Friday, March 02, 2007

FOX Mid-Season Pilot Review: The Winner - Premieres March 4; 'Cheers' Star Joins 'Dancing with the Stars'!

The Winner

The Winner - Sundays at 8:30PM and 9:30 PM ET/PT for three weeks on FOX
Premieres March 4th at 8:30PM ET/PT

The summer of 1994 was a magical one – O.J. Simpson was on the run, Snoop Dogg was climbing the charts, Olympic hopeful Nancy Kerrigan was clubbed on the knee and 32-year-old GLEN ABBOTT (Rob Corddry) was finally on his way to becoming a man.

Back in 1994, when the series begins, Glen is still living with his parents when the only girl he’d ever kissed, ALISON McKELLAR (Erinn Hayes), returns to town with her 13-year-old son JOSH (Keir Gilchrist). The recently divorced Alison inspires Glen to become a “grown-up” and win her heart. There may be hope for late-bloomers everywhere as Glen moves through his formative years a mere 20 years later than most. But, hey, some people’s “Wonder Years” just happen a little later.

Luckily, Glen doesn’t have to go through this awkward period alone. He becomes best friends with Josh – a fellow hypochondriac and the only person he can truly relate to – and receives parental advice from his enabling mother IRENE (Linda Hart) and quasi-rage-aholic dad RON (Lenny Clarke). As narrated by present-day Glen, this story proves that an unlikely underdog can eventually transform from fear-riddled underachiever to the richest man in Buffalo.

THE WINNER comes from 20th Century Fox Television and is executive-produced by Seth MacFarlane (FAMILY GUY, AMERICAN DAD) and Ricky Blitt (FAMILY GUY, “The Ringer”).

Cast: Rob Corddry as Glen Abbott, Erinn Hayes as Alison McKellar, Lenny Clarke as Rob Abbott, Keir Gilchrist as Josh McKellar, Linda Hart as Irene Abbott

Read our review of the pilot and other episodes here.

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

Related Links:

  • FOX.com Official Site
  • TV.com
  • epguides.com
  • Internet Movie Database
  • Wikipedia
  • The Winner Photo Gallery

    Looks like I got my wish! A former sitcom star is joining Dancing with the Stars. Following the departure of Sopranos star Vincent Pastore, the producers of Dancing has chosen none other than John Ratzenberger, of Cheers fame. John of course played the mailman Cliff on the hit sitcom. Everybody knows his name and I'm sure fans are glad that he came! Show producers had previously extended an invitation to him to participate this season, but a scheduling conflict prevented him from accepting until now. He takes on the added challenge of having less time to train than his fellow competitors before the series premieres – two weeks versus four. The series' fourth season premieres March 19 on ABC.
    Read the details here.
    Posted by Todd -- SitcomsOnline.com at 9:20 AM

    • Sitcoms Airing Tonight / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows

    Sunday, November 2

    The Simpsons - "Bad Boys... For Life?" (Fox, 8:00PM ET/PT)
    Homer and Marge can't decide if Bart is naughty or nice.

    Universal Basic Guys - "Well Done" (Fox, 8:30PM ET/PT)
    Mark digs a well so he doesn't have to pay the water bill; Tammy battles the water company bureaucracy.

    Krapopolis - "Society of Swords" (Fox, 9:00PM ET/PT)
    Before Deliria can become goddess of another city, she and Shlub must win over its exasperating king and queen; Ty gets dating advice from Viscera.

    Bob's Burgers - "The Secret Guardin'" (Fox, 9:30PM ET/PT)
    Tina, Gene and Louise have a secret to keep from Linda, but their plan is jeopardized when Louise gets loopy from dental surgery.

    Ghosts - "" (CBS, 10:30PM ET/PT) (Repeat)

    DMV - "" (CBS, 11:00PM ET/PT) (Repeat)

    Complete TV Listings

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    Friday, October 31

    • Ben Stiller (Arrested Development) - Watch Ben on a repeat of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert at 11:35pm on CBS.
    • Tig Notaro (One Mississippi) - Tig appears on a repeat of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert at 11:35pm on CBS.
    • Larry David (Curb Your Entusiasm/Seinfeld) - Larry is a guest on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
    • Joel Kim Booster (Loot/Shrill) - Joel appears on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
    • Mary Lynn Rajskub (Rob Riggle's Ski Master Academy/How to Be a Gentleman/Veronica's Closet/The Larry Sanders Show) - Mary is a guest on a repeat of Comics Unleashed with Byron Allen at 12:37am on CBS.
    • Ariana DeBose (Schmigadoon!) - Ariana chats with the ladies of The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
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