# "Work It" (ABC sitcom) - WTF? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 29, 2011, 5:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/work-it-abc-sitcom-wtf/607702 "2011-12-29T05:27:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![woodstockbirdybird](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/woodstockbirdybird/32/7905_2.png) [@woodstockbirdybird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/woodstockbirdybird)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2011, 5:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/work-it-abc-sitcom-wtf/607702/1 "2011-12-29T05:27:42Z")
America, you continue to astound me. I could see this getting greenlighted (greenlit?) in France or something (which, according to an informal survey conducted on my travels, just slightly beats out Mexico for the most inane programs on TV), but seriously, how does shit like this make it onto a major network in the 21st century? I just look forward to it being cancelled after 1 episode so I never have to see a commercial for it ever again. [Work It](http://beta.abc.go.com/shows/work-it) ---
**Author:** ![obfusciatrist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/4af34b/32.png) [@obfusciatrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/obfusciatrist)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2011, 5:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/work-it-abc-sitcom-wtf/607702/2 "2011-12-29T05:29:45Z")
Hey, the last time they tried that we got Tom Hanks out of it. ---
**Author:** ![Terr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/839c29/32.png) [@Terr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terr)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2011, 5:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/work-it-abc-sitcom-wtf/607702/3 "2011-12-29T05:30:27Z")
I saw promos. I _really_ hope this dies after the first episode. I just don’t see the viewer demographic for this show. ---
**Author:** ![woodstockbirdybird](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/woodstockbirdybird/32/7905_2.png) [@woodstockbirdybird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/woodstockbirdybird)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2011, 5:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/work-it-abc-sitcom-wtf/607702/4 "2011-12-29T05:35:53Z")
> [@obfusciatrist](#): > > Hey, the last time they tried that we got Tom Hanks out of it. Hey, I’m not even a Tom Hanks fan, but I can tell you, just based on the ads: these men, sir, are no Tom Hanks. ---
**Author:** ![obfusciatrist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/4af34b/32.png) [@obfusciatrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/obfusciatrist)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2011, 5:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/work-it-abc-sitcom-wtf/607702/5 "2011-12-29T05:39:30Z")
Yeah, I know. The ads look awful. Not only are they not Tom Hanks, I suspect they’re not even Peter Scolari. Maybe Wendi Jo Sperber. ---
**Author:** ![voguevixen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b5ac83/32.png) [@voguevixen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/voguevixen)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2011, 6:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/work-it-abc-sitcom-wtf/607702/6 "2011-12-29T06:57:05Z")
[about the show](http://beta.abc.go.com/shows/work-it/about-the-show) Ok, so they pose as women because it’s easier to get jobs. Because that’s obviously TOTALLY BELIEVABLE. Then they land jobs at an all-female company. BECAUSE SUCH A THING IS TOTALLY LEGAL. This actually made my head hurt. At least Bosom Buddies had a vaguely believable premise (well from a sit-com point of view.) That having been said, I watched the clip on that page and actually laughed a couple of times. (God, the acting though!) (We need a “recoiling in horror” smiley.) ETA: I mean, I’m sure at any given maxi-pad corporation there are more men working there than women. I cannot even wrap my mind around this. ---
**Author:** ![River\_Hippie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/river_hippie/32/26_2.png) [@River\_Hippie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/River_Hippie)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2011, 1:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/work-it-abc-sitcom-wtf/607702/7 "2011-12-29T13:22:47Z")
From the promos I’ve seen it looks astoundingly, wretchedly bad. I read an article on the web somewhere using this show as an example of writers and producers getting lucky with one hit show, being given tons of money to do a new show and turning out crapfest after crapfest. ---
**Author:** ![Eve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Eve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eve)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2011, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/work-it-abc-sitcom-wtf/607702/8 "2011-12-29T13:35:17Z")
> [@voguevixen](#): > > Ok, so they pose as women because it’s easier to get jobs. Because that’s obviously TOTALLY BELIEVABLE. Then they land jobs at an all-female company. BECAUSE SUCH A THING IS TOTALLY LEGAL. And because it’s \*so \*easy for transgender women to get hired, _anywhere_, right? (Don’t diss the late, great Wendie Jo Sperber, by the way, she was _brilliant!_) ---
**Author:** ![River\_Hippie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/river_hippie/32/26_2.png) [@River\_Hippie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/River_Hippie)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2011, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/work-it-abc-sitcom-wtf/607702/9 "2011-12-29T13:38:07Z")
[Found the article.](http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/12/14/work-it-sitcom-debut_n_1147066.html) ---
**Author:** ![obfusciatrist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/4af34b/32.png) [@obfusciatrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/obfusciatrist)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2011, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/work-it-abc-sitcom-wtf/607702/10 "2011-12-29T13:40:11Z")
Didn’t intend it as a diss of her personally, as I don’t really have any memories of her beyond the fact that she was on the show (I was 8 at the time and don’t think I’ve seen it since). It was more a ranking of the careers they had post-show. I would have named one of the other secondary cast members who had even less of a career but Hanks, Scolari, and Sperber were the only names I remembered without looking it up. ---
**Author:** ![Eve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Eve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eve)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2011, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/work-it-abc-sitcom-wtf/607702/11 "2011-12-29T14:11:07Z")
> [@obfusciatrist](#): > > Didn’t intend it as a diss of her personally, as I don’t really have any memories of her beyond the fact that she was on the show. Oh, no prob–I always thought Peter Scolari and Wendi Jo were the best things about the show–both cute, peppy, talented performers. Never saw Tom Hanks’ stardom coming. And as for Donna whatshername Aykroyd . . . _Yikes_. She could walk across a room and you actually did not believe her. She could \*breathe \*unconvincingly. ---
**Author:** ![Sigmagirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c89c15/32.png) [@Sigmagirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigmagirl)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2011, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/work-it-abc-sitcom-wtf/607702/12 "2011-12-29T14:28:05Z")
Inhale . . . “Line?” Exhale. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2011, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/work-it-abc-sitcom-wtf/607702/13 "2011-12-29T15:19:42Z")
> [@obfusciatrist](#): > > Didn’t intend it as a diss of her personally, as I don’t really have any memories of her beyond the fact that she was on the show (I was 8 at the time and don’t think I’ve seen it since). > > It was more a ranking of the careers they had post-show. I would have named one of the other secondary cast members who had even less of a career but Hanks, Scolari, and Sperber were the only names I remembered without looking it up. No love for Holland Taylor? And Telma Hopkins also has been very successful (more so than her former employer, Tony Orlando). **Bosom Buddies** is on my list of shows that were Better Than They Had Any Right To Be. **Working It** is already on my list of Shows I’ve Never Watched. ---
**Author:** ![Skammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skammer/32/143_2.png) [@Skammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skammer)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2011, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/work-it-abc-sitcom-wtf/607702/14 "2011-12-29T15:58:10Z")
> [@Eve](#): > > Oh, no prob–I always thought Peter Scolari and Wendi Jo were the best things about the show–both cute, peppy, talented performers. Never saw Tom Hanks’ stardom coming. And as for Donna whatshername Aykroyd . . . _Yikes_. She could walk across a room and you actually did not believe her. She could \*breathe \*unconvincingly. Donna Dixon, right? as in “You know Dasher and Dancer and Prancer and Vixen; Comet and Cupid and Donna Dixon”? ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2011, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/work-it-abc-sitcom-wtf/607702/15 "2011-12-29T17:04:17Z")
> [@Skammer](#): > > Donna Dixon, right? as in “You know Dasher and Dancer and Prancer and Vixen; Comet and Cupid and Donna Dixon”? Yes, Donna Dixon. She is, however, Mrs. Dan Ackroyd (wow…on confirming that, I discovered they’ve been married 30 years! WTG, Mr. and Mrs. Ackroyd!), so **Eve** wasn’t wrong. ( **Eve** is never wrong!) ---
**Author:** ![obfusciatrist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/4af34b/32.png) [@obfusciatrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/obfusciatrist)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2011, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/work-it-abc-sitcom-wtf/607702/16 "2011-12-29T17:17:35Z")
> [@jayjay](#): > > WTG, Mr. and Mrs. Ackroyd! Wonder if she’s crazy too or just good at putting up with crazy. ---
**Author:** ![woodstockbirdybird](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/woodstockbirdybird/32/7905_2.png) [@woodstockbirdybird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/woodstockbirdybird)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2011, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/work-it-abc-sitcom-wtf/607702/17 "2011-12-29T17:22:21Z")
Well, when you’re wealthy you’re not crazy, you’re _eccentric_. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2011, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/work-it-abc-sitcom-wtf/607702/18 "2011-12-29T17:23:20Z")
> [@woodstockbirdybird](#): > > Well, when you’re wealthy you’re not crazy, you’re _eccentric_. Yeah, when you have the option of going and spending a week away from your spouse at your Aspen house, it’s a lot easier to tolerate some middling insanity. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2011, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/work-it-abc-sitcom-wtf/607702/19 "2011-12-29T18:03:04Z")
> [@Eve](#): > > And because it’s \*so \*easy for transgender women to get hired, _anywhere_, right? > > (Don’t diss the late, great Wendie Jo Sperber, by the way, she was _brilliant!_) I did not know that she had died. I had just been watching the run of “Bosom Buddies” on MeTV and honestly thought she was actually quite attractive and thought that Henry was slightly crazy for not taking an interest in her. She was much better on that show than as Marty McFly’s sister. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2011, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/work-it-abc-sitcom-wtf/607702/20 "2011-12-29T18:09:19Z")
> [@Eve](#): > > Oh, no prob–I always thought Peter Scolari and Wendi Jo were the best things about the show–both cute, peppy, talented performers. Never saw Tom Hanks’ stardom coming. And as for Donna whatshername Aykroyd . . . _Yikes_. She could walk across a room and you actually did not believe her. She could \*breathe \*unconvincingly. I don’t think she was hired for her breathing ability. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/work-it-abc-sitcom-wtf/607702.md?page=2)