The good news is Jennifer Love Hewitt’s still-untitled pilot was overseen by writer-producers Jeff Judah and Gabe Sachs, talents involved with “Freaks and Geeks” and “Undeclared,” two of the best TV series ever broadcast anywhere ever. The bad news is I haven’t heard anything about Judd Apatow’s involvement.
Hey Hercules,
Just saw the Joey review, and figured I should send in a review of the new Jennifer Love Hewett pilot I had the unpleasant opportunity to see. It's essentially a rip off of Sports Night, with more pro athlete cameos, bigger name actors, better endowed lead, slower dialogue, and a lame "single mom overcomes adversity" background. JLH plays an accidental sports reporter for ESPN.
The opening scene is great, with JLH in an overly boobtastic white tank top running into the men's locker room. She makes fun of some big guy's small package and poor game performance, and then is shocked to realize a camera man has been broadcasting the whole interaction and her little boy was watching on TV. This 'sassy incident' ends up getting her a permanent job in front of the camera. Her boss explains it as "people have been calling in all day, they want to see more of the girl with the mouth."
Throughout the show we have to endure this little kid, who is a TERRIBLE actor. Way over the top, obnoxiously cute, and in need of a beating. The writers' idea of humor is to give this kid dialogue which is "funny because a little kid is saying something so grownup" in a Full House kind of way. This is made more annoying by the fact that he's not supposed to be some super smart kid. He's actually fairly dumb and a cry baby.
The best cast character is John Patrick Stewart, in a type cast role of "smug, handsome, well groomed boss." He's dressed and acts mostly like he did in "Andy Richter Controls the Universe," but is substantially meaner and hornier here. He steals the show with his usual understated delivery of (surprisingly for this show) sharp lines. The only times I laughed were during his scenes. I still think his best work was as the murderous psychic obsessed with Sabrina Lloyd on Sliders. Which gets me back to Sports Night.
The conversations are much slower here, and the jokes are not that funny. Characters are always trying to insult/mock each other, which would be enjoyable but for the ham delivery, obnoxiously loud laugh track, and the retarded camera man character. This guy (I can't believe I can't remember the actor), follows JLH around constantly, and then jumps in after a "zing" to essentially say "zing!" or "oooh burn!" Or he just repeats part of the punch line. There's even one scene where JLH storms into the men's bathroom after Ed O'Neill (as in Mr. Bundy) to demand he not fire her. After Ed tells her not to worry (long line of "I have to pee" jokes) and JLH leaves, the camera man jumps out of a stall, as if to say "I'm just keeeding" in an SNL skit.
Ed O'Neill adds some weight to the cast, and is a good fit for his role as the "mentoring kind of boss." The writing for his character is still poor, but he at least delivers it without looking like a jackass. His acting creates the feel that he's not trying to be funny. This creates the illusion that a poorly written joke is actually mildly amusing. It's a "hey that's kind of funny, but not enough to make me smile or laugh" effect.
Overall, the show has a remarkably similar quality of writing, acting, and pacing to "Just Shoot Me." I don't like either show, even though I like some of the actors. Something I might watch if I was flipping channels and caught sight of JLH in a provocative scene. Unless they drop the kid and the writers watch every episode of Sports Night, this show is doomed.
If you use this, please call me wooga.
ABC announces its autumn schedule next Tuesday, May 18.
