Comedies are always a little touch and go for me, what with number of insanely unfunny shows out there, so I generally go in with a healthy dollop of apprehension. Fox's new pair of comedies on Tuesdays turned out to be a mixed bag.
First off, the mostly good news...
RAISING HOPE
I wouldn't say this little show will ever be appointment TV for me, but it had quite a bit of charm and enough laughs to make it a nice alternate. This quirky, off-color, slightly trashy show about a kid who ends up with a baby could have been incredibly hokey, but it actually worked pretty well. I'm none too fond of babies, so the fact that I enjoyed this pilot says a lot. The show isn't always polite or high brow or family friendly, but it's not vulgar either. It forges a nice balance of charm and trash, something Greg Garcia always does well with. It relies a little too heavily on sight gags and crudeness for my tastes, but also has quite a lot of heart (without being schmaltzy). Martha Plimpton and Garret Dillahunt are hilarious and the rest of the cast does a good job keeping up with them. Plimpton's line deliveries are always so spot on that even if a line is weak, she makes it work. Her timing is just flawless and she plays the haggard, slightly white trashy mom to perfection. I'm a little afraid it will become a bit one-note in terms of story, and lord knows anecdotes about children aren't really my thing, so if it starts to veer in that direction, I'll probably ditch this one. But, it made a fair showing in its premiere and I'm willing to DVR it for a rainy day or happily stumble across it when my must-watch shows aren't on. It's a bit coarse, but also lovable. What I really walked away from the show with was a true appreciation for what a weird sounding word "Hope" is. Hope. Hope. Geez, say that a few times. If it didn't have any actually meaning, it would be a seriously strange sound to employ. It would be like naming a baby "Snup" or "Flen" or something.
Pilot Grade: B-
And now for the mostly not good news...
RUNNING WILDE
From the original promos for this show, I was afraid. Very afraid. Then I heard that the concept of the show was being retooled and David Cross was being added to the show. Given the creative team behind this one, I was very hopeful they could turn this ridiculous misfire into some real comedy. Well... the pilot was retooled all right... but not nearly enough, I'm afraid. I loved Arrested Development and I adore the majority of the principal cast, but this uneven, unfunny farce about an entitled rich guy learning to be less shallow from a humanitarian just didn't really work. You could tell that Will Arnett and Keri Russell were making the best of what they were given, but that it just didn't quite come together. The concept alone sounds more like the plot of a bad romantic comedy than a great TV series. Seriously, although there were a couple of glimmers of funny, most of the pilot was fairly cringe-worthy. There were so few genuine laughs that I could count them. Total? Two. One of which was really more of a smirk (I'll admit it, the piano gag at the end got me). The only real laugh came when David Cross' character, about to be pulled apart by unsuspecting loggers, attempts to save his life by yelling for Keri Russell to "Tell them I'm white!" Heh. Other than that, there were a lot of moments that were almost funny, but just didn't quite make it. I honestly don't know if the powers that be can turn this into a winner, but if anyone could do it, it would be Mitch Hurwitz, so who knows. At present, this pilot was more ridiculous than funny, and the base concept just doesn't seem sustainable over the long-run. Such a shame.
After slogging through the mostly dismal slate of shows that ABC had to offer, I was ready and willing to move onto another network, although if precedent serves, Fox won't fare much better than anyone else.
The best part about Fox is that they don't have a third hour of primetime, so they have considerably less room for new shows. That makes for a lot less work for me. :)
Below is how their schedule is looking for fall (which, holy hell, is in like three and half weeks). Bear in mind, with Fox, they have about 17 premiere periods during the year, so there are several new shows that aren't listed in the schedule, but which may very well show up at some point. Midseason is the obvious timeframe, but Fox has a tendency to axe shows more readily and quickly than other nets, so there's always room for a shake-up.
MONDAY 7 pm House 8 pm Lonestar (new)
TUESDAY 7 pm Glee 8 pm Raising Hope (new) 8: 30 pm Running Wilde (new) WEDNESDAY 7 pm Lie to Me 8 pm Hell’s Kitchen THURSDAY 7 pm Bones 8 pm Fringe FRIDAY 7 pm Human Target 8 pm The Good Guys
SUNDAY 7 pm The Simpsons 7:30 pm The Cleveland Show 8 pm Family Guy 8:30 pm American Dad
Barring any better organizational schema, I'll start off with the shows that are actually slated to begin in September. I'll hold off till Volume 2 for the shows that are just kind of floating in space at this point... Oh, Fox. Precious.
On with the shows...
LONESTAR
Description: Formerly called Midland. From Chris Keyser and Amy Lippman (“Party of Five”), writer Kyle Killen and directed by Marc Webb (“(500) Days of Summer”). Stars Jon Voight, James Wolk, and Adrianne Palicki.
My Take: I wasn't all that impressed by (500) Days of Summer, but I'm actually pretty excited for this new pilot. It's a concept that I haven't seen before, so even if it isn't perfect, I'm definitely intrigued. I've been hearing good things about this show on the web and I can see why. The trailer has certainly piqued my interest, and even though it looks like it might be a little soapy, it also looks like it just might suck me right in. My main concern with a concept like this is longevity. I mean, really, how long can they keep a conceit like this going? It's the kind of show that would have to seriously grow and evolve season to season and probably won't look like the same show year to year. From what I hear, the creative team behind it is also a little on the fence about how it's all going to work out, saying that it will either be an incredible success or an incredible failure. I'd have to agree. If they pull this off, it could be a really great show. If not, I think it'll crumble pretty quickly. Ounce for ounce though, I'm excited for this. The cast isn't very well known to me, but from the trailer, they seem solid. I actually rather enjoy unfamiliar faces in shows (it makes it easier to mold characters when I don't have any preconceived notions), so assuming these unknown-to-mes can really act, this one has some serious potential. It might be that I just reviewed the drivel ABC is bringing to the table, but this is one looks kinda sorta really good. I'll be giving it a shot with bells on.
RAISING HOPE
Description: Sitcom from producer Greg Garcia (My Name Is Earl)--in case you couldn't tell. Stars Lucas Neff, Cloris Leachman, the awesomely awesome Martha Plimpton (most recently on The Good Wife), and the usually evil Garrett Dillahunt (Roman on Life, Simon on Burn Notice).
My Take: On paper, this is the kind of concept that would have me rolling my eyes and changing the channel, but no one can pull off white-trash-with-a-heart-of-gold comedy better than Greg Garcia. I was only an occasional watcher of My Name Is Earl, but always enjoyed it. At the very least, the creative team behind Raising Hope is solid, so that bodes well for the series as a whole. It also means that the show will have some heart, but won't be schmaltzy, which is a fine line to walk, but appears totally doable here. As if the creative team weren't enough, you couldn't ask for a better cast. Plimpton is a rockstar and I'm so glad to see her get to show her talents in a specifically comedic role. She cracked me up and stole every scene on The Good Wife and that's a serious drama, so here she should shine even more. It'll be interesting to see Dillahunt in a non-evil capacity, but based on the trailer, he's seems surprisingly adept at comedy. His delivery of the Charles Manson line was hilarious and I'm really excited to see him this capacity. I can't say I'm sold yet, what with an infant being at the center of this concept, but this was far and away one of the best comedy trailers I've seen this year (although I'll admit the bar is pretty low). I don't imagine this will be appointment TV or anything, but as with Garcia's previous work, this strikes me as the kind of show that you don't intentionally schedule, but that you're always pleasantly surprised to see. I'll definitely be giving Raising Hope a chance, and casually hope to hell the baby isn't as annoying as most babies are...
RUNNING WILDE
Description: From Mitch Hurwitz, the creator of Arrested Development, stars Will Arnett and Keri Russell. I'm also hearing that David Cross (Tobias Funke) may have signed on. Hurwitz and Arnett co-wrote the pilot.
My Take: Yeah... Um... How to put this gently...? Okay, here's the deal. That trailer looks pretty bad, right? Well, apparently we aren't the only ones who noticed because I hear the pilot is being completely retooled. I first watched that trailer a few months ago and was rather underwhelmed. I didn't know if I went in expecting too much (knowing that it was from Hurwitz raised the bar pretty damn high), but no, it seems everyone was pretty disappointed with the pilot. From what I heard from critics, the trailer is indicative of the show as a whole. Well, usually, a pilot being rewritten this late in the game would be cause for concern, but with this, it can only mean good things. Unfortunately, this makes it nigh-impossible to know what this show is actually going to look like when it premieres. I'm not even sure the basics will be the same. Which, looking at the basics, it probably a good thing. The trailer had its moments of mild charm, but overall, this concept just seems completely unsustainable and ridiculous even by Fox comedy standards. If anyone can figure out a way to make this work, it's Hurwitz and Arnett, so I'm hopeful the finished product will have me laughing rather than wincing. The trailer had its amusing moments, but overall, I felt a little embarrassed for the actors and writers... Not a good sign. Hearing that David Cross may have signed on (I want to say that's a done deal, but I honestly can't remember) only helps to bolster my confidence. At the very least, its comforting to know that the team behind this show recognizes that it has some serious flaws and that they aren't blissfully oblivious to this fact. I don't know what this is going to be in the end, but, given the people involved, I'll be giving it a shot no matter what it looks like.
too fond of babies, so the fact that I enjoyed this pilot says a lot. The show isn't always polite or high brow or family friendly, but it's not vulgar either. It forges a nice balance of charm and trash, something Greg Garcia always does well with. It relies a little too heavily on sight gags and crudeness for my tastes, but also has quite a lot of heart (without being schmaltzy). Martha Plimpton and Garret Dillahunt are hilarious and the rest of the cast does a good job keeping up with them. Plimpton's line deliveries are always so spot on that even if a line is weak, she makes it work. Her timing is just flawless and she plays the haggard, slightly white trashy mom to perfection. I'm a little afraid it will become a bit one-note in terms of story, and lord knows anecdotes about children aren't really my thing, so if it starts to veer in that direction, I'll probably ditch this one. But, it made a fair showing in its premiere and I'm willing to DVR it for a rainy day or happily stumble across it when my must-watch shows aren't on. It's a bit coarse, but also lovable. What I really walked away from the show with was a true appreciation for what a weird sounding word "Hope" is. Hope. Hope. Geez, say that a few times. If it didn't have any actually meaning, it would be a seriously strange sound to employ. It would be like naming a baby "Snup" or "Flen" or something.
itarian just didn't really work. You could tell that Will Arnett and Keri Russell were making the best of what they were given, but that it just didn't quite come together. The concept alone sounds more like the plot of a bad romantic comedy than a great TV series. Seriously, although there were a couple of glimmers of funny, most of the pilot was fairly cringe-worthy. There were so few genuine laughs that I could count them. Total? Two. One of which was really more of a smirk (I'll admit it, the piano gag at the end got me). The only real laugh came when David Cross' character, about to be pulled apart by unsuspecting loggers, attempts to save his life by yelling for Keri Russell to "Tell them I'm white!" Heh. Other than that, there were a lot of moments that were almost funny, but just didn't quite make it. I honestly don't know if the powers that be can turn this into a winner, but if anyone could do it, it would be Mitch Hurwitz, so who knows. At present, this pilot was more ridiculous than funny, and the base concept just doesn't seem sustainable over the long-run. Such a shame.
