Outsourced is just not funny and fairly offensive here and there. I think the basic premise could have worked, but the writing is poor. (And, frankly, just about anytime I see Diedrich Bader I expect massive suckage that only occasionally can be overcome by others actors. Not sure if it’s his acting, a bad agent hooking him up with garbage, or what.)
Raising Hope is alright. Some laughs. I hope they don’t rely too much on making fun of poor people.
Running Wilde fluctuates between laugh out loud moments and seeing where they were trying to go but thinking it misfired. Still, it’s the closest thing to Arrested Development we’ve had on the air for a while. The actress playing the daughter is good, the mother (Felicity?!) seems miscast but might work out.
If we count those shows that started in the summer and are still ongoing:
The Good Guys is a police action-buddy-comedy with entertaining characters (main ast and guest stars) and brilliant writing all around. I call it man fantasy entertainment, but the better half loves it too.
Haven was something we tried to watch and found it occasionally entertaining, but good grief the plots just made no sense whatsoever. When he hit the episode with…
the woman who changes shape to become beautiful, and mind controls men to have sex with her (not that that should be needed), and gives birth within a day, AND somehow this causes the men to rapidly age IF the baby is nearby AND de-age otherwise, all treated as if that made complete sense… we just had to stop watching to prevent permanent brain damage.
I don’t see the family as poor. Lower middle class, maybe – like Roseanne. Burt has his own business, Jimmy has a job. I don’t remember if Virginia works or not. They’re a paycheck-to-paycheck family, but so is probably half the country.
But it’s all relative. Compared to shows like Modern Family, I suppose the Chances are poor.
Raising Hope is the only new network show I’ve watched so far that I’ve enjoyed. And yeah, they are basically Roseanne level lower middle class. Undereducated with no real hope of improvement. A lot like the other Garcia sitcom, My Name is Earl with the “redneck” vibe turned down a number of notches. Earl & Randy were surely “poor”, even by real-life standards despite the lottery winnings. I’m hoping Outsourced dies quickly so that Parks & Rec returns quicker than planned.
Other “new” things I’m recording, though I haven’t gotten to watching yet, The Event, Terriers, and Boardwalk Empire.
Another who thinks “Raising Hope” is actually pretty funny so far.
We like “The Whole Truth” but things look bleak - supposedly, if ratings don’t pick up on the next (third) airing, it will be canceled.
“Blue Bloods” is a cliche, filled with cliches - too bad, as it has a good cast - simply crappy writers and implausible, stupid premise of every single family member being oh-so-important in NYC police/DA’s office.
“Undercovers” is sort of a black Hart to Hart, but decent so far.
“Law And Order: Los Angeles” is OK - another Law and Order formula, but that is not necessarily a bad thing.
It’s not a nitpick, it’s pointing out she’s exactly what you said she should be, just at a later part of the story. And I would be surprised if the Nikita license cost more than they gained from the number of extra eyeballs tuning in that wouldn’t have without it. Show’s doing pretty well – for a CW show anyway.
I am praying really, really hard that **Running Wilde **gets better and people start watching it. God I love Will Arnett. The daughter character is actually quite good. I think the Felicity girl could work. I think Arnett’s the funniest man in America. And if it does get canned, I have Parks & Rec to look forward to…and in 25 years, his and Amy Poehler’s kid should be the funniest thing alive.
Ron Swanson is one of the three best characters on TV right now. He, as far as I can tell, has never stepped out of character even for a moment. He loves bacon covered turkey legs and sleeping with his hot ex wife Tammy (who is his wife in real life).
Remember that woodworking shop of his? Wikipedia tells me he’s a woodworker in real life, and has even released a DVD.
