Watching Sitcoms

I’m so excited cause Big Bang Theory will be back on Monday, September 22, 2008. Finally a sitcom I can watch and talk about instead of all these other shows I’ve been reviewing, cause, well, I have to talk about something, right?

Not only is Big Bang Theory back starting at 8:00 pm ET, but CBS is also following with the season premieres of How I Met Your Mother, Two and Half Men and the series premiere of Worst Week. I know where I’ll be Monday night.

This is actually a big week for the sitcom, as Wednesday night, September 24, marks the season premiere (also on CBS) of The New Adventures of Old Christine at 8:00 pm ET, and the series premiere of Gary Unmarried at 8:30 pm ET. They are joined on Wednesday nights by the already started Til Death at 9:00 pm and Do Not Disturb at 9:30 pm on FOX.

Then on Thursday, September 25, we have the season premiere of My Name is Earl on NBC at 8:00 pm ET, followed by another new episode of Earl at 8:30 pm ET, and then the hour-long season premiere of The Office at 9:00 pm ET.

I know people keep saying the sitcom is dead, and maybe that’s true of the good old fashioned family sitting in the living room with their TV dinners watching together kinda sitcom, but perhaps there’s a new form of situation comedy for now.

Another new show that’s premiering this week, which is not a sitcom, but I wanted to mention anyway, is The Mentalist, which airs on Tuesday, September 23 at 9:00 pm ET on CBS. Apparently, its the story of a former fake psychic who uses his heightened observation abilities to assist the police in solving crimes. Can you say Psych, anyone?

I gave Do Not Disturb a second chance this week. I felt it was necessary, since there are not too many new sitcoms this season and none right now but this one.

It still isn’t too good. I’m just always so disappointed in comedy. Look, it was almost a little better than last week, but only cause the entire point of the episode wasn’t about the employees having sex together. That was just part of the point. Not to say there was no sex talk. I’m beginning to think that no TV show considers itself complete these days without plenty of gratuitous sex or at least discussions of gratuitous sex. But that’s another story.

I’m not really sure I can come up with anything that I thought was a highlight of this week’s show. Last week I kinda like the bellhop, cause he was amusing. This week I can’t even really say that. I’m not convince that Jerry O’Connell should be the star of a sitcom, cause he’s just not that funny. Sure, he can mug and make faces with the best of them, but that may not be enough. Niecy Nash is annoying in her own special way, and that can be funny, but still, I don’t think she’s shown off in the best possible light here.

As for the rest of the cast, I just don’t have anything to say. No one - other than that brief shining moment for the bellhop - has stood out as being anything out of the ordinary.

I’m looking for a great sitcom and, so far, this is not it.

No, it wasn’t that funny. Maybe I’m wrong, but it seems to me that if you’re gonna call yourself a sitcom, you should be at least a little bit funny. To me, it all seemed really forced. I wanted Do Not Disturb to be good, mostly cause there just aren’t that many sitcoms on TV these days, and this is one of the only new sitcoms that even looked interesting. Plus, Jason Bateman is the director for this show and I love Jason Bateman.
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As I mentioned before, right before I left for vacation I finished watching through all the episodes of Arrested Development on hulu.com. Actually, I was so engrossed in them that I had to rush to get through the last few episodes before I left cause I was afraid we’d have no Internet access at the cottage and then I wouldn’t be able to watch the rest until I got home.

For some reason, I never watched Arrested Development when it was on the air. I guess I just thought it was what I consider embarrassment humor, like Seinfeld or The Office. Not shows I like, cause the main characters consistently embarrass themselves, which makes me uncomfortable, cause I’m very easily embarrassed. (As an aside, I also watched the pilot ep of the British version of The Office, which was basically the same as the American version, except that I actually liked it. The British do their embarrassing humor tongue in cheek, which is more comfortable for me, somehow.)
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Well, we are leaving the cottage to go home in the morning, and although we’ve had a wonderful week, I’m ready to go home. I’m pretty excited about seeing all the shows I DVR’d for one thing. Oh, and I miss my puppies, too. The weather has been perfect all week, but its a little rainy today. Although, it is really warm.

Since I had a few minutes before we go to dinner, though, I thought I’d try to get together a list of shows I plan on watching next week. Along, of course, with all those shows I have waiting for me from this week.

Both Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles and Fringe start up this week, on Monday and Tuesday, respectively. I’m not sure if I plan on watching Sarah Connor this year. I might give it another chance. I just want for it to be good and it wasn’t. I’m super excited about Fringe, and I hope that it doesn’t let me down.
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Thought I’d start taking a look at some of the new sitcoms coming out this year, and I’ve decided to start with Fox, since that’s the channel I find myself watching the most these days.

One show I’ve seen lots of ads for is Do Not Disturb, starting Jerry O’Connell and Niecy Nash, which premieres Wednesday, Septermber 10, 2008 at at 9:30 PM ET.

From the title, its obviously set in a hotel and it gives the impression, to me at least, that its about room service or maid staff. But its not. It’s about a New York City hotel called The Inn, which is supposed to be one of the “10 Best Places to Stay” in the Big Apple.

Jerry O’Connell plays Neal, the egotistical, hyper-stylish, detail-oriented general manager who will do whatever it takes to keep the hotel and its employees up to his standards. The hotel’s charismatic owner R.J. (played by guest star Robert Wagner), however, takes all the credit. Niecy Nash (who I didn’t realize was an actual actress, since I’ve only seen her on Clean House as a host) is the brash and brutally honest HR department head.

Do Not Disturb also stars Molly Stanton as Nicole, the aging model front desk clerk, Brando Eaton as Jason, the naive bellman, Jolene Purdy as Molly, a reservations clerk who wants to be pop star, and Jesse Tyler Ferguson as Larry, the head of housekeeping.

The show’s Executive Producer and Writer is Abraham Higginbotham and the Director is Jason Bateman (Is that really Jason Bateman, Jason Bateman?) The Fox website describes the show as “hilarious,” but I have my doubts. I kinda wonder if Jerry O’Connell just has a contract with Fox, so they have to keep creating shows for him to star in. There’s a short clip video at the site, and after watching it, I can’t say I laughed at all. Not even once. But I’m willing to give the show a chance.