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Grab your favorite blankie and cozy up on the couch for a Memorial Day Baby Daddy marathon on ABC Family. On Monday, May 27, viewers can catch up on all ten episodes from Season 1 that aired last summer of this freshman sitcom, airing in order from 2:00pm– 7:00pm ET/PT. And it's the perfect chance to do so because the second season of Baby Daddy premieres two nights later on Wednesday, May 29, at 8:30 pm ET/PT, following the season premiere of Melissa & Joey. The series is a multi-camera comedy that shoots in front of a live studio audience in Los Angeles. If you like shows like Boy Meets World and Saved by the Bell, you'll certainly like this show, as it is hip and has a young cast. Look for our review of the first two episodes of the second season closer to the season premiere. Hint: Kyle XY star Matt Dallas will guest star on the season premiere, reuniting him with his former Kyle XY buddy Jean-Luc Bilodeau!

Baby Daddy, which launched as the network's #1 comedy series in ABC Family history, follows Ben (Jean-Luc Bilodeau), a young man in his early 20s living the life of a bachelor as a bartender in New York City with his buddy, Tucker (Tahj Mowry), and his brother, Danny (Derek Theler), a professional hockey player. Their lives are turned upside down when they come home one day to find a baby girl left on the doorstep by an ex-girlfriend of Ben's. After much deliberation, Ben decides to raise the baby with the help of his friends and his protective and sometimes over-bearing mother, Bonnie (Melissa Peterman), and his close female friend, Riley (Chelsea Kane), who has had a secret crush on him since childhood. Riley is hopeful that Ben will finally take notice, but she doesn't realize that Ben's brother, Danny, is harboring a secret crush on her.




On the next...How to Live with Your Parents (for the Rest of Your Life):
By: Skees

ABC's Comedy Wednesday sitcom starring Sarah Chalke, Elizabeth Perkins and Brad Garrett and airs Wednesday nights at 9:30pm and we have just watched the next episode that airs tonight (May 1). In the episode airing tonight, "How to Run the Show," Elaine (Elizabeth Perkins) and Max (Brad Garrett) encourage Polly (Sarah Chalke) to put her needs first, as they did when Polly was growing up, and offer to babysit Natalie (Rachel Eggleston) so Polly can spend time out with Scott (guest star Reid Scott). But they get a quick lesson in parenting the middle ground between letting kids run the show and ending up on a milk carton.

The episode begins with a typical parent-child struggle, where Polly and Natalie just can't seem to find common ground (specifically, Polly has no authority over her own daughter). The struggle ends with Polly taking Natalie to work after she refuses to go to soccer practice. But with Polly constantly putting Natalie first, this creates a problem when she wants to go on a date. Max and Elaine decide to put their own daughter first and agree to babysit Natalie so that Polly can go on the date, but the plans that they have truly do put the grandparents first. Meanwhile, Polly's surprise date with Scott turns out to be an even bigger surprise when she his kids tag along on the date, and they too are determined to have all of the control in the parent-child relationship.



I've been enjoying this series, but this episode isn't really one of the strongest ones that I've seen. It seems that the overall theme of the episode was just the battle of control between parents and children, but there didn't seem to be much explanation behind the battles (and this seems to actually be an on-going criticism that I have of the series, the lack of a full back-story). Polly's date introduced another battle (with different kids), but again, it just seemed to be parent vs. child without much of an explanation. Perhaps the best part of the episode, though, was the day that Natalie spent with Max and Elaine. As always, they have their own (somewhat irresponsible) views of raising children, and that irresponsibility results in a nightmare at the wine and jazz festival (the "family friendly" event that they take her to). As much as I like Polly, I feel that Max and Elaine have had some of the best moments in the series so far, and this episode is no exception. Unfortunately, though, I don't feel that the day of "family fun" at the wine and jazz festival was enough to make up for the shortcomings of this episode. C

We just mentioned a few Leave it to Beaver news items recently, including about the sitcom leaving Antenna TV and moving to MeTV and also the passing of Frank Bank (Lumpy Rutherford). Now, we have news on a "farewell" marathon on Antenna TV, since the sitcom is leaving the network. Transform your Sunday into "Sonday" and spend Sunday, April 28 with America's favorite sons, Wally and the Beaver Cleaver. Antenna TV, which airs on 74 affiliates across the U.S., reaching 63% of TV households, will air a 40 episode/20 hour Leave it to Beaver marathon on Sunday, April 28 beginning at 9am ET and lasting through 5am ET. Here are a list of episodes in order of airing: Beaver's Hero, The Boat Builders, Beaver Becomes a Hero, Beaver's Freckles, Beaver Play Hooky, The Garage Painters, Beaver's Pigeons, The Haunted House, Beaver and Gilbert, The Bus Ride, A Horse Named Dick, Beaver Says Goodbye, Beaver's Newspaper, Friendship, Dance Contest, The Cookie Fund, Forgotten Party, Beaver the Athlete, Found Money, Most Interesting Character, Wally's Play, Beaver Finds a Wallet, Baby Picture, Pet Fair, Wally's Election, School Sweater, Beaver Makes a Loan, Larry's Club, Wally and Alma, Beaver's Big Contest, Beaver Won't Eat, Wally's Glamour Girl, Wally the Lifeguard, Beaver's IQ, Eddie's Double Cross, Miss Lander's Fiancée, Chuckie's New Shoes, Ward's Millions, Teacher's Daughter and Beaver and Kenneth. Stay with us for continued updates on all things Leave it to Beaver!




On the next...Suburgatory:
By: Pavan

ABC's Comedy Wednesday sitcom starring Jane Levy and Jeremy Sisto, airs Wednesday nights at 8:30pm and we have just watched the two-episode season finale that airs tonight (April 17), starting at a special time of 8pm ET. In the first episode airing tonight, "Apocalypse Meow," Dallas (Cheryl Hines) offers to help George (Jeremy Sisto) tell Tessa (Jane Levy) that he's sold their house and that they're combining residences, but it doesn't go as planned. The rift between Dalia (Carly Chaikin) and Tessa widens as Dalia goes out of her way to make Tessa miserable and Tessa seeks break-up revenge. Meanwhile, Noah (Alan Tudyk) obsesses over Carmen (guest star Bunnie Rivera) even though she's dating his therapist (guest star Todd Louiso). On the season finale, "Stray Dogs," Sheila (Ana Gasteyer) launches a chastity campaign in Chatswin and convinces Mr. Wolfe (Rex Lee) to throw a Chastity Ball at the high school, assuming that Lisa (Allie Grant) will be crowned queen of the ball. Meanwhile George (Jeremy Sisto) buys a house for Dallas (Cheryl Hines) and receives a visit from her ex-husband (guest star Jay Mohr), and Tessa (Jane Levy) sets up residence in her bathroom stall at school.

The 2-episode season finale continues where we left off last week. Things are getting interesting and soapy between Dalia and Tessa after Tessa finds out that Dalia was the reason why she and Ryan broke up. The first half-hour sets-up the finale with George selling the house but he still hasn't told Tessa. Dallas offers to help tell her, but will she actually do it and Tessa finds out another way? There's also a nice scene between Dalia and "Daddy" Altman (aka George), while Tessa and Dallas indulge in pasta before Tessa tells how she really feels about Dalia. I'm still not 100% sure why Dalia is trying to mess everything up for Tessa, but we have an all-out cat fight in the episode and it is pretty physical. Not quite campy like Dynasty or Desperate Housewives, but maybe a bit more realistic. In other plotlines, Lisa has a hilarious one about "meow mixes." It's hilarious. The plotline about Noah trying to get revenge on Dr. Bob over the Carmen thing is getting old and needs to end, I think. Either put them together or just stop it. The first half-hour ends with Tessa saying she's "outta here"...you'll have to see why.



In the second half-hour, Tessa is looking for places to stay. She can't find anyone to stay with, so she ends up staying temporarily in the school bathroom. The other plotlines for this episode are the Chastity Ball hosted by Sheila (but her expectations are not met) and of course Dallas and George preparing to move into their new house. There is so much that happens during the rest of the finale that it is best I not say. The finale is well-written and has so many "oh my god" moments. We have a lot of cliffhangers, surprise returns (I'll tell you one person who returns: Dallas' ex-husband and he tries to start a cat fight of his own) and a stray dog. I can't really say what a stray dog has to do with all this, but it will make sense when you watch the finale tonight. Does Dalia want her father back or does she want Daddy Altman instead? And why is she trying to make Tessa's life a living hell? Is it because she wants George all to herself? I don't know, but that Dalia is one interesting and complex character. We have a nice moment between Tessa and Ryan as well, but will it last? It's a great finale for a great show. I can't wait for next season, which I'm about 95% sure will happen. Tune in tonight for great storylines and writing. First episode: B+, Second episode: A-




On the next...How to Live with Your Parents (for the Rest of Your Life):
By: Skees

ABC's Comedy Wednesday sitcom starring Sarah Chalke, Elizabeth Perkins and Brad Garrett and airs Wednesday nights at 9:30pm and we have just watched the next episode that airs tonight (April 17). In the episode airing tonight, "How To Live With The Academy Awards Party," the family celebrate their favorite holiday - the Oscars. Polly (Sarah Chalke) invites an old classmate over for the event and tries to impress him (guest star Reid Scott). Meanwhile, Max (Brad Garrett) thinks that Elaine (Elizabeth Perkins) has too close a relationship with her brother (guest star)Joe Wengert, and tensions explode at the party.

In this episode we get to enjoy a very special holiday episode... or at least something that Max and Elaine consider to be a holiday, the Oscars. With the big Oscar party coming up, Polly decides to reinvent her life, quite literally, when she has the opportunity to be with an old classmate whom she only remembers through a rear-view mirror. Only now, he seems to have found great success in life. It seems that we have yet another dating episode of the series (and perhaps a series of mishaps), and honestly, I often find such episodes to be a bit too predictable. But I actually didn't mind this one, and thought that it was a rather enjoyable episode. Essentially, for Polly to get what she wants, she decides to pretend to be somebody that she isn't, and the family is rather supportive of that. But there was a bit of suspense in the episode, wondering if/when she'll be caught and what the outcome of being caught would be. As much as I enjoyed that element of suspense, I actually found the end result to be predictable, but it was still an enjoyable plot nonetheless.



While I enjoyed the main plot of the episode, I do feel that the B-plots were rather weak. The first one involves the relationship between Max and Elaine's brother, where there is clearly some animosity, but the story doesn't really seem to be fully developed. We're told that it is about taking sides, but it didn't seem to be much to explain why anybody was taking sides. We tend to expect a bit more of an explanation in modern sitcoms. Meanwhile, over at Julian's place, Natalie is having a pretty miserable time (something that seems to be a regular thing no matter what Natalie is doing), but once again, this doesn't all quite make sense either, as this isn't fully explained either. Regardless, I found this to be another decent episode of a series that I'm hoping we'll see quite a bit more of. A-

How to Live with Your Parents (For the Rest of Your Life) - Wednesdays at 9:30PM ET/PT on ABC
Premieres Wednesday, April 3, 2013 at 9:30PM ET/PT

by skees53

Polly (Sarah Chalke) is a single mom who has recently divorced. The transition hasn't been easy for her, especially in this economy. So, like a lot of young people living in this new reality, she and her daughter, Natalie (Rachel Eggleston), have moved back home with her eccentric parents, Elaine (two time Golden Globe® and Emmy® nominee Elizabeth Perkins) and Max (three time Emmy® winner Brad Garrett). But Polly and her parents look at life through different generational lenses. Polly (in contrast to how she was raised) aspires to be organized and together, while Max and Elaine live a more free-flowing, improvisational life-style. Polly wants to take it slow with new relationships, while her parents encourage her to be more sexually adventurous. Polly's co-worker and close friend, Jenn (Stephanie Hunt), also encourages her to jump right back into the dating world. Polly and her parents' views on parenting itself also conflict: Polly wants to be an involved modern parent, but Max and Elaine are laid back, hands-off parents from the 1970s. Polly believes children need to be sheltered and have structure and guidance, while Max and Elaine feel that children need the freedom to fall and pick themselves back up. After all, Polly turned out okay, so what's the big deal?

They say it takes a village to raise a child, but in Polly's case, this village is on fire, and although her ex-husband Julian's (Jon Dore) intentions are good, he doesn't exactly help extinguish the flames. But through figuring out how to live with her dysfunctional family, Polly realizes she might even be able to learn a few helpful things about herself.

Cast Details:

Sarah Chalke as Polly
Elizabeth Perkins as Elaine
Jon Dore as Julian
Rachel Eggleston as Natalie
Stephanie Hunt as Jenn
Brad Garrett as Max

Sarah Chalke (Polly) is best known for her role as Dr. Elliot Reid on the Emmy Award-winning ABC series Scrubs. The single-camera series was hailed as ground-breaking, as it deftly combined black humor and surreal interludes without diminishing the seriousness of life in a hospital. A native of Ottawa, Canada, she was raised in Vancouver and began appearing in local musical theatre productions when she was eight. A few years later she became an environmental reporter for the Canadian series Kid Zone. Her big break came in 1993 when she was cast as daughter Becky Conner on the ABC series Roseanne. Chalke recently starred on the CBS comedy Mad Love, opposite Jason Biggs and Judy Greer. She had a recurring role as Stella Zinmann on the Emmy Award-winning comedy series How I Met Your Mother and a guest arc on ABC's Cougar Town, teaming up again with her former Scrubs creator/writer, Bill Lawrence.

Elizabeth Perkins (Elaine) has been lucky enough to have a rather "eclectic" career, but perhaps her best known role was that of Celia Hodes on Weeds, which earned her 2006 and 2007 Golden Globe® nominations and 2006 and 2007 Emmy® nominations for Best Supporting Actress. She made her film debut in Ed Zwick's About Last Night..., but her breakthrough performance came in the Tom Hanks movie Big. Additionally, Perkins was (on the big screen, at least) married to Fred Flintstone as she played the role of Wilma Flintstone in the movie adaptation of The Flintstones.

Conclusion:


Final Numbers (out of 5 stars):

Watchability: 4/5
Funniness: 3/5
Overall: 3.5/5

Discuss the show after you watch it on Wednesday, April 3, 2013 at 9:30PM ET/PT on our message board.

Related Links:

ABC.com Official Site

TV.com

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Internet Movie Database

Wikipedia

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Preview:

On the next...The New Normal:
By: Vincent NBC's Tuesday freshman comedy produced by Ryan Murphy airs Tuesday nights at 9:30pm and we have just watched the two-episode season finale that airs tonight (April 2). In the first episode airing tonight, "Finding Name-O," Bryan (Andrew Rannells) and David (Justin Bartha) are facing the hardest decision of their relationship, what to name their baby. The conflict prompts Goldie (Georgia King) to reveal the origin of Shania's (Bebe Wood) name leading to brief identity crises for both of them. Later, While breezing through their wedding planning, David suggests that Bryan invite his mother Colleen (guest star Mary Kay Place), but her added opinion leads to more conflict and an unusual resolution. Meanwhile, Clay (Jayson Blair) decides it's time to let Goldie know how he feels, after receiving some unsolicited advice from Brice (guest star John Stamos). In the season finale, "The Big Day," the wedding is finally here and despite all of the challenges that pop up throughout the day, Bryan (Andrew Rannells) and David (Justin Bartha) are dead set on getting married before the arrival of their baby, but their son has other plans.

The New Normal's 2-episode finale deals with the long-awaited wedding of Bryan and David. The first airing, "Finding Name-O," centers around David convincing Bryan to invite his mother to the wedding, and the show nicely hits a lot of dramatic beats about the troubled relationship between the two. The broken bond between Bryan and his mother is believable and well-played by Andrew Rannells and guest star Mary Kay Place. The episode also does an interesting job of exploring the conflict between Bryan and David's relationship as they continuously argue over what to name their soon-to-be-born son. The episode's biggest problem is that it's light on laughs - the show hasn't quite found its comic rhythm and just isn't much of a laugh-out-loud comedy, which is a bit disappointing since the cast is very funny and talented. However, some good character work and solid acting makes this an enjoyable enough episode and a good set-up for the big wedding finale.



Unfortunately, the big wedding itself (in "The Big Day") is a bit of a disappointment. For a show that claims to be all about breaking tradition, the wedding episode sticks to just about every "sitcom wedding" cliche in the book, making the finale far too predictable. The wedding also feels very rushed - the show crams an awful lot of plot into just a half-hour, so much that I have to wonder why they didn't make the actual wedding a two-part episode. The show's ratings have dropped considerably this spring, so the episode works very hard to tie up every loose end in case the show doesn't get a second season. While that's understandable, it makes the ending to the season's various storylines feel abrupt and unsatisfying, making for a disappointing season (and possibly series) finale. First episode: B-, Second episode: C

ABC announced midseason 2013 premiere dates for new dramas Red Widow and Zero Hour, along with new comedies How to Live with Your Parents (for the Rest of Your Life) and Family Tools, and new alternative series The Taste and Celebrity Diving. Returning series Dancing with the Stars and Body of Proof will rejoin the schedule will all-new seasons in the new year, and Suburgatory will move to Wednesday nights at 8:30 p.m., beginning April 3, 2013.
First up, new innovative cooking competition show The Taste will feature celebrity chefs Anthony Bourdain, Nigella Lawson, Ludo Lefebvre and Brian Malarkey, will debut with a special two-hour premiere on Tuesday, January 22 from 8:00-10:00pm ET, and will premiere in its regular time period from 8:00-9:00pm ET on Tuesday, January 29 with an 8 episode order. No words on what will air in the time period Jan. 1, 8 and 15, but ABC will likely air repeats/specials until The Taste launches. Also on Tuesdays, Body of Proof, starring the Emmy(R)-winning Dana Delany, will return to the schedule on Tuesday, February 5 at 10:00pm, ET, and will feature new cast member Mark Valley as Det. Tommy Sullivan, a former NYPD detective (and a bit of a lady killer) who has transferred back to Philadelphia to rekindle his relationship with Megan Hunt (Delany). Private Practice, which currently airs in the hour, will have its series finale in January (likely Jan. 22, as the series has three episodes left to air in 2013), but no official date has been announced yet.

Moving on, new thriller Zero Hour stars Anthony Edwards (ER) in his return to series television. Edwards' character, Hank Galliston, has spent his life debunking myths, only to be drawn into one of the most compelling mysteries in human history after his wife's shocking disappearance. Zero Hour will premiere on Thursday, February 14 at 8:00pm, ET for 13 episodes. The series will replace Last Resort, which will air three more episodes in 2013 to finish its 13-episode run. Next, Red Widow, from Twilight Saga films writer Melissa Rosenberg and starring Radha Mitchell, is a riveting new drama about one woman's journey into the world of organized crime, and how far she will go to keep her family safe. Red Widow will debut with a two-hour premiere on Sunday, March 3 from 9:00-11:00pm, ET launching a week after the Academy Awards, and premiere in its regular timeslot, Sunday nights at 10:00pm, ET, on Sunday, March 10 following Revenge for 8 episodes. The series will replace 666 Park Avenue on the schedule, which has 4 episodes left to air in 2013 (likely twice in January and twice in February).

Dancing with the Stars will return for a 16th season on Monday, March 18 at 8:00-10:00pm, ET and Dancing with the Stars the Results Show will debut the following week on Tuesday, March 26 at 9:00pm, ET. The Monday edition will take over for The Bachelor after it finishes its season and presumably the Tuesday edition will take over for Happy Endings and Don't Trust the B---- In Apartment 23. The Tuesday edition moves back to 9pm, as it aired at 8pm this past fall. Celebrity Diving, based on the international hit reality series Celebrity Splash, will premiere on Tuesday, March 19 at 8:00pm, ET, leading into Dancing on Tuesdays, and will feature as judges legendary Olympic diver and four-time gold medalist Greg Louganis, along with David Boudia, who brought home the gold for diving at the 2012 London Olympics.

Then we have some comedy changes. Critically acclaimed Wednesday comedy Suburgatory will move to at 8:30pm ET as of Wednesday, April 3, one week after the season finale of The Neighbors. As The Neighbors returns with original episodes on Wednesday, January 9, and runs for 12 straight weeks. New comedy How to Live with Your Parents (for the Rest of Your Life)" features Sarah Chalke (Scrubs) as a recently divorced single mom who moves back in with her eccentric parents, played by the multitalented and critically acclaimed Elizabeth Perkins and Brad Garrett. The series premieres on Wednesday, April 3 at 9:30pm ET after Modern Family and has a 13 episode order. And finally, upcoming new comedy Family Tools debuts on Wednesday, May 1 at 8:30pm ET and stars Kyle Bornheimer, J.K. Simmons and Leah Remini in a new family comedy that proves mixing family with business is never easy. Family Tools will take over for Suburgatory in this new timeslot following its season finale. The series has a 10 episode order, so will likely spill into early summer.
Stay with us for further updates as we get them.

Moving on, our good friend Eric of Just My Show is guest blogging for USA Today's Pop Candy all this week! Among the interviews Eric has done for Pop Candy is Monday's edition featuring Jason Ritter. The ladies love Jason Ritter. The 32-year-old actor, the son of the late John Ritter, has been a series regular on Joan of Arcadia, The Class, The Event and is now in his fourth season as Mark Syr on NBC's Parenthood. Eric talks to him of course about Parenthood but also snuck in a few questions on his father's classic sitcom Three's Company. Read the interview! On Tuesday, Eric interviewed Jay Sandrich. He of course directed the majority of episodes of The Mary Tyler Moore Show, The Cosby Show and Soap. In his spare time, he also directed the pilots of The Golden Girls, Empty Nest, A Different World and WKRP. Throw in a bunch of Bob Newhart episodes, a handful of Benson episodes and a few Night Court episodes for good measure. Can we just agree that he's a legend? Eric talks to him about his vast directing work of course and also what he thinks about today's comedies. Go ahead and read this interview as well. Check him out all week on Pop Candy! Go get 'em Eric!