Friday, October 28, 2011
Fox Fall Pilot Review: Allen Gregory - Premieres October 30; Sitcom Stars On Talk Shows (Week of October 31, 2011)
Allen Gregory - Sundays 8:30PM ET/PT on Fox
Premieres Sunday, October 30, 2011 at 8:30PM ET/PT
Allen Gregory De Longpre is just your ordinary seven-year-old. Well, that actually depends upon how you define "ordinary." Having grown up in a wealthy two-parent (both parents being male) household, things have started to change for him as one of his fathers can no longer afford to home school him, and it is time for him to make the transition to a public school. But being unable to relate to other seven-year-olds (or other people in general, for that matter), that transition isn't going to be easy. He's a little advanced for his age in some areas, yet in other areas, he is just completely clueless about the world around him. In this new Fox animated sitcom, he'll try to adjust to his new world--at least to the best of his ability.
French Stewart as Richard DeLongpre, Allen's father
Nat Faxon as Jeremy DeLongpre, Richard's life partner-husband
Joy Osmanski as Julie, Allen's adopted Cambodian sister
Renée Taylor as Principal Gottlieb
Leslie Mann as Gina Winthrop
Jonah Hill (Allen Gregory) is the star of the series, the kid trying to adapt to a life where he isn't the center of the universe. Hill is well-known in the entertainment industry, most notable with his film roles in The 40-Year-Old Virgin, Evan Almighty, and Superbad.
French Stewart (Richard) plays the role Allen Gregory's father in the series. Stewart has had roles in series including The New WKRP in Cincinnati, Seinfeld, and Pushing Daisies, but is best known for his role as Harry Solomon on the series 3rd Rock from the Sun.
Nat Faxon (Jeremy) is Richard's life-partner/husband in the series. Faxon is a relative newcomer to the entertainment industry, but has appeared in The Cleveland Show and the movie Beerfest.
Joy Osmanski (Julie) plays the role of Allen Gregory's adopted sister from Cambodia. Osmanski's most well-known role was on the series The Loop, which aired for two seasons on Fox, but she has also appeared in Samantha Who? and Better Off Ted.
Renée Taylor (Principal Gottlieb) plays the role of the elderly and unattractive principal that Allen Gregory is romantically attracted to. While Taylor's name may not be so recognizable, her career has been lengthy and impressive, primarily as a writer and director. But TV (particularly sitcom) fans will recognize her from her role of Sylvia Fine, the mother of Fran Drescher's character on the sitcom The Nanny.
Leslie Mann (Gina Winthrop) plays the role of Allen Gregory's teacher. Mann is the wife of well-known producer Judd Apatow (who has also done much work with Jonah Hill), and has appeared in many of his films, including The 40-Year-Old Virgin and Knocked Up.
Pilot Plot:
The pilot begins with a party for Allen Gregory to celebrate his big victory: he has just won a Tony Award! Except... not really. The party was put together by his father, Richard, and Richard's life partner Jeremy in an attempt to ease the bad news that is about to come. He's no longer going to be home-schooled and will be sent to a public school.
It doesn't take long to realize that this new environment is going to be a major adjustment for Allen Gregory. Accustomed to a world that revolves around him and everybody catering to every one of his whims, he is now just one among many, and the adaptations are difficult. He begins the school day by trying to do an uninvited "Q&A session" for the class to get to know him, proceeds to seat himself at the "cool kids" table in the cafeteria (where he also brings a bottle of wine), and ends up in the elderly and, well, ugly principal's office, where he even proceeds to try to make romantic moves on her. And to top it all off, he, well, defecates in his pants and ends up going home crying. Just how will he adapt to his new school if this is how his first day went?
Analysis:
In viewing the pilot, I can already see some major problems with this series. It is basically just another fish-out-of-water animated comedy that seems to focus on the mere act of adjustment, and I'm not sure how this series can go on from there. Will every episode of the series be about another day at school? I feel that there is limited potential to where this can go, and I'm not sure how the series can handle that.
But that is far from the only problem that I saw in the pilot. Simply put, although the pilot was mildly enjoyable, it just really wasn't that funny in my opinion. There were a few mildly humorous moments, such as when Allen Gregory was trying to make the moves on his principal, but it wasn't one of those situations that was just completely hilarious. I was hoping for so much more in that regard.
I also would have liked to have seen more about the other members of the family, such as the "two dads" and Allen Gregory's adopted sister, Julie. In fact, it was hard to even remember that Julie existed in the pilot. She had very few lines and was almost seen as an afterthought, yet there is so much more that could (and should) have been done with her character. Yet that opportunity seemed to be wasted. Even though the series is called Allen Gregory and is supposed to focus on him, it sometimes seemed like he really was the only person in the world.
Conclusion:
Unfortunately, I feel that Fox has once again fallen flat on another animated comedy. They have attempted so many of these over the years, yet it seems that lately, only the Seth MacFarlane series have really shown any level of enjoyment and success. I don't predict this series lasting too long, and even if it does, I can easily see it becoming one of the 7 PM hour series that just seems to air, yet nobody really cares about it. Perhaps if the series had some way of broadening the series instead of making it all about Allen Gregory's universe (even though that is supposed to be the premise of the series) and making it a bit funnier, there would be fewer problems with the series, but I feel that it is already dead in the water--and will only win awards like Allen Gregory's fake Tony award that he won in the beginning of the pilot.
Final Numbers (out of 5 stars):
Watchability: 3/5
Funniness: 2.5/5
Overall: 3/5
-- Reviewed by skees53 on 10/28/11
Discuss the show after you watch it on Sunday, October 30 on our message board.
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Preview:
It's Friday, so it is time for "Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows" for the coming week. This is where we list what sitcom stars are appearing on talk shows for the coming week, the stars are both current and past sitcom stars, so this is for all sitcom fans of all eras!
For the week of October 24-28, 2011, we have many current sitcom stars and past sitcom stars on TV talk shows! All times listed are Eastern. So get your DVR's (or whatever you use) ready! Ready? Here is all what you need to know for the coming week!
Monday, October 31, 2011
- Zooey Deschanel (New Girl) - Watch the adorable Zooey on the Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson at 12:37am on CBS.
- Mindy Kaling (The Office) - Mindy appears on Comedy Central's The Daily Show with Jon Stewart at 11pm.
- Neil Patrick Harris (How I Met Your Mother/Doogie Howser, M.D.) - Neil stops by The Ellen DeGeneres Show, so check listings.
- Whitney Cummings (Whitney) - Catch Whitney on The Late Show with David Letterman at 11:35pm on CBS.
- Tracy Morgan (30 Rock/The Tracy Morgan Show) - Tracy drops by Late Night with Jimmy Fallon at 12:37am on NBC.
- Ellen DeGeneres (The Ellen Show) - Watch Ellen on Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 12am on ABC.
- Ted Danson (Cheers/Becker) - Ted visits the Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson at 12:37am on CBS.
- Mindy Kaling (The Office) - Mindy talks about her book, Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? (And Other Concerns), on NBC's Today between 9-10am and later chats with the ladies of The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
- Bill Cosby (The Cosby Show/Cosby/The Bill Cosby Show) - Bill discuss his book, I Didn't Ask to Be Born: (But I'm Glad I Was), on NBC's Today between 7-9am and 10-11am.
- Alan Alda (M*A*S*H) - Catch Alan on the Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson at 12:37am on CBS.
- Miranda Cosgrove (iCarly) - Miranda visits Chelsea Lately on E! at 11pm.
- Louis C.K. (Louie) - Louis drops by Conan at 11pm on TBS.
- Tracy Morgan (30 Rock/The Tracy Morgan Show) - Tracy continues to make the rounds on The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
- Katie Aselton (The League) - Katie appears on The Talk on CBS at 2pm ET/1pm CT-PT.
- Bill Cosby (The Cosby Show/Cosby/The Bill Cosby Show) - Watch the legendary Mr. Cosby on The Late Show with David Letterman at 11:35pm on CBS.
- Neil Patrick Harris (How I Met Your Mother/Doogie Howser, M.D.) - Neil is a guest on the Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson at 12:37am on CBS.
- Drew Carey (The Drew Carey Show) - Drew appears on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon at 12:37am on NBC.
- Florence Henderson (The Brady Bunch) - Florence stops by The Rosie Show at 7pm on OWN and will also be on Tavis Smiley on PBS, but check listings for time.
- Whitney Cummings (Whitney) - Whitney chats with the ladies of The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
- Michael J. Fox (Family Ties/Spin City) - Michael visits LIVE! with Regis & Kelly, so check your listings.
- Johnny Galecki (The Big Bang Theory/Roseanne) - Johnny drops by The Ellen DeGeneres Show, so check listings.
- Alan Alda (M*A*S*H) - Alan wraps up his appearances this week on The Talk on CBS at 2pm ET/1pm CT-PT.
SITCOMS AIRING TONIGHT (June 20)
The Big Bang Theory - "The Monster Isolation" (CBS, 8:00PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
After a terrible date, Koothrappali vows to never leave his apartment. Meanwhile, Penny actually impresses Sheldon with her acting skills.
Two and a Half Men - "Welcome to Alancrest" (CBS, 8:30PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Using Walden’s money, Alan invests in Kate’s fashion line. Meanwhile, leading a double life starts to take its toll on Walden.
Parks and Recreation - "Bailout" (NBC, 8:00PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Leslie (Amy Poehler) tries to help a local video store stay in business after the owner (guest star Jason Schwartzman) is hit by the bad economy. Chris (Rob Lowe) tries to give Tom (Aziz Ansari) some fatherly advice in dealing with a difficult employee (guest star Jenny Slate), while Ann (Rashida Jones) blackmails April (Aubrey Plaza) into being her friend.
Parks and Recreation - "Partridge" (NBC, 8:30PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Leslie (Amy Poehler) and Ben (Adam Scott) travel back to his hometown of Partridge, MN to accept the key to the city. Ron (Nick Offerman) gets served a lawsuit from councilman Jamm (guest star Jon Glaser), while Ann (Rashida Jones) and Chris (Rob Lowe) take a compatible parenting quiz.
The Office - "Livin the Dream" (NBC, 9:00PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Andy (Ed Helms) tries to work up the nerve to quit his job and pursue his dreams of stardom. Dwight (Rainn Wilson) finally receives his karate black belt from his new sensei (Michael Imperioli) and has his best day ever at work. Jim (John Krasinski) returns to Scranton to spend more quality time with Pam (Jenna Fischer).
Sullivan & Son - "Acceptance" (TBS, 10:00PM ET/PT)
Convinced that he should be dating from a wider pool, Steve goes out with a woman of questionable morality, while Melanie dates an annoying nicknamer, and Owen dates someone just a little too close to home.
Anger Management - "Charlie and the Airport Sext" (FX, 9:30PM ET/PT)
Charlie's trip with the group is interrupted when he gets some interesting news from Kate.
Wilfred - "Uncertainty" (FX, 10:00PM ET/PT)
Ryan and Wilfred search for Wilfred's original owner.
Big Time Rush - "Big Time Rides" (Nickelodeon, 8:00PM ET/PT)
James continues his pursuit of Lucy and buys a motorcycle in order to impress her, but he doesn't know how to drive it. Kendall teaches Jo how to drive stick-shift and Carlos & Logan can't relinquish a childhood treasure.
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