Monday, September 04, 2006
FOX Sitcom Pilot Reviews: 'Til Death and Happy Hour - Premiere September 7th
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.
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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:
Sitcoms Airing Tonight / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows
Monday, May 5
The Neighborhood - "Welcome to Pomp and Circumstance" (CBS, 8:00PM ET/PT)
Tina and Gemma plan a joint graduation party for Malcolm and Grover, on part one of the hour-long seventh season finale.
The Neighborhood - "Welcome to Venice" (CBS, 8:30PM ET/PT)
The Butlers and Johnsons help Malcolm start a new chapter in a new city that, while just across town, is worlds away from the neighborhood, on part two of the hour-long seventh season finale.
Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of May 5)
Monday, May 5
- David Spade (Rules of Engagement/8 Simple Rules/Just Shoot Me!) - Watch David on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC. He also chats about his new comedy special Dandelion on Live with Kelly and Mark, so check your local listings.
- Jim Gaffigan (The Jim Gaffigan Show/My Boys/The Ellen Show/Welcome to New York) - Jim appears on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert at 11:35pm on CBS.
- Chloe Fineman (Big Mouth/Search Party) - Chloe is a guest on Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
- Connie Britton (SMILF/Lost at Home/The Fighting Fitzgeralds/Spin City) - Connie appears on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen at 9pm on Bravo.
- Will Forte (The Four Seasons/HouseBroken/MacGruber/The Last Man on Earth/The Cleveland Show) - Will stops by Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen at 9pm on Bravo.
- Hugh Jackman (Human REsources) - Hugh chats with the ladies of The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
- Wanda Sykes (The Upshaws/The New Adventures of Old Christine/Wanda at Large) - Wanda stops by to talk about marriage, motherhood, and her latest comedy tour, Please and Thank You, on Sherri, so check your local listings.
- Melissa Rauch (Night Court/The Big Bang Theory) - Melissa talks about Netflix's Night Court on Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings.
New on DVD and Blu-ray
01/28 - Wait Till Your Father Gets Home - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
02/04 - The Wayans Bros. - The Complete Series
03/11 - Frasier (2023) - Season Two
04/01 - Abbott Elementary - The Complete Third Season
05/13 - The Drew Carey Show - The Complete Series* (missing 4 episodes and some music has been replaced or altered)
06/06 - Shoresy - Season 2
06/17 - Looney Tunes - Collector's Vault - Volume 1 (Blu-ray)
07/08 - Bewitched - The Complete Series - 60th Anniversary Special Edition (Blu-ray)
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