wikipedia

Aliens in America Photo Gallery


The other day we mentioned we will let you know if The Brady Bunch will be staying past the two weeks it was slated for. And the answer is...YES. It will continue to air Tues-Fri at 11am the week of Oct. 16 and beyond. It starts airing of course starting Oct. 2 Also, the week of Oct. 15 will see an additional Brady airing, at 4:30am every night!
There are some other minor changes starting Oct. 15, including an Andy Griffith Tuesday block from 8-10pm, replacing Cosby Show and Extreme Makeover: Home Edition will move from Tuesdays at 11 to Saturdays at 11! Good morning TV Land, indeed!
Full list of changes for that week can be found here.

CBS Fall Pilot Review: The Big Bang Theory - Premieres September 24

The Big Bang Theory - Mondays at 8:30PM ET/PT on CBS
Premieres September 24 at 8:30PM ET/PT

From creators Chuck Lorre & Bill Prady comes The Big Bang Theory, the story of two brainy best friends who could tell you anything you want to know about quantum physics -- but when it comes to dealing with everyday life here on Earth, they're lost in the cosmos.

The Big Bang Theory is a comedy about brilliant physicists, Leonard and Sheldon, who are the kind of "beautiful minds" that understand how the universe works. But none of that genius helps them interact with people, especially women. All this begins to change when a free-spirited beauty named Penny moves in next door. Sheldon, Leonard's roommate, is quite content spending his nights playing Klingon Boggle with their socially dysfunctional friends, fellow Cal Tech scientists Wolowitz and Koothrappali. However, Leonard sees in Penny a whole new universe of possibilities... including love.
The Big Bang Theory is executive produced by Chuck Lorre and Bill Prady.

Cast Details:

Johnny Galecki as Leonard, Jim Parsons as Sheldon, Kaley Cuoco as Penny, Scott Halberstadt as Bobby, Simon Helberg as Wolowitz, Kunal Nayyar as Koothrappali, Frank Pacheco as Joey, Brian Wade as Kurt

Johnny Galecki (Leonard) is perhaps best known to television audiences for his role as David in the long-running ABC comedy series Roseanne, for which he won a Young Artist Award. His television series credits also include a recurring role in My Boys and guest appearances in Hope & Faith and My Name is Earl.

Jim Parsons (Sheldon) counts among his television credits a recurring role in the series Judging Amy and a guest-starring appearance in Ed.

Kaley Cuoco (Penny) is perhaps best known to television audiences for her role as Bridget Hennessey in the John Ritter ABC series 8 Simple Rules... for Dating My Teenage Daughter, for which she won a Teen Choice Award. Cuoco's other television credits include the series Ladies Man and Charmed and guest appearances in Prison Break, Complete Savages, 7th Heaven, My So-Called Life and Ellen, in which she played a young Ellen DeGeneres in flashbacks.

Simon Helberg (Howard Wolowitz) has television credits that include guest-starring appearances on MADtv, Reno 911!, Joey and Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip.

Kunal Nayyar (Rajesh Koothrappali) will have his first regular role on a television series. He had a guest-starring role on CBS's Navy NCIS: Naval Criminal Investigative Service.


Pilot Plot:

Pilot (09/24/07) - When Leonard and Sheldon meet Penny, Leonard is immediately interested in her, but Sheldon feels his friend is chasing a dream he'll never catch.

Written by: Chuck Lorre and Bill Prady
Directed by: James Burrows
Guest Stars: Brian Patrick Wade as Kurt and Vernee Watson as Althea


Analysis:

I only got to watch the pilot, but it was worth it! Usually when we do our pilot reviews we have 2-3 episodes to have a sample of. CBS didn't send us another episode, but that is fine. After watching the pilot, I think the show is actually funny. It is like a throwback to how sitcoms of the '80s were done. This is a multi-camera sitcom, and it might not be as hyped up as Fox's Back to You, I think this is the best traditional sitcom this fall. There are only two, and I liked the pilot of this one better than the Fox series. While the plot might sound, "been there, done that," it is enjoyable and has a lot of humor. The pilot runs a little over 23 minutes and the first scene to me is boring with just Leonard & Sheldon, but don't get discouraged. I thought to myself, "this better get better." And it did. It really picks up when the two geeks (Leonard and Sheldon) meet their new neighbor (Penny), who lives in the apartment down the hall.
It is a mix of three shows to me. You get a bit of Weird Science, a bit of Beauty & the Geek and a slight bit of Three's Company (even though they don't all live together in one apartment).

The show does need work to continue. The pilot is a good start, but it has to maintain the quality of humor and improve on some characters. I loved Kaley Cuoco on 8 Simple Rules. She was hilarious & beautiful on that show and her dialogue was great. On the pilot of this show she is beautiful too, but I don't even remember anything she really said because they make her a girl that only has looks. But I think they will improve on that in future episodes. They also have to improve on the two nerd friends of Leonard & Sheldon. They were like fillers in the pilot. When Leonard & Sheldon went to Penny's ex-boyfriend's house to try to get her stuff back, they just left Penny and their two friends in their apartment. That didn't make sense, but it is funny.
The show has some neat guest stars coming, such as Sara Gilbert and Laurie Metcalf (who was wonderful this season on Desperate Housewives). That is like a mini-Roseanne reunion. All they need now is John Goodman and Roseanne herself. Hopefully we some 8 Simple Rules stars soon, too, like Amy Davidson, Martin Spanjers or Katey Sagal.


Conclusion:

The Big Bang Theory will be airing Mondays at 8:30 p.m. on CBS. Last season, the much hyped sitcom The Class aired in that slot, and it didn't do that well for a CBS sitcom. So in order for this series to do well, it will have to do better than that. 8-9 million will probably not do. If it can build on How I Met Your Mother, which is the lead-in for this show, CBS will be pleased and we will see this sitcom for another year at least.
Todd reviewed Back to You earlier this week. I saw that pilot too and this one, and I think this one was better. Todd didn't see this one yet, but I'm sure he would like this one, too.

Is this show too young and hip for CBS? Maybe. But it has How I Met Your Mother as its lead-in, so the young audience will be there. I personally think they should have aired it at 9:30 after Two and a Half Men for more exposure, but let's see how it does at 8:30 first.
I urge you to tune in for the pilot at least. If you like older sitcoms from the '80s or something, you'll like this one. It is very "sitcomy" and is actually funny. It may not be as smart as sitcoms like 30 Rock and The Office, but I really prefer these types to those (and viewers do, too). Hopefully 10 million+ watch the premiere. It will have to at least build on the lead-in each week, in viewers, if not, for sure in adults 18-49. And you should be one of them who tunes in. To catch a sneak peek of the pilot, click HERE.


Final Numbers (out of 5 stars):

Watchability: 4.5/5
Funniness: 4.5/5
Overall: 4.5/5

-- Reviewed by pavanbadal on 09/21/07

Discuss the show after you watch it on Monday on our message board.

Related Links:

CBS.com Official Site

The Big Bang Theory Fan Site

TV.com

epguides.com

Internet Movie Database

Wikipedia

The Big Bang Theory Photo Gallery

Fox Fall Pilot Review: Back to You - Premieres September 19th; 59th Annual Emmy Awards Winners

Back to You - Wednesdays at 8:00PM ET/PT on Fox
Premieres September 19th at 8:00PM ET/PT

In the ‘90s, the local TV news scene in Pittsburgh was dominated by one team: CHUCK DARLING (Kelsey Grammer) and KELLY CARR (Patricia Heaton). They had that elusive quality all news teams need: chemistry ... at least on-screen. Off-screen, Chuck was a bit of a self-centered womanizer, Kelly a bit of an uptight know-it-all. When Chuck grabbed the chance to move up to a larger market, no tears were shed.

But after an embarrassing on-air tirade ended up on the Internet, Chuck found himself on the downswing career-wise. He even questioned whether his lifestyle of chasing women and living in hotels was as exciting as it used to be. So when he got the call to return to Pittsburgh, to reunite with Kelly and try to take the newscast back to No. 1, it was an offer he couldn’t refuse.

Back in Pittsburgh, Chuck and Kelly reteam with familiar faces including MARSH McGINLEY (Fred Willard), the affable, endlessly inappropriate sports anchor, and GARY CREZYZEWSKI, pronounced Kre-shoov-ski (Ty Burrell), the perennially put-upon field reporter who always seems to get left out in the cold; and they have a few new coworkers: RYAN CHURCH (Josh Gad), the under qualified, overstressed news director, and MONTANA DIAZ HERRERA (Ayda Field), the perky, sexy, somewhat inept weather anchor. But perhaps the biggest change is that Kelly is now single mom to 10-year-old GRACIE (Laura Marano).

There was magic between Chuck and Kelly once. Can they find it again?

BACK TO YOU is created, written and executive-produced by Steven Levitan (“Just Shoot Me!,” “Frasier,” “Wings”) and Christopher Lloyd (“Frasier,” “The Golden Girls”). James Burrows is executive producer and director. The series is from Levitan/Lloyd Productions in association with 20th Century Fox Television.

Cast Details:

Kelsey Grammer as Chuck Darling, Patricia Heaton as Kelly Carr, Fred Willard as Marsh McGinley, Ty Burrell as Gary Crezyzewski, Josh Gad as Ryan Church, Ayda Field as Montana Diaz Herrera, Laura Marano as Gracie Carr

Kelsey Grammer (Chuck Darling) - Kelsey Grammer played the celebrated character "Dr. Frasier Crane" on three different television series ("Frasier," "Cheers" and "Wings") for 20 years, tying James Arness of "Gunsmoke" for the record of longest-running television character. He has won four Emmys, two Golden Globes and a Screen Actors Guild Award for the role, and has received an unparalleled total of 16 Emmy award nominations, eight Golden Globe award nominations and 16 Screen Actors Guild award nominations.

Patricia Heaton (Kelly Carr) - A talented actress whose career spans television, theater and film, Patricia Heaton has been honored with two consecutive Emmy Awards for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series and has been nominated for 11 Screen Actors Guild awards for her portrayal of "Debra Barone" on the top-rated series "Everybody Loves Raymond."

Fred Willard (Marsh McGinley) - Willard has received three Emmy Award nominations for his role as Martin Mull's lover on "Roseanne" and his recurring role on "Everybody Loves Raymond." He also co-starred with Martin Mull in Norman Lear's innovative cult classic talk-show satire, "Fernwood 2Night." Willard had recurring roles on "Ally McBeal," "The Simpsons" and "Mad About You." In addition, he has made more than 50 appearances on "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno."

Ty Burrell (Gary Crezyzewski) - Through his ability to play roles ranging from classical Shakespeare to contemporary film, Ty Burrell is quickly establishing himself as a talented and versatile actor who has carved out a diverse career in movies, television and theater. On television, Burrell recently starred in the sitcom "Out of Practice" opposite Stockard Channing and Henry Winkler.

Josh Gad (Ryan Church) - Josh Gad began his career in theater, graduating from the Carnegie Mellon School of Drama. He then turned his sights to comedy, joining the famed Groundlings Improv troupe and later founding his own group, the Lost Nomads Comedy Troupe. Previous screen credits include a guest role on "ER" and the independent feature "Watching the Detectives" with Lucy Liu.

Ayda Field (Montana Diaz Herrera) - Once she decided upon acting as a career, things happened very quickly for Los Angeles native Ayda Field. On her way home from attending Duke University, she landed an audition on the daytime drama "Days of Our Lives." The audition blossomed into a recurring role on the series that ran over the course of a season. Field's additional television credits include the cable series "Arli$$," "Will & Grace," "Eve," "Blue Collar TV" and a recurring role on "Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip."

Laura Marano (Gracie Carr) - Marano has recurring roles on the television show "Without a Trace," in which she plays Kate, the daughter of Emmy-Award winning actor Anthony LaPaglia's character, and in "Dexter" and "The Sarah Silverman Program." She has guest-starred on television shows including "Ghost Whisperer," "Medical Investigation," "Huff" and "Joan of Arcadia."

Pilot Plot:

1. Pilot (09/19/07) - After an embarrassing newscast tirade ends up on the internet on YouTube, Chuck returns to Pittsburgh to reunite with Kelly at the local network. The show opens with a funny flashback to 1996 where we see Chuck Darling leaving the station for greener pastures. He returns 10 years later and meets the young news director, Brian Church, and the rest of the team and his former co-anchor, Kelly. They swap anchor seats and shoot a promo. We are introduced to Kelly's daughter, Gracie.

Written by: Steven Levitan & Christopher Lloyd
Directed by: James Burrows
Guest Stars: Spencer Knowles (Mail Boy), Adam Busch (Production Assistant), Michael Richard Robinson (Weatherman), Erin Ross (Darcy), Ayda Field (Montana Diaz Herrera)

I also had the opportunity to view the second episode.

2. Fish Story (09/26/07) - There's something fishy going on when Chuck tries to convince a dubious Kelly that he has a responsible, nurturing side. Meanwhile, Gary tries to regain his credibility in the field. He doesn't want to do a segment on tasers.

Analysis:

After watching the first two episodes, I think the show has a lot of potential. It is impossible to compare it to great newsroom sitcoms such as The Mary Tyler Moore Show or Murphy Brown with such a small sampling, but all of the pieces are here for a long and successful run. Kelsey Grammer and Patricia Heaton are a dynamic duo that have instant chemistry. It is hard to believe they had never worked together before or that they had only met each other once prior to being cast. After playing Frasier Crane for 20 years, Kelsey Grammer gets the chance to play another character in the media. It is somebody who has a different personality than Frasier, but he's not 100% opposite that viewers won't recognize him. Patricia Heaton is beautiful and funny and gets to play a character that is the opposite of Debra Ramone. The supporting cast is very good. Fred Willard is hilarious as the zany and political incorrect sports anchor. He has some of the funniest lines, such as "I'm off - I still throw up before every show." I enjoyed Ty Burrell on "Out of the Practice." He has a funny scene in a taser segment in the second episode. Newcomer Josh Gad plays the young, sweaty news director. He reminds me a little bit of Chris Farley and his character is similar to the enthusiastic and neurotic Miles Silverberg character on Murphy Brown. As if we needed more of it with Patricia Heaton already on board, Ayda Field brings a lot of sex appeal as the weathergirl. She has some funny exchanges with Fred and Ty. Overall, the show just has some very funny writing and a good pace. The pop culture references to YouTube and ringtones in the first two episodes are hilarious. Back to You is filmed before a live studio audience with multiple cameras. There is no canned or added laughter here.

There are a few things that they probably could improve on for future episodes. Although the show is set in Pittsburgh, you would hardly know it. There is the Pittsburgh skyline behind the anchor's desk, but there are very few references to the city. Marsh does mention the Penguins in a news story in the second episode. It would be nice to see some exterior shots of Pittsburgh in the transitions between scenes. The newsroom set looks like a real set, but it appears to be very tiny. Maybe newsrooms are like that in real life, but people are always bumping into each other on the set. Kelly's home is shown in the pilot, but it is not as nice as I would expect a lead anchor to own. The office that Kelly and Chuck share is featured in the second episode, but it doesn't look very big or as elaborate as I expected. I guess with the high salaries of the cast, they didn't have a lot of extra money to furnish those sets with props and items on the walls.

Conclusion:

Back to You will likely be one of the top two highest rated new sitcoms of the fall season. It would be very hard for me to see it failing with such an all-star cast and crew. It may not mark the full return of the multi-camera sitcom format, but it is a step in the right direction. Hopefully we will start to see more in this format that was so popular for the last 40-50 years. Many networks wanted it for their fall schedule. Fox gave it a blind thirteen-episode commitment in February after seeing the script.

Can Grammer and Heaton find the magic of Frasier and Everybody Loves Raymond? It looks to be a funny show. When the cast looks like they are having fun and enjoy filming before a live audience, I think that will translate into a show that people will want to watch. Back to You should score an impressive debut. Fox has heavily promoted it, and there is a lot of buzz about it. It will be interesting to see how many viewers they can hold onto for the second episode and in week three when ABC's enchanting Pushing Daisies premieres. Hopefully Back to You is the start of a new golden era of the multi-camera sitcom.

Final Numbers (out of 5 stars):

Watchability: 4.5/5
Funniness: 4.5/5
Overall: 4.5/5

-- Reviewed by Todd Fuller on 09/17/07

Discuss the show after you watch it on Wednesday on our message board.

Related Links:

FOX.com Official Site

Back to You Online

Back to You Anchorizer

TV.com

epguides.com

Internet Movie Database

Wikipedia

Back to You Photo Gallery

---

And now I'll throw it back to you, Pavan...

Here are the winners for the main categories at last night's Emmys.

COMEDY SERIES
30 Rock
Entourage
The Office
Two and a Half Men
Ugly Betty
WINNER: 30 Rock

DRAMA SERIES
Boston Legal
Grey's Anatomy
Heroes
House
The Sopranos
WINNER: The Sopranos

LEAD ACTOR, COMEDY SERIES
Alec Baldwin, 30 Rock
Steve Carell, The Office
Ricky Gervais, Extras
Tony Shalhoub, Monk
Charlie Sheen, Two and a Half Men
WINNER: Ricky Gervais, Extras

LEAD ACTRESS, COMEDY SERIES
America Ferrera, Ugly Betty
Tina Fey, 30 Rock
Felicity Huffman, Desperate Housewives
Julia Louis-Dreyfus, The New Adventures of Old Christine
Mary Louise Parker, Weeds
WINNER: America Ferrera, Ugly Betty.

LEAD ACTOR, DRAMA SERIES
James Gandolfini, The Sopranos
Hugh Laurie, House
Denis Leary, Rescue Me
James Spader, Boston Legal
Kiefer Sutherland, 24
WINNER: James Spader, Boston Legal

LEAD ACTRESS, DRAMA SERIES
Patricia Arquette, Medium
Minnie Driver, The Riches
Edie Falco, The Sopranos
Sally Field, Brothers and Sisters
Mariska Hargitay, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
Kyra Sedgwick, The Closer
WINNER: Sally Field, Brothers and Sisters

SUPPORTING ACTOR, COMEDY SERIES
Jon Cryer, Two and a Half Men
Kevin Dillon, Entourage
Neil Patrick Harris, How I Met Your Mother
Jeremy Piven, Entourage
Rainn Wilson, The Office
WINNER: Jeremy Piven, Entourage.

SUPPORTING ACTRESS, COMEDY SERIES
Jenna Fischer, The Office
Conchata Ferrell, Two and a Half Men
Elizabeth Perkins, Weeds
Jaime Pressly, My Name is Earl
Holland Taylor, Two and a Half Men
Vanessa Williams, Ugly Betty
WINNER: Jaime Pressly, My Name is Earl

SUPPORTING ACTOR, DRAMA SERIES
Michael Emerson, Lost
Michael Imperioli, The Sopranos
T.R. Knight, Grey's Anatomy
Terry O'Quinn, Lost
Masi Oka, Heroes
William Shatner, Boston Legal
WINNER: Terry O'Quinn, Lost.

SUPPORTING ACTRESS, DRAMA SERIES
Lorraine Bracco, The Sopranos
Rachel Griffiths, Brothers and Sisters
Katherine Heigl, Grey's Anatomy
Sandra Oh, Grey's Anatomy
Aida Turturro, The Sopranos
Chandra Wilson, Grey's Anatomy
OUR PICK: Katherine Heigl, Grey's Anatomy

Full list of winners can be found HERE!

COMMENTS: The surprises of the night was James Spader for Lead Actor in a Drama and Katherine Heigl for Supporting Actress in a Drama. Both were underdogs, but won! And it was nice that Sally Field got Lead Actress in a Drama and Terry O'Quinn for Supporting Actor in a Drama. Comedy wise, no surprises really, but Shalhoub didn't win finally for Lead Actor in a Comedy. Actually, Jamie Pressly of My Name is Earl was a bit of a surprise. It was a huge night for ABC. 5 wins for ABC in the above main categories. The Sopranos won for Best Drama, but didn't get any of the acting wins, which is a surprise.

ABC Mid-Season Pilot Review: Notes from the Underbelly - Premieres April 12; More 'Fresh' This Weekend on Nick at Nite

Notes from the Underbelly - Regular Airings Wednesdays at 8:30PM ET/PT on ABC
Premieres Thursday, April 12th at 10 and 10:30PM ET/PT

Director/producer Barry Sonnenfeld and producers Kim and Eric Tannenbaum ("Two and a Half Men") bring a comic take on life's greatest adventure -- parenthood. This ensemble comedy proves that surviving the politics of pregnancy and maintaining your relationships with family and friends can be just as demanding as raising a child.

Andrew (Peter Cambor) and Lauren (Jennifer Westfeldt, "Kissing Jessica Stein") have just found out they're going to have a baby, and they're having a difficult time following rule number one -- keeping it a secret. Suddenly switching to decaf, becoming a teetotaler at cocktail parties, and going to the OBGYN are all difficult to keep from family and close friends.

Surrounding Andrew and Lauren as they embark on their journey is a close-knit circle of friends -- all of whom have varying opinions, experience and advice on starting a family. Julie (Melanie Paxson) and Eric (Sunkrish Bala), also in the family way for the first time, are the overly excited, slightly obnoxious expectant parents that Andrew and Lauren never want to become. Lauren's best friend, Cooper (Rachael Harris), is a divorce attorney and career woman who is skeptical of marriage altogether, and will do her best to keep Lauren from becoming another member of the "mommy cult." Andrew's buddy, Danny (Michael Weaver), is an immature child in his own right, whose chief concern is meeting hot women. Can Andrew and Lauren juggle the freedom and spontaneity of their old lives and the responsibility of their new ones? Will they be able to straddle the worlds of their carefree single friends and the ever-changing world of their married ones?

Andrew will narrate each episode, giving his wry and often sarcastic interpretation of the events that are going on around him. Lauren may be getting the stretch marks, but Andrew has to pretend that he doesn't notice them. Through it all, Andrew and Lauren come to learn that what's best for the child could be the easiest part... maintaining your relationships with family and friends might be the real challenge.

Based on Risa Green's novel of the same name, "Notes from the Underbelly" was created by Stacy Traub ("Kitchen Confidential.") Traub, Barry Sonnenfeld, Kim Tannenbaum and Eric Tannenbaum serve as executive producers. The series is from The Tannenbaum Company, Hill Three Productions in association with Warner Bros. Television.

Cast: Jennifer Westfeldt as Lauren, Peter Cambor as Andrew, Michael Weaver as
Danny, Rachael Harris as Cooper, Melanie Paxson as Julie, and Sunkrish Bala as Eric

Read our review of the pilot and two other episodes here.

Discuss the show after you watch it on Thursday on our message board.

Related Links:

ABC.com Official Site

TV.com

epguides.com

Internet Movie Database

Wikipedia

Notes from the Underbelly Photo Gallery


Turning to the news, yes, it is that time of the week again where Nick at Nite announces that they have changed their regular weekend line-up for the coming weekend. This time it will be three days of Fresh Prince with very early morning airings of Cosby Show, Growing Pains, Full House and Murphy Brown. to see the schedule for these three days click HERE. Hope you all enjoy all this Fresh Prince they keep airing. No Roseanne at least this weekend.