It is a slow day here in Saudi Arabia. I popped an old Will & Grace DVD into the player. Just something light.
Gosh what unappealing, nasty characters. Some funny situations, but really nasty people.
That is all. Stand by for my review of NYPD Blue.
I don’t have too much of a problem with Will, but Grace, Karen and Jack are all certainly pretty horrible.
Will is the everyman in the series. The other characters are so like the Sienfeld cast. Nasty people.
It was a show that I never really watched. Once in a while I would see part of an episode and it would feature some screeching harpy and a gay guy, neither of whom was either Will or Grace. Very confusing.
Yeah, they could all be pretty unlikable, but that was still one of my all-time favorite shows and it made me laugh out loud pretty near every episode.
I miss it. 
Echoing above - Will was fine (if a tad neurotic for a successful, good looking man) but Grace was one of the least pleasant people I’ve encountered in TV land. She seriously didn’t deserve to be happy given how self centred and mind boggling selfish she was.
I had forgotten how nasty the good-looking Grace was. Further, Jack was all screwed up.
Is the comedy with an all-nasty cast a new idea?
I don’t think so. When you think about it the four on** I Love Lucy** could be really mean to one another although they usually got there comeupence at the end. Bilko was usually rather mean. Dennis the Menace, while “kid” mean and for the most part harmless, was pretty much based on the concept of meaness. I can’t remember who said that all comedy is based on pain, but maybe things like Will and Grace and Seinfield merely bare that out.
The only way I could watch it was to ignore the characters and enjoy the jokes. When you did that, it was funny enough to warrant watching if it happened to come on, but I never sought it out.
Watch some Buster Keaton or Charlie Chaplin silent shorts. Buster and Charlie are often the lone nice guy in a world that seems to hate them.
Also, in its attempt to be ‘edgy,’ W&G does not age well. You could imagine that in ten more years you would need footnotes to understand many of the gags.
I love Will & Grace and could watch the reruns endlessly. I never watched it when it was on in prime time- I thought, “How can THIS be funny?” Who knew.
Yeah, the people aren’t likable, especially Karen and Jack, but they are HILARIOUS. They are shallow, cruel, superficial, completely tasteless, but what does that have to do with anything? Some of the best dialogue and one-liners ever. Who says you have to like these people in order to laugh at/with them?
I have to say that in the very beginning when Karen was a little skinnier, she was THE most beautiful woman on TV. When she would wear those low cut tops… I guess I have a thing for porcelain skin (see my comments on Lil of Cold Case). One time Jack was going to give her a massage and she said, “My skin is alabaster from my neck to my ass.” I believe it.
Grace was never attractive IMHO. Way too bony. You shouldn’t be able to count a woman’s ribs from the front. Didn’t like her relationships, either with Nathan or Leo. The best shows were just the ensemble- the fab four.
(Although the episode where Demi Moore is Jack’s babysitter is quite funny. This dialogue may not be exactly right, but you get the idea.)
Will (knocking on Jack’s door- Demi opens): Is Jack ready? We’re going to see the new Vin Diesel movie.
Demi: We need to use our inside voice. I just put Jack down for his nap. I don’t think that movie is appropriate for him. I hear it has a strong homo-erotic subtext.
Will: Duh!
So is today some Saudi holiday? “National-let’s-see-how-many-times-I-can-use-the-word-‘nasty’ Day”?
Like many other shows, I don’t think it would have worked if the characters had been likable. It was, for its time, a rather edgy show, and edgy isn’t nice. Look at the shows we’ve had since W&G. How many likable characters have there been? They’re all nasty, nasty, nasty.
The ex loved that show so I saw it more than a few times. I didn’t really care for it although it would make me laugh from time to time. The writers tried way to hard to be as cutting edge as possible and usually missed the mark. I prefer my humor to be more subtle.
Sean Hayes is one gifted actor. AND he is hosting the Tony Awards next month.
I loved Karen and Jack, but Will & Grace were obnoxious. Did anyone else catch McCormick’s stint as “straight Will” on The New Adventures of Old Christine?
I never understood the humor in that show. To me, the jokes were obvious and lame - about as funny as Mr. Roper making gay jokes on Three’s Company. I’ve never gotten through an entire episode, so maybe it builds on you, I don’t know.