Sometimes I know something about a show when I sit down to watch it and sometimes I know nothing, this was the case with Love Bites and that feeling of not knowing continued through most of the episode.  The script starts with bunch of friends on a Hens night, but before they get too rowdy the bride to be falls asleep and the only one who still wants to go clubbing is the pregnant Annie, her friend Cassie is tired of being upstaged by her friends belly so tells a guy she is a virgin. The story then follows the ramifications of this lie and how Cassie and the guy try to figure out their next move to result in sexual bliss.  At this point I start  to wonder what happened to the bride to be and the pregnant Annie as there are no cutaways from Cassie’s story which comes to close when she admits the lie. The next thing I see is a new character talking about how he and his wife can sleep with a celebrity of their choice if the opportunity arises.  Of course the opportunity does arise and the results are much less funny than that episode of Friends where Ross gets his chance with Isabella Rossellini.  Then the story shifts again and I release that this is not one episode but several little stories on the theme of love, kind of like Creepshow for girls.   Anyway in the last part we return the to the bride to be and discover she just had her first orgasm with the help of a vibrator.

Apparently this was not the format of the show Cindy Chupack had originally intended, it was suppose to me a regular show exploring love and relationships of singletons Annie and Cassie,  but after cast members left for various reasons, a pilot was made and rejected, Cindy left as showrunner, the whole thing was retooled into the format now which finally premièred 8 months late. The show was watch-able, if predictable with no real ongoing drama, it is simple watch out the corner of your eye while you doing something else.  It doesn’t challenge expectations and mostly left me wondering about more interesting characters and stories that were discarded along the way. Instead of giving us rich interesting character development we have a series of C stories, the plots that were not quite interesting or fleshed out enough to carry a full episode.

Officially the show has not been cancelled but viewing figures have been dipping every week and it looks likely that the original 9 episodes made may also be the last.

Created / Written by: Cindy Chupack
Directed by: Marc Buckland
Starring: Becki Newton, Greg Grunberg, Constance Zimmer
Date premièred: 2nd June 2011 (NBC)
UK Details: TBC

Happily Divorced

So here is the premise, Fran is happily married until late one night Peter, her husband of 18 years, confesses that he is gay.  Rather than dwelling on the crisis of a man dealing with his newly found sexuality it becomes a “comedy” about a couple divorcing – except the economic crisis means they can’t afford  to physically separate and he moves into the den.  We pick up 6 months later where Fran is now a fully fledged fag hag, he now a stereotypical  metrosexual with a gym membership, shaven chest and regular at sing along a Sound of Music.  The horribly stereotypical  Mexican delicvery boy still hangs around doing his best to be as offensive as possible, (on side note check out this video about a similar role in Seinfeld) and in an effort tick every box we have Fran’s best friend a black woman with attitude.  Anyway Fran starts dating again and goes to fancy restaurant where a stuck up French waiter ruins the night when he has an allergic reaction to as a truffle. But alls well that ends well and they make up. Peteris fine with his ex-wife dating and she finds a real man (he rides a motorbike and wears a leather jacket – he is basically an ageing Fonze.)

Shockingly filled with sterotypes, I was quite surprised to learn that the series is based on co-creators Fran Drescher and Peter Marc Jacobson, who had been high school sweethearts and then married in 1978. They divorced in 1999. Jacobson later came out as gay to Drescher and the two remained friends. Sadly this in no way translates to the screen, a series of poor one-liners, leads to a show that is predictable and forgettable. With 10 episodes order I would not be surprised to see it end there.

Created / Written by: Fran Drescher, Peter Marc Jacobson
Directed by: Lee Shallat Chemel
Starring: Fran Drescher, John Michael Higgins, Tichina Arnold, Rita Moreno, Valente Rodriguez, Robert Walden
Date premièred: 15th June 2011 (TV Land)
UK Details: TBC

Showgirls and show trials.

The legal drama just keeps on coming, CBS has dished out The Defenders a premise that sees two Vegas defence lawyers fighting for the everyman in Sin City.  Based on a real Vegas lawyers Cristalli & Saggese (their website proudly displays many adverts for the TV show as well as photo of the pair looking like news reporters), the show takes a slightly more comedic approach to the popular legal genre.

In the first episode we are introduced to the two lawyers, ladies man Pete Kaczmarek (Jerry O’Connell) and Nick Morelli (Jim Belushi) who is dealing with the break-up of his marriage.  The case before them is of a young man accused of carrying out an execution style murder by shooting someone in the back.  A plea deal has already been agreed to that would see him serve a limited sentence, but the man maintaining his innocence wants to go to trial.  Before the judge his lawyers change his plea and the trial is held straight away.  Through the usual legal wranglings the two lawyers are able to frame the case as involuntary manslaughter and since this is not a charge the jury have option of convicting him on they find him innocent.

Back in the 60s CBS produced another legal drama called The Defenders, the show dealt with controversial topics such as schoolteacher fired for being an atheist, an author accused of pornography and a physician charged in a mercy killing. The Museum of Broadcast Communications called it “perhaps the most socially-conscious series the medium has ever seen”, now along comes a show about lawyers fighting for plea bargains, reduced sentencing and giant billboards featuring photos of them ready for a fight. It seems like a giant step down for the humble title.

This comedy drama really doesn’t bring anything exciting or  new to the table, the opening case is no game changer for the pair, they are not personally invested in what this boy’s future holds and it makes some of their decisions and tactics callous, but since this a by the book event led drama those decisions are always for the best and help speed the plot its highly predictable climax. The over arching series storylines are no more spectacular, Pete is a playboy and Nick needs to get over his divorce; their new advertising blitz is getting them noticed and their new employee and former stripper will have a struggle getting familiar with how the guys work.

The premise of the show is see normal guys defending normal guys and while the title characters come off well with a nice father-son style relationship, the backdrop of Vegas and courtroom setting offers little new or interesting ground to tread. This show currently goes up against The Whole Truth, and while I am no fan of either show, at least I didn’t know how The Whole Truth was going to end.

Created / Written by: Kevin Kennedy, Niels Mueller
Directed by:  Davis Guggenheim
Starring: Jim Belushi, Jerry O’Connell, Jurnee Smollett
Date premièred: 22nd September 2010
UK Details: FX 2011

Racist or reality check.

Mumbai Calling is about a call centre manager sent to India in order to manage the jobs that have been outsourced. But enough the 2008 ITV comedy, this is about the fresh ideas that roll around in America’s week of pilots.  Outsourced is a totally different sitcom in that was based on a 2006 movie of the same name.

Todd Dempsy returns to work after a management training course to find all the call centre he was to manage has been closed down and outsourced to India, luckily for Todd his job is safe, just as long as he willing up sticks and move to India.  Arriving in the new country he is given his ragtag gang of Indian call centre employees ready and willing to sell American Novelties to American customers.  Very quickly it becomes evident that the employees need to understand Americans and American excess if they are going to be able to sell the crap (probably made in China) that Americans want to buy.

When trailers for this show started airing there were voices of opposition complaining about the stereotypical nature of Indians and Indian culture shown in the adverts.  Having watched the show I thought the call centre characters were not far from the crazy selection you would expect in any run of the of the mill office sitcom and I kind of think America comes off far worse. America looks like a country on a downward spiral as its manufacturing jobs are sent over seas with many other jobs following in hot pursuit.  All the time American spent money on cheese heads, foam fingers and fake poo, the Indians have been working towards a better country (don’t get me wrong they are long way off but they are moving in the right direction). As America struggles with over 10% unemployment a comedy about the people who have been given those jobs seems very misguided. In one scene man calls wanting to order an “American number 1 cup” and is very angry that he has to call India to get it. Its understandable and I wonder if Americans viewing show get that they are being portrayed as an ignorant, greedy, glutinous mass desperate to throw money away on nonsensical novelties rather than rebuild the infrastructure of their crumbling economy.  Too political?

Ignoring that the show is a bog standard,by the numbers look at office life that fails to live up to the standards set by the show it follows… The Office.  Nothing new here, except a depressing reality check.

Created / Written by:Robert Borden, George Wing, John Jeffcoat
Directed by: Ken Kwapis
Starring: Ben Rappaport, Rizwan Manji, Sacha Dhawan, Rebecca Hazlewood, Parvesh Cheena, Anisha Nagarajan, Diedrich Bader, Pippa Black
Date premièred: 23rd September 2010
UK Details:

Certainly no Spinal Tap.

In 2006 CBS produced a sitcom called the Class which reunited a group of friends 10 years after they finished school and went their separate ways, now in 2010 ABC has taken the same premise and wrapped it up into a comedy-drama mockumentary.

The premise of the show revolves around a documentary team that followed a group of kids in their final year of high school, they talk about their dreams, ambitions and hopes for the future. Now ten years later the documentary team have tracked down the group to see if their life panned out the way they imagined it would. In series of set ups and reveals we see the jock is now in the army, the brain who wanted to be a scientist now works on capitol hill, the beauty queen who ended up marrying the rich kid and the overachiever who works in a bar. The main plot of the pilot centres on the nerd who wanted children but finds out he infertile and the revelation that the quiet wallflower gone pregnant on prom night and the dad doesn’t know.

Although this played as a “documentary” it feels very scripted, the documentary side is shown by shaky hand held camera work and bad angles, although this illusion is shattered by the use of multiple camera angles. That said even term mockumentry is a little bit misleading, before watching the show I was expecting a sitcom and then what started as comedy had a dramatic shift into drama that I was not expecting.  Over all this show feels incredibly contrived, what are the chances that a group of random students should have their life  pushed in such radical directions by the  events of the first decade of the millennium. Career changes are made because Bush vs Gore election, the events of the 9/11, the collapse of Enron and the second season of the bachelor. There are bonds that keep characters together that don’t really hold true and such participation in the documentary leaves the characters having incredibly personal interactions in front of the ever present camera crew.

With such an eclectic cast to keep track the show takes the short cut of labelling them with their most obvious high school trait, this leaves us with the jock, the nerd, the brain etc. the show then plays on these stereotypes. The first episode takes on the theme of parenthood as one character realises he will never be a father while the girl he secretly loves is on the cusp of giving birth and another character learns that he is the father of a nine year old child.  How convenient that these revelations should happen just as the documentary crew turn up.

I have worked in TV and know how fake real docu-dramas can be – show like Jersey Shores, the Real Housewives, Hogan knows best are all massively manipulated by the producers and it would have been more interesting to see how these people manipulate their subjects to make a gripping TV show.  We should have seen the reluctance of the cast to want to participate in these confrontations rather than scripting it to feel “real” it should have been scripted to feel fake.

UPDATE 3/10/10 - My Generation becomes the second series to be axed after episode 2 lost 31% of its viewers. Its tough slot, going up against established shows Bones, Big Bang Theory and Vampire Diaries had condemned it to fail before it even started… does not mean the script did not hold some blame too.

Created / Written by: Noah Hawley
Based on: God’s Highway (Blomstertid)
Directed by: Craig Gillespie
Starring: Daniella Alonso, Mehcad Brooks, Kelli Garner, Jaime King, Julian Morris, Keir O’Donnell, Michael Stahl-David, Anne Son, Sebastian Sozzi
Date premièred: 23rd September 2010
UK Details: TBA

Would be better with a whiff of originality.

To say that I have been underwhelmed by 2010′s fall offerings is a huge understatement and even before watching the pilot to Better With You my heart was sinking at the prospect of writing yet another a generic review to another generic sit-com.  ABC has placed this show between two of last year’s big hits The Middle and the Emmy award winning Modern Family making it the only traditional multi-camera sitcom in the 2 hour line up of Wednesday night comedy (the fourth was show is another hit from last year Cougar Town).

The show opens by presenting us with three couples, the first have been together for 2 months and still want to make out at every opportunity, the second have been together for 9 years remained unmarried and yet finish each other sentences,  the final couple have been together for 35 years and don’ talk at all. As the episode unfolds we learn that the two younger girls are sisters, the older couple their parents. Neither of the sisters are married, although the older one in a long term relationship claims it is a life choice, until her younger sister gets in engaged. The positive reaction by her parents to announcement of a wedding and a baby causes her to rethink this choice.

This show was exactly what I expected. Shana Goldberg-Meehan is a former writer on Friends and the 20 / 30 something angst is transferred over here only now it feels tired and overdone. While watching Better With You it can feel like watching a show from 90s, it is tame, predictable, bland and packed with characters we have seen a dozen times before. The weak jokes are based on characters being too stupid to exist, for example the older sister telling the boyfriend of her younger sister that she doesn’t want to get married until her social security becomes insolvent – this requires all three to be stupid – the boyfriend belives it, the girlfriend doesn’t question it and sister thinks this titbit will delay the engagement. I know this is a comedy and not a serious drama and perhaps I could let this go if the script wasn’t packed so many more clunkers.  It is bad writing on the one episode that has to stand up stronger than all the others.

A sign of the troubles facing the show is the inability to get a title to stick, previous titles included Better Together, Leapfrog and That Couple – if you are so unsure of your story that you can’t nail a title, get out before you waste any more of your money. really want to know how shows like this get made, let alone get given a series. If anyone knows please leave a comment.

Created / Written by: Shana Goldberg-Meehan
Directed by: James Burrows
Starring: Joanna Garcia, Jennifer Finnigan, Josh Cooke, Jake Lacy, Kurt Fuller, Debra Jo Rupp
Date premièred: 22nd September 2010
UK Details: TBA

It’s like a twitter feed in a TV show, minus the profanity.

Studios looking for next big TV show will grab desperately at anything that seems popular, that is one of the reasons we have so many vampires running around. In a desperate attempt to tap into something else the youth love, CBS turned to Twitter’s @shitmydadsays, a popular feed  that documents the ramblings of a 74 year old man. Using the premise of a character who says funny shit, William Shatner was signed and a sitcom created.

In the pilot episode Henry(Jonathan Sadowski) returns home hoping that the bank of dad will give him a bail out after losing his job and running through all his savings. His father Ed (Shatner) lives alone and puts barriers with his harsh opinions to stop anyone, even family members from getting too close. His dad’s behaviour makes it harder for Henry to admit his problems, just as it is hard for dad to admit his own loneliness.  When Henry’s dad agrees to let him move in, it is much for his benefit as for his son.

The attraction of the original twitter feed is the crass, to the point sound-bites from a man who has accepted his lot in life and has no time for stupid questions, here we are presented with a censored version mixed into an old sitcom faithful — the odd couple. It is kind of amusing, given the lack of bite in the show, that they should be the subject of protests by Parents Television Council because the title alludes to obscenity, since there is no obscenity in the show, the protests just serve to to give it more publicity.

In reality the lesson to learn here is that a single crazy character does not make a show (this why spin of shows with Kramer, Joey and The Lone Gunmen failed). $h*! My Dad Says while not totally horrible (especially when compared to other odd couple offering Melissa and Joey), lacks any sense of originality in situation or style.

Created by: Justin Halpern
Developed by: David Kohan, Max Mutchnick
Written by: David Kohan, Max Mutchnick, Justin Halpern, Patrick Schmacker
Directed by: James Burrows
Starring: William Shatner, Jonathan Sadowski, Will Sasso, Nicole Sullivan, Stephanie Lemelin
Date premièred: 23rd September 2010
UK Details: TBA

As often happens in the world to TV pilots the first show they make does not cut the mustard, reshoots are ordered and changes made based on feedback.  As someone has kindly pointed out the original video I posted (seen below) featured Ryan Devlin in the role of Henry, he was later recast with Jonathan Sedowski.  Sadly I do not have the original pilot to compare to the final show,  it can be very interesting to see what changes are made before the general public get to see it. Examples from other shows include Scrubs going from a beige colour pallete to a pastels colour pallete and actress Brook Kerr  portryaing Tara having her scenes were reshot with Rutina Wesley in True Blood. Other shows never make past the first episode in the coming weeks I will look at Babylon Fields (the original zombie drama) and Pretty/Handsome.

Raising Hope is the companion show to Running Wilde, and while the latter deals with the super rich, Raising Hope deals with the working class. From Greg Garcia, the creator of the popular My Name Is Earl, this show sets out to show the kind hearts of the low income American.

Having impregnated a serial killer, Jimmy (Lucas Neff) becomes a single father when she is executed for her crimes. Returning home to his parents, cousin and senile grandmother, he sets out to be the caring, responsible parent he thinks he lacked as a child. It is a fast learning curve, made more difficult by the lack of help he receives from family members who thinks he should leave the baby with the fire brigade. Ultimately after night of screaming and tears the family pulls together and agree to help raise the child.

I often get frustrated at American shows which claim to show average families, but they live in giant houses, have flat screen TVs, cars and all the latest fashion accessories, occasionally shows come along that buck the trend (Malcolm in Middle and Roseanne) where we see the real struggles that face real people. Raising Hope for all its over the top comedy, attempts to show a more realistic portrayal of the average American life, although some have said Garcia paints these people in a positive folksy way, I see it as being slightly more mocking. There are dangers in getting too political about such things, but while love and family are great, sometimes money or a strong social safety net is better.

The pilot suffers a little from an uneven style and the weight of story that it needs to get across to the viewers. Some moments (especially the fast paced opening six minutes) are surreal, there are flashbacks, smart observational comedy and total gross out comedy.  The biggest problem is the main character who at the very start of the show decides to turn his life around, everything that follows happens to him and he accepts it based on this decision he made. There is no growth, change in his behaviour or change in his perception of the world, in fact it is his parents who make the leap and decide to support their son.

The cast is good with newcomer Lucas Neff holding his own among the more experienced cast members such as his mum played by Martha Plimpton (you may recognise her from The Goonies), future girlfriend Shannon Marie Woodward (coming off of an excellent performance in FX’s The Riches) and Cloris Leachman who pretty much echoes her role from Malcolm in the Middle as the lunatic grandmother.

I like the premise of the show and think the single teenage dad idea is fresh and has great scope for future episodes, once the the style of the show is locked in place, it could do very well.

Created / Written by: Greg Garcia
Directed by: Michael Fresco
Starring: Garret Dillahunt, Lucas Neff, Martha Plimpton, Skyler Stone, Shannon Marie Woodward, Cloris Leachman
Date premièred: 21st September 2010
UK Details: TBA

It’s not the size of your plaque that matters, but the size of your pony.

Arrested Development stands out as one of the funniest and creative sitcoms in recent years, so when it was canned after three series it left a gap that needed to be refilled. Last year creator Mitch Hurwitz introduced “Sit Down – Shut Up” an animated series that reunited Will Arnett and Jason Bateman, it failed to get much attention and the promised Arrested Development movie is still languishing in development hell. Running Wilde is Mitch Hurwitz new comedy that brings Will Arnett to the forefront.

Steve Wilde (Arnett) is a trust fund baby and in some ways a literal baby. He is looked after by his two dedicated servants, he gets whatever wants and his chief concern is upstaging his friend, nemesis and fellow trust fund baby Fa’ad Shaoulian (Peter Serafinowicz). Then we have Emmy (Keri Russell), an eco-warrior dedicated to saving tribes in the rain forrest, she is also the childhood love interest of Steve. Emmy returns from the rain forrest with her daughter Puddle to ask Steve for help in their quest, but instead see him receive a humanitarian award he is giving to himself.  Finding out he is still as selfish as he was as child, she plans on leaving until she witnesses him perform an unselfish act giving her hope that she can turn him to her way of thinking.

It is good to see a show that is not driven by events, but by character, however on the nose and lacking subtext the dialogue is, you really get a sense of who the characters are, what they want and what need to do to obtain it.  It is a deceivingly simple structure and one that works to the benefit of the show making Running Wilde one of the must see new series.

However, it is not all good news, there are teething problems with the show. From the outset this show does not match the heights of Arrested Development in terms of character depth or story complexity.  Having Arnett’s Steve Wilde as the main character is a big problem, he is a crazy character in his crazy world, Arrested Development had Jason Bateman’s Michael Blooth who was the sane man amongst all the crazy characters. 30 Rock has Tina Fey’s Liz Lemon – it might seem like a funny idea to have Tracy Mogan take centre stage, but it limits what stories you can tell because these types of characters are so simple. Running Wilde does have Emmy’s daughter Puddle (Stefania Lavie Owen) as the solo sane voice (literally as she does not speak and we only hear her through voice over), she explains all the back story and presents the only genuine vulnerability in the show.  Easy jokes come from crazy characters, but memorable stories come from characters who well rounded and identifiable. Running Wilde is sitting on a fine line, the characters are different enough that the dynamics between are going to be interesting to see play out, although most cases the plots will probably revolve around Steve trying to do something nice, but is a total disaster, he then has to look at himself and do things right.

There are great surreal moments with miniature horses and giant plaques, the one liners are great, the callbacks work perfectly and some events are so over the top you can hardly believe it happened, a fine example is Will’s solution for helping the Amazon tribe. The cast are clearly having a great time and are putting a lot of themselves into the roles, with Arrested Develop long gone, this is the next best thing.

*In the photo above you see a Nanny, her role was cut after the first pilot was made, scenes were re-shot and she was replaced by Mr. Lunt (Robert Michael Morris), many of the changes that happened were to make the characters more likeable and redeemable. More recasting can be seen in the video below too, some scenes take place in totally different locations in the broadcast pilot.

Update 14/10/10

When the series started star Will Arnett was confident taking to his Twitter account “Holy balls…Running Wilde is on! I’ve written and read great things about that show!” As Running Wilde passes its 4th episode, the show is limping and Will Arnett has returned to twitter with vengeance to drum up support for the show in hope in increasing the ratings.  “I know I’ve been pimping #RunningWilde,but if not,I’ll have to actually pimp,which would suck even tho I do like drinking cough syrup” and “Never done a grassroots effort, but let’s save the effing show #RunningWilde Forever!(or 5 decent seasons,plus a 6th for 2&ahalfmen $$)”. This morning he was not looking hopeful in spite of a petition to keep the show on air… “Thanks to everyone who signed the petition..f**king ratings sucked…I guess America hates jokes?”.  It seems certain that the show will not get a full season order and just limp to the end of its original 13 episode order.

Created / Written by:  Jim Vallely, Mitch Hurwitz, Will Arnett
Directed by: Mitch Hurwitz
Starring: Will Arnett, Keri Russell, Stefania Lavie Owen, Mel Rodriguez, Robert Michael Morris, Peter Serafinowicz
Date premièred: 21st September 2010
UK Details: TBA

A comedy that teaches us that fat people should stick to their own kind.

The studio based sitcom has been struggling to take hold for some time now as the single camera sitcom continues to take hold. The limitations of a single studio and the demographic  it pitches towards leaves the format looking cheap and feeling stale.  Executive producer Chuck Lorre currently has the two highest rated sitcoms to his name (Two And A Half Men and The Big Bang Theory), so his name on a new project is going to get attention. Mike and Molly sets out to make their mark with the often recycled plot line of the misadventures of a new couple and their circle of zanny friends. The twist? They’re fat.

In the pilot we are introduced to Mike (Billy Gardell) an over weight policeman trying to loose weight, while his buddy mocks him. Then we meet Molly (Melissa McCarthy) an overweight school teacher who is also trying to loose weight while her slender mother and sister carry on their glutinous lifestyle in front of her without gaining a pound. The pair of lonely hearts meet at an Overeaters Anonymous meeting and are instantly charmed by the other’s humour and good nature. Too shy to ask each other out they bumble along before Mike builds up the courage to tell Molly how he feels.

It is good to see real average people portrayed on TV and both Gardell and McCarthy play their roles well, although too much of the humour relies on them being fat as their defining characteristic. I can’t imagine that Mike and Molly was creator Mark Roberts’ dream project, it feels terribly formulaic with the stereotypical meet cute, the fat gags, the slut gags, the pot gags and the I’m the token black man gags.  The two main characters are quite engaging, and you can buy into their awkward and innocent relationship, there feels like there might even be some heart in there. For the most part the show easy viewing, but fails to push any buttons that would make inspire me tune in next week. Maybe reflecting the main characters’ tastes it is all a little too sweet; although the supporting cast do their best to give it some edge, they just feel wacky for sake of a few jokes. Katy Mixon however, is sorely wasted as Molly’s mother, much in the same C. C. H. Pounder was wasted in last years failed sitcom Brothers.

In the crowded arena of sitcoms Mike and Molly does little to stand out from the crowd, but it may do OK with an audience tired of the overused odd couple scenario, I certainly felt less anger towards this show than I did towards Melissa and Joey.

Created / Written by: Mark Roberts
Directed by: James Burrows
Starring: Billy Gardell, Melissa McCarthy, Reno Wilson, Katy Mixon, Nyambi Nyambi, Swoosie Kurtz
Date premièred: 20th September 2010
UK Details: TBA