As a man who is rapidly approaching middle age, I found the promos for this new cable series intriguing. It stars Ray Romano, Andre Braugher, and Scott Bakula as old college buddies, now in their forties, dealing with the various issues, physical and emotional and psychological, that come with the advancing of the years.
Personally, I found it a bit underwhelming. Touchingly humorous in spots, maudlin in others, poignant on occasion. But I’m planning to watch a few more episodes to see if it finds its footing.
I enjoyed it. I don’t really identify with any of the characters (don’t have a gambling problem, don’t have diabetes/over-bearing dad, not in arrested development), but all-in-all it was pretty good for a first episode. I’ll watch it a few more times, see where this is headed.
I’m glad that Owen’s wife laid down the law - I was expecting her to say, in true TV fashion, “Go ahead and quit - we’ll make it work out somehow.” It was nice that she actually said that, then corrected herself by saying - “Now that I’ve got that out of the way, there ain’t no way in hell you’re going to quit your job, not with three mouths to feed, etc.” His dad seems to be a hard-ass, but you know, Owen was sleeping on the job. That’s not the sort of workplace habits any entreprenuer wants in his successor.
Ray Romano’s character seems to be the biggest mess - a compulsive gambler who seems to be unable to quit. The scene where he’s playing online poker, logs off, then calls his ex-wife to say that he’s quit gambling was very well played. I liked how she didn’t bother replying to that part of his conversation - she heard it all before and there’s nothing more for her to say.
As a man well past middle age, I feel bad enough about the dwindling years that I don’t want to watch people 20 years younger than me whinging about their mid-life crises.
I’ll give it a few more tries. Pilot episodes are usually troublesome, it takes a few weeks for a show to get into it’s real groove.
Random thoughts:
[ul]
[li]I like that they are playing it low key, for the most part. I think they need to slow the timing down even more and bring the meandering up just a little.[/li][li]It’s good to see Andre Braugher playing a regular person his own age. Rather than his usual types of superior characters. But, I must say, please keep your shirt on Andre. I know you are supposed to be a pudgy guy in the show, but really now…MAN BOOBS AHOY![/li][li]I liked how Scott Bakula’s character was…complex. Yeah he’s the stereotypical arrested development, but I like the way they portrayed his relationships in his office. I didn’t like him, but it was an interesting choice in the writing.[/li][li]The ‘how did my nose get broke’ exchange was well played.[/li][/ul]
I found it depressing. From the previews it was presented at least as a partial comedy. Geez. they’re going to have to perk it up a little bit. Right now it’s about 3 miserable middle aged men. A gambler who loses, an out of work pretty boy actor, and a man that’s a slave to his narcissistic dad. I watch TV for entertainment, not to watch three miserable peoples’ lives fall apart. You gotta show victories too. Blah
I really liked that scene. I thought they both played it well, with the hushed voices so the kids couldn’t hear exactly what was being said and both characters being realistic (“of course the house won’t be done by August”) at the same time in the same place.
There *were *touches of comedy, but certainly not laugh-track style comedy. I liked when Andre body-checked the other salesman out of the way. And when none of the actors wanted to follow the dude who was so good. And Ray with his record pee-weight-loss. And when Mr. Nose met Mr. Dashboard, I wasn’t sure if I was supposed to laugh or not! That kind of ambiguity kind of appeals to me.
I was also pleasantly surprised by the unedited swearing on the show. Not over the top, but not sanitized either like most shows would do, just very realistic. I didn’t know you could get away with that on basic cable…TRM
I once posted that the show should be called Everybody Loves Raymond Except Khadaji. Someone else replied that instead we could call it Everybody who matters Loves Raymond.
I liked it. I guess because of Ray’s previous show, I expected more comedy, and was surprised that he pulled off this serious role. I too didn’t know whether to laugh or what when Andre hit his nose on Ray’s dashboard, blood dripping down; it was done very well – skipped right to the hospital and the low-key “he broke it when he fell” comments. I think this kind of thing is more like real life – sometimes you don’t know whether to laugh or cry, and sometimes you cover your ass with little white lies. I’ll keep watching.
I was thinking of watching it, especially since I had been watching The Closer, but after that harrowing and fantastic episode, the last thing I wanted to do was hear Ray Romano whine about his urine.
Not altogether satisfying, but I thought Ray Romano was actually good, and I liked Bakula’s “I’m too old for this” take on his immaturity. Braugher’s character can go either way at this point.
It’s worth watching a couple more episodes to see how it sorts out.
Missed the second episode, but did watch the first. I was underwhelmed, but not so much that I won’t give it a chance.
The thing that bothers me is what others have said… these guys are all basically messes, and their lives are all in downward spirals. There is not one character that I liked, which isn’t a good sign.
Scott Backula’s character is just so tired - it’s been played out over and over on a number of shows, and I just don’t care about it.
Andre Brauger’s character seems a bit unrealistic. Either that, or his father is the world’s biggest asshole. Seriously, if I had a son that was struggling with diabetes, I’d be a bit more sympathetic. I assume his father would know his health issues. And Ray Romano is another guy that’s hard to like. A gambling addict that can’t quit? Another issue that’s been beaten to death.
I really liked the scene between Andre and his wife, though. That was about the most realistic family discussion I’ve ever seen. But Ray Romano is never getting a woman to turn her head, especially THAT woman.
Still, I’ll give it a few episodes before I decide. But since I apparently missed the second ep., I’m already behind and I’ll have to search for it.
I liked it but damn I felt like I needed an SSRI to finish it. I felt so bad for Andre Brauger - like nothing he ever does is going to work. I’m in the middle of the first episode so maybe it gets happier…
I had a night of imbibing where I sent a text to a friend of mine and said “I think I find the Men of a Certain Age attractive. Dammit I’m old!”
