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

'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

    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 / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows

    Monday, January 26

    The Neighorhood - "Welcome to Family Value" (CBS, 8:00PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
    Malcolm’s home renovation takes an unexpected turn when Calvin’s cousin Crutch shows up uninvited to fix his floors. Meanwhile, Dave’s attempts to help around the house and support Grover’s booming T-shirt business lead to more stress than he bargained for.

    DMV - "Pilot" (CBS, 8:30PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
    East Hollywood Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) driving examiner Colette pines for her coworker Noa while enduring teasing from colleagues Gregg, Vic and Ceci. Also, new manager Barb rallies the crew to save their branch from government shutdown.

    St. Denis Medical - "This Isn't Bingo" (NBC, 8:00PM ET/PT)
    Alex hosts a senior health fair; Bruce resuscitates a patient with a DNR; Ron competes with Matt over a patient's homemade fudge.

    Stumble - "In Sync" (NBC, 8:30PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
    It's back to school for Heådltston State JC, which means in addition to her coaching, Courteney must get her kids settled into the dorms and begin classes; when the girls' periods sync up, Courteney's doesn't and she worries she may be pregnant.

    Complete TV Listings


    Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of January 26)

    Monday, January 26

    • Pete Davidson (Bupkis) - Watch Pete on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
    • Sam Rockwell (F Is for Family) - Sam talks about Good Luck, Have Fun, Don't on ABC's Good Morning America sometime between 7-9am.
    • Jason Biggs (Outmatched/Mad Love/Drexell's Class) - Jason talks about Untitled Home Invasion Romance on Live with Kelly and Mark, so check your local listings.
    • Ernie Hudson (Grace and Frankie/The Last Precinct/Highcliffe Manor) - NBC's Today catches up with Ernie in the 9am hour.
    • Selma Blair (Anger Management/Kath & Kim/Zoe, Duncan, Jack and Jane) - NBC's Today catches up with Selma in the 10am hour.
    • Bert Kreischer (Free Bert) - Bert joins Drew in the kitchen to whip up his favorite breakfast sandwich and dishes on his new series Free Bert on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
    • Desi Lydic (Awkward) - The Daily Show's Desi Lydic hits the Drew's News desk to cover the headlines on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.


    New on DVD and Blu-ray

    Bewitched - The Complete Series - 60th Anniversary Special Edition (Blu-ray) Georgie & Mandy's First Marriage - The Complete First Season (DVD) St. Denis Medical - Season One (Blu-ray) Happy's Place - Season One (Blu-ray) Two and a Half Men - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)

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    10/14 - Curb Your Enthusiasm - The Complete Series (Blu-ray) (DVD)
    10/28 - St. Denis Medical - Season One (Blu-ray) (DVD)
    11/04 - Happy's Place - Season One (Blu-ray) (DVD)
    11/11 - Rick and Morty - Season 8 (Blu-ray) (DVD)
    11/11 - SpongeBob SquarePants - The Complete Fifteenth Season (DVD)
    11/11 - Two and a Half Men - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
    12/02 - Tom and Jerry - The Golden Era Anthology (1940-1958) (Blu-ray) (DVD)
    12/16 - Lippy the Lion and Hardy Har Har - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
    12/16 - Wally Gator - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
    01/20 - The Woody Woodpecker and Friends Golden Age Collection (Blu-ray)
    01/27 - The New Fred and Barney Show - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
    02/11 - Tom and Jerry - The Complete CinemaScope Collection (Blu-ray)

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