I am – Hercules!! It’s a sitcom, from writer Howard J. Morris (“Mr. Write,” “According To Jim”), about the wacky misadventures of four middle-aged people who went to high school together and reconnect when their lives start falling apart. It stars Jonathan Silverman (“The Single Guy,” “Weekend at Bernie's”), David Arquette (“Eight Legged Freaks”), Greg Germann (“Ally McBeal”) and Kelly Hu (“X2”). It’s actually worse than “According to Jim” and a terrible companion for the much funnier “Knights of Prosperity,” which ABC should give serious thought to expanding into its own hour. Some sample dialog from the second “Emergency” episode, as the Silverman character is recruited by the Hu character to help her move out of her angry cop-boyfriend Frank’s place: KELI: Frank’s not even here. He’s at work. HARRY: He could still kill me from work. Haven’t you ever heard of “the long arm of the law”? Add the fact that Harry is played by the wretched Jonathan Silverman, who no longer has his boyish good looks on which to fall back, and one has a surefire recipe for “Let’s see what’s doing on ‘Trading Spouses.’” But what matters Herc’s opinion? TV Guide gives it a 1 (out of 10) and says:

… CBS' uneven The Class looks like a classic next to this shapeless, pointlessly annoying comedy …

USA Today gives it one and a half stars (out of four) and says:

… flops right from the get-go. Indeed, if the TV gods are kind, we will never again be subjected to a "meet cute" as repulsive as the one Emergency uses for its opening scene: Harry (Jonathan Silverman) becomes reacquainted with high school dream girl Kelly Lee (Kelly Hu) at a massage parlor as she's giving him sexual release. …

The Chicago Tribune says:

… if anything, it’s too manic - but it has little of the creative spark of “The Knights of Prosperity,” and its characters are nowhere near as endearing or amusing. … far too broadly painted for its own good. Its writers are clearly addicted to the tired conceit of giving us three jokes per script page, no matter how played-out the jokes, no matter how predictable the pratfalls. How does the diet guru deal with a breakup? He overeats. What happens to the guy who’s in the hospital? He falls out of his bed reaching for a snack. If it’s tiring just reading that list of “jokes,” trust me, it’s even less interesting to watch them.

The San Jose Mercury News says:

… This tale of four neurotic losers may be the worst, most annoying comedy to turn up on the networks this season …

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette says:

…. there's little hope for "In Case of Emergency" … rarely has a grounded premise led to such an unbelievable -- as in, contrived characters behaving in outlandish, unrealistic ways -- series. … In an emergency that calls for comedy, best to look somewhere -- almost anywhere -- else.

The Hollywood Reporter says:

… a solid sitcom with a strong cast and a lot of potential. There's room for improvement, of course. Jonathan Silverman, who plays jilted greeting card writer and all-around nice guy Harry Kennison, needs to take his performance down a notch or two. Also, there's no clear need for Dr. Joanna, the character played by Lori Loughlin. She catches the eye of Jason Ventress (David Arquette) after she patches him up following the suicide scene but the relationship is forced and awkward, a speed bump in an otherwise smooth and well-paced show. …

Variety says:

Somewhere trapped inside this shrill, irritating comedy is a better show that emerges only in fleeting glimpses, amid the manic tone and Catskills-comic humor. … the real emergency here is a show that mistakes decibel levels for humor, as if the writers were getting paid on a per-joke-attempt basis. …

9:30 p.m. Wednesday. ABC.





Whedon-y Goodness Under $20!!!!