Melanie Paxson as Julie,
and Sunkrish Bala as Eric
Jennifer Westfeldt (Lauren) is best known for
co-writing, co-producing and playing the title role in
the indie hit, “Kissing Jessica Stein,” released
by Fox Searchlight Pictures. Her television credits
include “Two Guys, a Girl and a Pizza Place”
(series regular), “Holding the Baby” (series
regular), “Judging Amy” (recurring), “Hack”
(recurring), David E. Kelley’s “Snoops” and many
pilots.
Peter Cambor (Andrew) makes his television debut as
the expectant father, starring opposite Jennifer
Westfeldt, in “Notes from the Underbelly.” He was
cast in the series when the show’s creator and
executive producer, Stacy Traub, saw him in a
production of “The Cherry Orchard” with Annette
Benning and Alfred Molina at the Mark Taper Forum in
Los Angeles in 2006.
Michael Weaver (Danny), a musician and singer
initially, was performing in a pub in Vancouver when
an agent suggested he consider acting. After taking
some classes, Weaver booked his first job -- a scene
opposite Jack Lemmon. Shortly thereafter, he moved to
New York to study full time. He showed his diversity
with guest starring roles on the critically acclaimed
NBC dramas "Law & Order" and "Law & Order: Special
Victims Unit." Looking to make a permanent leap into
film and television, Weaver relocated to Los Angeles
and quickly landed a recurring role on NBC's
"Providence." Guest starring roles followed on "NCIS,"
"Cold Case," "Monk" and the short-lived ABC comedy,
"Hot Properties," among others. One of Weaver's
greatest assets is his ability to excel in both comedy
and drama. Adding writing to his list of talents,
Weaver recently sold his own television show to Warner
Bros. with Broken Lizard, but the show has been put on
hold due to his involvement in "Notes from the
Underbelly."
Rachael Harris (Cooper) is not just a pretty face. Her
boundless humor and quick wit are certain to earn her
a place at the top of the comedy world. She will be
seen in director Christopher Guest's upcoming film,
"For Your Consideration," this November. She is
perhaps best known for her correspondent gig on the
critically acclaimed "The Daily Show with Jon
Stewart." In addition, she has contributed to VH1's
"The Best Week Ever." She has also been seen on USA's
"Monk," "Reno 911," NBC's "Frasier" and "The West
Wing," HBO's "Curb Your Enthusiasm," VH1's "I Love the
80s Strikes Back" and ABC's "According to Jim."
Melanie Paxson (Julie) was born and raised just
outside of Champaign, Illinois, and left her hometown
after high school to pursue a degree in Theater
Performance at the University of Missouri-Columbia.
Upon arriving in Los Angeles soon afterward, she
appeared in numerous national commercials, most
notably in Glad's "Voice of Reason" campaign. One of
her first big television roles was as Joyce DeWitt in
the controversial TV movie, "Behind the Camera: The
Unauthorized Story of 'Three's Company.'" Following
guest appearances on several primetime television
shows, she landed a starring role in the NBC sitcom
"Happy Family," before being cast as Julie in "Notes
from the Underbelly."
Sunkrish Bala (Eric) began acting as a child in
community productions in and around the San Francisco
Bay Area. While studying at the Bellarmine College
Preparatory High School, he helped found A'shore
Productions, an Indian-American theater company - the
first of its kind on the West coast. His television
credits include "Grey's Anatomy," "Will & Grace," "My
Name is Earl," "CSI: NY" and "Vanished." He also has a
lead role in the upcoming "American Blend," an
independent feature starring Bollywood legend Anupam
Kher.
Pilot Plot:
In the pilot episode (episode #1), Andrew and Lauren
have just found out they're going to have a baby, and
are finding it difficult to follow rule number one -
keeping it a secret. Suddenly switching to decaf,
becoming a teetotaler at cocktail parties and going to
the OBGYN prove to be difficult to keep from family
and close friends.
The pilot episode airs at a special night and time on
Thursday, April 12, 2007 from 10 to 10:30 p.m. A
special bonus episode, which we have not received to
review, will air at 10:30 p.m. the same night, titled
#2 “Animal Style.” Andrew and Lauren succumb to
pressures of reorganizing their lives. They realize
changes are inevitable -- donating Andrew's beloved
hockey table to make space, trading in the Mini Cooper
for a mini-van, and updating an expired license -- no
matter how much you love the photo. Lauren is
experiencing strong cravings and almost jeopardizes
her driving test with an ill-advised u-turn into a
drive-thru hamburger joint. Eric and Julie are also
preparing to welcome their first child by practicing
their parental skills with the help of a toy doll.
Meanwhile, Cooper moves in on a newly separated
married man by flirting with him at a funeral.
In addition to the pilot, I received two other
episodes:
#3 “Million Dollar Baby” Wednesday, April 18 at
8:30 p.m.
Andrew is overwhelmed by the impending costs of having
a baby and looks for ways to save... at Lauren’s
expense. To offset the extra costs, he takes on
additional landscaping jobs with Danny’s help,
despite the fact neither is equipped for manual labor.
Meanwhile, Lauren is feeling like she’s not getting
through to the students she counsels and contemplates
leaving her job. When she’s pushed over the edge by
a student, she leaves work early and heads to yoga
class, where she finds Julie and Cooper, each of whom
chimes in with an opinion on whether or not she should
quit. Ultimately, a chance encounter with a student
outside of school helps her come to a decision.
#5 “Eric & Julie’s Baby” Wednesday, May 2 at
8:30 p.m.
An ordinary trip to the mall for makeup becomes
extraordinary when Julie’s water prematurely breaks,
sending her into labor... but not without her
cosmetics in tow. While Eric rushes home from a
business trip to be present for their baby’s birth,
Julie enlists the help of her friends, Andrew and
Lauren, who abruptly abandon their weekend getaway --
while Danny ensures that their hotel, spa appointments
and romantic plans do not got to waste. Having read
every book on pregnancy he could get his hands on,
Andrew offers Julie some valuable, if not humorous,
advice while she is in labor. Meanwhile, a less than
thrilled Cooper reluctantly agrees to capture the
birth on video.
Analysis:
OK, you got the facts and info on top, now it is time
to dissect the anatomy, or should I say underbelly, of
this sitcom. I saw three episodes and was pretty
impressed. It is not laugh-out-loud material from
what I saw, but it has laughs. The two leads (Lauren
and Andrew) are likable, Julie is witty and funny,
Cooper is the obnoxious type but seems to be just
playing it, Danny is weird and a goofball and Eric was
hardly seen but from what little he was in, was
decent. The show is a perfect fit for Big Day, but
show is not on anymore. It is a bit funnier than Big
Day and just as watchable I think. This show will hit
big with women. The premiere two episodes will be
following a Grey’s Anatomy special, so the sampling
will be there. It will need all the sampling it could
get because then it moves to a tougher Wednesday at
8:30 slot with According to Jim (more family & men
type show) as its lead-in. It will avoid American Idol
on most of its airings, so that is a plus. As for the
pilot, it was good and makes you want to keep
watching. I have not seen the second episode, but it
will air immediately following the pilot, and
hopefully it can sustain the pilot’s momentum. I
will be watching. The third episode is the first one
airing in its regular night and time. I saw the
episode and it is a bit of a letdown from the pilot.
It has its moments, but the main plot of that is
Lauren quitting her job. The final episode I saw is
the fifth one airing where Julie delivers. This will
be sort of a preview of when Lauren will deliver, so
it was nice to see this. Julie was hilarious in this.
She has great one liners. Cooper shined in this
episode also. She got better each episode I saw. As
for laugh out loud scenes, there are a few but this
show is supposed to be funny with the dialogue. Danny
delivers some laugh-out-loud scenes with his goofiness
and weirdness. He was definitely a bit weird in the
episode where Julie delivers...you’ll have to see
what I mean when it airs. Finally, in the pilot there
is a nice reference to the ABC drama Lost...and it is
hilarious. They have sex when watching Lost. There
is a Grey’s Anatomy reference in episode five, as
you have seen in the promos that have been airing a
lot on ABC.
Conclusion:
This is a good little show. Women will love it more
than men will. I did like it, but I know I would have
enjoyed it even more if I were a woman. Lauren looks
like and reminds me of Juliet from Lost. I don’t
know why, but she does. Danny, Andrew’s best
friend, is crazy and weird just like the best friend
on Big Day. From the pilot to the fifth episode, I
can seriously tell that Lauren is pregnant. Her head
is a bit bigger. That is a good job by the make-up
department. I will be watching for the episodes I
need to see (which are episodes 2, 4, 6 and 7). ABC
will run the show until May 16. I am not sure if
Lauren will deliver by then because ABC made 13
episodes. So, let’s hope the ratings are good so we
can see that. I just wonder what will happen if the
show hits and the season is over with Lauren
delivering. How can they go on? I mean with Big Day,
they planned on focusing on another big day, but what
about this show? I think I am jumping a little ahead
of myself, first tune in and watch. It is pretty
funny and frankly we need a sitcom hit. No new
sitcoms have hit at all in the ratings. We have had
some critical darlings (30 Rock, Knights of
Prosperity), but no real ratings winners. Let’s
make this one.
Final Numbers (out of 5 stars):
Watchability: 4/5
Funniness: 3.5/5
Overall: 4/5
-- Reviewed by pavanbadal on 04/09/07
Related Links:
ABC.com Official Site
TV.com
epguides.com
Internet Movie Database
Wikipedia
Sitcoms Online Message Board
Sitcoms Online Photo Gallery
