If there was one show this year that I desperately wanted to like, it was Running Wilde. On paper, it’s an Arrested Development fan’s dream. It has Will Arnett and David Cross, as well as being run by some of the same people from AD. It also has Peter Serafinowicz, which is a big plus, and although I’ve gotten over my infatuation with Keri Russel (from her Felicity days - rowr), I don’t mind seeing her again.
But, man. Throw all those great ingredients together and mix them up, and what comes out is a big, resounding “meh”. There are a few problems that I’ve noticed. First, they seem to be trying really really hard to make another Arrested Development. They’ve got the narration again, they’ve done a few in-jokes and references to AD, and Will Arnett is playing basically a less funny version of the same character. And it just falls flat. It doesn’t make me think, “Wow, this is just as funny as AD!” but “Huh. I’d rather be watching AD again.”
Secondly, the plots are boring. Every week is the same story - Will’s character tries to impress the girl, she tries to make him a better person, both efforts misfire wackily, and they make up and the end.
The only parts that have struck me as funny are those with the supporting characters - the servants, and to a lesser extent, Peter Serafinowicz’s next-door neighbor character.
I know it’s already in danger of being canceled, and as much as I hate to admit it, I wouldn’t mind if it were. Has anyone else given it a shot?
I’ve been watching it and I’ve really come to like it. Now, it’s not my favorite new show of the season (Raising Hope is) but I really do like it well enough.
For me it’s good for a few laughs. The narration I could do without, but I do like Puddle as a character. I also like how the girl Steve is trying to impress is just as stupid as he is.
My favorite character is the neighbor though. Every scene he is in, to me at least, is funny. I greatly enjoy their pointless rivalry.
I swear to God.
Don’t you mean Allah?
Yeah, whatever.
I was looking forward to it, but forgot to record the first episode. I did remember to record the second. Maybe I didn’t give it enough of a chance, but after about 20 minutes my wife and I (both AD fans) looked at each other and agreed we weren’t interested in watching any more. It just wasn’t funny. Pity.
I thought the most recent episode, which was supposed to be the second one, was pretty funny. Fa’ad’s interpretation of all the cheap party food was making me laugh: “What about the cocaine-covered orgy dome?” (Hostess Sno-ball)
I thought last week’s episode, “The Junior Affair,” was very funny. And yesterday’s episode was odd, in that it was clearly meant to be the second one.
I gave up on it just today. I realized that even with Netflix down and every other show I regularly watch done for the day, I couldn’t make it past the first ten minutes. I was just bored.
I also wanted to like it, mostly because I’m very much not over Keri Russell. But the pilot was so stale and boring… I could predict that the rest of episodes would follow the same exact pattern.
I opened this thread hoping that you would tell me it’s gotten better, like Outsourced, but, for what you are saying, I guess not.
When a show can literally make me laugh out loud instead of being merely entertained, even just a few times in a half hour, I’ll put up with the meh the rest of the time. When it works, it’s great; when it doesn’t it’s kind of awkward, but that’s OK.
I’m watching mainly for Keri Russell, though her character is probably the weakest part of the show. It’s not great, but I’ll watch almost any sitcom, so it’s staying in the rotation until the bitter end. Which will probably be Thanksgiving.
I like it. I hope the network gives it some time to settle in, because there is great potential here.
The show needs a bad guy, some way to generate some friction. The ex-boyfriend is too quirky to pull that off. Maybe another Wilde family member who sees Carrie Russell as a threat.
These two are the only new shows this season I’ve watched more than one episode of (though I plan to get around to watching more of Terriers and The Event). I don’t know if they’ll last, but I’m enjoying them both for now.