Info:
Premiere Date: Monday, September 19, 2005 (Paramount Television)
Network: CBS
Time: Mondays at 9:30 p.m. E/P
Cast: (in Alphabetical Order)
Ty Burrell, Stockard Channing, Christopher Gorham,
Paula Marshall, Jennifer Tilly, Henry Winkler
Synopsis (Introduction, Cast Details):
OUT OF PRACTICE (Monday, 9:30 PM) is a comedy about a
family of physicians who share the same profession but
have little else in common. Ben Chase (Christopher
Gorham, "Felicity") is an earnest young couples'
counselor whose family doesn't consider him to be a
"real" doctor because he doesn't have "M.D." after his
name. But despite their lofty credentials, Ben might
be the best prescription for the future of this
family. Stockard Channing ("The West Wing", “Grease”),
Henry Winkler ("Happy Days," “Arrested Development”),
Ty Burrell, ("In Good Company") and Paula Marshall
("Spin City," “Veronica Mars”) also star in this
series. Jennifer Tilly (“Bride of Chucky”) also is in
the series as Winkler’s girlfriend and receptionist -
and one of Burrell's former patients.
Winkler on the cast list should stand out immediately.
Channing will probably ring a bell fairly quickly to
most people. The other three have varying degrees of
an unknown factor, as best case scenario their comedy
work is limited. Should be interesting to see if the
show brings in the laughs, particularly long-term
Pilot Plot:
It’s Ben’s 30th birthday, and he is going to the
symphony with his mother what a guy wants more than
anything on his 30th birthday. Ben’s mother, Lydia
arrives, and they get ready to leave. Bianca, Ben’s
receptionist, refers to him as Dr. Barnes, to which
Benny reminds Bianca he’s not a Dr…Bianca, says
“People come to you, you help them, and to me that
makes you a Doctor.” Lydia replies “What a lovely
thing to say Bianca….but Benny’s right, he’s NOT a
doctor.” After that, while talking about her day;
Lydia says she gets out of the OR, gets into the
elevator, and says “guess who was standing
there?”…Ben’s father, Stewart, enters at this point,
to which Ben says “Dad!” leading the mother to say, “I
said my day was awful, not disastrous.” This back
and forth between Dr. Barnes and Dr. Barnes (Lydia
[Channing] and Stewart [Winkler]) is hilarious.
The main plot of the episode involves the entire
family getting together at Ben’s place for dinner (a
rarity in this family of Doctors). While Ben is
upstairs at his Dad’s apartment to get an extra bottle
of while, his phone rings...it’s his wife. She’s
leaving him. At the same time, at Stewart’s
apartment, Ben runs into his dad’s secretary, whom
Stewart is sleeping with...and whom Ben’s brother,
Oliver, a plastic surgery, recently did some work on.
Ben gets back to his apartment…they’re afraid to tell
him that Naomi (his wife) just called to say she’s
leaving him, while Ben tries not to let out that
Crystal, the secretary, is sleeping with Stewart a
revelation that would cause Lydia (divorced from
Stewart) to go nuclear. The rest of the episode
follows this plotline to its conclusion…including Ben
thinking his family believes his life’s a joke after
they hear them joking about his now ex-wife.
Analysis:
This show’s pretty good. Henry Winkler’s knack for
clever entrances and exists shines through on multiple
occasions in the pilot (two elevator scenes, the first
scene in the office, and on and on). The main
character, Ben, is a bit too overdramatic for my
tastes hopefully this will improve in time. The
interplay between Lydia [Stockard Channing] and the
various characters is great her character’s
personality quirks shine through quite well throughout
the episode. Each character is nuts in their own
way.
Conclusion:
First, so that no one gets confused as to who does
what:
Dr. Stewart Barnes (Winkler) Gastroenterologist
Dr. Lydia Barnes (Channing) Neurosurgeon
Dr. Oliver Barnes (Burrell) Plastic Surgeon
Dr. Regina Barnes (Marshall) ER Doctor
Ben Barnes (Gorham Psychologist (“He’s not a
doctor”)
Crystal (Tilly) Stewart’s receptionist and love
interest, Oliver’s patient.
Now, having THAT out of the way, I thought the show
was funny in most places. As discussed, I wasn’t the
biggest fan of Christopher Gorham’s initial outing as
Ben Barnes (and they really need to decide whether the
character’s going to be called Ben, Benny, or
Benjamin) seemed a bit too dramatic. Also, the
episode seemed a bit rushed. You went from a couple
minutes at the office, brief trip to the restaurant,
straight to the apartment, did the whole Naomi/Crystal
thing, then back to the restaurant to close the show.
The show needs to work on its pacing just a little
bit. Otherwise, it’s a funny show, and I hope it
sees a nice, lengthy run on CBS.
Final Numbers (out of 5 stars):
Watchability: 4/5
Funniness: 4/5
Overall: 4/5
-- Reviewed by Seth Thrasher on 09/18/2005.
Related Links:
CBS.com Official Site
TV.com
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