Monday, October 14, 2013

New sitcom reviews: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

It’s been a month since the big waves of new TV shows came up and made us torn between work and binge-watching (at least for me). And sadly, I could say that most of those shows are really piece of crap, the one that’d make you yell “bring back my precious 30 minutes!” thing. Even when I’ve set myself to only watch couples of shows that I’ve cautiously considered to be worth-watching, I still found a big disappointment in my own choices.

As a comedy fan, it’s hurtful for me to say that we can’t expect much of laughter this year. From numerous new sitcoms of which cables and broadcast have brought up, only two shows that really meet up my expectation. They are ‘Brooklyn Nine Nine’ and ‘Hello Ladies’. Those two are shining and flying far above other contenders so far.

Anyhow, here’s my very own judgment on some new sitcoms after watching 2-3 first episodes.


THE GOOD

Brooklyn Nine Nine
Rate: 8.5/ 10

Why:

Never before a TV series were dare to offer a comedy based on a very serious premise. But, Brooklyn Nine Nine had broken that cycle and brought up the impossible to the history of TV industry.  It has a big success on proving that a crime/ cops narratives could be a very funny, amusing storyline to give to the audience.

Of course, Andy Samberg and Terry Crews could’ve been the only thing that would stick us up to the show, but no. This show has many other things to offer. The writings are flawless, the jokes are smart and hilarious, and the other cast are awesome! One of my favorite is Melissa Fumero who plays Detective Amy Santiago wonderfully with her comical expression and Andre Braugher who fills in the role for Capt. Ray Holt with his deadpan, poker face.

By only watching the pilot, Brooklyn Nine Nine easily becomes one of the best new comedy this Fall. This show really got me hooked from the beginning. Even when you decided to stick around, you could see the show only gets better and funnier on the next episode. Kudos for Fox who really has good eyes on this one.

Hello Ladies
Rate: 7.8/ 10

Why:

Hello Ladies started off with a pretty cool, laughable pilot in the beginning. I could see myself laughing and giggling politely during the 20 minutes of the first episode while watching Stephen Merchant made a fool out of himself. But, there was no spark. And Merchant’s character was too pathetic and depressing for my taste at the time.

Luckily, I decided to watch the 2nd episode. And bam! The whole show started to feel a lot funnier and less annoying than before. Still, Merchant keeps making a fool out of himself to gain some laughs, but this time he did it in a more ridiculous, laughable way, not in a pathetic, stupid, annoying way.

The show really grows on me after the 2nd episode. Plus, the songs on the show were really good and ear-catching, especially the opening theme song. The jokes are pretty great and the writings are funny as well. Even though the storyline was predictable, I have no problem with it as long as the writers could keep me laughing with their lines.

The only problem is the show has a weak character building. They have no back story and I have difficulties to find a likable character to give my sympathy for. Merchant better find his mojo and use his charm to make one of his character lovable and give the audience someone to root for. Otherwise, nobody would invest and leave the show eventually.


THE BAD

The Goldbergs
Rate: 6.5/ 10

Why:

Initially, I watched The Goldbergs in order to find a family comedy that could match Emmy’s darling, Modern Family. Even though my hopes were too high, this show is actually pretty good for a freshman. The pilot was funny and the premise was pretty solid.

I’ve seen three episodes of this show and I can see the major problems are the inconsistency and sometimes dull storyline. There were some episodes that really hilarious, but sometimes I just ended up giving a dry smile on the next one. Also, all the episodes have a typical, moral lesson on the end that feels really cheesy and tacky. Seriously, that was too much.

Trophy Wife
Rate: 6.5/ 10

Why:

Surprisingly, Trophy Wife has exceeded my expectation through its pilot. The storyline was fresh and quiet entertaining. The kids were adorable and capable of making funny jokes with their cuteness. And the characters were seems to be well-written too.

But then I watched the 2nd episode and felt a bit of disappointment. The show has made an ugly turn into a boring and so-so comedy. There was no hysterical scene like I found on the pilot where the husband and one of the ex-wives try to find a similar twin hamster to replace the dead ones. Or when the “trophy wife” deliberately drink alcohol in the morning to help her step daughter out of trouble.

Even so, I still think this show has a potential and hopefully could find a better writings in the future.

The Crazy Ones
Rate: 6.2/ 10

Why:

Big names apparently doesn’t make a show becomes better than any other ones. At least this is what I learned from The Crazy Ones. Having Robin Williams and Sarah Michelle Gellar as one of the cast obviously doesn’t help this CBS’ new comedy getting funnier on each episode. So far, the pilot was the best and the most laughable episode. From then, the series gains less and less laughter from me as audience.

But, I’m not giving up yet. Even though the show is gradually lower its humor level, I’d still have faith in Robin Williams to pull this one off.


THE UGLY

The Michael J. Fox Show
Rate: 6.0/ 10

Why:

Started off with a really fun, impressive trailer, The Michael J. Fox Show turned out to be not as funny as I thought. Yes it was enjoyable and watchable for the whole family, but it’s just an average comedy, the one that can only makes you giggling and smile, instead of laughing really hard.

The good thing about this show is we get to see Betsy Brandt explores her true talent as a comedian after wrestling with serious role on Breaking Bad. Plus, we’d see more lovable, funny man, Wendell Pierce (I love this guy!) on our TV every week.

Overall, The Michael J. Fox Show was not disappointing. But it’s not special either.

Mom
Rate: 5.7/10

Why:

I made a mistake about this one right from the start. Knowing that the show was coming from the king of sitcom itself, Chuck Lorre, I expected so many good stuffs from Mom. So when the pilot came up and it didn’t even meet half of my expectation, I felt really disappointed (and slightly betrayed).

Everything about this show was a failure. The jokes were dry and dull, the storyline was too boring and typical it made me forget I was watching a sitcom all along! Seriously, Anna Ferris could do something better than this. The only thing that funny and keep me watching ‘til episode 2 was the guy played Badger from Breaking Bad. And he doesn’t show up really often to save me from the boredom this show has trapped me into.

Really, it’s hard to imagine that this show was coming from the same incredible minds which created the most brilliant sitcom in a decade, The Big Bang Theory. What a shame.


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