Thursday, January 06, 2005
COMMITTED: Made it through the pilot episode of the self-consciously wacky new NBC sitcom Committed (Tuesday 9:30 E/P), and hoo-boy... Since they lost the remainder of their marquee comedies last spring, NBC is in heavy duty rebuilding phase this season (too many "reality" shows, not enough follow-up firepower from Matt LeBlanc). Committed, as the first of the midseason replacements, is part of the second wave.
Nate (Josh Cook, in his first recurring TV role) is a record store clerk who comes from a long line of geniuses that have all eventually gone insane, and he's already developed a few nasty personality tics, such as being an obsessive planner with an office cluttered with yellow legal pads. Marni (Jennifer Finnigan, the most recent victim of an apparent Crossing Jordan policy to kill off a supporting character each season...go figure) is an occupational therapist that's all sunshine. When a blind date crossup throws them together, ZANY HIJINKS ENSUE.
Yeah, in spite of the looney filigree (you had to know going in that the title was a double-edged sword), it's another godawful romantic comedy at the foundation level, and like any series of that ilk, the love story isn't going to have much of a shelf life. The two leads are appealing, but the characters are a bit on the bland side. Maybe I was spoiled by Lunatics: A Love Story, a movie which took the "crazy lovers" angle and wasn't scared to make them properly insane instead of just eccentric. As it is, they're stock sitcom young people with a quirk graft that won't take. It says something about the show that Tom Poston, as a "dying clown" who sublets Marni's closet (don't ask), gets bigger laughs than the two leads just by walking across the room. However, this might be a show where the supporting cast, not having to carry the too-familiar boy-meets-girl plotline, takes the ball and runs with it. Apart from the dying clown, we also met Todd (RonReaco Lee), a passive-aggressive (heavy on the aggressive) wheelchair-bound friend of Marni's, who makes a glorious show leaving a restaurant and knocking into everybody there when it's made clear to him that Nate didn't want a third wheel on the second date. Since Todd features heavily in the show promos, the network might have had the same idea I did.
I've read from expert witnesses that upcoming episodes get better, which only makes sense, since the first show in any run isn't the best gauge for a series. Still, I get the feeling that Nate and Marni might end up being third-wheel characters in their own show, and that might be for the best. That is, if it lasts that long.
(Edit: The second episode came on earlier tonight, leaning heavily on the Todd-hates-Nate angle, and worked much better. Still, I think we have a show whose days are numbered. )
Nate (Josh Cook, in his first recurring TV role) is a record store clerk who comes from a long line of geniuses that have all eventually gone insane, and he's already developed a few nasty personality tics, such as being an obsessive planner with an office cluttered with yellow legal pads. Marni (Jennifer Finnigan, the most recent victim of an apparent Crossing Jordan policy to kill off a supporting character each season...go figure) is an occupational therapist that's all sunshine. When a blind date crossup throws them together, ZANY HIJINKS ENSUE.
Yeah, in spite of the looney filigree (you had to know going in that the title was a double-edged sword), it's another godawful romantic comedy at the foundation level, and like any series of that ilk, the love story isn't going to have much of a shelf life. The two leads are appealing, but the characters are a bit on the bland side. Maybe I was spoiled by Lunatics: A Love Story, a movie which took the "crazy lovers" angle and wasn't scared to make them properly insane instead of just eccentric. As it is, they're stock sitcom young people with a quirk graft that won't take. It says something about the show that Tom Poston, as a "dying clown" who sublets Marni's closet (don't ask), gets bigger laughs than the two leads just by walking across the room. However, this might be a show where the supporting cast, not having to carry the too-familiar boy-meets-girl plotline, takes the ball and runs with it. Apart from the dying clown, we also met Todd (RonReaco Lee), a passive-aggressive (heavy on the aggressive) wheelchair-bound friend of Marni's, who makes a glorious show leaving a restaurant and knocking into everybody there when it's made clear to him that Nate didn't want a third wheel on the second date. Since Todd features heavily in the show promos, the network might have had the same idea I did.
I've read from expert witnesses that upcoming episodes get better, which only makes sense, since the first show in any run isn't the best gauge for a series. Still, I get the feeling that Nate and Marni might end up being third-wheel characters in their own show, and that might be for the best. That is, if it lasts that long.
(Edit: The second episode came on earlier tonight, leaning heavily on the Todd-hates-Nate angle, and worked much better. Still, I think we have a show whose days are numbered. )
|| Eric 10:50 AM#
