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Complete Savages aired from September 2004 until June 2005 on ABC.
Nick ( Keith Carradine) was a macho firefighter whose crazy wife had walked out ten years earlier, leaving him to raise their five rambunctious boys alone in this slapstick sitcom. Sam ( Andrew Eiden) was the shy, responsible, smart one, constantly harassed by his siblings; Jack ( Shaun Sipos) the handsome, guitar-playing ringleader; Chris ( Eric von Detten) the dumb jock; Kyle ( Evan Ellingson)the energetic, but shallow 14 year old; and T.J.( Jason Dolly) the much put-upon youngest-whose main leverage was that as a born entrepreneur ( often on e-Bay), he had money and the others didn't.They all lived in a happy, noisy pigsty of a home, letting their giant dog eat at the table with them, slapping each other on the head, sticking the little kid's face in their armpits, and otherwise acting like " complete savages." Nick, who was something of an overgrown kid himself, routinely outsmarted their schemes and kept order, telling them, " Shape up or I'll bring Mom back"( "Noooo!!"). Jimmy ( Vincent Ventresca) was Nick's irresponsible younger brother, a fellow firefighter at suburban firehouse Engine 17, and Angela ( Autumn Reeser) was Sam's girlfriend.
Though cleverly written and smartly executed ( by producer-director Mel Gibson), Complete Savages never caught on and was canceled before the end of its first season.
A Review from the Michigan Daily
New TGIF show a 'Complete' disappointment
By Abby Stotz, Daily Arts Writer on 10/1/04
“Complete Savages” is the latest addition to ABC’s Friday night line-up of mediocre sitcoms, and it fits right in. The show follows the antics of five teenage boys raised by their single firefighter father who has the voice and parenting style of a drill sergeant.
The Savage men spend the pilot in a tug-of-war over whether to hire a new housekeeper, since the last one quit and made a bonfire of their clothes in the backyard. The father, Nick Savage (Keith Carradine, “Deadwood”), has finally realized what pigs his sons are and declares that they are going to learn to clean up after themselves. These boys, obviously the only modern teenagers never to have heard the word “chores,” do their very best to revolt, establishing the show’s main premise that these guys are really gross. They stoop as low as to bring in the neighbors’ trash and throw it about the home. No dorm room could dream of being so vile. Still, Nick prevails, tricking the boys into cleaning because he is the by far the smartest person in the house.
One of the main problems with “Complete Savages” is the Savage boys themselves. Each fits neatly into a teenage male stereotype, the kind that populates every high school, and winds up being wholly uninteresting. There’s Chris (Erik Von Detten) the jock who weight-trains in the living room, and Jack (Shaun Sipos) the sensitive boy who strums his acoustic guitar constantly. There’s also Sam (Andrew Eiden), the nerdy one who harbors a crush on the cute neighbor girl across the street.
The few bright spots in “Complete Savages” are Carradine as the all-knowing Nick Savage and some good one-liners. While the boys themselves are annoying, some of their lines are pretty funny. As the garbage piles up higher and higher in the kitchen, Sam tries to sneak out some trash and tells Jack that it’s because he saw the garbage move. “Even maggots need exercise,” Jack replies.
Unless the Savage boys can manage to flesh out their one-dimensional roles, the future for “Complete Savages” looks bleak. ABC could use a break-out sitcom right now, but this sure isn’t it.
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