FOX Sitcom Pilot Reviews: 'Til Death and Happy Hour - Premiere September 7th

Monday, September 04, 2006

FOX Sitcom Pilot Reviews: 'Til Death and Happy Hour - Premiere September 7th

Happy Labor Day! A special thank you to Pavan on his day of rest for bringing us daily news, schedules, and ratings. When we first started this blog over a year ago, I honestly didn't think he'd be able to post news every single day. With so little news during the summer hiatus months, he has continued to deliver on a daily basis. He'll have some exciting news on a few '80s sitcoms tomorrow when he returns.

We are proud to present reviews of the new fall sitcom pilots for the second consecutive season. There will be 8 new sitcoms premiering in September and October. There looks to be a number of promising sitcoms this fall, such as The Class, 30 Rock, The Knights of Prosperity, and Help Me Help You. Hopefully we'll see a number of big hits, as we've hit a bit of a dry spell in recent years. It would also be nice if some of last season's new sitcom hits (How I Met Your Mother, My Name Is Earl, The New Adventures of Old Christine) don't suffer any sophomore slumps. Look for our other pilot reviews in the upcoming weeks, as we get closer to their premiere dates. We'll also bring you reviews of the mid-season sitcoms, when they are announced at a later date.

'Til Death - Thursdays at 8:00PM ET/PT on FOX
Premieres September 7th at 8:00PM ET/PT

'TIL DEATH is a comedy about middle-aged EDDIE (Brad Garrett, "Everybody Loves Raymond") and JOY STAMM (Joely Fisher, "Desperate Housewives"), who are on day 8,743 of their marriage and have the battle scars to prove it. Their new next-door neighbors are young newlyweds STEPH (Kat Foster, "Law & Order") and JEFF WOODCOCK (Eddie Kaye Thomas, "Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle") - idealistic, passionate, adorable and married for all of 12 days. It's a show about new marriage versus old marriage, about keeping the romance alive - or at least staying together so you have someone to drive you to the hospital for your operations. Eddie is a cynical realist who considers himself an expert on most topics. A high school history teacher, he's learned well the lessons of history and applies the basic principles to his marriage: all fights are about power, land and resources - and women love to kill fun. A veteran of the marriage wars, Eddie freely gives his advice to the younger, idealistic Jeff, who's the new Vice Principal at Eddie's school. Of course, Eddie's little secret all along is that he loves Joy more than anything. And however brash and sardonic Joy herself appears, she loves Eddie right back.

Cast: Brad Garrett as Eddie Stamm, Joely Fisher as Joy Stamm, Eddie Kaye Thomas as Jeff Woodcock, Kat Foster as Steph Woodcock

Read our review of the pilot episode here.

Discuss the show after you watch it on Thursday on our message board.

Related Links:

FOX.com Official Site

TV.com

epguides.com

Internet Movie Database

Wikipedia

'Til Death Photo Gallery

Happy Hour - Thursdays at 8:30PM ET/PT on FOX
Premieres September 7th at 8:30PM ET/PT

Straight arrow HENRY BECKMAN (John Sloan, "The OH in Ohio") had it all: a great job, a perfect girlfriend and a sweet apartment. He was a big fish in the small pond of Amsterdam, Missouri. And then he let HEATHER (Brooke D'Orsay, "King's Ransom") talk him into moving to Chicago to work in her family business, where it all went wrong. In the space of one morning, Henry gets dumped by Heather, learns he can no longer work for Heather's uncle, and gets kicked out of their apartment. It's in this vulnerable state that he meets his new roommate, a vain, flashy, loveable rogue named LARRY CONE (Lex Medlin, "Still Standing"). Larry is a modern-day Dean Martin who is looking for a new protg to teach the wisdom of staying single and enjoying the good life. Larry's last roommate and best friend, BRAD (Nat Faxon, "Joey"), has gotten engaged to the shrew TINA (Jamie Denbo, "Must Love Dogs"), a cold and controlling fiance who's immune to Larry's considerable charm. Under Larry's tutelage, Henry begins to rebuild his life and goes to work for Larry's childhood friend AMANDA (Beth Lacke, "The Rest of Your Life"), a beautiful mess who's unsuccessfully trying to emulate her perfect ideal of womanhood, Kelly Ripa. Will Henry manage to hold onto his traditional values and remain a hopeless romantic? Or will Larry indeed "build a better Brad"?

Cast: John Sloan as Henry Beckman, Lex Medlin as Larry Cone, Nat Faxon as Brad Cooper, Jamie Denbo as Tina DiFabio, Beth Lacke as Beth Pennington, Brooke D’Orsay as Heather Hanson

Read our review of the pilot episode here.

Discuss the show after you watch it on Thursday on our message board.

Related Links:

FOX.com Official Site

TV.com

epguides.com

Internet Movie Database

Wikipedia

Happy Hour Photo Gallery

Sitcoms Airing Tonight

Wednesday, September 22

The Goldbergs - "The Goldbergs' Excellent Adventure" (ABC, 8:00PM ET/PT)
The season nine premiere revolves around the iconic ‘80s family paying tribute to Pops. Together they venture down memory lane by visiting Pops’ favorite stomping grounds. Adam Goldberg, forever with camera in hand, captures the outing – theming it to “Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure.” Hijinks and hilarity ensue, and we are reminded that there is no bond greater than family.

The Wonder Years - "Pilot" (ABC, 8:30PM ET/PT)
As the youngest in the Williams family, Dean is struggling to figure out where he fits in. Between his brother’s athleticism, sister’s popularity, mother’s intelligence and dad’s overall coolness, everyone else seems to have their lane figured out. He decides to pursue his calling as “The Great Uniter” and attempts to organize the first integrated baseball game between his team and his friend Brad’s team.

The Conners - "Trucking Live in Front of a Fully Vaccinated Studio Audience" (ABC, 9:00PM ET/PT)
Lights, Camera, Action: “The Conners” is going live for both the East and West Coast broadcasts of the season four premiere episode. This iconic TV family continues to deal with the current pandemic while navigating breakups and newfound sobriety, all while planning an upcoming wedding.

Home Economics - "49ers Foam Finger, $7" (ABC, 9:30PM ET/PT)
Connor invites the Hayworth clan to a San Francisco 49ers game as he tries to close his latest business deal. Desperately trying to prove that he knows the game, Tom gets a once-in-a-lifetime chance to showcase his football skills in front of the entire crowd of 49ers Faithful at Levi’s® Stadium. Meanwhile, Denise tries to get Sarah to come to terms with Shamiah’s new interest in cheerleading.

Complete TV Listings

Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of September 20)

Wednesday, September 22

Steve Martin (Only Murders in the Building) and Martin Short (Only Murders in the Building/Mulaney/The Martin Short Show) - Watch Steve and Martin on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
Jim Gaffigan (The Jim Gaffigan Show/My Boys/Welcome to New York) - Jim appears on Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
Melissa McCarthy (Mike & Molly/Samantha Who?) - Melissa is a guest on The Late Late Show with James Corden at 12:37am on CBS.
Scott Foley (The Goodwin Games/Scrubs/A.U.S.A.) - Scott appears on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, so check your local listings.
Kim Fields (The Upshaws/Living Single/The Facts of Life/Baby, I'm Back) - Kim is a guest on a repeat of The Wendy Williams Show, so check your local listings.
Alyson Hanningan (How I Met Your Mother/Free Spirit) - Alyson will be on The Kelly Clarkson Show, so check your local listings.
Jaleel White (Family Matters/Grown Ups) - Jaleel talks about his hit podcast Ever After on Tamron Hall, so check your local listings.
John Stamos (Fuller House/Grandfathered/Jake in Progrews/Full House/You, Again?) - John talks about his podcast The Grand Scheme on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
Drew Barrymore (Santa Clarita Diet) - Drew appears on CBS This Morning sometime between 7-9am.
Martin Lawrence (Martin/Partners) - Martin gets excited for the NFL season by partnering with DraftKings on Access Daily, so check your local listings.
Jon Bernthal (The Class) - Jon talks about The Many Saints of Newark on NBC's Today sometime between 7-9am.
The Cast of The Wonder Years (2021) - Elisha "EJ" Williams, Laura Kariuki, Dulé Hill and Saycon Sengbloh are guests on Tamron Hall, so check your local listings. Dulé appears on LIVE! with Kelly and Ryan (check your local listings) and chats with the ladies of The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT. Dulé and EJ will be on ABC's Good Morning America sometime between 7-9am.